Lexander had been walking for nearly an hour before Thor finally broke the silence.
“I have a question.”
Lexander glanced sideways at him. “That usually means trouble.”
“Why are we walking?”
Io sighed. “Because we don’t know exactly where the others are.”
Thor frowned. “Then why don’t we fly?”
Loki, walking several paces behind them, answered without looking up.
“Because some of us aren’t particularly interested in explaining to General Atreyu why we accidentally flattened half the countryside on the way back.”
Thor looked offended.
“That happened once.”
“Three times,” Io said.
“Two.”
“Three.”
“One of those was technically a mountain.”
“And?”
Thor crossed his arms. “The mountain was poorly positioned.”
Lexander shook his head.
He had begun to suspect that traveling with gods was less impressive than the stories made it sound.
They were powerful, ancient, terrifying beings.
They were also apparently incapable of agreeing on whether a mountain was allowed to be where it was.
“We’re close,” Lexander said, checking the landscape ahead of them. “Atreyu should have taken the others toward the old road.”
Loki’s expression changed slightly.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Lexander looked at him.
“You sound relieved.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I would very much like to stop walking.”
Thor laughed.
“You? Complaining about walking?”
“I’ve spent centuries being carried around by magic, ravens, wolves, horses, ships, and occasionally people who made poor decisions.”
Io raised an eyebrow.
“Occasionally?”
Loki smiled.
“Frequently, that ship made of toenails was awful, I tell you.”
They continued down the road.
It wasn’t long before they saw smoke rising beyond the trees.
Lexander stopped.
“Camp.”
Thor immediately started forward.
“Finally.”
“Wait,” Lexander said.
Thor stopped.
“What?”
“We don’t know who it is.”
Thor stared at him.
“It’s probably our people.”
“Probably isn’t good enough.”
Thor sighed dramatically.
“Fine.”
Loki looked toward the smoke.
“I know them.”
Lexander glanced at him.
“You can see that far?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“They’re arguing.”
Io listened.
A faint voice carried through the trees.
“I’m telling you, General, we should have taken the northern road!”
Another voice answered.
“And I’m telling you that the northern road was flooded!”
“That is because you tried to cross the river!”
“I was making a tactical decision!”
“You fell in!”
There was a pause.
“That’s irrelevant.”
Lexander smiled.
“Atreyu.”
They entered the clearing a few moments later.
General Atreyu was standing beside the remains of their campfire, looking considerably less amused than the people around him.
Lysandra was sitting on a fallen log.
Mara was checking the straps on her armor.
Lisbeth was quietly tending to supplies.
The rest of the group appeared to be in various stages of exhaustion.
Atreyu looked up.
His eyes widened.
“Lexander.”
Lexander smiled.
“Miss me?”
“No.”
“Good to see you too.”
Io stepped into the clearing next.
Atreyu stared at her.
Then Loki.
Then Thor.
His expression became increasingly complicated.
Finally, he looked back at Lexander.
“You left alone, looking for Io.”
Lexander nodded.
“You came back with company.”
“Yes.”
Atreyu closed his eyes.
“I don’t even want to know.”
“That makes two of us,” Lexander said.
Thor walked past him.
“Where’s the food?”
Atreyu opened one eye.
“Who is this?”
“Thor.”
Atreyu stared.
“The Thor?”
Thor grinned.
“Depends who’s asking.”
Atreyu looked at Lexander.
“Why is Thor here?”
“Long story.”
“Of course it is.”
Then Lysandra stood.
Thor turned.
And froze.
Lysandra stared at her.
Thor stared back.
Lexander immediately recognized the expression on his sister’s face.
It was the expression she used when she was deciding whether someone was an idiot.
Thor, unfortunately, appeared to recognize it as something else.
She smiled.
“You must be Lysandra.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“And you must be Thor.”
Thor nodded.
“It’s a pleasure.”
Lysandra looked her up and down.
“You’re shorter than I expected.”
Silence.
Io covered her mouth.
Loki turned away.
Lexander closed his eyes.
Thor’s smile disappeared.
“Excuse me?”
Lysandra shrugged.
“I’ve heard stories.”
Thor pointed at herself.
“I’m Thor.”
“Yes.”
“The God of Thunder.”
“I know.”
“The wielder of Mjölnir.”
“I know.”
“The strongest—”
“Short.”
