Page 46

Harlow

Monday Night

Dark Haven Courtyard

W e didn’t have to wait long to see what was coming our way. The ground shook beneath us as the building creaked violently. I half expected the entire thing to come tumbling down around us.

As the quakes continued, artwork and plaster rained down on the floor. If not for Kol’s wings covering us and Monty’s shadows engulfing the area, we’d likely be crushed under some of the debris.

“Shit, the portal,” Drake said.

My heart stopped at the scene unfolding before us.

At least ten bodies lined the ground in front of the portal. Blood was pouring from the slashes on their throats, pooling on the ground and soaking into the earth below.

The portal itself had changed, opening even wider now and pulsing with power. The flames shot into the night sky and filled the courtyard with an eerie glow. A low noise that resembled thunder echoed out of the hole.

It was utterly terrifying.

This was what Hel was waiting for.

“This is why she called us to Helheim. It was a distraction so the warden could sacrifice the innocents,” Monty said.

“Why is my blood different than theirs, I’m a fucking human, just like they are! This doesn’t make sense,” I said.

Shadows filled the space, the familiar emptiness of my shadows pushing at me in a time of crisis. It was almost reassuring.

“You’re not just a human, you’re bonded to demons and gargoyles, there’s something different about you. But I don’t think it’s just going to happily close this portal. There’s no way it’s that easy,” Drake said in frustration.

“Easy?” I choked out. “You think killing myself would be easy?” Honestly, I was more numb than anything now, not truly letting it hurt me.

Drake looked at me with an annoyed expression. “Don’t read between the lines here, Harlow. We’ve already made it clear that death is not an option.”

Another forceful quake had us pitching forward and falling to the ground. We tried to scramble to our feet but it was unrelenting, a wave of demons in the hundreds pouring out of the portal and racing past us.

Kol’s horn sounded behind us, calling the gargoyles to action but there was no response. They were likely already occupied and failing to stem the tide of demons.

“I know what we need to d—” Monty’s words cut off abruptly, and when I turned to face him, he was gone.

There were no shadows or smoke left in his wake like there usually was, and I knew that my protector had been taken by Hel.

Pain, sharp and all-consuming, lanced through my chest. Our bond was severing, the threads snapping away one by one. I couldn’t breathe or think straight. Tears blurred my vision as reality tore through me just as sharply as the dwindling bond.

She’d followed through on her promise, Hel was giving me no choice but to die.

Would it even save him?

“NO!” I screamed into the void, angry and broken. What did I ever do to deserve the pains she’d given me all these years.

And this was my final thanks for that sacrifice?

She was more of a monster than he ever was.

Was this the real reason she put the warden here? To whisk my demon away when I needed him most. Giving me no choice but to fight without him?

“He’s gone,” I choked out. “She took him. The bond is breaking. How will I find him without it?”

No one had an answer but my mates huddled around me, feeling my pain since we were all connected now.

As abruptly as the horde appeared, they were gone. At first, I thought it was my mind finally breaking. One glance around told me how wrong I was. The courtyard had truly descended into an empty silence.

A low chuckle filled the quiet.

We weren’t alone.

The warden and Gravik stood in front of us, smiling as if they had already won. The arrogance had me letting out a war cry, but it was cut off with a wave of Gravik’s hands. It felt as if my body had turned to stone, a heavy weight pressing into me as I was rendered motionless. I couldn’t move or fight.

If she wanted a willing sacrifice, this was the last thing that would achieve it.

Kol let out a roar in protest behind us and Drake was cursing up a storm. I looked up at Roman and he was pale, frozen as the fight drained from him.

He looked resigned, and I knew what was going through his head. He was about to be forced to watch someone die in front of him again.

Someone he wanted to protect.

I hated that he would suffer even more trauma from this, and I couldn’t let that happen, I had to get us out of this.

The real fucking question was how. I had no magic to fight back, only a blade I couldn’t reach for.

“What do you hope to gain from this?” I asked. Yelling wasn’t my intention but my voice was hysterical, there was no helping it, and I no longer cared about showing weakness.

I’d had enough. Even my hallucinations kept their distance, forming on the borders of the courtyard and not bothering to move in as they watched it all unfold. A constant presence I found oddly grounding in that moment.

Askaal laughed at my struggle. “I stand to gain an army, and I’ll be even more powerful than you could ever dream to be. It will all be at my fingertips. It never made sense that the warden, the one Hel trusted her entire prison to, didn’t control her army. And now your commander is going to rot away in the same prison I’ve watched over for centuries. Don’t worry, I prepared one of my best rooms for him.”

Gravik laughed. “Every time you call for him, he will hear you, but won’t be able to rush to your side. In fact, every ounce of pain we give you, he will feel tenfold. Imagine being so helpless. How poetic that you’ll die and he can’t even stop it.”

“I’ll get him back,” I promised. “You won’t command anything, then. You’ll be dead, slaughtered by my hand.”

Gravik lifted his hand which had me rising in the air before slamming me to the ground in front of them.

“You won’t get the chance. You’ll watch us kill your men, one by one. Just as powerless as your supposed savior.”

Askaal stretched his hand out, palm up. A double-sided sword appeared and it was long and thick, the blade curving slightly before ending in a deadly point. It gleamed in the light of the blue fires.

What wasn’t covered in dried blood, at least.

Again, Gravik moved his hand, shifting me around like a puppet so I was facing Roman. My heart stopped in my chest. Tears were streaming down my face as I openly sobbed.

“No!” I screamed. “Get the fuck away from him, don’t you dare!” My voice broke as I yelled but I couldn’t stop.

