Vali ignored her question. He was halfway down the corridor leading back to their room before she could finish. The bedroom was empty, her bag gone but nothing else was amiss. There were no signs of a struggle, the windows were frozen shut with a thick layer of ice, and he could still smell her cedar oil lingering after a recent application.
“She hasn’t been gone long. I left her just before I knocked on your door, so maybe twenty minutes?” he said.
“A lot can happen in twenty minutes,” Seela mumbled at his shoulder. “Can you feel her still?”
He had been so consumed by his panic he had almost forgotten. The pull he felt from the Tether was so consistent it felt natural at this point. But when he focused, he could feel her, even as it weakened as the seconds ticked. From the dwindling tug of her magic, he guessed she was slipping further away.
“Someone has taken her.” He could barely utter the words. They were so close to leaving unscathed, and a moment was all it took to snatch her away. He smashed the nearest table with the heel of his boot, cursing his own carelessness.
“Vali, calm down,” Seela said. But he was already pacing the floor, his hands tearing through his hair.
“I need to speak with Drieger. This whole situation reeks of giant. He must have found out who we were—buthow?”
Seela stepped in his path and thrust his sheathed sword in his hands. “We will figure out the why and how later. For now, let’s get her back.”
Ivor stepped in front of the commander to look Vali in the eyes. “I will never leave her alone with you again. You worry for what’s inside her, but I am the only one here who cares aboutAilsa.Your negligence will cost her everything!”
Seela pushed her to the side with a forceful shove, but Vali made a motion to stop her. “No, Seela, she’s right. This is my fault.” He turned to the wolven. “But know this, Ivor, there is no one in the Nine Realms who cares more about Ailsa than I do, and I will doanythingin my power to get her back. Next time you question her well-being or my intentions, remember my words.”
He stormed out the room to hunt down the Frost Giant Lord.
* * *
“Drieger!”
Vali scourged the length of the corridors leading from the hall, his strides devouring the plush rugs lining the floor. There was no question in his mind the giant lord had something to do with her disappearance, and he would shout his name throughout his home until the Jotun showed himself.
“Dane?” Skiord stepped out from a private room, rubbing sleep from her eyes and appearing as if she had just woken.
“Where is Drieger? I demand to see himnow.”
“He left early this morning to visit his brother—”
The elfin growled, releasing his rage with a savage, unintelligible shout and a punch to the cavern wall. His hand throbbed, distracting him from the pain in his chest throbbing against his ribs like a heartbeat.
“What is the meaning of this!” The giantess was clearly appalled at his behavior, but he was too desperate to care for her judgement. He shook his bleeding hand to beg Skiord for her mercy once more.
“I need to go after him. He’s taken Ailsa and I don’t know what he has planned to do with her. Please, Skiord, may I borrow a horse?”
“I don’t know, Dane, we don’t have many horses as it is—”
“Look at me!” he shouted. With a placating sigh, she did. And Vali let her see every ounce of fear, every inch of despair blown wide in his gaze. “Ineedher. I cannot lose her.”
The giantess sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “Whatever my boorish husband has done or what his plans are is beyond me, but I will make it right. I will grant your request, but the rest of your party must remain here. That is my collateral so you will return with my horse.”
Vali practically deflated with relief. “Thank you. Where are the stables? And where did you say he was headed?”
Skiord set her jaw with an expression of distaste. “I’ll show you to the stables. As for where Drieger went,” she rubbed the back of her eyes wearily, “you just need to hurry. Thrym is not a giant you want your woman around.”
It was bright when Ailsa woke. The gentle shaking of a carriage nearly lulled her back to sleep. Ailsa first noticed it was freezing cold, her breath coiled in a white cloud in front of her face, prompting she was outside. She sat up from where she was stuffed into a corner, finding herself in a metal wagon with bars lining the roof. Through the top of her cage, a clear sky draped over the world and a new morning sun had just risen over a reaching mountain peak.
She banged on the iron wall, a thin layer of ice falling as she knocked. No one answered. She sat on her knees and tried to see over the solid black wall of her cage but gained no hint of her kidnapper, only the quiet sound of hooves pressing against soft snow and the squeaky groan of rusted wheels.
“Hello?” she called out. But yet again, no response. She settled back into a corner and squeezed her elbows into her side to conceal her last bit of warmth. But the metal at her back pressed a chill down her spine.
They came to a stop a few minutes later. Ailsa tensed in anticipation, pulling her knees into her chest as voices manifested beyond the wall to her left side.
“You think this will work, Drieger?”