“So what now?”
When Hermes smiled, it seemed to soften his gaze for once, eyes filled with a grace that brushed up against some kind of forgiveness. “Now you say goodbye.”
Patrick stared at where Hannah’s soul floated beside him. As he watched, the edges seemed to take the shape of a child for a moment, an afterimage of a life that never got to be lived. He reached for her on instinct, fingers shaking, so close but always so far. Standing there at the cliff’s edge, Patrick could only do what he’d always done with his twin sister.
He let her go.
Hannah’s soul seemed to contract before disintegrating into nothing but starlight. Patrick’s hand closed on emptiness in the space that had always existed between them since that fateful night so long ago.
“I'm sorry,” Patrick said through the unholy grief that filled his body in that moment. “I never stopped wanting to save you.”
“She knows,” Thor said kindly before nodding at what remained of his sister. “Come, child. It is time.”
The shimmer of Hannah’s soul darted through the air to Brynhildr, who cradled the remnants close to her chest with a careful hand. “I’ll guide her home.”
“Where are you taking her?” Patrick asked.
“Your twin was god-touched. She died in the battle over her soul.” Brynhildr smiled, the gentle curve of her mouth a bittersweet victory for the dead. “Valhalla awaits her.”
The pegasus’ wings flapped hard in the air, gaining altitude with long sweeps that sent the grass rippling like the sea. They rose into the air, higher and higher, until their passage was obscured by Yggdrasil’s branches stretched over the golden city, forever lost to sight.
Patrick opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and everything he’d ever wanted to say to Hannah would stay with him to be said over her grave. In the quiet, beneath an eternal sky, Patrick bore witness to a farewell at the edge of the world, death a companion to the bitter, haunting end.
“Just one more thing, Pattycakes,” Hermes said.
Patrick dragged his gaze away from the stars, blinking the blurriness at the edge of his vision to something stronger. “What?”
Hermes smirked, laughter in his voice. “Tell your wolf I said hello.”
Then Hermes shoved Patrick off the edge of the world, and gravity caught him tight in its grip, never letting go in the long descent to Earth through the veil. The howling wind stole Patrick’s voice as he fell from Asgard into an ocean of regrets found between the roots of the world tree, the water closing over his head and the surface nowhere to be found.
36
The airin early April was crisp from a fading winter, the smell of spring gaining ground. Slush was melting in the gutters and the sidewalks, on occasion revealing bits of bodies not recovered in the initial clean-up. Luckily the protective wards on Tempest blocked that smell, though they couldn’t block Wade when he sneaked inside.
Jono gave him a stern look across the bar counter as Wade scrambled onto a stool beside Sage. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s important.” Wade planted his elbows on the bar counter, held up his mobile, and pointed at the screen, eyes wide as he stared accusingly at Jono. “What is this?”
Jono glanced at the title of the email showing up and raised an eyebrow. “Your summer classes sign-up confirmation.”
“I can see that. Funny how I didn’t sign up for any butsomehowgot an email about it.”
“Funny how that works,” Sage replied calmly as she sipped at her sparkling water. “You’re going. You have classes to make up.”
“But what about summer break?”
“That’s what the weekends are for when you aren’t studying.”
Wade groaned and let his head fall to the bar counter. “That’s so unfair.”
“Education is important. We’re planning for yours the same way we’re planning for our daughter’s.”
Wade grumbled wordlessly into the wood, clearly not of the same opinion. Sage took education seriously though, and Jono was happy to let her steer Wade where he needed to go in that regard.
The trio of witches seated three spots down from Sage caught Jono’s attention, raising their empty drink glasses in a hopeful manner. Jono went to take their next order and bus the empties, going through the motions of working behind the counter on a busy Friday night.
Tempest had turned into the place to be over the last few months. It was no longer just a bar catering to the werecreature community. Coven members, fae, others of supernatural background, and even on occasion vampires could be found walking through the doors. Jono made it a point to welcome everyone. The bar was still considered neutral territory and the place where his god pack handled territory disputes.
