Page 57

Harlow

The Castle

T he silence felt like it stretched on for hours. I could feel Drake’s conflict in the bond. Even Hiro, whose bond wasn’t forged with him just yet, moved closer to offer support.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Drake finally managed. His tight eyes were telling. He still held some of the resentment, though he was trying hard not to.

“It was my choice to engage with her,” Elkan said, not allowing the blame to fall away. “Tell me she’s safe?”

Not a single one of us could promise him that.

“It’s impossible to know yet. But I will be figuring things out as soon as I can,” I promised him. “There are several people there I need to know are safe, including her.”

Layne and Crew were left behind. My only solace was knowing they didn’t have to witness our deaths, but it would be naive to assume they didn’t guess what had happened.

“Can you feel the portal at all?” Hiro questioned. We had so much to talk about and catch up on. I wanted to lock away my pack and reconnect like we should. Yet too much rested on us right now.

“Not that I know of. But honestly, outside of feeling my connection to you guys, and the realm as a whole, I don’t have any other overwhelming sensations going on,” I admitted. “Was Hel able to feel that kind of thing?”

“No,” Elkan promised. “But she did learn how to send demons through and to peek in on the other side. That’s something we’ll have to figure out.”

Elkan was proving to be more knowledgeable about this realm than I anticipated. Between him and Valgri, I felt a lot less alone.

A huge conflict warred within me knowing Dark Haven was falling and I was here taking my time. Sure, I wasn’t sitting idle, doing nothing, but I needed to get a hold on this new life and get back as soon as possible.

Odin’s warning whirred in my mind. Time passed strangely here, so I wasn’t sure how much I had left. Hopefully, that would all resolve once I made it back through.

“My Queen,” another unfamiliar voice rang out and I turned to watch a giant of a gargoyle drop to his knees. The castle floor rumbled in protest but Kol broke the silence that followed, striding forward and helping him back to his feet.

“Achar!”

“Brother.” The gargoyle I knew as Achar stood. “When I heard you were involved and we had a new queen, I had to come pay my respects.”

“The new queen is my mate,” Kol said, chest puffed out. My gargoyle alpha was adorable. “After Hel’s betrayal, it’s high time for a change here.”

Achar shifted from foot to foot as he looked at Kol, then over to us. “Most of us here have no knowledge of what happened in the castle. Outside of her trusted few, our former queen had secluded herself. The shift in demons was obvious but she kept the gargoyles in the dark.”

“Because you would have tried to stop her,” Kol said bluntly. There was no use hiding secrets anymore and they deserved to know the extent of her betrayal. “She opened the portal on Earth and made sure the gargoyles she had there had no chance of stemming the tide and keeping them in check. The demons rebelled against Ivar on Hel’s orders, though she kept that hidden as well. Overall, it’s chaos and she was at fault. Then she fled and left the realm to Harlow after forcing our collective death.”

“Then let me welcome you to Helheim and offer you my loyalty and that of the gargoyles. We’re here to serve,” Achar promised, a fist over his chest as he bowed his head slightly. “We only want justice. Hel has neglected these souls for far too long.”

“I appreciate that, Achar,” I said with a bow. His eyes widened at the gesture and again I was reminded I had no real knowledge of the status quo here.

“I’ll leave you to your group and will protect your castle as you adjust,” he said as he turned to leave.

“Keep an eye out, another demon that was loyal to Hel, Gravik, may try and barge in,” I rushed out.

As far as enemies went, he was now my biggest worry. It was an unknown I didn’t love.

“Hiro killed him, actually,” Roman informed me.

My eyebrows shot to my hairline as I turned to him. I’d thought it strange he looked like a human still, but apparently, there was more to him than met the eye. Now the explosion when we kissed made more sense. I thought it was my doing, maybe it wasn’t?

Hiro looked both proud and a bit unsettled by it. “Apparently, I can explode, like I did earlier, but with more damage.”

“Good to know.” I laughed. “Glad we’re a bunch of misfits still, even in this realm.”

We’d have to be careful when we did have sex, I had a feeling it would be even more explosive.

“Can you really be an outcast and be a queen?” Drake joked.

“Ask the demons who have lived in this realm,” I said. “I doubt they’re embracing my human side with open arms.”