Thor looked genuinely wounded.
Lexander couldn’t help himself.
He laughed.
Thor slowly turned toward him.
“Your sister is terrible.”
Lexander nodded.
“She’s been practicing.”
Lysandra folded her arms.
“And you’re exactly as obnoxious as I expected.”
Thor stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
“I like her.”
Lysandra blinked.
“I wasn’t asking.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
Thor nodded approvingly.
“Definitely like her.”
Lexander groaned.
“Oh, this is going to be a long journey home.”
Loki, meanwhile, had stopped beside Lisbeth.
He studied her carefully.
Something about her had caught his attention.
Not her appearance.
Something deeper.
Something familiar.
Lisbeth noticed.
“Can I help you?”
Loki’s eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
“Lisbeth.”
“I know your name.”
“Then why ask?”
Loki stared at her for another moment.
Then his expression changed completely.
“No.”
Lisbeth frowned.
“No what?”
“You can’t be.”
She looked confused.
“I’m fairly certain I can.”
Loki stepped closer.
“You have her eyes.”
“Whose?”
“Frigg’s.”
The clearing went quiet.
Lisbeth’s expression changed.
“You know Frigg?”
Loki laughed softly.
“Know her?”
He shook his head.
“Of course I know her, she's my mother.”
He looked at Lisbeth again.
Then suddenly his eyes widened.
“Freya.”
Lisbeth went still.
Loki pointed at her.
“You’re Freya.”
She stared at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never been called Freya.”
Loki smiled.
“Not in this age.”
Lisbeth looked toward the others.
Nobody seemed to know what was happening.
Loki’s smile faded into something more serious.
“Frigg’s sister.”
Lisbeth said nothing.
Loki’s expression softened.
“I haven’t seen you in a very long time.”
Lisbeth looked away.
“Then perhaps you should stop staring.”
Loki laughed.
“Definitely Freya.”
A few feet away, Mara had been watching the exchange.
Loki noticed her next.
His smile disappeared.
He stared.
Mara raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
Loki slowly walked toward her.
“You.”
Mara sighed.
“Apparently everyone is doing this today.”
Loki stopped in front of her.
“You’re Brynhildr.”
Mara’s hand immediately moved toward her weapon.
“I don’t know who that is.”
Loki smiled.
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“The leader of the Valkyries.”
Mara’s expression hardened.
Loki continued.
“The one who chooses the fallen.”
Mara said nothing.
“The shield-maiden who answered to Odin.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“And you,” Loki said quietly, “were never very good at pretending to be someone else.”
Mara looked away.
“Things change.”
“They do.”
Loki’s voice became gentler.
“But some things don’t.”
Thor looked between them.
“Are we just discovering everyone’s secret identities now?”
Io shrugged.
“Apparently.”
Thor nodded.
“Good. I was beginning to feel left out.”
Lexander looked at him.
“Thor, everyone already knows who you are.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
Lysandra walked past them.
“Come on, Thunder.”
Thor blinked.
“Thunder?”
She kept walking.
“That’s what I’m calling you.”
Thor smiled.
“I like it.”
Lexander stared after them.
“No.”
Io laughed.
“Yes.”
“No.”
Loki grinned.
“Oh, definitely.”
General Atreyu rubbed his temples.
“Can we please leave before anything else becomes complicated?”
Everyone looked at him.
Nobody answered.
Atreyu sighed.
“Fine.”
The camp was broken down quickly.
Supplies were packed.
Weapons were secured.
The remaining provisions were divided.
And eventually, the entire group began moving down the old road toward home.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Lexander found himself walking among people he knew.
People who were alive.
People who were finally together again.
He glanced at Io beside him.
She smiled.
“You’re thinking too much.”
“Probably.”
“About home?”
Lexander nodded.
“Yes.”
Ahead of them, Thor was arguing with Lysandra.
Behind them, Loki was still trying to convince Lisbeth that she was Freya.
Mara was doing everything possible to avoid the conversation about being Brynhildr.
General Atreyu was pretending none of it was happening.
Lexander smiled.
The road home was going to be a disaster.
But for once, it was a disaster he was happy to have.
They were together.
And that was what mattered.
As the sun began to set behind them, Lexander looked toward the distant horizon.
Home was waiting.
And, for the first time in a long while, they were actually going back to it.