Chapter Five

Atum stepped through the blackened corpses, feeling nothing as he smelled the charred flesh and tasted the bitter smoke in the air. Chthon's power must be erased from the universe. Wholly and completely. There was no mercy for those who consorted with demons. They deserved none, and so received none.

His gaze shifted to the starry sky for a moment as he walked. Exhaustion ached though him. How many nights had it been since he slept?

Eight, he thought. No, nine. I didn't sleep the night before I raped my sister.

Because monsters didn't sleep. They didn't need it. They prowled at all times, destroying everything they saw. Just like him.

The anger and loathing rose in his chest, and with a snarl, Atum threw out his hand to form a new portal. This world was freed from Chthon's influence. Time to find a new one.

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Freyja raised her face to the sun, enjoying its warmth, until she remembered that Atum was a sun-god. He could be hiding in that golden orb, watching her. It had been a month, and she thought she would never feel safe from him again. She pulled her wrap over her shoulders and dashed back inside Frey's house for a hat. She walked quickly to the palace, giving brisk greetings in exchange for ones offered to her. Why did it seem like only the men smiled at her?

The palace was cool and dark, and Freyja felt her tense shoulders relax ever so slightly. She inquired as to where to find Tyr, and quickly found him in his hall, pouring over maps with Odin, untouched food nearby.

"Lady Freyja?" Tyr and Odin both straightened, brows furrowed.

"I need to speak with you, Lord Tyr," Freyja said, and then gave Odin a pointed look. "Now. Alone."

"Now is not the time-" Odin started.

"Your war has been going on for nigh thirty years. All I require is ten minutes. My lord," Freyja added, attempting to calm her voice. "Give me that, since it is you who sent my husband into the battle that took him from me."

Odin's face went white.

"Lady Freyja!" Tyr said sharply. "Such remarks are completely-"

Odin put a hand on Tyr's shoulder. "Ten minutes," he said, and walked swiftly out of the room.

Freyja waited until she was certain he was gone before looking back at Tyr. She suddenly became very aware of how much bigger and stronger he was than she. And they were alone. She swallowed down the bile rising in her throat.

"Well?" Tyr asked. "What was so important that you would use such a poisoned blade against the king, who lost a brother when you lost a husband?"

"You are going to be Ve's host in a few weeks, am I correct?"

Tyr's brow furrowed. "Yes."

Freyja hesitated, not entirely certain how to word her request. "This is a delicate matter."

Tyr waited.

"I want your permission to sleep with my husband while he is in your body."

Tyr's brows disappeared into his shaggy haircut. His jaw dropped. "I'm sorry?"

"Am I not being clear enough?"

"No, you are very clear, Lady," Tyr brushed his hair back from his face. "Your request has certainly taken me by surprise, though. I have been host for Ve before, and you have never asked such a thing."

"That is because I never considered it an option." Freyja clasped her hands. "I would, of course, need you to write permission so that Ve would be able to know for himself that you do not object, should you agree."

"I..." Tyr raised his hands in confusion. "I have never considered anything such as this."

"Of course," Freyja nodded tersely. "Very well. I just thought that I would ask-"

"I am not saying no, Lady Freyja. This has taken me by surprise and I will have to give it some thought. I will give you an answer before the time comes."

"Thank you," Freyja said, more gently than she had been speaking up to that point. "That is very much appreciated." She was silent for a moment. "Also, know that I am already with child, so I would not charge you with fatherhood for intimacy that you wouldn't remember."

She turned to go.

"Lady Freyja."

Freyja turned back.

"I..." Tyr walked forward, looking hesitant and almost shy.

Freyja's stomach twisted. He was going to ask for repayment for her request. And she would give it to him. How many nights would he want? It didn't matter. She needed Ve's loving touch again.

"If you wanted to charge the child to me, I would not mind," Tyr said awkwardly. "I knew a woman last year and thought I was going to be a father... but it was not so."

"She had another man lined up, waiting to take the responsibility?"

"The child was stillborn. A girl."

Freyja's heart reached out to Tyr for his loss, but also found herself wondering. Perhaps, with Tyr claiming to be the child's father, she could give him the child? Hide her pain? But how would she explain to her other daughters why none of them had fathers? And why she was so willing to give away their youngest sibling?

"I'm afraid that does not seem wise, my Lord," she said softly.

