Page 48 of Thor

“About this, yes. Odin loves you most. He expects the most from you, but even he knew Ragnarök was inevitable. And if you think about it. Really, truly, look deep, past the pain, past the guilt, isn’t there a deep part of you that is glad it happened? Glad that you got to move on. Glad that you no longer have to be Thor the savior of Asgard and humanity alike. You can just be Thor, motorcycle mechanic and lover of Elle.”

Thor hated it, but when he searched deep, Heimdall was right. If it hadn’t been for Ragnarök he would still be fighting. Working to earn the love of people he didn’t know. Constantly at his father’s beck and call. Never truly who he wanted to be.

“I’ll leave you here with your thoughts,” said Heimdall. “But if you want one last piece of advice, I’ll give it to you.”

“Does it truly matter whether I want it or not?”

Heimdall snorted. “Not really.”

“Thought so.”

“Thor, this is your one true shot at finding the person who makes you truly happy. Are you really willing to give that up?”

Thor sighed. “Even Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr love her.”

Heimdall chuckled. “Well, if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to them. Those goats haven’t been wrong about anyone.”

“They only tolerate me,” he said.

“Like I said, never wrong.”

Thor laughed.

Heimdall smiled and walked several feet on the Bifröst and then disappeared.

Thor stared out at the blackness beyond. Maybe it was time he forgot about Surtr, Ragnarök, and everything else and moved forward. It’d been over a thousand years.

CHAPTER14

Thor droppedinto the upper hallway of The Raven Weaver a few doors down from Elle’s loft. He stared down the hall for several minutes trying to formulate what he was going to say. Apologize, that was a given. And let her tell him her story. He was still conflicted over who she was, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive her, or his family, so quickly for deceiving him, but one thing was sure— he didn’t want to lose Elle.

Thor took a deep breath and walked to Elle’s door. He lifted his hand to knock but it stood slightly ajar. The hairs raised on his arm, and he sucked in a breath. He knocked and the door creaked open a few inches. The lights were off and no sound floated out to meet him. He knocked again and the door opened wider.

“Elle?” Thor waited. “Elle, it’s Thor.”

No reply.

He wondered for a moment if she’d gone down to the bar. She wasn’t a drinker though, so he doubted she’d gone down there.

Thor stepped into the dark apartment.

“Elle?”

He walked to the wall and turned on the light. His stomach dropped like he’d eaten a boulder. The table and chairs had been flipped over. The couch pillows scattered the floor and Elle’s shoes lay on either side of the kitchen area.

“Elle!” Thor tore through the apartment to the bedroom. The bed remained as disheveled as it had been when he’d left previously.

“Elle!” He ran into the bathroom.

Nothing.

Thor rushed back to the hallway and down the stairs to the Raven Weaver. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and scanned the bar. He caught Heimdall speaking to Val and Loki and headed for them.

“Have you seen Elle?” he demanded.

Val jumped to her feet immediately. “She’s upstairs.”

Thor shook his head. “Her apartment looks like there’s been a fight.”