Chapter 1

Skadi

Snow driftedthrough the air in front of me, making the world around me disappear until it reflected the memory of every winter I"d ever had. When it was like this, I could forget all of the ways the world had changed over the past few thousand years, and I could almost believe that the mountain I called home was undisturbed by the passage of the modern world.

Not that I disliked everything about the present day. Being able to have anything I wanted delivered to my door was a luxury I could have done with several centuries back and wasn"t something I"d give up unless I absolutely had to.

But it also came with obligations, which included heading to a dating event being held by a fellow goddess. It wasn"t exactly my scene, but she"d asked to borrow one of my ski lodges and it would be rude of me not to at least show my face for a few minutes.

Bright lights glowed from the windows of the lodge and I had to admit that it was inviting to look at. The guests would have a good time, and hopefully, that would mean they booked into one of the lodges next time they wanted a skiing holiday. It was one of the main reasons I"d said yes to Lofn even if it went against my better judgement.

The door opened and the goddess in question stepped out. From a distance, we could be sisters, both with the long ice-blonde hair that was common for gods like us, and pale complexions that came from living so far up north. She scanned the snowy landscape, her gaze coming to rest on me.

"Skadi, you came."

"I said I would," I responded with a smile. "Does the lodge have everything you need?"

She nodded. "It"s a fantastic venue. I might have to talk to Aine about holding more Jinx events here."

"So long as she"s paying," I responded.

Lofn chuckled. "I don"t think she"ll have any problems with that. From what she"s said, I think the dating agency has been going better than anyone thought it would."

"Ah so that"s why you"re doing an event for her, you don"t want to compete," I said.

She shrugged. "Pretty much." She looked past my shoulder. "The snow is falling faster than I thought it would."

"It shouldn"t get much worse," I assured her. Though there was the hint of something stronger in the air, but from what I could sense, the worst of the snow was likely a day or two away. And considering Lofn"s event would be over long before that, I didn"t see the point in worrying her for nothing.

"Ah, of course, you can sense it. Being able to predict the snow is a handy talent."

"So is being able to go against the will of everyone else and brokering the forbidden marriages," I pointed out.

"There"s not much use for that these days though. Now snow? That never changes."

I held out my hand and let a couple of the flakes land on my palm, the cold tingled my skin in an invigorating way that made the magic inside me sing. "It never changes and yet is always different," I mused.

Lofn raised an eyebrow. "You know you"ve come to a party, right? You"re not supposed to talk philosophy in there."

"And just what are you expecting me to do when I get inside?" I"d heard some horror stories about what the love gods were up to with their new dating agency, and I had next to no desire to make small talk with one stranger after another while checking them off on a card, or ending up having to swipe on an app.

Lofn shrugged. "Nothing. It"s a party. There are some other gods here, some paranormals. Good food, a nice fire. Talk, mix, mingle, that kind of thing."

I narrowed my eyes. "There"s got to be a catch."

"No catch. And nothing is forbidden," she joked.

"Are you sure you"re the one organising this?" I asked.

The other goddess snorted, amusement written all over her face. "I don"t just deal in forbidden marriages."

"More like you need people to know who you are if they want to seek your approval," I returned.

"Precisely." She gestured to the door.

"You already knew I wasn"t going to say no," I murmured.

"I know you well enough to be reasonably sure your curiosity would get the better of you," she responded. "And maybe it"s time for you to find some company."

"Eurgh, you sound like Kuaket, she was trying to convince me to go speed dating the last time I saw her."

"Now there"s a goddess that knows a thing or two about forbidden."

I snorted. "I actually think she likes this one. She seemed really smitten when we last talked, she was even worrying about the fact Kuk didn"t approve."

"Wow, that says a lot for Kua, she never cares what her brother thinks," Lofn said as she pushed open the door.

"Well, this time she does. As strange as that seems." I followed her inside, the warmth tingling my skin as it hit me.

"We"re using the room to the left as a cloakroom if you want to take off your outdoor clothes." She gestured needlessly.

"Thanks."

"All right, then I"ll see you back out here in a bit." She smiled and headed over to a group of people who were laughing and joking with one another about something.

Nerves filled me. Maybe this was a bad idea. I didn"t need to spend more time with other people, I was perfectly content being on my own. And I should probably have checked the guest list before I"d come too. There were several gods I"d really rather not run into.

But it was too late for me to worry about that now. I was here, and I wanted the event to go well for her. That involved me putting on a smile and making small talk with her guests.

I stripped off my boots and outdoor clothing, stashing them in one of the wardrobes. That wasn"t where everyone else had put them, but considering the lodge actually belonged to me, I didn"t see any harm in it. I turned to the mirror, fluffing up my long blonde hair so it didn"t look like I"d just spent a couple of hours out in the snow. My cheeks were still ruddy from being out in the cold and now in the warmth, but other than that, I looked like I was actually fit to be seen at a social event. I picked at the sleeve of my shirt so it fell better.

I was presentable, and I was ready to try and face whatever the party had in store.