A Midwinter Fantasy - Leanna Renee Hieber [105]
“Sacred elf-fire, Sonja.” Vidar pulled her into his arms and hugged her so hard she couldn’t breathe. When he released her, she clung to the front of his fur coat, reveling in the solid strength of him.
“Are you all right?” she gasped.
“Am I all right?” He hugged her again. “Crazy woman. You’re the one who died.” He cradled her head and kissed her cheeks, nose, and lips. He pulled back, frowning and touching the crystal fragment in her hand. “When did you pick up this?”
Odin cursed, grabbing their attention. He glared at his ring. “Huginn, Muninn, bring me my errant son.” Neither raven moved, their gazes locked on Troy, sword still upraised.
Sonja grabbed Vidar’s hand and pulled the slave ring off his finger in case Draupnir could re-create the imprisoning mesh. Vidar stared at the loose gold band; confusion followed by hope flashed across his face.
“How . . . ? The ring fell off your finger when you died, but mine shouldn’t have come off.”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Well parried,” Troy said. “Now we riposte.” He dipped and snagged the two rings. “On your feet, Sonja. I need your help.”
She couldn’t imagine how her fledgling power might help Troy overcome Odin, but she scrambled upright, hanging on to Vidar’s arm.
Troy held up the rings. “Did you foresee this consequence of your actions in the runes, Odin?” he asked contemptuously. Flickers of crackling energy danced around his hand, sparking off the rings. He turned to Sonja. “Raise the point of your crystal dagger.”
“Dagger?” Sonja blinked at the crystal shard. She had a weapon in her hand and her father expected her to use it. The total weirdness of the situation suddenly hit her like a truck, nearly knocking the legs from under her. “I won’t hurt anyone. I can’t.”
“No time for self-doubt.” Troy gave her a meaningful glance.
Vidar placed a steadying hand on her back. His energy filled her, strong and fortifying. Sonja dragged in a breath before raising the point of the glinting crystal blade.
Troy dropped both gold rings over the tip, then wrapped a hand around hers. A wild hurricane of energy raced through her; then she sensed her father’s fine control focus the tempest down to a point of fearsome power. Lightning flashed out of the end of the crystal dagger, shooting toward the ceiling. With a wrenching groan, the ice there fractured. Huge chunks rained down, thudding to the floor all around them. Sonja covered her head, while Vidar wrapped his arms protectively around her. Troy threw a light shield over them, and the ice bounced off with an electric sizzle like high voltage cable.
Odin staggered. Losing his grip on his staff, he collapsed to his knees. “Help me!” He grabbed for the hem of Thor’s coat as his son lumbered toward the door, hammer over his shoulder, fleeing the destruction. He missed, and howled as he sagged to the ice, his limbs twitching, his wrinkled face screwed up.
“Incredible,” Vidar whispered in Sonja’s ear. “Troy’s focusing your combined power into the two child rings to attack Odin through Draupnir.” The storm of ice fragments settled. The roof of the chamber was now open to the sky.
“Hold your focus,” Troy commanded, and he released Sonja’s hand.
Her heart pounded as energy from the air poured through her into the crystal. She felt as unprepared as a kid given the steering wheel of her father’s car, but she wasn’t about to show weakness in front of Odin.
Troy paced forward, crunching shattered ice and crystal underfoot, his expression merciless. Vidar wrapped an arm around Sonja, boosting her strength. He gripped her hand on the crystal shard. Heat shot through her, and flames leaped from the tip of the crystal.
“Skitur!” Vidar snatched away his hand. “My fire . . . How?”
“Who knows, just help me!”
Vidar’s hand closed over hers again, and