CHAPTERNINE
Much later in the apartment, Muni decided she needed some fresh air in an attempt to clear her mind. Torn between images of her brother’s death and the sight of the scars covering Vidar’s body, she felt as if she desperately needed the smog air of the city to cleanse her mind. While she couldn’t necessarily take off and fly from her apartment building, the roof access was the reason she chose this apartment. No one else came up to the roof, the other tenants too busy with life to stop for a moment and enjoy living, so Muni had turned the roof area into her own little haven. Comfy chairs were set up around the small top. Lights were strung in strategic places, so they didn’t block out the sky. There was too much light pollution to see the stars most nights, but sometimes, if she focused hard enough, Muni could just make out the largest celestial bodies.
Pushing open the door to the roof, Muni was surprised to find one of the chairs already occupied. Eirik was sitting in the seat, lost in thought it seemed, as he stared down at a tablet in his hands. She’d left it for him since he’d be dealing with technology, but she hadn’t realized he would reach for it so soon. She should have known better. She’d given it to him for the specs of the car and the race, but as she silently walked toward him, she could see him staring at pictures on a social media site. He didn’t hear her approach, not on her silent feet, and Eirik wasn’t trained as a warrior the same as the others. He was strong, his shoulders wide with power, but he never had to fight a rival clan in order to protect his home. His muscles were earned by hard work and at a gym. Still, he bore scars Muni could see in the dim light she hadn’t wondered about before. Lines ran along his scalp, as if someone had cut in there. Throughout his hairline, there were scars, some blending into his hair and hidden away.
Muni sat down next to Eirik, but he didn’t move despite him knowing she was there now. His eye remained focused on the photos on the screen, a family. A healthy Eirik stood smiling in the center, his arms around the shoulders of a woman and a man, twins.
“Who are they?” Muni finally asked quietly, pointing to the siblings.
Eirik glanced at her for a moment before looking back down. “My brother and sister,” he murmured. “I died five years ago, but I just wanted to make sure they were still okay.”
Muni’s heart softened toward him, toward the love in his voice. She understood sibling love well. “And they’re okay?”
He smiled. “Lily got married a few years ago.” He flipped through the pictures until a photo of a woman with a baby in her arms popped up. “I’m an uncle now.”
“Congratulations,” Muni murmured, bumping her shoulder with his. He was clearly proud to be an uncle even if he had never met his niece. “And your brother?”
“Kline is finally traveling the world like he’s always wanted. He looked happy in the photos of all the different places. He even went to Australia.” When Muni glanced at him in confusion, he added, “it was the place we always said we were going to go together. He took some of my ashes and scattered them over the great barrier reef when he went.”
The words, though said with pride, were heavy with emotion. The aura around Eirik grew and fluctuated, urging Muni to reach out for him. She couldn’t resist the temptation and she reached out to touch his hand gently. “I’m sorry you have to hurt this way because of me.”
Eirik smiled and shook his head. “It hurts that I’m not here for them, yes. But without you, I would have never known they were okay. And seeing them post every year since my death that they miss me and haven’t forgotten me, some part of me is glad they say I’m watching over them. I don’t actually have any control of things in Valhalla, but if I did, I would be there.” He sighed. “It would have been nice to witness these events alive, but I’ll take what I can get. My time came and went. It’s the way of things.”
It was then Muni realized her hand was still on his, but rather than pull away, she watched as he turned his hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She didn’t take it as him being forward, only as him accepting the comfort she was offering him.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find yourself in Valhalla? I didn’t realize they were still accepting souls within their gates.”
He shrugged. “I know less than you do. Though I believed in Valhalla, I certainly didn’t think I’d find myself there, not in modern times.”
“How, then, did you die? Perhaps, your answer lies in that?”
Eirik looked down then, away from her penetrating eyes. Carefully, he lifted her hand to the back of his head and pressed her fingers against the scars there. He ran her fingers along the scars she’d seen and then up into his hair to feel the raised marks she hadn’t been able to see.
“Battle axe?” Muni asked, her brows furrowed.
Eirik chuckled and dropped their hands back to his knee, his fingers still holding tight to hers. “No. Nothing so heroic.” His eyes focused on the skyline. “Brain cancer. I had a tumor grow in my brain. They tried to operate but couldn’t get it all without severely damaging my brain. I fought for six months after the diagnoses, but it was aggressive. I fought until the bitter end, until my body shut down and I couldn’t fight anymore.” His fingers tightened on hers. “I really wanted to stay around for my brother and sister. They were old enough, but we lost our parents young, and since I was the oldest at eighteen, I raised them from the time they were twelve. We were close. I don’t envy them having to see me wither away.”
Muni’s heart squeezed. “They didn’t see you wither away, Eirik. They saw you fight valiantly to stay with them. That’s the memory they’ll keep with them in the end.”
Eirik met her gaze gratefully. “I always thought you had to die in battle to go to Valhalla,” he murmured. “I don’t know what fluke sent me there.”
“Just because your battle was within yourself, doesn’t mean you weren’t battling,” Muni corrected, and his eyes widened in realization. “Valhalla is home for all warriors, no matter their battle.”
They both lapsed into silence as those words hung heavy in the air between them. All the while, Eirik didn’t release her hand, but Muni felt as if he needed that comfort, and it was the least she could do after dragging him from paradise. Besides, she kind of liked the feeling. It had been so long since she felt the urge to hold onto someone. The men she’d dared to dally with in this lifetime had been disappointing to say the least. But Eirik, he felt comfortable, as if she would never have to worry he would betray her.
“I couldn’t imagine losing my brother or sister,” Eirik commented sometime later after they’d both been lost in their thoughts. “But they had to go through losing me. It would be cruel to reappear now knowing I’ll have to leave again, right?” Muni pressed her lips together tightly at his words, but he noticed the tension. “I’ll have to leave, right?”
Muni met his eyes. “Not necessarily. There are ways but—”
“Say no more,” Eirik said, his eyes brightening. “That changes everything.”
“Does it?”
When Muni turned to look into his gaze, the corner of his lips curled up. Before she could think of what he was doing, he was leaning toward her, the air tense with possibility.
Muni blinked at him. “What are you doing?”
Eirik paused and cleared his throat, leaning back. His cheeks flushed. “Oh, uh. . .”
The corner of her lips quirked up in a tease and she leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. It wasn’t the kiss he was likely going for, but Muni wasn’t an easy bird to catch. Still, his attention felt nice, and she could admit she was already growing fond of her men. It wasn’t the spell because it only tied them to her for the duration of the spell. It wasn’t one that would affect emotions. There was just something about Eirik sitting beside her and telling his story that had her soul reaching for his, and she hadn’t felt that before, not even with Hugin. This was different, as if an invisible string was pulling them together.
The door behind them opened but neither turned to look right away. Besides, Muni already knew who it was.
Eirik grinned at her, at the feeling of her lips on his cheek, before he stood and tugged her gently up behind him. “Come on. We can order in some dinner. Do you have a list of places?”
Brin scoffed from behind them. “You mean you can just call for food and it appears?”
Eirik laughed, nodding. “Anything you want. I expect there are even more options now than when I was last alive.”
Blinking in amazement as he held the door open for them, Brin said, “these new humans have truly discovered magic, haven’t they?”