Macha's Journey

Not once did Freyr move. As the serpent"s head drew nearer, he called forth golden tower shields made of light that linked together, forming a wall to defend his party. Since the barrier was transparent, he could peer deep into the jörmungandr"s throat.

Raising his sword towards the sky, he summoned thousands of mallets. The hammers rained down upon the jörmungandr, bashing the monster"s face and body in an endless tirade of blows. After a few minutes, the serpent lay motionless on the snow and Freyr brought down the defensive wall that he had created.

He stepped toward the monster, but Sierra put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait. We need to make sure it"s dead." She knew he tried to rush things because he had employed magic spells of that caliber on such an easy task.

The abilities he used were smaller versions of what he did during the fight for Ma.r.s.eille"s independence. There was no reason to try so hard for a creature that was already outnumbered.

After she said this, one of her guards ran up to inspect the jörmungandr. Without warning, the head snapped to the side, swallowing the woman whole.

"Crystal!" Sierra shouted.

Angry that the creature had tricked them, Sierra charged at the serpent. Years ago, she had promised Crystal"s mother that she would watch over the woman. The woman"s family had apprehensions about her only daughter becoming a guard, but she had personally scouted Crystal.

Freyr realized that his friend planned to use her blade on the jörmungandr, "Sierra no!" he called out, wanting to stop her. The blood was poisonous, so he wanted to kill it without piercing or slashing the monster"s skin.

Not listening to his warning, her sword cut through the air and a great white arch flew towards the beast, slicing it in half. A spray of blood spewed out from a severed artery and traveled through the air towards the party.

Gwydion"s son, Tristan, shot out his arms and a strong gust of wind erupted from his hands. The blood"s trajectory shifted, and it splattered three paces away from everyone. His heart raced with anger, "What the h.e.l.l were you thinking? You almost killed us."

"Tristan," Freyr called, "Start collecting the antidote. I want to leave as soon as possible."

Upon the King"s order, he flung his cape behind him and stalked over to the jörmungandr"s corpse. He did not understand why the Captain of the Guard had been so incompetent lately. If she had not messed up during Macha"s birthday, then they would never have had to come out here.

Freyr walked up and stood next to Sierra. He knew her as well as he knew Tyr and Luna. Lately, something was bothering his old friend, but he did not know what was wrong. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he said, "Come, let"s talk on the ship."

A little while later, while Tristan performed the spell to change the poisonous blood into the antidote needed for eitr, Freyr closed the door to his room aboard the airship. He flung the blue tiger cloak on the back of his chair and sat down.

He studied Sierra"s face and could tell she was nervous. "What ails you?" he asked in a tender voice.

She sucked in her lips and bit down on them. Turning to fixate her eyes on the floor, she replied, "Your Magisty, nothing is the matter."

Freyr shook his head, "I ask this not as the King but as your friend. Please, refer to me by my given name for this conversation. What ails you?" While he did not have many friends, he considered Sierra one and could tell that something was going on.

"F-Freyr," saying his name felt foreign on her lips. This situation never happened before and it made her uncomfortable. "It"s nothing. I won"t let it interfere with my work any longer. When we get back to Ma.r.s.eille, I"ll deal with it."

She did not mention what the problem was, and he frowned. In a hurt voice, he explained, "I have known you for hundreds of years. I really do regard you as a friend. If you do not see me that way, I understand, I am your King. Just know that I would like to help you if you would allow it."

It was not that she did not think of the King as her friend, but she was ashamed of her personal life. "I consider us friends as well, thank you." Sierra paused, unsure if she should explain.

Freyr sat patiently waiting for her to continue. There was something that bothered her and she seemed undecided about if she wanted to disclose her troubles.

A moment later, she continued, "My wife talked with me about possibly getting a divorce a few days before we left." She clicked her tongue with annoyance.

The news caused Freyr"s eyes to become wide with surprise. "What? You two always appeared very much in love. Why?"

Sierra crossed her arms, "She claims we never spend time together and that I don"t love her anymore. Don"t worry, I"ll agree to her divorce and move on. I won"t let it affect my job any longer."

Freyr stood up, "No. Take some time off and go on a trip with her. I overwork you and should never have expected you to put in the hours that you do." He did not want to ruin his friend"s life. This conversation made him realize that he monopolized too much of her time.

"Freyr, love is a luxury. What I do is more important than my marriage. Peata met me and married me fully understanding the hours I commit to my job. It"s fine." She did not mention that her wife had taken on a secret lover. If Peata did not have the affair, she would have been willing to patch things up. They could have gone on a trip together. But being cheated on was a different matter entirely.

After hearing her firm stance on the matter, Freyr tried again, "Are you sure? By the time we get back, Scarlette will be taken care of. Things should settle down a bit and you could take that vacation."

Sierra"s voice was cold, "I"m positive. I don"t need her in my life. It was over months ago."