Tyr's shoulders sagged, but he nodded. "Of course, my Lady."

"I hope that my answer will not negatively influence yours."

"I will let you know what I decide."

Freyja nodded. She left. She rushed back to Frey's house and immediately joined in with her youngest three daughters as they each made a messy painting.

"Mor, see this!" Snotra proudly held up a paper that had pink blobs on it with yellow streaked around them.

"That's beautiful, darling," Freyja replied. "Why don't you tell me the story?"

"Oh, Mor!" Snotra rolled her eyes impatiently. "This is you, this is Hnossa, and Idunn, Lofn, Var, Syn, Sjofn and me."

"Who is this? Grandmother?"

Snotra laughed. "No! She's too little, see? That's the new baby."

Freyja's heart froze. "What?"

"Our little sister," Snotra said with self-assurance.

"Did... Did Grandmother tell you that we were having another sister?"

"No, she did," Snotra replied. "Last night I dreamt about her and Da, and she told me she was coming, but that you were very sad and that I should be extra good... Why are you crying, Mor?"

Snotra's voice was alarmed. Freyja pulled her into her embrace and nuzzled her golden hair. "It's nothing, precious. I'm just a little tired is all. Your picture is beautiful."

Freyja wiped her face and smiled at her daughter. She looked at the picture again. She had told Tyr about her pregnancy. She hadn't told anybody else, not even Frey! She hadn't decided if she was going to let Atum's child grow in her womb. For a month, she had tried to make a decision one way or another.

But every time she thought she had decided to carry it, her repulsion for how it was conceived made her sick and she wanted to throw herself down a well. And when she thought she had decided that she would enlist her mother's help to get rid of the reminder of the event, she would look at her golden-haired girls and wonder if she would forever look at them and think there was a child missing from among them.

Other women may choose what they will, she thought, running her hands over her flat stomach. And I choose this.

"I'm keeping you," she whispered, and a rush of determination gripped her. She would fight the universe for her children, no matter who their fathers were! "I am keeping you, and I will never let anybody hurt you!"

And if he tries to take you from me, I'll kill him.

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Frey made his way home, hoping to enjoy his brief respite from the war. His sister's condition weighed heavily on his mind however. This pregnancy had had such a bad effect on her, far more so than any of her others. She had actually flinched away from him when he startled her, days ago. She was almost never willing to go out into the sunlight, and she would not tell him what was wrong... Frustrated with his inability to help, he planted his fist into a nearby wall, then jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mother..." he sighed heavily. She took his injured hand between hers wordlessly. "I was just worrying about Freyja, and with everything else that's going on...I am not here to help as much as I should be... has her mood improved at all?"

"She is as well as can be expected." Gaea's voice was sad.

She healed his split knuckles, but kept her eyes on the ground. How could she ever tell him the reason for Freyja's condition? He would only go after Atum, and what purpose would that serve, save to cost her another child? Once, she would have been certain that Atum would never hurt Frey...but she would never have believed he would force himself on Freyja, either. Had she been a fool all along, to ever think Atum could be a being of Light, considering his origins? Tears pricked her eyes again. She was so tired of crying...

"Mother, what's wrong?" Frey asked, his voice thick with worry. "I know that there is something that you and Freyja are not telling me. The girls know, too. Hnossa is afraid to leave Freyja alone... and to be honest, so am I. I've never seen her like this, not even after Ve was killed. She flinches at sudden noises, and sometimes when she thinks I'm not looking she looks... empty."

Gaea embraced her son. "Be patient, Frey. Give her time. This pregnancy was unexpected and she is missing Ve terribly right now. And with this mess your stepmother has with your father, she's doubting herself..." and the universe.

"I could help, if somebody would just tell me what's happened!" Frey exclaimed, frustrated. "I'm not a fragile, naive child."

"Freyja is going to be all right. You must believe that. But you must be patient."

"I feel helpless."

"I know. It will get better, in time."

"Will it?"

There was hardly a hesitation in Gaea's voice. "Yes."

Frey nodded, and they walked in silence back to his house. It really was too small for Freyja and her seven daughters, but he wasn't about to tell them to leave. He could never once recollect Freyja actually asking for his help before. He couldn't recall any time when she had asked anybody for help.

