Casting a ball of light above us to guide the way, I started walking between the trees. The others spread out, moving as quietly as possible.

There was no actual path through the forest, but we needed to head uphill. If we could get through the foothills of the mountains covered by Skogsdunge forest, we would be above the tree line. At that point, we'd be able to pick up the trail to Thrymheim.

The deep, harsh hoots of a snowy owl echoed from the left, with another replying from farther away. Dry snow crunched under our boots and Thor winced as a twig snapped under his feet. We weren't as silent as I would like, although Mist, Ros, and I left no footprints or sounds of our passing. Giants weren't the only predators in this realm. Indeed, they weren't even the most dangerous inhabitants of Jotunheim.

Thjalfi scouted ahead, using his speed to look for the best route through the forest and keeping an eye out for danger. On his way back to us, he flushed several rabbits that were startled by his passing. A flash of wings and the panicked squeak abruptly cut-off. The owls would eat well tonight.

"There is a large, steep ravine ahead. It'd be better to go around than to climb down and up the far side. If we got pinned in there, we'd be sitting ducks," he told us. "We should veer north to get around it."

As we shifted direction to avoid the upcoming obstacle, the deep resonant howl of a wolf echoed up ahead.

"Damn. Was that a dire wolf or one of the smaller timber wolves?" Kara murmured.

"I don't know—" 

My words cut off as another echoing howl pierced the air. This time, from the direction Thjalfi had just scouted. 

"Dire wolves," I confirmed. "It's too deep for the timber wolves."

"I didn't see any wolves," Thjalfi said, eyes wide and alert.

From behind us, back along our trail, another spine-tingling howl resonated through the trees. It was even closer.

"They've surrounded us," Mist said. "We need to run or fight."

"Have you seen the size of dire wolves? They are huge, clever, and resistant to magical attacks." I shook my head at the idea of fighting them. With Laevateinn, I'd be fine, and Thor had Mjolnir, but the others wouldn't be able to fight them, especially if they surrounded us in large numbers. "Even the Bergrisar avoid tangling with them. It's why the mountain giants build above the tree line instead of down here in the forest. A pack can take down the polar bears and woolly mammoths in this part of Jotunheim. We do not want to fight them."

The howls were getting closer.

Thor started swinging Mjolnir. "Kara? Do you want to fly with me? Or risk running with Thjalfi?"

"Gods-damn it. I hate flying with you. Don't drop me," she said as she grabbed him.

I shifted to a raven, flying up into the air, circling as I waited for the others to join me. Mist and Ros flew up beside me, buoyed on air and a wave of dirt, respectively.

Just as Thor and Kara rose off the ground, one of the enormous grey and black dire wolves leapt through the trees. Kara kicked it in the face, knocking it sideways. Twisting as it hit the forest floor, the wolf regained its feet, snarling at its lost prey. Thor took them higher and out of reach.

Thjalfi took off, his speed allowing him to dodge the razor-sharp claws of another leaping wolf we hadn't yet seen. Two wolves raced after him as several looked up at us, howling their displeasure.

With a growl, another scrambled up the wave of soil and rock that Roskva was using to fly. Levitating some boulders, she smashed the wolf back down and it yelped in pain.

We flew towards the mountains, over the ravine Thjalfi had warned us about. Fortunately, he was at least twice as fast as the wolves that tried to track him. After running north, around the ravine, he headed back to the far side as we flew over the forest to get some distance from the wolves.

For an hour we continued in the air, travelling a good seventy-five kilometres before landing to meet up with Thjalfi, who had paced us on the ground. We didn't dare continue further in the air. It was too dangerous. Sharp-eyed snow griffins hunted the wintery skies of the colder mountain regions of Jotunheim. Even with the dire wolves, it was safer in the trees and on the ground than fending off the blade-like talons of those fierce aerial predators. Frankly, I'd rather take on a dragon than a snow griffin, but then, being a quarter fire giant from my birth father made me resistant to dragonfire, so perhaps I had an unfair advantage.

"There should be a traveller's stone hut we can take refuge in once we find the trail that runs between Thrymheim and Gastropnir," I said as we trekked upwards through the trees.

Of the six of us, only Thor, Kara, and I had travelled extensively in Jotunheim. Mist, Ros, and Thjalfi hadn't been here before. Its chaotic nature and inherent dangers meant it was not a realm commonly travelled by Asgardians, except to the capital city of Utgard. High King Thrym, of the sea giants, ruled Utgard from the more hospitable, warmer latitudes of the planet.

After another six hours of steadily climbing higher in elevation as we moved through the trees, we finally came to the edge of the forest. The light from the double moons was brighter here, reflecting off the rocky landscape. Above the long rock scree slope, the trail was just visible as it wound along two kilometres higher on the mountain.

