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Pain ripped across her scalp as he suddenly gripped her hair and jerked her in front of him. Then cold metal pressed to her throat. She went utterly still.

“Atlanta, no!” Valeen’s eyes blew wide.

“Let us go or I’ll kill her before you can take me down.”

With a swipe of her hand over the blade, it vanished, and she raised her palms in surrender. “Don’t hurt her, please.”

“That sword,” Atlanta growled. “Soulender is supposed to be with Hel right now and given to Pricilla.”

There is a time to be the soft petals of a rose and a time to be its thorns.“It’s alright, Val. I’ll go and Atlanta will say nothing to Pricilla about Soulender. And there will be no fight here today. Do we have a deal?” With a blade to her throat, she had to be soft and bide her time until she could become the thorns.

Valeen’s eyes glittered with tears.

Atlanta lowered the knife from her throat. “We do.” Water swirled around their feet. Valeen stayed still, she threw no magic at Atlanta, no daggers, only watched helplessly as Atlanta’s waters rose up and swallowed them.

Chapter 52

HEL

“Lord.” Out of breath, Mathekis pushed through the line of pale ones, and rushed to his side.

Hel kept watch on Pricilla’s fortress gate. It started to lift. His breath came quicker. All his careful planning, waiting in the Void for hundreds of years and creating the curse was going to finally pay off. He and Valeen would be fully god and goddess again. Immortality was within his reach and soon after that, vengeance. “What is it, Mathekis?”

“The elf king is not here.”

A feverish heat burned through him, and he slowly turned. Mathekis took a step back, his pure black eyes in his pale face widened in fear. “Not here?” Hel snarled.

“There are no dragons, Lord. No elves. There is no one else.”

Hel glanced at the woods behind him and his army. A slight breeze rustled the leaves but there was no other movement. He clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached.

The gate lifted fully, and flanked by several guards, Pricilla rode out. A gust of wind fluttered past him, and thunder rolled in the distance. He had no idea how many soldiers she had hidden behind her fortress walls, and if Atlanta and Alehelmhad brought even part of their forces with them, this would be a slaughter, not a battle.

“Fuck,” he said through his teeth. Mathekis bowed and backed away. “This changes nothing. Wait for my command.” Hel kicked Starborn’s sides, he reared and took off.

How could Thane leave him to fight Pricilla alone? Had something happened or was this yet another betrayal? Pricilla and her group lined up and waited. Alone, he faced them.

“Where is Atlanta?” she demanded.

“Probably going after Katana.” And that meant his own wife was in danger. This needed to happen fast.

With a frown, Pricilla shook her head. “Primordials always think they’re above the rules that they themselves set.” She took out a pink leather pouch from her satchel. Pulling the drawstrings, she opened it and pulled out two silvery crystals on golden chains. A slow, glowing pulse emanated from the one on the left. A warm tingle whirled around him, and then it was as if a tugging involuntarily pulled him forward. It was his immortality, he felt it. It wanted to be reunited.

“The sword.” Pricilla dangled the thing he’d wanted for thousands of years just out of his reach. He pulled the weapon from the holster on his hip, and taking hold of the blade, angled the handle toward her.

At once, he grabbed the two chains, and she took the sword. Quickly, he placed the chains around his neck and tucked the precious items under the collar of his black armored chest plate. The power from each of them seeped into him, like trying to hold a star. It felt like a buzz of lightning waiting to strike.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Hel drawled.

Pricilla grinned as she ran her hand over the golden blade. Lifting it to the sky, the shiny metal glinted in the bit of sunlight that peeked through the dark thunderclouds. Then she swung it at Alehelm. The blade broke skin, but with that force his headshould have been lopped off. If he’d given her the real Soulender his head would be on the ground.

He hadn’t expected her to do that and unravel his deceit so quickly.

“You were going to kill me?” Alehelm’s mouth hung open watching his blood drip down the blade.

Time to go. Hel turned Starborn and faced his army. Two thousand of them jumped and paced and clawed at the ground, waiting to be unleashed.

Pricilla screamed, the rage palpable, and thunder cracked. “Hel, we had a deal! Give me Soulender! This is not Soulender!”