Page 67

Harlow

The Castle

I ’d come to a decision on who to send to Dark Haven and the human realm. The fact it was someone I knew made the conversation ten times harder.

Elkan was the only real choice.

It had been him all along, though coming to that conclusion was downright painful.

The man in question stood in front of me, waiting for me to break the news, but I couldn’t find the words.

“Harlow, what’s going on?” he asked, breaking the silence. At this point, I had to just rip off the bandage and tell him.

“Look. Sarah gave me a new prophecy while we were in Dark Haven.”

“Okaaay,” he drew out when I failed to continue. “And what was that prophecy? I haven’t heard it yet.”

“An even exchange, that’s apparently how I close the portal,” I said.

He blinked at me, and I waited, wondering if he would come to the conclusion on his own.

“Even exchange,” he mumbled to himself. He repeated it twice, testing the words.

“When Hel escaped Helheim, a willing sacrifice had to be made,” I said. “Hence my death and eventual reincarnation here.”

“And now someone has to exile themselves from this realm willingly in order for the exchange to happen,” he finished for me. “You need me to go to Dark Haven.”

Tears formed in my eyes. For once, I didn’t fight them.

“Yes. But you’d never be able to come back here, Elkan. You’d be a human. I’ll try and hold onto a fragment of your soul so when Sarah passes, you can, too. But it’s only a theory Loki has. I’m not sure it’s something I can even do.”

He squeezed my arm.

“Harlow, it’s all right,” he soothed. “Sarah didn’t want to come here. Drake explained that. And I would do anything to be there with her again. This isn’t a burden or something I have to think about. Being away from her is pure torment. My mate has been through enough, this is the least I can do for her. I’m willing to die for her, too, even if that death is permanent.”

My eyes closed, letting the reality of it wash over me. I’d figured out how to say it to the demon and we’d reached a conclusion.

The end was near.

“Are you worried about Drake being angry? Is that why you’re so upset?” he questioned.

“Maybe a little, but I don’t think he’d be angry since someone will be there to watch over his mom.”

“Exactly,” Elkan reassured me.

“It’s losing you as an adviser and a friend that hurts. I also feel guilty for making you lose your immortality,” I explained.

“I’ll be there to protect Sarah and you’ll have someone you trust watching the portal and fixing Dark Haven. This is the best scenario we could have reached,” Elkan reassured me.

“But you don’t know how to be a human,” I pointed out. “You’ve never been one.”

His returning smile was indulgent. “And you didn’t know how to lead and look at you. Sarah and I will work wonders in that place. She needs a purpose and so do I.”

The fact this man had a wealth of patience was appreciated. Already, I felt confident in my choice and his.

“I’m going to say this gently, but I think you’re overthinking. You were reluctant to come here, right? Well, I’m not reluctant to go. My omega is waiting for me on the other side. This realm was good for me, and immortality has its perks. But immortality alone means nothing to me. You did the same for your mates, didn’t you?”

“I hate it when you’re right,” I muttered, both of us chuckling to ourselves. “When do you want to go?”

“I think the better question is when are you ready for me to go, Harlow? I’ve waited for Drake’s entire life to be able to be with them over there. I’m ready to go and thanks to your deal with Odin, Drake can visit us there, too.”

“We should talk to him first.” The conversation had been danced around on my part for a few days. I didn’t tell them my plan, but I had a feeling they’d all come to the same conclusion I did.

“There’s no need,” Drake said.

“Gods!” I yelled with my hand over my chest. “I swear I’m putting bells on you guys. You’re always popping up out of nowhere.”

He ignored my theatrics in true Drake fashion.

“Look. I came to this conclusion three days ago. I was just waiting for you to come to the same one,” Drake admitted.

“What the fuck, Drake?” I groaned.

“You all need to work on communication,” Elkan added unhelpfully. It was moments like this that I saw the resemblance in the two demons.

“I have multiple demons, gargoyles, and a wraith in my group. That’s not happening,” I deadpanned. “Monty would rather eat grass everyday than talk about his feelings and thoughts.”