When they got to his house, he smiled to see that his sister and nieces were all sitting on the lawn, a blanket spread out beneath them, eating and chatting animatedly. The queen was with them with her young son, who was entertaining the triplets by throwing things at them. Idunn and Hnossa were in a deep, somewhat heated, debate as to whether a broadsword or spatha was the superior weapon.

"We decided to have a picnic," Freyja greeted them. "You want to join us?"

"Of course." Frey settled down next to her. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

Thor abandoned the triplets and crawled into Gaea's lap as she sat down on Freyja's other side. "It's good to see you outside, Freyja. And you, too, Frigga. I've heard that you suffered a bad depression after Thor's birth."

"Things weren't as I expected," Frigga replied, carefully, almost guardedly, Frey thought.

Gaea smiled, and gently handed Thor over to his mother. The baby made an annoyed noise, and then promptly wiggled away and went back to the triplets.

"How are you feeling?" Frey asked his twin.

Freyja smiled, and it wasn't as forced as it usually was. "I'm well today, thank you. I thought I'd take the girls to go get some new clothes. The triplets are starting to get a little ripe."

"I'll help you with that," Gaea volunteered.

"Thank you, Mother, but I think I'll be all right."

Normally, Freyja would have spoken with sarcasm, but she sounded completely serious. Frey frowned. What had happened to make his bold sister so nervous?

"I had best get back to the palace," Frigga said, getting to her knees and brushing crumbs off her hands. "Thank you for lunch, it was lovely. Thor. Thor! We're leaving, sweetheart."

The baby ignored her, and when she collected him, he screamed like a banshee and kicked wildly. Frigga struggled to keep a hold of him, and practically fled. Frey's brow furrowed deeper. Things were not right between the king and queen, though he would never have said so out loud. It seemed as though everybody in Asgard was hiding something.

"He's a real rascal, that prince," Freyja sighed, beginning to lie down but deciding not to. "Poor Frigga does not seem to know what to do with him, he gives her so much trouble. I do hope he grows up to be more like his mother than his father, though!"

"Freyja, don't you know that all boys end up like their fathers and all girls become their mothers?" Frey teased mildly.

Freyja and Gaea both winced, and Freyja's hands began to tremble. She quickly began putting things back into her basket.

"I think I'll go back inside."

Frey frowned in concern as Freyja dashed back into the house, like a horse bolting for shelter. He turned to Gaea, but she was wiping tears from her face and quickly followed. What had he said?

And it all suddenly clicked. How could he have been so blind? After hurriedly asking Hnossa and Idunn to keep the rest of the girls out of the house for a few minutes, he followed his sister and mother in. He found them in Freyja's room. Freyja was crying. Frey hesitated a moment before knocking on the doorframe.

"I'd like to be alone right now, Frey," Freyja said stiffly.

"I'm sorry, but I have to know..." Frey fumbled with the words for a moment. "Freyja, when the girls and I were on Vanaheim... were you..."

Freyja's eyes were red, the tears pouring from them almost too much to bear. Frey walked in cautiously, kneeling before her, taking her hands in his, and Gaea continued to comfort her.

"Freyja, were you raped?"

She didn't have to answer. The tears rolling down her cheeks were answer enough. Frey felt like the room was spinning. Anger rose like a black beast in his chest and his blue eyes lit with fire.

"Who? Who was it? I'll kill him."

Freyja shook her head. "I... It was... It was late, Frey. And dark. I don't know who it was."

Frey wished he had Atum's power. He'd hunt down the bastard who had hurt his sister and make him suffer. Slowly.

"The girls weren't there, though, they weren't hurt. That is what's important." Freyja took a deep breath. "That's what is important."

"Oh, Freyja." Frey's anger was short lived. A tear ran down his cheek. "Is that how you got pregnant?"

Freyja hesitated a moment before nodding. "Yes. But this is my baby. Mine. Not his."

"If I ever find out who it was..." Frey hung his head, fighting back tears. His sister deserved a better life than the one she had! Why couldn't he protect her, the way a brother should?

"I don't want you to go looking for him, Frey. I don't want you to get hurt. Promise me!" Freyja's voice took on an urgency he had never heard before. "Promise me that you won't look for him."

It was the urgency that made Frey, for the first time in his life, lie to his dear twin sister. "I won't go looking for him. I promise."