“Unfortunately, I agree,” Freyja said and turned her sorrow-filled gaze back to Alva. “I made you a promise, my dear, and I will keep it. For now, though—”
“Freyja...hold on a second,” Natalya interrupted.
Everyone turned to her to find her staring at her husband. Mikhail’s eyes were closed. One clenched, white-knuckled fist lay on the tabletop in front of him. The room was in total silence, each person waiting with bated breath for his response. During the war, one thing Alva had learned early on when working with the Romani-Jew—his precognition was rarely wrong. Even Freyja deferred to him when he saw things in the future. Finally, he inhaled and opened his eyes. He turned to Natalya with the hint of a grin on his lips.
“What did you see, moyasolnishko?” Natalya asked, her love for Mikhail shining in her brilliant-blue eyes.
Alva wanted someone to be her everything—even the exact translation of my little sun worked because Mikhail was that and more for Natalya. She slid her gaze sideways at Bernard, but the almost angry expression on his face as he stared across the table at the couple dashed her tightly held hopes. How could he love her even a little when his heart was already taken?
“My vision was shaded and murky, but I could make out a strong presence, a magical presence. Both light- and dark magic swirled around the Nine Worlds, but more so around Earth.” He stared into Natalya’s eyes and leaned forward, softly kissing her pink lips before meeting Freyja’s gaze again. “While this entity didn’t take the first step, he molded these events into his own plan. I felt pain and overwhelming sorrow surrounding him, and underlying it all, he is lost and alone.” Mikhail turned to Bernard. “He has nothing to lose by what he has done.”
Bernard frowned and shook his head. “I admit, I may have taken that first step, something I will regret doing until the day I die, but I did not do more. I am not this entity, this being controlling the draugar.”
“No, you are not,” Mikhail agreed. “But you do understand because you have been lost since your family died, haven’t you? You were there for me when I needed someone after my family was taken by the Nazis, and I am here for you. You are my best friend...my brother, Bernard. And as your brother, I forgive you for what you did. There is no one around this table who has not made a mistake. I will always be here for you.”
Bernard’s chin trembled, and Alva threaded her fingers through his as it lay on his thigh, her other hand gripping his arm. Staring up at his face, she smiled. “You have never been alone, minn seggr.” She took a deep breath, choosing her words with care, but desperately wanting to tell him she loved him. This wasn’t the time or the place...not that there ever would be. “You have been my hero, my champion, since our first mission. I vowed then, as I do now, that I will be here for you in any fashion you need. You are my friend, Bernard. Don’t shut out me, Mikhail, or any other here who cares for you.”
He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together, his chest rising and falling as he calmed himself down. His head tilted forward and opened his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I don’t deserve any of this for what I have done, but I am grateful, nonetheless. After Savannah, Bishop, and Brianna were gone, I was so lost. I threw myself into the war, vowing to bring down every Nazi I found.”
He raised his gaze to Mikhail’s. “You may think I was the one helping you, but I wasn’t. You were helping me, and I have never thanked you for that, my friend. It isn’t much, but it is all I have to give. Thank you.”
Tears slid down Alva’s cheeks as she glanced around the room. There wasn’t a dry eye among them. Even the two gods wept for the pain, acceptance, and love filling the room. This was what family is all about, and the people around this table, the people who fought side by side and helped each other stand up again when they were knocked down—they were a true family.