Raisa by Heidi Vanlandingham

Author:Heidi Vanlandingham [Vanlandingham, Heidi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadowheart Press
Published: 2020-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Damn, man, you gotta snap out of this.”

Ailuin groaned and tried to move away from Cyran's booming voice. “Why do I feel like I've been hit with Thor's hammer?”

“Magical depletion—at least that's what Freyr said when we finally found you.”

Ailuin cracked open one eyelid and saw his friend's blurred face staring at him from where he sat beside the bed. Bed? Both eyelids snapped open, and he glanced around the room, his vision clearing. The sky-blue ceiling and dark brown floor reminded him of the outside. There was a fireplace on the facing wall behind Cyran, river rocks covering its surface. On the mantle sat a couple of green candles, their yellow glow, peaceful. Bright sunlight streamed in from a floor-to-ceiling window on the other side of his bed.

“Where are we?” His fingers moved over the heavy comforter, the plush green material soft and comforting.

“Welcome to your new home, Ailuin.”

Turning toward the familiar voice, he smiled as Freyr moved to stand beside Cyran. “What do you mean home?” Ailuin asked.

“With my sister's help and a little of her seidr, I was able to finish Alfheimr before schedule. Now,” he said, stepping back and leaning one arm against the thickly hewn mantle. “Tell me what happened.”

Ailuin thought back, trying to piece together the string of events at the Berghof. “I recall posing as Marshal Ion Antonescu and meeting with Hitler. A guard caught me, but I spelled him to sleep. Unfortunately, he didn't stay that way. The last thing I remember was stumbling into the nearby foliage.”

“Cyran found you lying just inside the forest near the Berghof. We couldn't wake you. It would have taken even longer to find you if it hadn't been for Alva. You need to send the Huldra something nice. Thanks to Freyja's magic and Idunn's elixir, we were able to replete your life force, which had almost gone out.”

Ailuin scrubbed his face, thoughts of Raisa fueling his irritation as he wished she were here. His stomach growled, bringing grins to both men's faces. He sat up, waiting for the room to spin, but was surprised to feel quite normal. In fact, besides starving, he felt like his old self, which was wonderful.

“What's happened on the Crimean front? Did our plan work?”

Freyr nodded. “It did. You convinced Hitler to evacuate the army, moving the few who survived back to Romania. The Soviets now control the peninsula.”

“Good. Now, if someone would like to point me in the direction of the bathroom, I'm going to shower. Afterward, I'm going to eat everything in the kitchen I can find—once I find the kitchen.” Ailuin stood, noticing he wore nothing but loose-fitting pants, and stretched. Just as his back popped, he remembered the disappearance of his brother. Dropping his arms, he met Freyr's purple gaze, catching a glimpse of sadness in their depths. “Where's Lamruil?”

Freyr exhaled, dropping his arm to his side. “He's still missing. We looked everywhere, but no one has seen or heard from him in eight days.

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