Morgan's Fate by Dana Marie Bell Read Free Book Online Page B

beneath his palm, even trembling with fear. “Believe us now?”
    She looked so lost it almost broke his heart. “Where do I fit into all of this?”
    Morgan took hold of both her hands and held on tight. “You’re the only one who can explain our future.”
    “Where do you think you are going?”
    Oliver Grimm reined in Sleipnir as the deep, familiar voice rolled over him. His shoulders tightened, expecting the worst. After all, the man asking the question had given him nothing but trouble since Baldur took up the Godspear. Rina, sensing his agitation, pulled her blade.
    He had no desire to face the Guardian. Not now, and certainly not here, on the Bifrost Bridge. Here, Heimdall was the stronger of them and could easily refuse Grimm passage. Grimm would be forced to obey or be tossed from the bridge, his plans abandoned.
    And that just wouldn’t do.
    As it was, he’d have to arrange for something to befall the Guardian before too much longer. He couldn’t risk Heimdall blowing his horn, signaling the true beginning of Ragnarrok. If Heimdall took it into his head that Odin’s reign was over…
    He gritted his teeth. Technically, his reign over the Aesir and the Vanir was already over. His bastard of a son, Baldur, now held Gungnir , giving him supremacy over all the other gods. With Loki and Tyr whispering in Baldur’s ear, egging him on, it was only a matter of time before the younger gods that followed Baldur turned on Grimm once and for all.
    But that was an issue for another day. Today, he was off to see some very important ladies, and he couldn’t afford to be late. “I’m going to Yggdrasil.”
    The sense of tension in the air increased as Heimdall studied him with a cold, impartial gaze. “You’re going to see the Norns.”
    Grimm nodded. This was where Heimdall could fuck up his plans. Grimm would have to be honest. Lying to the Guardian now wasn’t an option. Heimdall would sense it, and it would all be over. “Yes.”
    He waited in silence, knowing this was it. If Heimdall kicked him out, Grimm would have to go with the next plan. Skuld would still die, but it would be far messier than he’d like. Getting to her now that she was behind Loki’s fucking wards would be near impossible. He’d have to wait, bide his time, and pray that she didn’t give them the information that they sought. If she did, they would finally have the information they needed to see to it that Odin’s life ended.
    He wouldn’t allow it. He couldn’t afford to let them discover the true destiny of the gods.
    “You may pass.”
    He didn’t allow the relief he felt to bend him. He sat straight and tall, as befitted the true ruler of the gods. He nodded regally. Even if he couldn’t see the Guardian, the courtesy was ingrained. Even he was afraid of the man that would someday kill Loki. “Thank you, Guardian.”
    “Do not thank me, Odin. I know why you go to see the Norns, and I know what your plans are. Remember this, Father of Lies. It will be what it was meant to be.”
    “Not if I can help it, Guardian.” Odin kicked Sleipnir viciously, setting the horse galloping across the bridge toward Yggdrasil, and answers. Sleipnir whinnied in protest, but what could the dumb beast do but obey? It was a pity the rest of the Aesir and Vanir weren’t as obedient as his steed. None of this would have happened otherwise.
    Damn the Norns, and damn their prophecy to hell. If they hadn’t come forth from Jotunheim, he would have been the ruler of the gods for eternity, a golden age that all the gods had adored. They’d had gold aplenty, food enough to make even Thor satisfied, and women, ah women, soft and pliant and ripe for the picking.
    But, no. The Norns had to come forth from Jotunheim, taken one look at the World Tree and declared that mortals deserved more than what the gods had given them.
    How dare they place themselves above gods and men? They were nothing more than Jotuns, giantesses, no better than Loki. Yet they