“He would,” Drake agreed. “I thought this would be the easiest way for you to accept it. You get attached to people.”

“How could I not feel awful? You hated him for a long time because you didn’t know the truth. Then you finally get him back and I’m permanently taking him away again,” I pointed out.

“Mom needs him,” Drake said simply. “That’s more important.”

“I’d love it if you came to Dark Haven from time to time,” Elkan said, turning to his son. Drake nodded.

He didn’t have to say more, we knew he wouldn’t leave Sarah for long.

“Someone has to come show you around Vane’s office and teach you how to use the internet. If it’s still a thing when the portal closes,” Drake joked.

“The sooner we close it, the better,” I agreed.

“Humanity will rebuild,” Elkan said before giving me a determined nod. “I’m ready, My Queen.”

Hiro, Roman, Monty, and Kol joined us. No one said a word, they were already listening and knew what was going on. The bond had a way of pulling us together when we needed it, and I was thankful to not have to rehash this entire conversation again.

The walk to the portal was somber. Elkan was excited but conflicted, the rest of us were ready to see an end to this battle.

I was silently freaking out that this might not work. It felt too easy and there was no way to confirm if it would work or not.

When we reached the portal, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing I might not be able to keep my promise to preserve a piece of his soul. This could be permanent.

But when I looked at Elkan, there was no hesitation in his eyes.

“There’s no point in goodbyes,” Elkan pointed out. “I’ll see you all at Dark Haven. Hopefully in a much less chaotic world.”

“Take my weapon,” Drake said, handing over his glowing dagger. There’d be more here, but who knows what Elkan would face on the other side. We’d left gargoyles in place to protect Sarah, and most of the demons died, but there were always more.

“Thank you for your sacrifice, Elkan,” I said, bowing low to the man that would save us all. Every one of my men, Monty and Kol included, bowed to him as well.

When I stood, I moved to stand in front of him, holding my palms out, facing down. He slid his under mine, eyes meeting mine with all the confidence in the realms.

Helheim brushed against me, a gentle caress of reassurance. Then it took over. The realm drew Elkan’s power away, using me as a conduit until I took over, drawing every last bit of Helheim from him.

The effort had me closing my eyes, using instinct to lead me. When there was nothing left to take, I opened my eyes again.

He’d changed already. Elkan was no longer a demon.

All aspects of this life were gone, leaving pale skin, green eyes, a shock of black hair, and a kind smile in its place. He was handsome and I knew Sarah would be happy to have him.

His smile faded quickly. Being in this realm for too long was taking his humanity, too.

He couldn’t survive here. Not anymore.

There was no hesitation as I shoved him through the portal before he could die. His sacrifice couldn’t be for nothing. We were too close to the end.

The second his body disappeared, Helheim pushed me toward the portal. It still needed to be closed.

Elkan’s sacrifice had made it possible, but I still had to do the final mending of the divide.

White hot energy pulsed through me and into the portal as I mended the fissure. Even if I couldn’t visually see the portal on the other side, I felt it slowly close, the feeling of Dark Haven muted and calmed the longer I worked.

It was now a background note, not something I could feel without having to try.

When Helheim retreated, so did I, letting the power settle back into place. I was breathing heavily as I came back to my senses.

The bond was wide open, showing me all the pride and love they were sharing at our success. They had played just as big of a role in all this as I did and I didn’t hesitate to return my gratitude.

“Thank you, Harlow,” Drake said softly.

When I turned it was only him that remained.

“You’re thanking me?” I asked. “I just literally threw your dad through the portal and turned him into a human.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think you even grasp what you’ve given my mom.”

Drake was going to say more but a terrifying screech echoed through the castle. It didn’t take long to identify Loki’s voice, and something in me knew that it was time.

I had to get up there and save Hel.

How the fuck I would do that was still a mystery.

I was running before I could even say anything to Drake, who easily fell into step beside me.

When we got to the throne room, it wasn’t just Loki and Hel. There was a human alongside her and not once did the former goddess look away from him.

She no longer was half skeleton. Her beautiful, human face was twisted in agony. A large gaping wound had torn away over half of her chest. Blood poured from it, pooling behind her and mixing with her companion’s.