“I’ll give you a reason to want to die, right now. I see three very good reasons right here. Or should I make that four?” the warden taunted as he trailed the tip of his blade over Roman’s face. Blood spilled from his cheek, soaking into his shirt. It wasn’t enough to kill him yet, but enough to make him weak.

Roman’s eyes locked onto mine and the rest of the world fell away.

“I love you, Harlow. Thank you for giving me and Hiro the life we deserved.”

My heart shattered into pieces and my sobs turned into wails. He was crying, too. My strong, protective boyfriend knew this was it for us.

We’d given our entire heart and soul to each other within these walls, and now it would be our grave.

“I love you, too, Roman. You both made me feel loved for the first time in my life. Made me feel like I was enough, that I belonged. Thank you.”

My voice shook so much it was almost hard to understand but the smile he gave me would haunt me for however long I had left to live.

“Oh, how touching,” the warden said before he slammed the blade forward, cutting straight into Roman’s chest.

My scream tore through me. It was feral and raw, my voice breaking as I continued to yell, unable to stop myself.

I’d never known true pain until now. Whatever pain Monty’s absence and failing bond had caused… this was so much worse. Every cell in my body, every nerve ending, was filled with sorrow and a pain I couldn’t escape.

I was an omega who’d just watched her alpha die. There was no coming back from it.

Just moments ago, I had everything to live for and now I would have to watch that everything be yanked away before I died, sacrificing myself for someone I didn’t even care about.

Hel didn’t deserve what I had to offer.

She deserved to rot for this. Suffering for eternity.

I would suffer, too. If I survived somehow as she promised, if this wasn’t the end… how would I live without them?

“Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, Harlow.” Even Drake’s voice was filled with emotion, anger and tears warring within it. “I fucking love you, and this won’t be the end for us.”

There was no time for me to answer as Askaal stepped forward. “I guess we have our next volunteer.”

He was in front of Drake before I could even blink. I was shifted closer again, forced to watch as he slid the blade across his throat so his head fell back at a sickening angle. The wound didn’t bleed like Roman’s, he simply turned to ash the moment his life was taken.

His humanity was officially gone. Would he even be reborn?

My screams turned into haunting wails. I was cold and hot at the same time, my heart so shattered it felt like someone had cracked open my chest and ripped my heart straight from it.

Kol’s roar of anger was so intense I was shocked the other gargoyles hadn’t joined us. Though seeing the power displayed from our two tormentors, I doubted anyone could hear what was happening but us. They were monsters, not careless.

There was no fanfare as he walked to Kol. I hoped against hope that the blade wouldn’t be able to cut through his thick skin.

That thought was short-lived.

Askaal met my gaze as he sliced off Kol’s wings, one by one. My mate never looked away from me, refusing to lose a moment we had left together. The horrifying roars from Kol were hard to hear. I only wanted his pain to end.

The moment he slammed the blade into Kol’s chest, he took the last of my men from me, breaking me forever.

Just as the demons, my gargoyle was nothing but dust.

There was no coming back from this. Even if I survived, I wouldn’t go on without them. This memory would haunt me until the end of my life.

“Unbind her,” the warden commanded Gravik. The weight lifted off of me, and I could move again. Instead of fighting, I ran toward Roman, the only body that remained. He was slumped to the ground in a bloody heap. I rolled him over, crying harder at the sight of life completely drained from his eyes.

I never even got a chance to tell Hiro goodbye.

“No,” I sobbed as I pulled him into my arms, holding him close and whispering all the things he’d never get the chance to hear. “I’m so sorry, Roman, you and Hiro deserved so much better than this. It’s my fault, I should have run away, kept this from getting this far.”

“Come face your death like a real champion of Helheim.”

A cold numbness took me over at his words and I bent down, brushing a kiss on Roman’s forehead before gently laying him on the ground.

I rose to my feet, walking toward the warden with my dagger clutched in my hand. I’d only taken a few steps when a flash of red hair caught my attention.

Loki sat on top of the gazebo. I didn’t turn his way. He may help me yet, and I wasn’t going to draw attention to him.

“Someone needs to send my mates’ bodies to Helheim, to give them back to me,” I ordered.

A flash of red disappeared, and I prayed that Roman’s body went along with it.

If anyone could change the tides of this war it would be Loki. He didn’t serve Hel, just himself. He peddled in favors and saving my men meant I’d owe him my entire soul.

For them, I’d give it willingly.

I’d have to put my faith in the God of Chaos. Honestly, it was fitting for the life I’d led.

“I never claimed to be a warrior. But if you want my life, then come and take it, I give it willingly. Face me, stand close to me and watch the life drain from my eyes like you’ve done to so many others. I want you to see the moment you realize you’ve fucked up.”

He smirked, every ounce of arrogance he possessed forcing him to move closer to me. He held his weapon at his side, no long speeches in store for me. His expression was full of sick joy, his mask tossed aside now. He thought all of his dreams were coming true.

I was using it to my advantage. This was my last chance to finish this the way I chose.

Both of the high demons were oblivious, laughing at my hoarse demands. He thought he had truly won.

“Now,” Gravik demanded. He was done with the fanfare.

Just as Askaal flexed his arm to strike, blade aiming for my chest, I slammed my dagger forward, burying it to the hilt in his.

It sliced easily through his chest, but I was too slow, his weapon already in motion, stabbing me in the heart.

Just as I intended, my sacrifice would take him with me.

No one would be the victor today.

I expected an explosion of pain but all I felt was an icy numbness that wrapped around me before I disappeared completely.