Before I could warn him, Thjalfi started to dash up the fine scree and screamed as he fell into an antlion trap. Teleporting over to the edge of the shallow pit that had given way to Thjalfi's weight, I could see the two thin fang-like jaws had pierced his right leg deep into his calf. The predator was already sucking his blood at a rapid rate.

"Don't move," I warned, even as he tried to stifle his screams. "Mist, Ros, I could really use your help here. Either make sure you stand on the edge of the pit like I am, or keep hovering so you don't accidentally trigger another one. These scree slopes are their favourite nest-building sites."

Thor knew not to climb onto the scree and held Kara back.

"We have to stun the antlion in its burrow before we can remove the jaws. Ros, I need you to use the earth to keep it immobile in its burrow. I'll need to pry the jaws out of his calf without touching them, or it will eject needles of poison. Mist, once I have Jal free, pull him up and hold him off the ground. Take him to the trail above us, but don't step on any of the scree. If Ros releases this antlion too soon, it will come after us and trigger a wave of others to come out of their burrows to attack as well." I waited to be sure they understood the instructions, both of them nodding, before I nodded at her to hit the burrow with her power.

Working quickly, I forced the foot-long sickle-shaped jaws apart with my telekinesis and held them wide to get them all the way out of his leg. They'd gone deep. Thjalfi screamed as I finally got them free. Blood poured out of the punctures in twin dark rivulets down his calf.

Mist pulled him up with a column of air, towing him up to the trail.

Thor flew Kara and himself up, leaving just Ros and me to join them.

"Okay, I'm going to let go of the jaws now, Ros. Then I'll grab you and teleport us," I said.

As soon as I released the jaws, I saw her squeeze the earth tighter on the antlion. It squirmed, screeching, but couldn't get free. When she nodded, I reached for her shoulder, teleporting us up to the trail.

Sure enough, the antlion burst out of its burrow, its fat, metre-long dark grey body spinning and searching. But, without prey nearby that it could see with its limited vision and no vibrations to trigger its sensitive hearing, it reluctantly retreated below. I was relieved. They were vicious little blood-suckers.

"How is he?" I asked as Kara sealed the wounds with a healing balm and quick bandage.

"He'll be fine. The balm should take away the effects of any poison that might have been injected and his body will deal with the remainder. Until he heals the punctures, he won't be running. It would put too much strain on the healing blood vessels. If we can rest soon, perhaps have a meal, that would help," she recommended.

"Thank you," Thjalfi said, subdued. As he started limping up the path, Roskva tucked herself beside her twin and draped his arm over her shoulder to help him walk. 

"Now that we are on the trail, it shouldn't be too far before we come to one of the shelters. They build them every few hours along the trail," Thor said as we set off walking behind Thjalfi and Roskva.

Sure enough, an hour later, a stone hut came into view. Once we reached the sturdy shelter, we unlatched and pushed open the heavy wood door. Firewood was stacked against one wall near a fireplace with a cooking frame that could be swung into the heat.

After conjuring a pot with water, I set it on the cooking frame. Kara opened a pack and pulled out provisions for stew, adding them to the pot, while Thor started the fire.

"How's the leg, Jal?" I asked as Ros helped him to the stone table and benches.

"I'll live. Sorry, I just feel like an idiot." 

"No, I'm sorry that I didn't warn you. It's your first time here." I told him. "Jotunheim is a very dangerous realm, with more wild creatures, particularly large predatory creatures, than any other realm."

"So I'm finding out. I won't make that mistake again." 

I smiled. Thor and I had made our share of mistakes when we first started coming to Jotunheim. "Yeah, nothing like experience for a teacher, right?"

Thjalfi nodded.

Mist handed out mugs of stew and hardtack, the hard biscuits that travelled well but were hell to chew unless you dunked them in some kind of soup or stew. After filling our bellies and deciding what order we would keep watch, we rested.

Unsurprisingly, I took the first watch. Even with the change in the bond that reassured me Shannon lived, I still avoided sleep and the nightmares that plagued me. Over and over, I saw her fighting the Wild Hunt and being taken through the portal. Too easily did my mind see the ravages that could be visited on her, with her yet living. Sigyn's suffering had lasted weeks before we'd located her, only for them to kill her and my unborn daughter mere hours before we broke through the dark elves' defenses to rescue my wife. And she wasn't the only victim. I'd seen numerous horrors Unseelie did to their captives, especially immortals, during the last two wars with them.

"Shannon?" Unable to resist, I tried again, but got nothing back. Desperately, I clung to the knowledge that the bond was still there. She was alive. I needed to take hope in that. Listening to the sounds of the night, I waited until it was time to wake Kara.