The Alpha God’s Luna by Marissa Gilbert
Chapter 74. Stars Bum. Part III
Joran looked at Fenrir’s lifeless body as Riannon struck him with bolts of lightning again and again, trying to restart his heart. He blocked out the entire world and the fighting to listen, too, hoping for that rhythm more than he hoped to return to Asgard.
“Come on, brother,” he muttered under his breath. “You can’t die like that!
Not on a carpet in some—room! You were supposed to have a glorious return to Asgard, remember?”
Riannon charged his sibling again, his back arching as if he could feel something, but the next moment, Fenrir fell back to the floor, breathless and still.
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“Again!” Joran ordered, and the Queen of the Western Kingdom gave him a stern glance.
“There is no use—” she said, pursing her lips.
“Do it again! Harder!” he ordered. “He is not a mortal. He needs more than that to—”
“Do you want me to fry him?” the woman shook her head, but the electricity was already playing between his fingers.
“If you don’t save him, I will rip your head off!” The Serpent promised, and Gideon’s growl followed immediately as the Lycan appeared next to his wife, baring his teeth at the deity.
“The worst thing you could do to me, you have already done,” Riannon replied dryly, stunning him. As far as he remembered, he did nothing to her. Or at least he didn’t do much.
“He is the love of your sister’s life!” The Serpent tried to change his approach. He could definitely guilt-trip her into saving his brother.
“Do you think I don’t know that?” She glared at him with hatred. “I like him! We all owe him! My husband was blessed by him! If I could, I would have brought him back, but, of the two of us, I am not the one who wields such power!”
His lips parted as he tried to process what she was saying. He had no power to bring the dead to life, either. At least not anymore. He’d wasted that bead on Bjorn months ago.
‘‘What are you—” He stopped, finally getting what the she-wolf was trying to tell him.
Joran fell to his knees, looking at Fenrir’s lifeless face.
If he was really dead, then it was all over. Hel would take him to the Underworld, and that would be where he would spend the rest of his existence. He would not be a god again. He would be just another soul… At best, Kara would allow him to enter the halls of Valhalla, but he and Astraea would never have the life they dreamed of.
The dead couldn’t experience life…
Jormungandr closed his eyes, exhaling heavily and trying to sense his way back home. To his surprise, the way to Asgard was clear for him for the first time since Ragnarok.
A bitter chuckle escaped him. Fenrir succeeded and defeated Vidar.
Only why did it have to end this way? His brother deserved so much better.
“You told me once you saw my ending.” Joran opened his eyes and looked at the Queen of the Western Kingdom, who was waiting patiently next to Fenrir’s dead body. “What was it?”
“If you’re asking me this, you already know the answer,” she replied, confirming his suspicions.
She did not seek revenge on him because destiny had already taken care of it.
Joran had seconds to make the decision, so he looked around, his eyes drawn to Niki holding Bjorn in her arms. The girl’s face was stained with tears as she rocked back and forth, whispering something to the bear’s ear. They had fallen in love indeed… Just like he wanted them to.
But he did not sense life in Bjorn anymore. That battle was lost.
Forrest and the witch stood over them, trying to console Niki, but Joran knew it wouldn’t be this easy.
He had lost Bjorn again. He’d lost Astrea. He couldn’t lose Fenrir, too.
He was okay with his brother hating him, but he did not want to imagine him in the Underworld. Just as he did not want to see Astrea tortured by the separation.
“Well played, witch!” He smiled at Riannon, and for the first time, the woman had nothing to retort. “Here, my gift to you. I know you will use it wisely.”
He took a few portal beads off his bracelet and handed the rest to her. She hesitated before accepting it, but the gift was too valuable to reject it.
“I know you will use these wisely,” he added, standing up and crushing the beads in his palm to activate them. A huge glowing portal to Asgard opened up before him. “See? I’m not that bad!” He winked at Riannon and stepped inside before he could hear her reply, walking out back into his home.
It was strange walking in Asgard again. Not to mention that it was only the second time he’d done it without sneaking around.
The portal took him to his siblings, and his heart clenched, seeing Astraea ready to fight his sister for Fenrir. If the Goddess of Stars and the Goddess of Death had a fight, it would result in another Ragnarok and they were still dealing with the consequences of the first one. She was in so much pain, so desperate… worse than when he’d chained her in the silver pit.
Fenrir tried to reassure her, ready to sacrifice himself as always. How did someone with such a good heart end up being born into their scheming family?
His brother noticed him first, and Joran gave him a sad, apologetic smile. Astraea was about to lunge at Hel, but Jormungandr caught her while his siblings watched him.
“Dragonfly, stop,” he whispered. “This is not the solution!”
“Let go of me!” she yelled at him, realising who it was and trying to elbow him. Her star magic almost burned his skin when he added quickly. “I have a real solution! Just let me help you with this for once.”
She stopped fighting him. Astraea was too desperate, ready to do anything. He had seen and used many people in such a state to recognise this look.
“Remember you once told me that I don’t know what love is?” He reminded her, and she remained silent. “I finally know. I love you, Astrea.
lot. I loved Bjorn as if he was my son. I love my children even though I haven’t seen them for centuries.”
Her chest was heaving. She absolutely did not see where he was going with it.
“But most of all I love my brother,” the Serpent confessed. “The one and only man who has never failed me. Not really. The one who tried to help me and whom I betrayed in the worst ways. I love you both in my own sick way, and I know you deserve your lifetime together. I want you to have it.”
