And Then There Were Four by Lilith Carrie

Cassie.

A few days of going to the secret library Silas had brought me to hadn't brought me any closer to figuring out how to help Lucas. However, I learned a lot about Anna. Including just how close Silas was to her when he came to Asgard to begin with. "So you were her guard?" I asked, staring at Silas, who walked around the library tossing an old brown ball up in the air before catching it.

"Yep, it was my first job here. It wasn't exactly what I had expected... when I came here she had already been here for a long time. I was young and rebellious. I hated the world because of how I was treated, and she saw something in me others didn't." "But... that doesn't make sense. She would have been ancient by then-"

"Around seven hundred years old to be exact," he hummed as his eyes twinkled with amusement.

I was astounded. From the stories, she was supposed to be human or so I thought, but then lived that long. It didn't make any sense. "How, though?"

"How was she that old?"

Nodding my head, his smile widened, "Anna was one of Odin's creations, Cassie. She was a descendant of one of his wolves."

I had heard many things over the years about Odin, and some of the stuff he did but this... I had never heard before. Odin's wolves were famous, and the entire reason our species was created. In order to protect the wolves hunted by humans, Odin bestowed his wolves to gift them with the ability to turn into to humans to hide amongst the same men that tried to kill them.

"We are all descendants though," I whispered looking back down to the painting of her I have found in a scroll on one of the many bookshelves. "That still doesn't explain how she lived so long."

"Odin bestowed a gift on her when

she lost Bjorn and two more of her children. When she came here, three of her children had died, and she wanted death as well. Her anger consumed her, making her hate the life she was given. However, Odin wouldn't let her give up on life. He knew she had more to offer so he made her immortal until she could see that even through the darkest of days life has beauty even in the darkest of shadows."

Sila's words were always poetic when he wanted to explain something important. Letting a smirk crest, the corner of my lips, l rolled my eyes and went back to trying to read the faded writing on the parchment. However, the words were foreign and far more advanced than anything I knew, and I was left wondering what they were instead of actually knowing.

"So, he made her immortal until she appreciated life?"

Nodding his head, he picked up another book and made his way toward me, laying it down. "This is Anna's journal from her last year here. When you have time, you should read it."

Picking up the purple fabric-bound book, I ran my fingers over the spine, admiring the intricate designs. It was beautiful, and my mind was curious to know what she had to say but right now, I had more important things to worry about.

"Maybe once things are better, I will. For now, we have more important things to figure out, like how to save Lucas."

The reminder made his lips part as he nodded again. "Of course."

He seemed to hate the fact I kept reminding him, but it was important to figure out if I was ever going to fix what was going on. Every single day Lucas was the way he was, I felt the distance grow between us within the little bit of bond we had.

Perhaps it was a good thing, but I felt an emptiness inside me I didn't like. "So we have been here for days at this. What is actually going to help me?"

Silas sighed, shaking his head, "Inanna was here when Anna was. The two women were friends at one point, but Inanna was strange..."