Worried or not, I knew for her sake that I had to stay calm. I wished my dad would show up – but maybe he was doing something he didn’t want me to know about.
He had rescued people from all kinds of places, though. He was good at jailbreaks. So, maybe he could do something.
Without having heard from him, though, I was not about to assume he was up to anything that might be useful, or anything at all for that matter. It was my job to look after my own girlfriend.
And hers to look after me. Honestly, a big part of me was pretty angry that she’d been snatched.
They must have sent some force, too. But ultimately, she didn’t have our strength, our power. She could have taken on one of them.
Surtur had probably sent three or four, just to be sure.
I brooded on my balcony until a knock sounded at the door.
I opened it on the chain. “You are not welcome here.”
“I come under sign of truce.”
“You are still not welcome in my home.” I grabbed my sword and stepped out into the corridor. “Where is she?”
“Safe, and protected.”
“So, this is the ransom offer.” Only one of them. Maybe Surtur was assuming I would be honorable.
Which I would be. I wasn’t going to beat up the messenger.
“Simple. She stays where she is until you join us. Then she gets to go free and back to her life.”
“That’s not a deal.” I smiled. “You won’t dare hurt her, because you know if you do you have no leverage. And her life is with me.”
“Your life is with him.”
I studied the fire giant. “You really believe that any sane woman would accept this offer?”
“There are things we can do to her.”
“And if you touch her…anyone who harms her dies.” I sounded even. One hand on the fire sword. “You know that. He knows that. We’re at a stalemate.”
“If she was…”
“Really? Think about it. And tell Surtur he might as well let her go. Tell him that if he’d been honest from the start I might have helped him. Also, remind him nobody gets to go back to their lives if he starts a war.”
A shadow of doubt. “Go.”
I should have offered hospitality.
I was not quite that honorable.