“You see?” she trilled. “You cannot hurt your own flesh and blood. Do not tell me what I can and cannot do.”
I curled my lip, a low growl in my throat. I would kill her when I killed Gorm.
At the top of the hill was an ancient carousel buried under the snow. It looked a bit like an enormous frosted cake, though the effect was disturbed by the weathered faces of wooden horses poking out from under the drifts.
In front, I found Gorm stomping around in the snow, Sune next to him. The king’s face was beet-red with anger.
“What in the darkest Hel happened? We were gods-damned slaughtered out there.” He glared at me. “Galin! How did you not foresee this?”
I shrugged. “I’m not omniscient.”
The king stalked towards me, his sword gripped tightly in his hand. “Who in Hel were those saber wielding elves?”
“As they said when they arrived, they’re the Vanir.”
He kicked a snow drift. Spittle flew from his mouth. “Loki’s blood! I want to destroy them.”
I’d never seen Gorm quite like this. Nearly unhinged. Raging. He paced back and forth before the carousel like a caged lion. It delighted me.
“What are we going to do?” He swung his sword, carving it through the head of a wooden carousel horse. Suddenly, he spun, pointing the sword at my bare chest. “I asked you a question.”
I flashed him a smile. “You are the king. Surely, in your infinite wisdom, you foresaw this possibility and have already devised a plan.”
With the back of my hand, I slapped his sword away, and fear flickered in his eyes. I didn’t think I would have been able to do that before I’d weakened the helm.
He turned from me, ranting again, shaking the sword with frustration. “This was our chance. We designed the agreement with the Night Elves so that we would have the advantage. Now, we are completely out of options.”
Now this was interesting. “What do you mean advantage? What did you agree upon?”
He swung his sword again, decapitating another horse. Splinters of wood flew into the air. “The contract states that Night Elves get to choose the second battle—the next contest. It could be anything. We were supposed to have an overwhelming lead after this. They are going to pick something that plays to their strengths.”
It took every ounce of my willpower not to smile.
The Night Elves were succeeding.
Chapter 15
Ali
I picked Skalei from the snow, cold and slick with blood. I clutched her to my chest like a child might hold a teddy bear.
Dazed, I staggered through the snow, pacing back and forth near Bo.
I was still trying to take in what Galin had said. Soul mates. None of this fit with my training.
My training was unequivocal. Suppress any sorrow, smother your sadness. Only hatred was acceptable. Become the North Star; avenge your people. Bring down the wall with his death. Channel rage, feed on it, bathe in it, use its power to guide your hand.
And he’d betrayed me, hadn’t me? I still didn’t understand why he’d wanted me sent to the mines. Why screw me over one moment and try to whisper sweet nothings in my ear the next? Was he simply messing with my mind for kicks? It was the sort of thing his warped sister would do.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
For a moment, the mantra worked. Until it didn’t.
I was staggering now, like I’d been hit in the head.
I clutched Skalei tighter. She’d been through it all. Minutes ago, she’d cut down a Vanir out for my blood, and in the past few months, she’d killed a nokk, slew the Emperor of the Vanir, and carved a hole in Nidhogg’s gut. I’d lost track of how many times she’d stabbed Galin when he’d been a lich.
I needed to focus and stop feeling sorry for myself. I drew the pad of my thumb along Skalei’s edge until fresh blood dripped on the snow. The burst of pain sharpened my mind.
I stared at Skalei. Razor-sharp and unflinching. With this little dagger, one way or another, I was going to lead my people to freedom. Today, I may have failed as an assassin, but I wouldn’t give up.
I turned back to look at Bo. Corpse-stiff, he lay flat, up to his ears in mud. Only his eyes moved, staring at me.
I knelt again. “Are you okay?”
Bo moaned. A strange gurgling sound.
“You’ll recover.” I sat back on my heels. What was I going to do with him? Thyra had told everyone to spy on me. He was supposed to report back if he saw me do anything treasonous. And I wasn’t exactly sure what it had looked like when Galin pinned me up against the tree, but it clearly hadn’t looked like me killing him.
If the Shadow Lords thought I’d been consorting with Galin, they wouldn’t throw me back into the mines. No, Thyra would take my head off right here in the Common.
My gripped tightened on Skalei’s hilt.
I leaned close. Anyone watching would only see that Bo was injured and that I was tending to him. I pressed Skalei’s cool steel to his neck—not hard enough to cut the skin, but an obvious threat. His eyes widened.
Keeping the blade to his jugular, I held a finger to my lips.
He stared at me, his eyes filled with terror.
“Did you see anything you feel the need to report to Thyra?”
He didn’t speak, but the rapid dilation of his pupils told me all I needed to know.
“Well, then, here’s what’s going to happen,” I said in a sharp whisper. “You’re not going to tell anyone what you saw, and I’m not going to kill you. Okay?”
Bo’s response was an unintelligible gurgle.
“Move your eyes back and forth if you agree.”
Bo’s eyes darted like he was reading the hottest scene in a romance novel.
“Good. Now, don’t forget that later, when my knife isn’t at your throat. It doesn’t mean it couldn’t be again. Understood?” I paused and sighed. “I’m still on your side. Galin was simply using some kind of magic on me. That’s all. But I will fight for the Night Elves until my last dying breath, and that is the truth.”
Bo’s eyes shifted again.
“All right. Now that we have an agreement, I’m going to get someone to help you with this paralysis spell.”
I stood and began making my way toward a large group of Night Elves. The Shadow Lords stood in the front. As I walked toward them, my thoughts returned to Galin. During the fight, I hadn’t thought to get any answers out of him, like what the fuck had motivated him to send that letter.
And I had to wonder if what he’d said was true. Had the Norns bound our souls together with fate?
All I knew was that Galin now consumed every one of my thoughts—every heartbeat, every breath of air—and I needed to burn him out of my mind.
Chapter 16
Ali
It seemed impossible, but after a bloody battle, we were now waiting for the High Elves to serve us dinner.
After the battle, things had started moving quickly. King Gorm had led us through the streets of Boston in a sort of grand parade. High Elves had lined the streets, morosely “cheering” and throwing snow into the air like confetti, their expressions murderous.