“There you go.”
“Thank you.” His voice was quiet and subdued.
I nodded and looked out into the darkness again, sighing. I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what would happen next. With the Winnowing tied, who would win? The Vanir, or the High Elves—and what would become of my people?
Sadness shattered me, and my head fell into my hands. “We’re trapped here, aren’t we?”
Chapter 39
Ali
Grief-stricken, I peered over the edge. The vines I’d been climbing wouldn’t take us down far enough to get to the bottom. Above and below them was sheer rockface, slick as obsidian. So, it was just us and the rocks.
I tried not to imagine how our death would go. We would become severely dehydrated within days. We’d starve and possibly consider eating each other.
“I’m not going to eat you,” I muttered.
“That’s a relief.” Galin stared into the darkness. “This wasn’t in my vision.”
“What vision?”
“My vision of my fate. I saw myself as king.”
“Of course you did.”
He shot me a sharp look. “My visions don’t lie.”
“Right. Fate. Wyrd. You are deeply committed.” I peered over at him skeptically. “Was I in this vision of yours? You said our souls are entwined.”
He shook his head. “No. That perplexed me. You were not there with me in my kingdom. Which is wrong, obviously.”
“I thought your visions don’t lie.”
His jaw tightened. “I am admittedly confused.”
“The story of fate that my mother told was one where I killed you. So, if you really believe in fate, maybe we’re not supposed to be lovers. Maybe our souls are entwined for an altogether different reason.”
“And why would you kill me now?” he asked.
“For sustenance.” It was a grim joke, and neither of us laughed.
Galin had gone completely silent, so quiet it was starting to worry me. “Maybe you’re right,” he said quietly, finally.
“What?”
“A thousand years ago, I devoted my life to the gods. Everything I did was to honor them.”
“What about the women? I heard you had legions of women following you around. Desperate for your attention.”
He shrugged. “The women were nice. But if it weren’t for the gods, my life would have been empty. The deaths on the battlefields, the magic. When I died, I lost all those memories. I lost all meaning. For a thousand years, I was a shell of a person. I only started to feel alive again when I met you, even if I was still a lich. It was like I could feel my heart beating again, even if it wasn’t supposed to.”
I felt my own heart speeding up, warmth blooming in my chest. “Yeah?”
“And then my soul returned to me. With the power of Loki’s wand, I had blood flowing in my veins. And my memories came back for the first time in a thousand years. But with that came the horrible realization that the gods were dead. Nothing meant anything anymore … except you. Maybe Wyrd no longer means anything. Maybe fate was wrong, or stopped mattering after the gods died. But I do have you, and you’re my light in the darkness. Where I once sacrificed to the gods, I’ll now sacrifice to you.”
I felt my breath catch at his words. “Wait, what? I’m not like the gods. I’m nothing like a god. Haven’t you been paying attention? I’m deeply flawed. You’ve heard me sing, haven’t you?”
“You gave me a reason to be alive. Which means you’re the reason I have to die again.”
Fear snapped through my brain, and I grabbed his bicep. “What are you talking about?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “If I become a lich again, I can survive the fall.”
I shook my head. “Nope. You’re not going to kill yourself. I won’t let you lose your soul again. Not until—”
He met my gaze, his golden eyes piercing me. “Until what?”
“I don’t know. Just give it time. Maybe something will happen. Maybe a moth will fly down here. You’ll forget everything again. You might not remember who I am. And what if we can’t get Loki’s wand back?”
Galin stood on the ledge, then crossed back into the cave. “Stay where you are, Ali. You don’t need to see this.”
“No!” I jumped up as he crossed into the glowing violet cavern. Galin picked up a sharp chunk of vergr crystal from the cave floor—a jagged shard, like a blade. He held it above his wrist.
My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch this happen.
I’d spent years honing my fighting skills, and none honing my diplomacy skills. If I couldn’t talk him out of it, I’d fight him out of it.
I ran for him, grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the crystal. His grip was pure steel, so I slammed a punch into his cheek. His face snapped back, and the feral look he gave me nearly made my heart skip a beat. He growled, pulling his wrist out of my grasp.
“You’re not doing this, Galin.” I ran at him again, knocking him back hard into the stone.
He slammed back into the wall. The force was enough to shake the rock. This time, the shard clattered to the ground, and I snatched it up. I had the shard. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
But Galin was charging for me, and he pushed me back against the wall. He gripped my wrist, pinning it against the cold stone. His strength was, quite frankly, ridiculous.
His gaze flicked to the shard. “I’m going to need that, my Night Elf. I have a plan.”
“Your plan is stupid.”
His face was close to mine, mouth inches away. Runes glowed on his powerful chest. The corner of his lip twitched. “Did you really think you could beat The Sword of the Gods in a fight?”
“Do you really call yourself that? You have got to be kidding me.” I slammed a knee into his gut, and he staggered back.
I still had the shard of vergr crystal.
I didn’t know exactly what I was doing here, only that I’d managed very successfully to distract him from trying to kill himself. And frankly, I could fight him all day. He didn’t get hurt easily. It was exhilarating, and maybe I liked having his body pressed against mine …
Snarling, I leapt at him. But he was leaping for me, too. We collided hard. But with his greater weight, the impact pushed me backward. Together, we slammed into the wall. At the last moment, he managed to cup his hand behind me to soften the blow against the stone, stopping my back from cracking against it. His other hand was just below my ass, gripping me tight. Just like at the battlefield, my legs were wrapped around his waist.
I breathed deeply, my pulse racing out of control as I looked up at him. He peered into my eyes, the gaze sliding right into my very soul.
He seemed to have forgotten all about the crystal blade now, and his lips grazed my neck. The sensation sent wild heat racing through my body. After the fierceness of our little tussle, the kiss was so excruciatingly gentle. With every brush of his lips, I felt desire building in me, a wild need.
“Galin,” I whispered.
In response, he kissed my throat, and I arched my neck. Now, my hips were moving against him.