“I’m beginning to think you really mean to kill me,” he said breathlessly.
“Oh, I do.”
“And I’m starting to find your knife irritating.”
I headbutted him hard, my skull connecting with his nose. When he stumbled back from me, I lunged again, aiming Skalei straight for his heart. He moved so fast, though, that it was nearly impossible to catch him.
Gods, he was quicker than I’d anticipated. He was like smoke on the wind, elusive.
My momentum began to carry me past him, so I planted my leading foot. Spraying snow around me, I turned back—but too slowly. One of his powerful hands latched around my wrist like a manacle, clutching it hard.
I looked up into his stupidly beautiful face, my vision clouding with rage.
“Why do I feel like you’re actually trying to kill me?” he said, leaning in. I could feel his breath hot on my cheek. His golden eyes seeming to pierce my soul, searing right into me.
They made me feel something I didn’t want to feel, a tightening in my heart. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore that godlike face, the chiseled cheekbones.
I’d come for death, not to admire a pretty face. But clearly, in my weakened state, I was outmatched. The Sword of the Gods was strong and well-fed, and I would have to fight dirty. Trick him.
“Fine,” I whispered.
Pretending to give up, I dropped Skalei. I watched as relief washed over Galin’s face, his brows knitting earnestly as he began to pull me closer, drawing me into his intoxicating embrace.
He wouldn’t charm me this time. Before the blade had a chance to hit the ground, I recalled her to my free hand. “Skalei.”
Then, I swung hard, driving the blade at his stomach.
But he grabbed my wrists, then twisted me around so that he was behind me with my arms in front. I recalled Skalei, but he had full control of my hands.
His bare chest pressed against my back, his strong arms like steel around me. He was a vice of muscle. “If this is really how you want to spend our time together,” he murmured, “I suppose I won’t object. Maybe you can help me regain my lost love for violence. It’s just that I’d prefer we fight other people, if you don’t mind.”
I felt his muscles flexing around me, and at that moment, I truly regretted his betrayal and that he was my worst enemy. I wished it had been someone revolting.
I bucked backward, shoving my ass into him. He slipped in the snow, off balance, and that was enough to free me. I whirled and kicked him hard in the solar plexus.
As he doubled over, finally, I pressed Skalei upward against the skin of his throat.
“On your knees,” I gasped.
Galin obeyed, his eyes fixed on mine. He genuinely looked perplexed. Did he think I wouldn’t come for him?
“You really think I wouldn’t kill you after what you did?” I said, my voice just loud enough to be heard over the battle. Skalei was ready, sharp as she would ever be. It was finally time for vengeance. “This is for my mother, my father, and all the thousands of Night Elves who’ve died in darkness because of you. This is for the letter you wrote.”
With a jerk, I drew the blade along his jugular.
Only … I didn’t.
His gaze was pulling me to pieces, like he was reading my darkest nightmares, my wildest dreams. My hand went still, and as I stared into his eyes, a warming light seemed to surround me. The air was filled with the scents of flowers and songs of bluebirds. I felt weightless, like a dandelion seed on a summer breeze. My fingers unclenched, and I dropped Skalei.
Was he using magic? I slammed my fist into his jaw, the force so strong I felt like I broke my knuckles. At least I’d landed a fucking punch.
But he hardly flinched. Instead, he rose to his full height, towering over me once more. He brushed my hair away from my ear, then leaned in, whispering, “You cannot truly hurt me.”
This was unthinkable, unimaginable. I was supposed to be avenging the Night Elves. This was what I lived for. There was only one possible explanation: he’d enchanted me.
“Spells are not allowed,” I snarled.
“This isn’t a spell. Your soul is entwined with mine. The Norns have threaded our fates together.”
Liar. I hated him more than he could possibly imagine. “I’m going to kill you.”
“You can’t. This is fate, Ali—Wyrd. Our souls are bound for eternity.”
My heart went still, and I felt my chest hollowing out. “What are you talking about? You have to die. The Dokkalfar have suffered a thousand years because of you. I swore to Thyra I would kill you, to my parents before they died. And I hardly feel any loyalty to you after what you did.”
Despite the snow, the air around us smelled like summertime: fresh grass and lilacs. Not that I cared. And, I certainly wasn’t giving up.
Snarling, I ran for him, leaping into the air like a wild beast. Galin caught me mid-air, then slammed me against the tree again. My legs were wrapped tight around his waist as he pressed me against the icy bark. He’d knocked the wind out of me, but he’d slid his hands behind me just in time to cushion the blow. He’d managed to cup my head, wrap his arms around my back so I wasn’t hurt. Why couldn’t he just fight properly?
“Skalei,” I whispered.
But before I could cut his throat, he gripped my wrist, pressing it against the tree so I couldn’t use Skalei against him.
“You’re not faking this fight,” He leaned down, his mouth just above mine. “Like I said before, this must look like a battle. I won’t hurt you. But you are trying to kill me.”
“I was actually fighting,” I whispered. “Not pretending.”
There it was—that flash of confusion. No, hurt.
But as he looked at me, I could feel a strange, forbidden warmth tingling over my skin at every point where our bodies made contact. His muscled chest pressed against me, his hand against my throat, his hips between my legs. My pulse started racing.
He slid his thumb down just a little, I felt an illicit, molten heat sliding into my belly. His mouth hovered over my neck, his breath warming my throat. “Our souls are conjoined,” he purred. “Bound to one another for eternity. We are the only thing that matters. You and me. It is the only meaning that exists for me now.” He lifted his face to mine, and I read a look of pure, carnal longing in his eyes.
It was insanity. Absolute insanity.
And yet somehow, the words rang true in the darkest recesses of my mind.
“Just because we traveled to Hel and back doesn’t mean you know anything about me,” I protested.
“Our souls must be together. Wyrd demands it. We have no choice. When I am king, you will be my queen. Or we will run away. I really don’t care. I only know I want you by my side, and you are trying to murder me.”
“Are you insane? If this is true, why did you write that letter?” It was hard for me to think clearly with his mouth hovering so close, and worst of all, I found my neck arching, as if I was purposefully making myself more vulnerable to him.
This had to be magic.
“What are you talking about?” he murmured, and the deep timber of his voice skittered over my skin. “What letter?”
But a new voice interrupted us now. “Ali!”
I glimpsed Bo over Galin’s shoulder. Had he witnessed us … well, I wasn’t entirely sure what we had been doing, but it wasn’t quite fighting.