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I so wanted to get out of here right now, was Astrid Larsen’s first thought at the moment when she was looking around the party. She was sipping on the champagne that was being distributed by the servers around the ballroom. Astrid was standing at the end of the ballroom when her cousin, Freya, was approaching her.
“Astrid! I’m so glad that you’re finally here. It’s been a long time since I last saw you,” Freya said, hugging her cousin. Astrid was too stunned to speak as she was looking at Freya.
Her cousin had the same build as Astrid but she did not have the lean, muscular physique that Astrid built to help her defeat the abomination that dominated their world in silence.
Plus, Freya’s smile could bring any man to their knees. Astrid’s smile will be the last thing any man sees in their wake. The lights from the chandeliers were shining over Freya’s golden hair, which was a darker shade than Astrid’s.
“Yes, of course. I would not miss for the world when you get your 6 Ph.D. graduation party,” Astrid said, chuckling softly as she knew that her cousin would not stop at 6 scrolls of her post-graduate studies. Surely, Freya was planning to specialize in something else after this. Astrid was smiling at her while Freya gagged.
“I know. It was not my idea but I think Dad wants to make sure that every suitor in town will know that I will be free after this. I don’t know what’s up with him. It’s like... he was obsessed to see that I’m married by the end of the year,” Freya said, wrinkling her nose in disdain. Astrid smirked at her.
“At least you only need to think about getting married and maybe continue your father’s legacy. Meanwhile, some of us need to think about how to survive for another day,” she said, winking her violet eyes.
Freya glared. She took a flute from the passing server and drowned it in one gulp. Astrid arched her eyebrows before sipping on her champagne. Sometimes, she wondered who would be the lucky person for Freya to call her husband. Deep in her heart, Astrid felt bad for that lucky man later.
“Ugh! Like I’ll do that. Unfortunately, I’ve already applied for the next Ph.D. venture in the States. It’s amazing and the faculty said that they cannot wait to have me there,” Freya said victoriously. A smirk was plastered to her lips as Astrid’s eyes went big as saucers.
“Wait, don’t tell me that—”
Freya was giggling like a crazy woman. She gripped Astrid’s hand as tightly as possible before she stepped closer to share the good news.
“Yes! I’ve applied on a whim and have been offered a position at New York University! Can you believe it, Astrid? To think Dad will freak out when I tell him about this, but you don’t need to fret.
“I know my argument will win this time since I’ll be fully funded by the university and science community in America,” Freya said with excitement as her eyes were shining with amusement.
Astrid shook her head. “Haven’t you heard from Uncle?” she asked, arching her eyebrow. Freya furrowed her eyebrows as Astrid stared at her cousin.
“About what? What are you even talking about, Astrid?” Freya asked in confusion. Astrid sighed softly.
So, she must have not heard then about her engagement, she mused as Astrid smiled at Freya. She waved her hand dismissively as she put her empty flute on the passing trays.
“Oh! Nothing, I thought you might—”
Astrid’s statement was saved by the rings of her phone. She smiled weakly at Freya as her cousin was making her way to get another flute. Perhaps the news about her engagement would make her drawn to alcohol more than usual.
Astrid excused herself from Freya to answer her incoming call. She looked at the caller ID on the screen. It was for work. She gulped, tapping her thumb on the screen for a moment. With a sigh, she slid to answer the phone call.
“Good evening, Huntress. I hope you are doing well, enjoying your time with your family up north,” he greeted Astrid with a stern voice. Astrid straightened her back. She knew fully well why His Holiness of the Order was being indifferent to her.
It all started because of one Pure Blood Vampire that she came in contact with a few weeks ago.
Astrid gulped, calming her heart down as she cleared her throat. “Good evening, Master. I’m doing well, thank you for asking. I hope nothing goes wrong since you’re the one who called instead of the Weapon Master,” she replied, gripping the phone tightly.
Astrid was talking in fluent Romanian. She has been fluent ever since she can walk. Her origin was Scandinavian, with her blood being fully Norwegian by blood and culture.
However, Astrid had been living in Romania since she was a little child with her parents until they died a couple of years ago. There was a strange rumor behind their deaths and Astrid was determined to uncover it.
She had been doing some stuff that involved myths and folklore there which would be unbelievable in the modern world. That was one of the reasons why Astrid did not want to disclose to her Norwegian family, especially her brilliant, scientific cousin Freya.
If she knew there was another whole world out there waiting to be explored, Freya would jump on the first opportunity. Nonetheless, since Astrid was the key to holding the balance between Known World and the Veil, she made sure that Freya was out of danger.
It was a scary world out there, more so for her beloved cousin.
“Unfortunately, we have a situation here, Huntress. I’m sorry but we have to cut your vacation with your family shorter than intended,” His Holiness said. Astrid sighed softly. She was rubbing her temple before looking at the sprawling city of Oslo which was twinkling with lights.
“What level are we talking about here?” Astrid asked. His Holiness grunted before answering her question.
“Red,” he replied as Astrid was looking at the night sky. The chilly air of Norway reminded her of her ancestral home as Norwegian blood would always call her to be here. This was her Ode to Joy Song.
However, Astrid had to be out there, walking through the shadows to keep the Known World safe as it could be. “Where?” she asked, knowing fully well what kind of threat for that code. Astrid just wished it would be okay after she handled it personally later.
If not, well... it would be in the hands of God to ensure the abomination will not rule their world for better or worse.
“Lacul Rosu, Romania. There has been a sighting of uncontrollable fire and some of the villagers were being killed,” His Holiness explained. Astrid leaned against the railing as the cold, chilly night breeze greeted her cheeks. She nodded.
“Abomination?” Astrid asked, crossing her arms. Her ears were picking up the voices that were bouncing in the ballroom. She was looking out for her cousin Freya before she could take Astrid by surprise.
One could know what Freya was thinking up in her brilliant, scientific head. Plus, Astrid hated it when her cousin did that and it would compromise her job if anyone knew what her real job was.
“Yes. She is a Pure Blood and they have some Elemental powers. You might need to be on high alert and be ready for anything that could come out of the event. We have high hopes that she might be coming after innocents when she could get away from Lacul Rosu,” His Holiness stated.
“Hopefully, God help us with that. Okay, I’ll be there as soon as possible. Give me an hour more or less to contain this,” Astrid said before the call went silent. She took a deep breath as Astrid was looking at the party.
Her brain already calculated what she needed to do before she could leave Norway as quickly as possible. I have to say goodbye to Uncle and Freya. Then, I have to pack my stuff and all the other shit that I want to bring back to Romania, Astrid mused.
His Holiness tsked. “You cannot be that long, Huntress. This is code Red. 20 minutes top. We’ll be waiting at the house,” he replied before the line went dead. Astrid sighed, looking at the blank screen of her iPhone before rubbing her eyes.
“Fine, I’ll be there 20 minutes,” she mocked gruffly. Astrid’s violet eyes were scanning through the ballroom. She was looking for Freya.
Astrid spotted her cousin at the edge of the dance floor, talking to someone as well as laughing. She arched her eyebrow for she never thought Freya would be laughing at a stranger. Let alone that stranger was a male! Then, she was making her way toward Freya.
“I’ve got to go if you want me to be there in that time constraint,” Astrid stated as she gulped.
“Don’t be late. We’ll see you then, Huntress,” His Holiness replied before he ended the call. Astrid was nodding at her cousin as she put away her iPhone.