When his worst fear comes true, Asgard's Dark Prince will stop at nothing to rescue his pregnant consort. Yet, not even the threat of Asgard's forces looming in the skies over Alfheim can force the Unseelie Winter Realm Elves to produce Shannon when...
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"If Shannon was here just two days ago, we should be able to find her," Mist said.
"I'll go get the word out with our friends that we are looking for a missing Asgardian," Brokkr offered.
"Better make that Asgardian or elf. Shannon is also a light elf, so they might not recognize her as an Asgardian," Thor said.
"Yes, good thinking," Brokkr said as he strode out the door.
We were still in the stinking workshop with the headless bodies of the dwarves I'd killed. I had no regret whatsoever. In fact, my only regret was that I'd killed them too quickly and too painlessly. For what they'd dared to do to Shannon, I should have tortured the fuckers endlessly. Over eons.
Yet finding Shannon was the priority. Revenge was a pale substitute for my beautiful, intelligent goddess. The ache inside me wasn't appeased by the meager offering, and remembering her frail state tormented my soul. The urge to scream, rage, and cry was held in only by my overwhelming need to find her.
In their memories, she'd appeared thin and exhausted. The dwarves had fed her, but it was only the day before yesterday that they'd given her any way to recharge her goddess energies other than natural regeneration. Although I didn't know exactly how Shannon had done it, I was incredibly proud of her successful escape and evasion.
"Shannon will avoid dwarves. She doesn't know who to trust among them," I said as the thought occurred.
"So, where does that leave her?" Roskva asked. "Shannon's never been to Alfheim, right?"
"Not that she remembers," I said.
"Thjalfi, why don't you run as many corridors as you can cover to try to find her?" Roskva suggested.
Thjalfi nodded and left in a blur of speed.
"That's a good idea Ros." Exhaustion pulled at me, but I'd wear myself to the bone if it meant finding Shannon. I replicated myself and sent duplicates out away from where Thjalfi started his search. "If she sees me, she'll come out."
"If Shannon doesn't trust the dwarves, and doesn't trust the Winter Court, does she try to go to the Summer Realm?" Kara asked.
"Or does she go to the Atlanteans?" Mist said.
I frowned. "I've never mentioned the Atlanteans to her. Have you?"
Mist shook her head. So did Kara and Thor.
"So I doubt that's an option, as she wouldn't know about them," I mused.
"If her only real option is to get to the Summer Realm, how does she get there from here? Shannon knows the Winter Realm is above us since she was taken from there. Does she try to go up, anyway?" Kara wondered.
"There are only two ways to the surface from here. Up through dwarven territory, to the Winter Realm, or across the Sea of Lantia, then the Sea of Uaithne, through the Glass Tunnels, and up to Ocean of Ceobhran," Eitri said.