“You’re not a human. Former human, now a goddess, and you were chosen by Hel herself,” Roman reminded me.

“They do have a point,” Monty said. “Leave my demons to me. Now that I’m back and healed, it’s time I dealt with them.”

“Where are the demons?” I questioned. We had been through a few locations in Helheim so far and not a single demon outside of the warden and those in prison had appeared.

Even in the castle it seemed only wraiths frequented the halls. The only exception were the two demon guards at the front doors.

“They have their own gathering place in Helheim,” Monty explained. “There are barracks and training grounds. I always wondered just what she was training us for. Didn’t expect it to be to fight our way through gargoyles at Dark Haven.”

The betrayal had clearly gotten to Monty, and I made a mental note to check in with him when I could. Maybe when I convinced him to take me along with him to the barracks.

“I’ll be back.” Monty’s declaration was followed by a quick kiss and a swirl of shadows, then he was gone.

“I’m going to go reacquaint myself with the castle and my old quarters,” Elkan said. “I’m around if either of you need me.”

Drake didn’t protest as his dad walked away and I wasn’t going to turn down some time with my guys. We had pressing matters, but we also could do nothing on empty. We had to be a united front, and even if Monty stepped away, he’d be back soon enough.

“This castle is awful,” Hiro noted as Drake led us down the hallway to the set of rooms we’d claimed. “Hel expected to thrive here like this?”

“I manifested clothes, maybe I can manifest some fucking light and color,” I deadpanned. “In reality, when we figure out this shit, we better figure out how to power game systems and laptops. I miss movies already. Eternity is a long time.”

“I’d kill for a new system,” Roman said with a fanged, lopsided grin that softened the hard alpha edges. “Thank fuck I don’t have claws like Kol. He gets his own controller.”

“I’ve never used one,” Kol said, looking confused.

I grinned up at my stoic alpha. “We have a lot to teach you.”

He rumbled in response, bending down to press his lips against mine. “I can’t wait.”

It was so silly to be discussing video games and movies while dealing with everything we were. But nostalgia could go a long way right now.

“Do you realize it?” Roman asked as he sat down on a low stone bench in our quarters.

The gravity of his tone had us all moving closer on instinct. Dark Haven and our pasts meant when someone was struggling, we listened without question. Even Kol sat down on the hard bench to listen, he was starting to understand what being in a pack meant.

“What?” I asked as I sat beside him. His hands were icy as his fingers intertwined with mine but they warmed in an instant and the tension seemed to melt away. Not wanting to do fanfare, I pulled on Helheim and gave what she was willing to my gargoyle, not just for support, but because he’d earned it.

“We’re free.”

The words struck me as soon as he’d said them. I already knew my hallucinations were gone but hadn’t considered that my moods were stable. No more huge dips that left me achy and drained. There wasn’t a giant upswing that left me reeling.

“And there’s no real chance of being erased,” Hiro said with a grin.

“Do you feel different?” Drake asked us. “Without all the extra baggage?”

“There’s enough bullshit here to deal with, so I haven’t had a chance to appreciate it,” I admitted.

“You’ve been amazing so far,” Kol said as he picked me up like a rag doll and wrapped me in a hug. “You saved my sorry ass.”

“All of our sorry asses,” Hiro added in. “If anyone can figure this out, it’s you. You’ve been through just as much shit as we have and haven’t let it break your spirit.”

“Spite, anger, and indignation go a long way in helping to keep you going,” I admitted. “I wish my bitch of a grandmother could see me now.”

“We could pop in for a hello, scar her for life,” Monty said as he popped in next to us. “Kol, put the Queen of Helheim down.”

Kol grunted in annoyance but let me down so I could stand freely. “Our Queen likes being manhandled.”

“I do,” I admitted. “I’m still an omega.”

“With a barren cave for a nest,” Hiro said, wrinkling his nose as he took in our quarters.

“We have to figure out how to fix this portal issue so we can move on and find a new normal. Then we can have everything we ever wanted.”

“It won’t be easy, nothing ever is,” Roman said.

“I don’t doubt that,” I said with a sigh. “Let me add this to my ever-growing list.”

