Page 35

“What should I give you?” I played with the gemstones on his braids.

“There’s nothing I need, not more than you.” At that very moment, his knot slid free, and the wetness spilled over my thigh. He chuckled. “Well, a bath, perhaps. Shall we?”

When he sniffed, then wrinkled his nose at me, I punched him in the side and stalked to the water, trying not to laugh. He spent the next half hour begging my forgiveness, mostly on his knees with muffled apologies that led to me finally agreeing to forgive him for every misstep he’d ever made.

As we fit our bodies together again, words of love on both our lips, I remembered the lessons I’d learned growing up in Turino, trying to be a world-class spy. Pay attention to the details, my boss had taught me. I took in every one now.

The bristle of his golden beard. The rasp in his voice. The clink of the gems on his hair as he held me close, and the quick thud of his heart beneath my ear. The ring on his finger that bore three words on the inside: Only. Ever. Rada. The sand and the pounding surf and the sweet, gentle breeze that felt cooler than it had on my hot skin. The mingled scents of his pine and musk with my mint and rain, and the salt and brine from the shimmering ocean beside us.

I paid attention to every detail, as if my life depended on memorizing them all. Then I sealed the moment away, deep in my mind, where all my most precious treasures were kept safe.

SERAK

He’d broken me. His rage had torn through the bits of my strength that were left, taken over my body completely, and I floated in a haze of pain.

I couldn’t fight him. I couldn’t get away. All I could do was die, here in the maw, his flames devouring me from within. His rage bubbling below my feet as I hung suspended once more above the lava.

Dying was agony, but I was nearly glad to suffer it. At least Edan would be delayed for a while, if I wasn’t alive to be his avatar. His whispers slithered through my mind even now, though, betraying his wild emotions.

She is tainted. They have touched my bride.

His thoughts devolved into wordless rage and frustration.

I’d been delighted to learn of Rada’s husband and mates. The Warlord of All Starlak and a selkie prince had marked her already, along with the ice god.

I didn’t have the energy to smile, but gladness filled my heart. Edan had burned off the marriage mark given by the Starlakian, but somehow, their connection had been deepened. I had no idea how, but it gave me hope.

I will kill her now. She is ruined.

Fuck. Panic sent a surge of energy through me, and even though my mind itself felt seared, I let my parched lips move. “She is strong. Your brother must have sensed it. She is the only one strong enough to bear…”

My blood began to heat in my veins as he punished me for daring to argue.

I kept on. He’d been obsessed with the Goddess, the one he called the moon girl, and had told me stories of Her since he first chose me for his avatar. “How many tears did the moon girl shed? Not enough to throw away this chance. Rada was bred on this island. Maybe she fell into the hands of others before, but your fire will sweep them away. Unless…”

Unless?

I knew he would hurt me for my next words, maybe kill me. “Unless your brother comes. If you cannot stand against Skadi, then kill her now, and hide in the molten center of the world.”

I passed out from the agony he sent through me.

I woke up on my back, uneven stones gouging into the old scars there, to hear Edan’s voice emerging from a priest’s mouth. “I cannot dispose of Serak’s body. She is the only one strong enough to take my seed and live. To bear my child. And he is the one who must enter her flesh. The only avatar who can bear me for as long as I need. How long will it take to heal him?”

The head priest, Zahn, complained, “My lord, your fire is majestic and destructive, a weapon without equal. There is no saving him. He earned his death, and it comes for him even now—ahh! Spare me, my lord!”

I felt an odd rush of power course through me, the fire in my blood moving to all my extremities. It felt as if he was scooping out my insides and replacing them with lava.

Lava that cooled instantly, leaving an almost comfortable heat in my limbs, though my organs still churned like the maw itself.

When Edan spoke again, it was with a new priest’s voice, but weaker with each word, as if the speaker were being crushed from the inside. “Death cannot have him. I still have use for him. Chain him, priest. I will come back in three days and…” His voice trailed off in a series of wracking coughs that ended in a groan and the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the ground.

“Feed both of them to the mouth of the Alldyns Vug in our lord’s name and to his glory,” Zahn ordered. There were sounds of shuffling, followed by a stench of burning hair and flesh not long after.

I still couldn’t open my eyes, but when Zahn returned and leaned close to me, his whispers were as sharp as the whip he’d previously used on me. “It is not right that you would be given this glory, little worm. You have done nothing to deserve it.”

Something brushed my arm, and Zahn cried out.

I didn’t know why, or understand what he’d meant until the next time I opened my eyes, and found myself lying, chained to the cooler side of the cavern. Only this time, younger priests kneeled in a half circle in front of me, bowing and chanting the evening prayers. An odd light flared out around me, though we were far from the opening of the maw.