Loki had mentioned she wanted someone to share her life with, I guess she found him.

I was positive the gods took his life as part of her punishment, too. Fucking monsters. Though, bonding and losing a mate would have been a death sentence on its own.

My heart broke at the pain they were experiencing.

The middle-aged man next to her was as gorgeous as she was. They were likely a pair that everyone around them was jealous of.

Until tragedy struck.

His bronzed chest was lined in muscles, though they were coated in blood from the open wound on his throat.

He still gasped for breath to no avail. Loki said nothing at the additional person, and I didn’t question it. I wouldn’t let this man suffer.

“Save him first,” Hel begged me. Knowing she would take twice as long to figure out, I did as she asked and ignored Loki’s protests.

Once I reached out for his soul, I felt it. Instead of pulling it into Helheim, I fed just enough of the realm into his body to make him one of us.

His wounds slowly mended as his body and soul were infused with second life. One that tied him here permanently.

The realm gave just enough to ease his suffering and let him live again.

Hel was far more complicated.

There was no soul to be had and when I tried to connect with her like I had the human, Helheim was more than a little resistant.

The more I pleaded for its help, the more the realm retreated from me.

“Look, I know what she did to you. I get it,” I hissed at the realm like it could hear me. Desperation made me look crazy for the first time in a long time. “She saw you as a prison and resented you for it, yet used you to keep herself strong. It’s different now. I’m not the same. I would never do that. But I am begging you to help. If you don’t, I’ll be ripped away from you, too.”

Loki let out a hum of agreement to back me up.

“Is she talking to the realm?” Roman questioned. I ignored him as I continued to speak to Helheim.

There were no empty promises, only doses of reality and a bit of pleading.

Finally, it stopped resisting me.

I connected with Hel, and the moment I did, a spark of something echoed around us. It fed into her, as if her energy had been mixed with the realm and waiting for her return.

I wasn’t sure if it was a soul, or if she ever had one, but that fragment of her life energy was enough to build on and I focused on it instead of her body.

I latched on easily and filled it with whatever Helheim was willing to give.

“Harlow, enough,” Loki called out. From the look on his and the others’ faces, apparently, they’d been trying and failing to get me to stop.

Hel was fine now, the wound in her chest mended. She looked disoriented, stunned that I’d saved her, but very much alive.

“What is this feeling?” she asked in horror, rubbing at her chest.

“My guess? A soul. It’s a heavy burden. Maybe now you’ll treat Helheim with a little respect.” My words were harsh. I had no sympathy. She had put the entire world and this realm through chaos.

“Why is everyone calling you Hel? Where are we?” the man next to her spoke. The confusion in his tone was enough to stop her from saying anything back to me.

“I’m sorry, love. I never meant to put you through this,” she admitted to him as she clasped his hand in hers. “There’s a lot you need to know.”

He gave her a strained smile. “It’s all right. You can tell me. We’re mates, nothing will tear us apart.”

He was so gentle with her, his eyes only for his mate. I was happy for them. There had been a lot of resentment sent her way, but I couldn’t fault her for wanting what I gained so easily.

She’d heard the prophecy and orchestrated everything, watched me get so much more than she thought she had here.

She was living a lonely existence and I wouldn’t wish that on anymore.

“Thank you,” I said as I turned away from the couple. The realm brushed against me in response before ebbing. It was strange that the realm, at its core, was almost like another god. A stronger one.

Someday I would ask Loki about it. But those questions were for another time. Right now, I was glad I’d repaid my debt.

Part of me expected Odin to pop in and see what exactly I’d done to close the realm. If that happened, I might not be in my position for long for saving Hel.

Then again, the gods seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere. He likely already knew. His lack of presence was a good sign.

He had bigger issues anyway.

Now that the portal was closed, the humans could fight back against the demons and reclaim their world. As a species, humans were resilient, and I knew they’d rebuild.

Either way, I’d done my part.

Both realms were healing, balance had been restored, my group was alive, and my best friend survived.

Sure, there was still a lot to work out, but we had eternity to figure it out.