“You aren’t alone,” Kol reminded me. “And you’ve already got the gargoyles’ loyalty.”

“Thank the gods for that,” I agreed, turning to Monty. “How were the barracks?”

“I’m going to need you to come out and give a show of power. Hel could grow her form huge like I can, maybe something like that. They need to know you are their superior.”

“Speaking of,” I said, going over to Hiro and holding out my hands. He blinked up at me in confusion. He was the only one not connected to Helheim. Even Drake had absorbed some through our connection. He was the last.

“Let me connect you to Helheim, too,” I said.

“Is that what you did to me?” Roman asked, finally blinking around as if he felt different.

“Yes,” I said, shaking my hand once to get Hiro to touch me.

He was hesitant, but not with lack of trust. When he met my eyes his palms touched mine. I offered a smile as I gathered Helheim’s magic into me and opened the link, pushing what the realm would allow, into him.

“Uh, Harlow. Why am I a human glow stick?” Hiro gasped. His skin was literally glowing as if Helheim’s fire was illuminating in his veins. It was stark against his pale skin but made him even more handsome, in an otherworldly way. It was just the right amount of ‘other’ to keep him confident.

“Human is definitely not an apt description. I’d say you’re something different, more in line with Harlow or a wraith,” Monty said as he walked around the man in question as if he were studying him.

Hiro shifted from foot to foot but didn’t shy away from the attention.

A throat clearing behind us had several of my group moving in front of me.

“Guys, he’s a god, not an attacker,” I said as I shoved my way to the front. “Valgri, I’ve got all of my men now.”

“And your powers are stronger, your connection to Helheim radiates from you,” he said as he studied me, a small smile playing across his lips. His voice was as calm as ever. “Perfect timing.”

My eyes narrowed at the comment. Damn, we couldn’t even have a moment of peace in this realm.

“What happened?” I demanded, barely stopping myself from adding ‘now’ onto that statement. Shit was piling up from the moment we woke and hasn’t stopped yet.

“Things have escalated at Dark Haven and beyond. I have news,” Valgri said as he pulled out what looked like a high-tech version of an iPad. He let a small smile form at my shock but didn’t keep it for long as the video started.

“There are riots in the streets of Cleveland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and New York City tonight, adding the riot count up to one hundred cities across the United States alone,” the newscaster said as explosions and screams echoed in the night behind her. The poor woman looked haunted, like this was the least of what she’d witnessed in the previous days.

“Wait, I thought the demons only lasted for minutes?” I demanded. “Their reach shouldn’t be beyond the cities surrounding Dark Haven.”

“That would have been correct, before Hel threw the portal open wide. Now they don’t have to leave such a large part of themselves tied to this realm.”

“Shit.” This was so much worse than I thought. “How do we stop it, then? I can’t just travel throughout the United States at will.”

“No, you cannot. But the moment you cut off the portal, they have no way to get back. Think of them like batteries. At some point their power will drain even as they feed, and they will have to return. If there’s no portal to find on this side, then they fade. It would take time for the world to find peace again, but it would be a significant start.”

“And who do I leave here?” I demanded. “You’re not from Helheim and we aren’t separating again.”

“That’s not a choice I can make, it is yours alone,” he said with a shrug. “I suggest you spend the evening discussing it and figure out where to go from here. But know the longer you wait, the more damage is done. The gods are stirring and will step in if you hesitate. This is the chance to prove your worth as a goddess.”

“Noted,” I said as I turned away, dismissing him. It was rude, but he was right, this was a decision for us alone.

When he was gone, I sat next to Roman again, the weight of the realm and the world back on my fucking shoulders.

“Who do we leave in charge?” Roman asked, placing his hand on mine.

“Elkan?” I asked, glancing up at Drake. “We can bring him back to Dark Haven once it’s safe. Or bring Sarah here for him.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Drake agreed. “Give Zetta power to assist.”

I hadn’t considered giving the wraith power, but I was willing to try. The moment I nodded, he called out to Zetta, and she appeared as quickly as she had every time, as if she were lurking around the corner.

For the first time, she lost her professionalism as we watched her with weighted expressions. Her eyes widened as she blinked at me.

“My Queen? Why am I suddenly terrified?”