“What are you—” Fenrir stared at him, bewildered.
“Take my divinity,” Joran suggested. “And you, Hel, take my life instead of Fenrir’s.”
“For the love of all things!” The Goddess of Death rubbed the bridge of her nose. “That’s not how it works!”
“Then we’ll make it work!” Joran pushed Astraea into his brother’s arms and walked towards his sister. “Just think about it, Hel. This is what our family does. It’s in our blood! One last trick. The universe needs to receive a god, and here I am. We have the same blood, the same lineage, and the same amount of divine power. The replacement will not affect the balance. It’s just perfect!”
“Oh, Jor!” She sighed and looked at Fenrir, who wrapped his arms around Astraea. That woman would fight for him until she destroyed the Underworld and got him out. Maybe it was for the best.
“May I also add that if you agree to this, you will get the funnier and more handsome brother? I bet you get bored ruling the Underworld alone, and the righteous Baldur can hardly make you laugh!”
Hel rolled her eyes.
“Besides,” Joran added quickly, “if someone can get it all, it’s you. You were thrown down there and prevented from living your life. You never got a proper shot. Neither did Fenrir. And although we can’t free you, we can—”
“Free him,” Hel agreed. She knew full well Fenrir spent years serving Odin just for the chance to have them reunited. This was more than anyone else had ever done for her, and she was grateful to have a sibling like that.
“Jor,” Fenrir called his brother, and the Serpent walked towards him and Astraea. “You really don’t have to.”
“I really do,” the Serpent disagreed and hugged them both tightly, placing his forehead on Fenrir’s. “Take care of each other, okay?”
“We will,” Astraea promised, tears welling in her eyes again. She noticed sparks flying from Joran into the sky, meaning he was already dying slowly, committing his sacrifice for them.
She hugged him tightly, still clenching Fenrir with her free hand just in case. She used to think of her Teacher as a monster, but now she wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Everything he did had paid off in the end and helped them to get here. She still couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. Maybe she’d been wrong about him all along.
“Astrea, I will remember our kiss even in the afterlife,” Joran mumbled, his lips grazing over her ear.
“Asshole!” Fenrir growled, feeling his brother’s divinity and immortality slipping through the cells of his new body.
“Always,” Joran smiled through tears, holding them both tightly.
“Thank you,” Astraea whispered, grasping him tighter, when she realised he was already gone and only specs of his divine essence were flying around them. She caught a fistful of the gleaming dust, and she could not find it in her to let it go with the rest, keeping this little reminder other Teacher for herself.
Fenrir wrapped his arms around Astraea, not willing to let go. Just a few seconds ago, he was ready to leave her to prevent the love of his life from fighting his sister. He’d accepted his loss and now he needed time to believe that this was actually happening.
Their enemies were dead, and they had eternity, together.
They stood like that for a while, no one daring to disturb them.
Vidar was still slowly dying on the ground when Bash found him. “I can offer you a deal—” The God of Vengeance hissed. “I can—”
“The only thing I need from you, I can get myself,” Bash snorted and sent a lightning his way, finishing him off. Years of experience taught him to get rid of a problem at once.
Devoss walked towards Magnus to give him a few orders from the new rulers and although the latter did not seem too happy about one particular fox feeling comfortable in this realm, he obeyed, knowing Astraea trusted these people.
Midnight slowly walked to the couple that still was afraid to move and find out it was all a dream. Slowly, he nudged them with his muzzle, and they finally got distracted, peering at him.
“How did you…?” Fenrir had no words.
“When I jumped into the Source, I had Midnight’s horn with me. We got out of it together,” she explained with a grin. “And look at this!” She scratched behind the Nightmare’s ear, and two wide wings materialised on his back. “He got an upgrade!”
“That thing can fly now?” Fenrir whistled.
“Well, not yet,” Astraea admitted, “or we would have used it in the fight, but we are working on it.”
“You are really something, do you know that?” He brushed his palm over her cheek.
“I know,” she giggled. “You are a lucky man!”
“The luckiest man in the world!” Fenrir pulled her closer and crashed his lips into hers in a greedy kiss. The world around them faded away, leaving all their troubles behind.
For the first time, they didn’t have to count minutes and seconds together. They had all the time in the world.
“So, what now?” Astraea broke the kiss to breathe in.
“Now?” Fenrir hugged her and turned to look at the nighttime Asgard, which would wake up to a new ruling dynasty in the morning. “Now, we live, Astraea.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Thank you so much for reading this book. This is the wrap up of Fenrir and Astrea’s love story although we will see glimpses of their life together in the Epilogue as well as some of the future books in the series. This book was a real challenge for me as an author, r and lam so grateful to everyone who stayed with me on this journey. The next book will be about Elene (Kai’s sister from The Luna Trials,) and I will start updating it in the second half of February (TBA). You can already follow His Shadow Luna booking my library. Petra’s story is also in the queue. Its working title is The Forgotten Bond. I will probably be writing them together, but the main focus will be on Elene’s story. It’s going to be one hell of a ride for her. Let me know in the comments, which of the two books you are most interested in :)P.S. You will find out more about Niki,
Bash, Salome, Forrest, Devoss and coin the Epilogue. Some of them also continue their adventures in Elene’s book.
Thank you so much again! Love,