Birds chirped.
Soldiers in golden armor, armed with swords and shields, patrolled, while other beings—I could not figure out their particular place in the hierarchy—drifted like fallen palm leaves in a light wind.
“Are you under attack?” I asked. The thought that soldiers just waited around and guarded during a time of peace left me a little uneasy; it was more than a slight contradiction. I stopped walking.
“Not right now, but the giants on the other side of the river do attack ever so often. For this reason, guards are positioned around the realm. You are safe here.”
I nodded my head as if understanding, but this was an entirely new world to me.
Baldr took my hands in his. “I know this might be a lot to take in, but be not afraid.”
“I’m not afraid of anything.” I squared my shoulders and swallowed.
“Good. You mustn’t be frightened. Come, we must see my father, the All-Father, and ruler of this realm. He will be waiting for us. Although quite powerful, he can be kind.”
Gods were fickle, I knew. An uttered prayer didn’t mean an answered one.
We entered a large throne room, and there sat an older man with one piercing eye that stared at me; where his second eye should have been, only an empty socket remained. A gray beard covered his chin, and in his hand, he gripped a spear.
My mouth went dry, and my palms began to sweat. Standing next to Baldr, I felt the weight of Odin’s presence. My breathing hitched, my heart thudded, and for a moment, I was sure I’d turn into a pillar of salt, as his stare made me wish I was invisible.
“Father,” Baldr said. His voice was filled with something akin to joy. “Mother!”
The woman he identified stood next to his father and held on to his hand. At the sight of Baldr, her face beamed with a mixture of pride and delight. Her long reddish hair rested over her shoulders in two braids, while her elegant white and golden threaded gown reflected her grand status. She must have been the queen of Asgard, and from the look of love she shared with Odin, he was her king.
Before I could suppress the feeling, a sense of longing hit me. For the tiniest of moments, I wanted that. She stood, and even from this distance, I could feel her power emanating from her.
“Who have you brought here?” Odin’s voice thundered.
“This is Nanna, and she will be my wife.”
Baldr’s mother strolled over to me. “Welcome to Asgard, dear Nanna.”
I cleared my throat at that. This was not a marriage proposal. He’d saved me from the Romans, but that didn’t mean I was ready to become his wife. We didn’t even know each other. All of this set on my tongue waiting to be spat out like a mouthful of poisonous wine. The emotions within threatened to spill out. This is all too much. I was not a thing to be coveted and placed on a shelf.
However, my lips remained sealed.
Becoming his wife would involve an intimacy I’d never had, not only giving him my body—something forbidden—but also sharing an everyday intimacy of life together. This communion of mind and soul? My eyes darted to the doorway before coming back to land on him: Baldr. If I became his wife, would I be able to leave? Would I be allowed to—and would I want to—return to Carthage? It was easy to forget the wars there, when surrounded by such peace here.
My gaze shifted to movement on my right, where a couple of young ladies, hidden behind a golden pillar, giggled. Dressed in flowing gowns, they appeared like the usual ladies-in-waiting.
“Ladies, please clear the throne room,” Odin yelled. His focus then fell back on me. “Has she agreed to such? Mortals are duplicitous.”
“She is not deceitful, Father. Instead, she has a heart filled with courage and goodness.”
My head bobbed between Baldr and his father, following their conversation as best as I could.
“And she is the one you have chosen?” Odin asked. “Many goddesses would enjoy your presence and companionship. What does this mortal have that those in Asgard, and of our kind, don’t?”
“Our kind, Father? Are you referencing the marriage of the gods to the giants, or intermarriage?”
“Son, simplicity is not what you wish. She knows little of our ways or the dangers she must face to live here.”
“I will make sure that she is made aware. The libraries have knowledge of everything, from Ymir’s prophecy to the pending—”
My vision clouded, then light and fire rose up around me. I could feel something dark flying just out of my view. Odin’s voice broke through.
“Do not say it,” he paused. He stared at me, through me, into me, as if he knew what had occurred. I gulped under his scrutiny. “She could be the key to releasing chaos between the realms.”
I did not follow.
“Odin, you must allow love to grow where it can, and I foresee a great love between these two, as I know you can, too,” Freyja said. “Plus, in order to appreciate the light, we must sometimes enjoy the darkness.”
I frowned. Although her words were filled with power, and showed that he, her husband, valued her opinion, what was this great evil of which they spoke, and did they think it was me? Was I to be their scourge, brought into their realm to cause mayhem?
“Fear not,” Freyja said directly into my mind. “If you let him, Baldr will keep your heart safe. The choice is yours.”
“I just need time. This is overwhelming,” I said.
“But time cannot be gifted. To stay, you must be under a god’s protection, or be ousted. That is our law,” Odin declared.
“And if I return?”
“You would shun his salvation for your people?” Odin frowned, and I could see his quandary as if heavenly scales rested in his hands, and he measured my worth like bricks of gold against that as light as a peacock
