Perfekt Balance (The Ære Saga Book 3) by S.T. Bende Page B

Bifrost you out of there
and—”
    “It’s not enough to get me out. You need to
take Runa into custody. She poses too much of a threat to the light
realms.”
    “ I
agree.” Forse nodded. “But it’s more important to me to keep you
alive. Have you ever wondered why I call you hjärtat ?”
    Hjärtat was an
endearment that was familiar but not too romantic; the kind of
thing you could get away with calling a good friend…or someone
truly special. Forse had never confirmed which side I fell
on.
    “Why?” My heart rate tripled.
    “Because you, Elsa Fredriksen, are my—”
    “Are you talking to Elsa?” Tyr’s voice came
through the screen, cutting off Forse’s declaration. My hopes were
dashed as the face of the brother with the worst possible timing
joined Forse in my communicator. “Thank Odin! We can’t track you.
Do you have any idea how many towers there are in Svartalfheim? A
few dozen match the height specs you gave us. The first few were
busts, so—”
    “Um, could you give us another minute?” I
asked Tyr hopefully.
    “Can you give us a DNA sample?” Tyr
countered.
    “Excuse me?”
    “A sample. You say your tower is cloaked in
dark magic, but is there any passage to the outside of the building
from where you are? A crack in the wall, or a window or something?”
Tyr asked.
    “I’ve got a window,” I offered.
    “ Perfekt . If you can swab a piece of your shirt, or any loose
article you can find in there, and throw it out the window beyond
the perimeter of the cloak, the locator might be able to pick it
up.” Tyr wore a V between his brows that rivaled Forse’s. At this rate, Idunn
was going to have to double up production on the anti-aging apple
serum.
    “Breathe, Tyr. It’s going to be okay.”
    “No it’s not.” Tyr clamped his jaw so hard I
heard a pop.
    “Tyr,” Forse interrupted. “Look at her
ear.”
    Tyr
squinted into the screen. “Great Odin, she’s bleeding. Förbaskat , we need to
find her now . Or
so help me—”
    “ Calm
down!” I scanned my cell until my eyes fell on a pebble amidst the
rubble of the floor. In one movement, I’d picked up the stone,
pressed it against my bloodied wound, and flung it out the window.
I gritted my teeth as I tried to ignore the searing pain. Note to self—do not shove sharp rocks into open wounds.
Ouch! “Okay. I threw a
bloodied pebble as far as I could, at a ninety-degree angle to the
plane of this window. That probably doesn’t help narrow down where
to search for it, since you don’t know where my tower—or its
window—are located, but it’s all the information I have. Is the
locator picking anything up on the rock? Or did I not throw it hard
enough to cross the perimeter?”
    “ It’s too
soon to tell.” Forse looked frustrated as he stared off-screen.
“Henrik wasn’t lying; the locator takes for-bloody-ever. Maybe
if…hold up. Tyr, look at this.”
    Tyr leaned over, staring at what I presumed
to be the locator. “What is that thing?”
    “Two beings just ported into one of the
potential tower locations. And if the blood trace from Brynn’s
dagger is correct, Tosk is one of them. I bet this is where they’re
hiding Elsa.”
    I did a quick energy scan of my surroundings.
“I don’t sense two additional beings here. Are you sure?”
    “I’m sure two creatures just showed up at one
of our places of interest,” Forse said. “It could be your
tower—maybe they’ve found a way to cloak their energy signatures
from you.”
    “Gods, I hope not.” I shivered.
    Tyr swore. “You can run, but you can’t hide.
Sit tight, Else, and be careful. We’re on our way.”
    “I’ll be here,” I said lightly.
    “Brynn!” Tyr shouted. “Pack it in. We’re
moving out.”
    As Tyr
stormed off-screen, Forse turned to me with a small smile. “We’re
coming for you, hjärtat . And once you’re safe, I’m never letting you go
again.”
    “Is that a promise?”
    “Absolutely.” Forse eyed me with
determination.