Page 119

“The god—the god of war?” The dragon stared at him for another beat, then turned and ran.

People all around stopped and stared at the blood running into the streets. Watched as Thane threw down the sword and it clattered to the ground next to the bodies. Droplets of crimson had smattered across Katana’s cheek. She reached up and swiped at her face only smearing the blood across her golden tanskin. When she looked at her palm she began to tremble. With the horror in her eyes, he knew she was drifting somewhere else in her mind. To the dark place he would have to pull her out of.

He turned on Ronan and shoved him into the wall with a snarl. “We’re leaving. Now!”

Back in hisguest room at Ronan’s, Thane dipped his hands into a water basin and watched the clear liquid turn pink from dried blood. He scrubbed at his wrists and arms to clean off his crimes. Once all trace of blood was gone from his skin he tossed his stained shirt onto the floor. He didn’t feel bad about killing them. The only thing that haunted him now was that he was the reason for the horrified look on Katana’s face, andthatdevastated him. She wanted to see the good in him and now she knew the truth.

But they’d touched her, threatened her, and that was all it took for him to justify their deaths. And there was no time to be detained and questioned for Maker knows how long. The Drakonans on Ryvengaard could have imprisoned him along with everyone else and then demanded proof he was who he claimed to be. Once they believed him, they’d want to know where Hel and Valeen were. Either way, he wasn’t going to get out of there quickly unless he did what he did.

He was done proving himself to dragons, and if the king and queen still refused this alliance, he’d kill them along with the crown prince and make Ronan their ruler. The time for diplomacy was over. Maybe Hel was right. Sometimes it took rolling heads to get somewhere.

He dried his hands off on a towel and his bare feet quietly slapped on the cool stone floor of his room. An envelope sat onthe dresser with a red wax seal of a serpent wrapped around a lily. Thane tossed the towel beside it and tore it open.

Hello cousin,

If you’re reading this, that means I went to the underrealm. It’s likely Valeen will follow me if she finds where I’ve gone. Varlett’s ring became a problem. It was life or death for Val. I’ll return to the land of the living as quickly as I can, but I thought the High King would want to know his Palenor is vulnerable.

~Hel

P.S. If I die, you better not touch my wife again. I’ll come back to haunt you and this time I won’t be so nice.

Thane growled, crumpled the letter and tossed the note into the roaring fire. That bastard was always doing something reckless and dragging Valeen along with him. Surprisingly, he didn’t have the overwhelming urge to go after her, to save her like he used to. Before this would have consumed his every thought. But she wasn’t his responsibility. It really wasn’t his duty to protect her anymore. It was Hel’s.

His jaw ached from clenching it so tight, and every muscle in his body seemed wound up, but that was from many things.

And how in the realms would taking Varlett to the underrealm rid them of the problem? And when did it become so urgent he had to go now?

A quiet knock on the door irritated him even more. “What?” he snapped. If it was Ronan with any other news than good, he was going to knock him out. Then when he came to, they could talk. Huffing and puffing, he stalked to the door and threw it open.

Katana blinked several times and seemed to shrink in on herself. “I can come back.” Her voice was soft and timid.

He felt his own face fall and the stiffness in his shoulders loosened. “Katana,” he said, surprised to see her. He didn’t think she’d want to see him for a while after what he did. He didn’t want to have to kill those shifters in front of her. He didn’t want to subject her to violence like that. She’d been through enough of it. “Is everything alright?”

“I… uh… I was worried about you.”

His brows furrowed and he leaned his bare shoulder against the doorframe. “Worried about me?”

“I should have listened to you when you said it was a bad idea. I sided with the queen to go into the shop and then you had to… I hope you are not angry with me.”

He rubbed his chin, confused by her reaction. Why would she blame herself? Then it hit him, she was probably used to taking the blame from Atlanta. “I’m not angry with you at all. What happened wasn’t your fault. It just happened.”

“But I should have listened to you. We should have gone back and those dragon guards would not have approached you and you would not have had to kill them.”

“I will never blame you for anything. I killed those dragon shifters because I needed to. It’s the way of this wretched world.”

“How do you not feel bad about it?”

“I just don’t. They would have hurt you. They put their disgusting hands on you. That’s all the reason I needed.”

“Oh.” She pulled her gaze away and he thought he saw the beginning of a smile.

He pushed off the frame and opened his door further. “Would you like to come in?”

Without a word, she whisked past him then turned. She took in several deep breaths, making her chest heave up and down in a distracting way. “I changed my mind.”

He scratched the side of his head. “About wanting to come in? You’re free to go whenever.”

“No,” she said softly. “About your… offer.” She pushed the shoulder straps of her dress off and it fell in a heap around her ankles, leaving her completely bare in front of him. “One night and no promises.”