My exiled father, Hannibal Barca, had found refuge in Bithynia, assisting the king in fighting back against the Romans. But everything here in Carthage was lost. And I, being his daughter, wore a virtual target for their javelins on my back. Once the Barca name had brought with it prestige, but now its only gift was death.
For a brief moment, I glanced into the distance as the warm sunlight was refracted from the blue Mediterranean Sea. I could taste fresh salt on my lips. Fishing boats arrived in the harbor with their daily catch. They seemed to hurry in, as if they, too, could feel the choking hold of Rome pressing down on our necks.
Destiny had come to find me, pinning me between the altar to Melqart and the pointed edge of Roman swords.
A slight wind blew, kicking up scents of incense and sweeter perfumes. The portal opened anew, and Baldr took my hand in his. “Today, you shall not die,” he said.
A shiver coursed through me, and the world paused a beat. I wasn’t sure if it was exhilaration after my escape, or because of the handsome man pulling me to safety. This was not okay. Attraction be damned.
He ripped the choice away from me and pulled me in after him.
He’d forced me to live, and destined my people to die. My children? Panic caused my vision to momentarily blur. I batted the unshed tears away.
I snatched my hand out of his warm grasp as the portal behind us closed when my feet planted on a surface that shimmered.
“What have you done?” I yelled. “What of the orphans in my care? You’ve sentenced them to death.”
He shook his head. “No. They, too, are safe. I saved them just as I have saved you.”
Still, his words didn’t comfort me. Carthage was a port time, one that overflowed with corruption, but not everyone there deserved to perish.
“That was not your decision to make. You have stripped me of my right to fight for and with my people.”
“But your destiny is so much greater than that.” He reached out as if to touch my cheek. I took a step back, despite the fluttering in my stomach. My attraction warred with my honor.
“No, what you have done is damn them to suffering.”
“It was not my place to intercede. Melqart, he is the patron god of the city, and therefore, it is his prerogative to become actively involved.”
I rolled my eyes at the notion. Melqart had done nothing for us besides cause irreparable harm. We’d been paying war reparations so long that only its strong mercantilism held the city afloat. But vultures buzzed overhead, waiting for a chance to swoop in and strip us of anything left over, dignity included.
“I saved you because I love you, dear Nanna,” Baldr said and took a step forward, closing the space between us.
My eyes bulged, and my mouth gaped open. When I awoke this morning from dreaming of him, I never considered something like this to be true. Even more, attraction in a dream wasn’t a foundation for love to build upon. He might be handsome, the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, but love, it did not create. Sexual attraction? Yes. But love?
I coughed, trying to clear my airway, and rubbed my grimy hand over my face to hide the frown I knew was there. If I’d known this god would save me and then declare undying love, I might have wished to instead fight off the Roman legion myself.
Nanna; the word that meant woman. It wasn’t my name. It didn’t represent me. For I was Annôn. My gaze fell away from his face. In this new place, to where he’d stolen me, I’d have to make do until I could return—if I could return.
“What of my orphans?”
He must have noticed my frown and hesitation. “Worry not. They have found refuge and are being cared for,” he paused as if sensing that I wasn’t ready to just believe his admission. “One thing you must know is, that I do not lie. My word is my bond. Come.” He stretched out his hand as if to retake my own. “There is much for you to learn here.
This view is breathtaking, and surely the first time, you should not see it alone.”
My hand clasped his, and together, we exited the portal room and were greeted by a large man. “Heimdall,” Baldr said with a smile.
When he smiled, the world lit up. For in that smile lived beauty, peace, and light.
For years, we’d lived under either the threat of war, or with tyranny spewing out of Rome, whereby mothers anxiously awaited news of their sons who had perished on board a naval ship, or of another daughter assaulted by a lustful soldier. They’d taken our pride, our freedom, and used our own bodies against us. Bastard-sons and- daughters rounded out Carthaginian women’s stomachs, while their husbands could do nothing about it. And in it all, Melqart remained silent.
“Answer me this,” I began, “If you could hear my prayer, why has Melqart done nothing?”
“I cannot speak for any other deity in the pantheons. All I can tell you is, that when I saw you, I could no longer imagine eternity without you. There is something in you that called to me. Not only your beauty but your courage, your heart.”
I wasn’t sure if I felt the same. Love. I’d never had the chance to learn what it truly meant. But surely, I had time to figure it all out. He’d give me time to adjust to this—
“Is Melqart also here?” I asked.
He frowned at me. “No, my dear, this is Asgard, where we, the Norse gods, reign.”
“And the others?”
“We are in communication with them.”
It seemed as if he was hiding something from me.
“If I stay, then I wish to speak with him.”
He nodded. “But first, you must learn what it means to be here in Asgard. This is not the mortal
