For that, she needed the dragons.
Two birds, one stone.
Those dragons would reduce Hagan to ash.
And her own magic would crush the life from Ash Acheron.
Have you not learnt yet the most important lesson of them all?
Never trust anyone.
Tabitha Wysteria
Freya stared at the unconscious forms of Ylva and Kage, their bodies strewn across the snow like fallen warriors in a painting of quiet tragedy. She wondered how long it would take before someone stumbled upon them, or something worse.
With a curse under her breath, she crouched beside Kage and slapped his cheek until a groan escaped him and his dark eyes snapped open, narrowing in sharp irritation. His hand shot up, capturing her wrist mid-swing, halting her next strike.
He sat up swiftly, his gaze instantly falling upon Ylva.
‘She doesn’t look that different,’ he murmured, a faint crease etching his brow.
Freya exhaled and let herself fall back onto the snow beside him, staring up at the bleak sky. ‘No. I suppose she doesn’t.’
‘Is she… well?’
Freya nodded, her eyes fixed on the young valkyrian lying pale and still at their feet. ‘Her sense of duty burns as fiercely as ever.Unbroken.’
‘Good.’ Kage’s attention drifted to a nearby branch, where his shadow crow perched silently, its beady eyes watching like a sentinel of darkness. ‘Vera is…’
‘Her name is Eris,’ Freya cut in, her tone sharp. ‘The goddess of chaos and conflict. A vile creature who despises almost everyone and everything.’
‘What does she want?’
Freya lifted one shoulder in a weary shrug. ‘Who knows? Likely the same thing she’s always wanted, to tear the world apart for her amusement. She has a sister, Enyo. I don’t know where she is, but if Eris is roaming mortal lands, spreading havoc, then Enyo won’t be far. They’re inseparable. Eris trusts no one but her.’
‘How do we stop them?’ Kage asked, rising to his feet and brushing snow from his dark clothes. ‘How do we get Vera back?’
‘You don’t,’ Freya said, voice low and final. ‘Once a god takes possession of a body, the soul within is lost. Kill Eris, and you kill Vera.’
Kage exhaled sharply, the sound heavy with frustration, the weight of truth settling like lead between them.
‘There is but one way to kill a god,’ Freya said, her voice heavy with old knowledge as she too rose from the ground. ‘Only the God-Killer bears that power, and it must be done upon mortal soil. A god cannot perish within their own realm.’
Kage’s head turned, his face carved into its usual mask of grim stoicism, yet his eyes burnt with question. ‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because I have upheld my end of our bargain,’ Freya replied, her voice firm, though a shadow of weariness bled into her words. ‘Now you must hold yours. I need you to go to yoursister, Mal. She must be the one to end Hades, but to do so, she will have to draw him from the Underworld and slay him on mortal ground.’
Kage exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. ‘I don’t know where she is.’
‘In the Underworld,’ Freya said simply.
His gaze hardened. ‘I can’t enter the Underworld unless a god carries me there.’
‘You’re right,’ Freya conceded with a slow nod. ‘And I was banished by Hades. I can’t take you.’
A darkness rippled through Kage’s expression. ‘Then how do you expect me to get there?’
Freya’s fingers brushed absently at her neck, hesitation breaking through her composure.‘There is only one way.’
