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“No, he was a primordial god, one of the original seven gods of Runevale. We called him uncle because he was a close family friend. We’re all Primevar and he took an interest in us—saw potential. He was our mentor.”

“I know what we are—were.” A side of the Runevale gods he’d chosen or… not one he chose but one he was brought up in.

“I think he believed if we hated him, we’d grow closer and stronger.”

“It seemed to work.”

“Well.”

“Who won?” Thane asked.

He smiled as if reliving the memory. “You let me win. You were always stronger than me physically and a better fighter. I could outdo you in magic but in this particular instance, magic wasn’t allowed. I was so angry with you for letting me win too. You deserved to eat that night, not me. But if Synick knew you purposefully pulled back, he would have made you run laps around his territory the rest of the night while cracking a whip if you should slow. So, I ate.”

Thane tried to conjure something of that time to his mind but not much came. “We were the same age,” he mused. A moment of celebrating a birthday flashed across his mind, a party they shared together as young ones.

“Born on the same day. But my mother, your blood aunt, left me on your parents’ doorstep with a note. I never knew her. To this day I don’t even know who my father is.”

“Did she say why?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Does it matter? She abandoned her child.”

Thane rubbed his forehead; a brief image of Hel’s mother and Thane’s Runevale father came to mind; they were twins. Black hair, blue-green eyes, striking and beautiful. A memory came to him then, standing beside the table with his arms behind his back, while a younger Hel and Synick ate. Those hunger pains and the smell of roasted meat flickered to life even now. He sighed and then clenched his jaw trying to resist feeling the nostalgia of their time and wanting to ask Hel to go grab a drink like old times. His threats a moment ago were overshadowed by the memories. “What of your family here?”

“Don’t try to find my weaknesses,Thane. I don’t have any. You’ll never be able to defeat me. I could kill you with barely more than a thought if I wanted.”

“I wouldn’t go down like that. You know that.” Which was probably the reason they hadn’t fought again.

“Even so, there isn’t anyone you can threaten to use against me. I cut off anyone I cared about a long time ago.” His glare was cold, unfeeling. “Besides, soon enough you and I will be dealing with a bigger problem.”

“You keep dropping hints like that but haven’t said. So, what problem?” With Hel and the pale ones, and a mysterious past tearing him and Layala apart, he had plenty to deal with already.

Hel shook his head. “You don’t get a free pass. No one was there to hold my hand to help me. I was alone here for years. Besides, Synick wouldn’t have that. If you want to know what’s coming, you’ll have to remember that you are the god of war, and if I must drag you through the depths of the underrealm to do that, I will. Forewarning, it will hurt.”

Thane’s skin prickled and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. It wasn’t even Hel’s threat that worried him. He could take pain. It was what was coming, the same foreboding feeling that had plagued him for weeks now. Before today he thought it was the impending arrival of Hel, but that dark pit in his gut was still there. The bodies being torn apart must have something to do with it, but what?

Chapter10

LAYALA

Layala woke to her head throbbing and blurry vision. Pushing herself up in bed, she pressed her hand to her temple and blinked several times to clear her sight. What the hell happened? It was dark, only a single candle lit within her chambers on her bedside table. The quiet sizzle of the wick was the only sound.

The last thing she remembered was… She flew out of the bed, grabbed the dagger off her hip, and whirled around the room, searching for Hel. The chair against the wall sat empty, the shadowy corners too. How did she get up here?

The last thing he said came to mind, “Go to sleep, little rabbit and dream of me.”

Her dreams… It was like she watched Hel and Thane from above. Talking about a murder of a primordial god and a weapon given to—the night goddess. It was confusing and familiar all at once. Had he shown that to her? It wasn’t as if it could be a memory, she wasn’t there. Was it to throw in her face that he and Thane were close, or was it a clue to something more? Was he insinuating that she murdered this Synick, and if so what did that have to do with now? That voice at the end, “Trespassers are executed in my territory, Hel,” that voice was hers.

Heart thundering, she crept to the door and slowly pulled it open a crack. Piper stood against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. Her chin jerked up and she rushed to her. “Laya, are you alright? I saw that the katagas serum didn’t work and I ran. I wanted to get Thane, but Hel trapped all of us inside the throne room somehow. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you to fend for yourself.”

Gaining control of her rapid breathing, she nodded. “It’s alright. It was the right choice. Where is Thane now? Is he still trapped?”

“I’m not even sure. He sent his mother away, sent all the guards outside and told Fennan and Leif not to come near this wing of the castle or near Hel. He told me too. I just didn’t listen.”

“You didn’t see which way they went?”

“Hel said something about Thane owing him a bottle of wine. I can think of a few places they might be. Let’s go.”

Having drinks like two old friends?Her stomach ached at the thought of the elf she loved dining with the Black Mage. When she saw them together in the dream, they were close.