“Levateinn is exceptionally powerful. We could use it to defeat an army. I could simply turn the High Elf troops into a school of fish. They’d slowly suffocate, no fighting necessary. Alternatively, I could temporarily transform the Night Elves into lions, and you could eat your foes alive.”
She crossed her arms. “That is … disturbing and enticing at the same time.” She still seemed wary of me, but at least she was letting me speak.
Before I could reply, a loud knocking at the door interrupted us.
“Ali?” A woman’s voice pierced the wood. “Can we talk?”
“Shit. I think it’s Thyra. You need to leave.”
Already, a key jingled in the lock. I didn’t have time to scribe a portal. Instead, I slipped into the bedroom, mere seconds before the door opened. I left the door open a crack so I could listen.
“What do you want?” I heard Ali say. “I was just going to bed.”
She’s a feisty one, I’ll give you that, whispered a deep voice in my head.
Shut up, Ganglati.
She has a fine figure, continued the shade. Have you enjoyed her body yet?
From the other room, Ali’s voice rose. “No, you can’t come in here.”
I heard the faint tinge of fear in her voice, and my muscles tensed. I peered through the gap in the door, expecting to catch a glimpse of Thyra.
But it was an elf in a black cloak, a cowl shadowing her face. With a blade in her hand, she lunged toward Ali. My heart skipped a beat.
Ali dove out of the way of the dagger. As she did, she kicked upwards, knocking the dagger from the assassin’s hand. It flew across the room and skittered under a chair. The assassin swiveled and kicked Ali back.
I tried to pull the door open to get to Ali, but the shade was taking over, controlling my body.
What are you doing? I screamed mentally.
The Night Elf might die. I haven’t seen the transition from life to death in so long. How I’ve yearned for it.
The assassin held Ali by the throat, crushing her ability to call for Skalei, and I was immobilized, terror screaming in my mind. My legs were locked in place, muscles frozen.
Horror washed over me as I realized my mate was about to be murdered, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
Let me go! I shouted at Ganglati.
All lives must end. The shade sounded casual.
I strained to move as the assassin lifted a blade to Ali’s throat. Panic was ripping my mind open.
She was going to die.
I tried to look away, but Ganglati kept my eyes focused on Ali’s throat. I haven’t seen a death in thousands of years, he whispered excitedly.
He had taken over my body, but Ali was my light in the darkness, and I would get to her. I felt like ice had stiffened every part of me, and when I moved, it was like my muscles were being sliced with shards of glass. Still, I tried to rush for her before it was too late.
Chapter 23
Ali
The assassin lifted me by the throat, and the edges of my vision swam.
She leaned against me with her full body weight, pressing me into the wall. I could feel her free hand moving towards me. I didn’t have to see the blade to know I was about to be stabbed.
With the last of my strength, I brought my knee up into the assassin’s gut.
I couldn’t see her face behind the hood, but I heard the grunt of pain. Her body spasmed, and I knew I’d knocked all the wind from her lungs. And then, most importantly, I heard the distinct clattering sound of a dagger hitting the floor.
She doubled over.
“Skalei.”
She looked up as my blade appeared in my hand. That gave me the opening I needed. I lunged forward and plunged Skalei into her eye. Dead. Finally.
But before she could fall to the ground, Galin gripped her by the head and twisted. The crack of her breaking neck echoed off the walls.
The assassin slumped forward, against me, then slid to the floor.
“Took your time to jump in,” I said as I looked up at Galin. “I had actually already killed her, for the record.”
“Ali, I couldn’t move. The shade Ganglati paralyzed me.”
I no longer had any idea what mystical gibberish he was banging on about.
“Well, I was fine on my own. As I said, I did kill her.” Some of my pride seemed to be at stake here.
Galin crossed to the door and locked the deadbolt.
When he returned, he nodded at the body. “Who is it?”
The assassin lay face down on the floor, and I knelt to give her a better look. I rolled her over, then let the hood fall away, revealing her identity.
I’d expected to see golden hair, but this elf’s hair was a dark brown. Wavy and thick, it draped over her face. I brushed it away. The elf’s remaining eye stared up at me, lifeless. She was unquestionably dead, but that wasn’t what interested me. It was the color—not gold, not silver, but a deep emerald green.
“It’s a Vanir,” I said at last.
Galin whistled low. “I didn’t see any women when we were in Vanaheim, but you did kill their Emperor. The Vanir must have recognized you.”
That again. “Right. I had hoped that might be water under the bridge.”
“It could, in fact, explain why the Vanir came at all,” Galin said thoughtfully. “And now both the High Elves and the Vanir want you dead. I can protect you from my family, but the entire kingdom of Vanaheim will be more complicated.”
Galin began pacing the room, and I checked the dead elf’s pockets. I found them empty. Picking the dagger up from the floor, I tucked it back into her belt.
Then, I turned to Galin, but he was muttering something about full body protection charms.
“Galin,” I said. “We have to get rid of the body. If she’s found in my room, no spell will protect me. The penalty for killing an elf of another tribe is forfeiture of the Winnowing, if it happens outside the contest trials.” I went to the nearest window and began to unlatch it. “We should throw her out the window.”
“Ali.” He gave me a lazy smile. “I’m not Marroc anymore. I’m not a lich. My magic is much more powerful now.” He pulled off his shirt, revealing his chest and arms, thickly corded with muscle.
I stared at him. “What kind of magic are we talking about?”
Without answering, he traced a rune on his chest. It glowed with golden light, and then an electric sound crackled as a portal opened in the center of my room—a ring of sizzling energy with an inky black center. “There are more discreet ways to dispose of a body.”
“Weird, but okay.”
Galin flicked his fingers, and the portal rotated so that it hovered flat, about a foot above the floor. Then, he crouched down to pick up the body bridal style.
I stared as he dropped her in, and she plummeted into the darkness.
He flicked his fingers again, and the portal twisted back into a vertical position. “We should both leave before the Vanir send backup to find out what happened.” Galin glanced at the window. “Sun’s coming up already. Follow me.”
He crossed through the portal just as I heard footfalls outside.
“Skalei.” I still didn’t know where the portal was going, but I leapt in anyway.
I landed in a forward roll, which turned out to be a terrible idea because Galin’s portal had taken us outside. I rolled through a deep drift of snow.