The last thing I hear before he shoves me through the shimmering gateway is Gullfax's battle cry—a sound of pure, golden rage that promises vengeance. The portal snaps shut behind us, cutting off that promise of help, but hope burns brighter in my chest.
Cavalry's coming, you lying piece of shit. And they're bringing hell with them.
Arctic winds howl around us, cutting through my parka like it's made of tissue paper. Before us stretches a bridge of pure light, impossibly thin and delicate, leading to the Elemental Nexus. The tower pierces the heavens like a silver needle threading through star-studded fabric, isolated in its magnificent solitude.
Loki steps forward first, still wearing Baldr's face, and the winds surge with sudden fury. They slam into him with physical force, sending him staggering back. Ice crystals form in his golden hair as he snarls in frustration.
"Get to it," he growls, shoving me forward.
I approach the bridge's edge, heart thundering against my ribs. The winds whip my hair into my face, but as I take that first step onto the light bridge, something... shifts. The raging tempest gentles, becoming a soft caress against my skin. The bridge glows brighter beneath my feet, responding to my presence.
"Well, well..." I glance back at Loki's thunderstruck expression. "Looks like the winds know who's worthy and who's wearing a borrowed face."
He grabs my arm, using me as a shield against the winds that seem determined to reject him. "Move," he hisses through clenched teeth. "Unless you want your mate to suffer for your insolence."
Together we cross the bridge, me walking steadily while Loki clings to my jacket. The winds part around us like a curtain, recognizing the savior's touch even as they try to tear the false god from my side. With each step, the Nexus looms, its crystalline walls reflecting the starlight above and the auroras dancing in the eternal twilight of Zephyria’s sky.
"Even the winds reject your lies," I snarl as he uses me like a human shield, the void below us stretching into infinite darkness. Stars glitter in that endless abyss, like diamonds scattered acrossblack velvet, making my head spin with the sheer depth of nothingness beneath our feet.
We reach the Nexus's entrance—a towering door of glass-like material that pulses with ancient power. Two circular depressions mark its surface, perfectly symmetrical and waiting.
Frost spreads across the crystal as Loki's glamour melts away, Baldr's golden perfection replaced by his true form. His black hair whips in the wind as he shoves me forward.
"The essences." His voice carries the bite of winter. "Now."
My pack feels heavier, the two vials of champion essence burning like cold fire against my back. Each one collected through blood and sacrifice was meant to unlock this door—but not like this. Not with this twisted god's knife at my back.
"Two champions," he continues, fingers tracing the depressions with almost loving reverence. "Two essences. The Aesir did love their symmetry." His smile turns cruel. "Though I doubt they expected them to be delivered by such... unwilling hands."
I reach for my pack slowly, mind racing. The door needs both essences to open, but once it does... The thought hangs unfinished as Loki's impatient snarl cuts through the howling wind.
"Don't even think about playing hero," he hisses. "Your mate's suffering grows stronger with every moment you waste."
My hands shake around the vials, not from fear but from pure rage. Rhyland's face flashes through my mind—his ocean eyes, rare smile, and how his arms feel wrapped around me.
Is he already dead, and this lying bastard is just stringing me along? Or worse—
The essence pulse brighter, responding to my fury.
The thought of Rhyland suffering, calling for me, while I'm trapped here with this monster... it's a white-hot knife twisting in my gut.
"I swear toGod…when I get free," my voice comes out like crushed glass, "I'm going to personally ensure you suffer for every second you've kept him from me. And then—" I meet Loki's frost-blue eyes, letting him see the promise of violence in mine, "I'm going to watch my man tear you apart, piece by fucking piece."
"Oh, you precious thing. You still cling to your delusions of power." He leans in close, frost crackling along my jacket where he grips my arm. "YourGodisn't here, little savior. No divine intervention coming to save you."
I meet his gaze, refusing to flinch even as his cold seeps into my bones. "I don't need divine intervention, asshole. I have something better." I bare my teeth in a savage smile. "I have a promise to keep. And I always keep my fucking promises."
"Cute," Loki sneers, shoving me toward the door.
I draw a shaky breath, forcing my trembling hands to steady as I pull out the essences. The jars pulse with ancient power—one swirling with storm-gray light, the other gleaming like fresh snow.
First, I press Vidar's essence into the right slot. The gray light surges from its container, filling the depression with swirling power. Then Skadi's essence on the left, its winter-white glow spreading like frost across glass.
The door responds instantly. Light races through previously invisible runes, creating a spiderweb of brilliant lines across its surface. The essences pulse in sync, their combined power building until the air vibrates.
Then—a sound like ancient ice breaking, like mountains shifting in their sleep. The massive door swings inward with the groan of millennia, revealing the darkness beyond.
"Ladies first," Loki purrs.
