13
My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened. A jumbled mess of thoughts bounced inside my mind before I shook my head and returned my focus to Eric. A nervous laugh escaped me. “You’re joking, right? It can’t be that serious. And Yggdrasil? The tree from Norse mythology that holds the world together?” My forced good humor died on my lips as Eric stared at me with that indifferent but heavy look. I felt my heart sink as my hands that held his arms began to tremble. “You’re… you’re not joking, are you? You’re serious?”
He nodded. I felt like a boulder struck me. The full weight of that heavy responsibility had dropped onto my shoulders. I teetered back, and only my hands on his arms kept me from slumping to the ground.
Eric’s hands whipped out and wrapped around my waist, ke
