Fuck me.
“Also, I should point out that many battles have already been fought here and lost.” He gestures to the ground and the walls around us. “Black doesn’t show the blood.”
Behind him, the hounds give me broad grins.
Halle merely wears a prim expression, as if it’s all part of her job.
“You’ve been here before,” I say to Jonah.
“Not happily,” he replies. “In case you haven’t guessed, we’re in the middle of Antarctica.”
He visibly shudders again. But of course, any freezing-cold place would be torturous to a fire jotunn like Jonah.
He continues. “Even if you could get through the shield without a near-instant magical escort off this continent, you’ll freeze to death in the snow.”
Fuck. Fuck me.
Of all the members of my pack, Lucian is the quietest right now. Not that he has the ability to express himself in snarls and growls like the panther-elves can. He has remained on the other side of Anarchy and is closest to Jonah.
“You need answers, Veda,” Lucian says, his focus falling to the book. “I couldn’t look at that book without experiencing excruciating pain when I first saw it, and now… nothing. You need answers before you can move forward.”
I meet his golden eyes.
It took a lot for me to trust him. I didn’t at first. He didn’t trust me, either.
Then he declared that the chances of dying at my side were way higher than anywhere else, so at my side was where he’d like to stay.
I took him at his word and he hasn’t betrayed me since.
Riot chooses that moment to speak up from my other side. His voice is solemn, as is his way. “A path forward is impossible to discern without truth.”
Where before Rumble and Strife were both indicating they wanted to leave, now they give me firm nods.
“We’re here for you no matter what you decide,” Rumble says.
“Besides,” Strife adds, a little hint of mischievousness returning to his expression. “I’d like to see what hell has to offer.”
He tips his chin at the hounds.
One of the hounds is eyeing Strife a little more intently than the others are, a curious gleam in his fiery eyes.
My eyebrows arch. “Oh?”
Strife shrugs. “Hell could be fun.”
A little of the heaviness lifts from my shoulders when the others shrug and even Anarchy, who was most vocal against staying, seems to relax.
“We’re headed here eventually, anyway,” she says, one corner of her mouth twitching upward. “We may as well get a tour in advance.”
I can practically read her mind: she will want to find out all of hell’s vulnerabilities and weaknesses in case that comes in handy for future purposes.
“Okay, then,” I whisper.
But at Halle’s sudden, gleaming grin, I hold up a finger. “We’re only staying until I have truthful answers. And only with one guarantee.”
Her smile fades. “What guarantee?”
“We’re free to leave whenever we want.” I step away from the safety of my pack to advance on her, drawing level with Jonah. “No traps.”
