The chains around Sigyn's wrist made a light clink as she walked, the only sound for miles. Part of her was relieved the chase was over. The rest of her fumed with burning hatred at the thought of her father's smug face when she hanged in front of all of Jotunheim.

Then came a rumble, soft and distant, barely louder than the sound of feet crushing snow. No one acknowledged the sound until Sigyn heard the second one, closer, closing the distance. She stopped dead in her tracks. A Jotun behind her shoved her forward, but she fought back.

"You idiot! You damned us all!" She threw her body about, desperate to get free. Desperate to warn everyone about what was coming.

"Enough!" Åsa snapped.

Another rumble, this one unmistakable. Everyone froze in place, even Sigyn ceased her fight, curling into herself to increase the distance between her head and the sky. Dark clouds stampeded above them. The air turned swampy. The mountain snow shrunk away from the storm's heat, melting at an alarming rate.

Åsa's eyes grew wide staring down the barrel of a gun that was the sky. To Jotuns, thunder was the sound of certain death. The sight of an incoming front drove them to shelter, on the chance that it was more than angry clouds.

A bellowing roar emanated from the swirling black clouds above them. It could be felt from within the mountain rocks to their bones, rattling inside their heads. The Jotuns scattered moments before the sky opened, unleashing the power of a thousand suns.

Electricity blinded them, and the force of the lightning knocked the ones closest to the impact off their feet. The thick air crackled, ready to catch on fire at any moment.

Sigyn scrambled to her feet, slipping in the snow that had turned to slush. No one bothered to seize her as she ran into the woods. It had become every Jotun for themselves.

The only words in Sigyn's mind were a symphony of swears and curses directed at the chains around her wrists. If not for them she could be far away by now. Away from the rising chorus of screams, and the panicked footfalls of the other Jotuns without the power to shapeshift.

A bright light flashed ahead of her. Sigyn dived behind the nearest tree which provided a flickering illusion of safety. A Jotun screamed. With another flash of light, the scream was cut short, and his body parts were strewn across the snow.

Sigyn ran from the massacre, like a white-eyed horse through a blazing forest fire. The fighting was everywhere. No direction guaranteed safety.

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At least the last time she had to flee, she was able to keep the danger behind her.

Crashing through a thick line of bushes, she found herself in a clearing. She turned back towards the tree cover but paused. Branches snapped, something running after her. It was probably another Jotun running in the same direction, but that didn't explain the gnawing dread in her stomach.

Feral eyes shined through the shaking branches. They were wide, not in fear, but with intense focus. The eyes of a predator locked on its prey. Åsa had not forgotten the pressing threat of extinction, but she was not too scared to pass up such an easy opportunity.

Sigyn kicked up snow as she bolted towards the field, but she could never be fast enough.

Pain pierced her spine and tendrils of burning nerves expanded across her torso. Sigyn face-planted, writhing in agony. A foot kicked her shoulder to force her to turn her face to the sky. Åsa loomed over her with a grin of satisfaction.

"Say hello to Thor for me," she snickered then vanished into the woods.

"Miss Mikkelson!" Kark yelled to Jess [https://img.wattpad.com/0aef4bb404358602f9abdb64899814c8b607c105/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5a50317a6872755131547a7a57413d3d2d313437343539353635382e313766323333663630633965616630303239303437353335313032302e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"Miss Mikkelson!" Kark yelled to Jess. "I must insist you return to the lodge.

Jess refused to slow down, even a little, though her legs were burning from plowing through the snow. "She saved my life. I can't let her die like this."

"These affairs are not safe for humans to meddle in," Angrboda argued.

"If they didn't want humans to get involved, they shouldn't have frozen our town."

Kark chuckled. "She's got a point."

Angrboda grabbed Jess' shoulder to force her to stop and listen. "When you find her, what then? It's us three against a small army of frost and mountain jotuns. The best of the best of warriors chosen to serve Trym. It's why Sigyn was reluctant to fight."

"There must be something we can do. Surprise them! Throw in a wild card! Something that will catch them off guard and give us the upper hand."

"Its not that easy, kid."

Jess couldn't find the words she needed. How could she explain that she understood and agreed it was a hopeless cause, but she wanted to go anyway? She stood no chance against an army of mythological beings with magic. There was no chance she could save Sigyn and a definite chance of herself being killed. Why did she not feel any fear?

The biting wind abandoned the snowflakes in the middle of the air to float to the ground.

"We're too late," Jess said, her heart sinking with the rest of the snow.

"Not yet," Angie explained. "They want to take her back to Jotunheim to kill her."

Kark stared up at the sky blankly, struggling to process the reality of never seeing his best friend again. He was the first to notice the black clouds. "Is that what I think it is?"

Angie squinted at the sky and recoiled. Jess noticed both of them seemed unnerved as if the storm clouds were a massive fire-breathing dragon coming towards them.

"It's just a thunderstorm." To Jess' surprise, no one's expression changed. "Right?"

"It's good news for you. Not for the rest of us." Angie looked over at Jess with renewed interest. "I think we just found our wild card."