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Malice

“So… one last orgy before we die? Do I have any hands?”

Lir cuts Cyprien a glare, the vein bulging in his forehead and his skin purpling with the sheer amount of rage bubbling to the surface. “Must you always be so insufferably stupid ? We’re not having a fucking orgy.”

“I thought it was a good idea.” Fenryr pouts, smooshing Dagny’s face deeper into his chest as his arms tighten around her shoulders. “Might as well if Slaine is going to kill us all, right?”

Roark scoffs, crossing his arms as he narrows his eyes at Fenryr. “Are you going to give up that easily?”

“Did you not listen to a word Dagny said? They know where we are. They’re coming to kill us, and there’s not a single other spot in The Far Place we can run to.”

Then we don’t run, Kaebl interjects, his voice startling everyone into silence. We fight.

Lir shakes his head solemnly. “I hate to agree with Fenryr, but… none of us are strong enough. And as powerful as Dagny is, she’s only been training for a few weeks. Eventually, they would overpower her.”

Roark turns to me with a desperate whine building in the base of his throat. “Malice, come on. Say something. Tell them that you have this figured out—that we can win. That we can live .”

My mouth pinches together in a thin white line as I stare downward, focusing on a small crack in the ice by my toe.

“ Malice !”

“It’s over,” I whisper, unable to meet their heated stares. When I devised this plan, I knew it was extremely unlikely that Dagny would complete her training before Slaine found us. I knew all along how slim the odds were that I would get to experience some happiness in this wretched life—that there was less than half a percent chance I would have a future with my mate—but I still clung to that thread of hope, let it consume me. I deluded myself so much that I began to see it as fact at some point. I believed I would make it out of this intact, trusted too much in the fates and the stars and the extraordinary sensation of feeling something for the very first time. Now…

“There’s only one thing left to do,” I say, a hollow pang ringing in the space where my heart should be. I look at my mate, and I know at that moment I would do anything— anything —to make sure she lives. I’ll gladly go to my death, happy I had this small amount of time with her. Happy I had a glimpse of the life I could have lived.

“I’m going to show you where Abaddon’s heart is. We’re going to reverse the sundering—once and for all.”

* * *

The violent wind whips against my face, cruel icy tendrils slicing my cheekbones and causing my eyes to water. Each breath I take is labored and painful, but it’s nothing compared to the agony pulsing down the bond, filling my chest and weighing me down as that pit of dread in my stomach spreads, consuming every part of me and threatening to send me crashing to the ground.

The sensation originates from the beautiful woman flying to my left, her expression matching the surge of pain echoing through the bond. As hard as she tries, she can’t keep me out of her head—or rather, she’s unable to stop the violent rush of thoughts and emotions that pour out of her, filling my ears and striking fear to the center of my chest.

She’s angry that I kept the location of the heart a secret, but she also understands why . Not only is it incredibly dangerous to retrieve it, but digging it up means there will be no more Malice. No more Kaebl, or Cyprien, or Lir. Roark and Fenryr will be absorbed just as easily as the rest, and nothing will change that.

I know why Dagny is angry, and it has nothing to do with me. She’s furious at the fates for bringing us together only to tear us apart when things were finally good, and she was finally— finally— happy for once in her life.

I’m not sure which is more powerful, her anger or her sorrow, but it makes no difference. Both cut just as deeply. Every part of me wants to reach out to her, to turn around and go back to the lair and pretend the end isn’t approaching, but I know I can’t. If I do that, if I abandon this fight, if I refuse to make this sacrifice… my mate will die.

Cut to the left. My voice travels down the bond the seven of us share, directing them deeper into Slaine’s territory. Make sure to keep above the cloud line. His scouts will be everywhere the closer we get to the forest.

The others nod in an affirmative, and we continue gliding through the air, heading slightly toward the left and into the heart of Slaine’s lands, where the oldest known welwigs reside—and where I buried Abaddon’s heart twenty-one years ago.

A few hours later, we come across the forest—a circular grove dotting the barren landscape no larger than a mile in diameter, densely packed with hundreds of the ancient trees. I gesture to the small clearing in the center of the forest, nearly hidden from view by the clusters of branches and dripping leaves forming the tightly packed canopy. We float slowly toward the ground, passing through the small space between the trees one by one and keeping watch for Slaine’s soldiers.

As soon as we land on the ice, I’m overcome by a rush of wild, pulsing energy. It whips against my skin, thrumming through the air and the ground beneath my feet, the swirling tendrils reaching, searching. It’s not a pleasant feeling, and I can’t help but think the welwigs are unhappy with Dagny’s presence. Perhaps it’s because she has access to their largest, most ancient stores of magic. Perhaps they’re worried she’ll sap it dry. Perhaps they dislike the fact that she exists at all.

“Follow me,” I murmur, tugging Dagny deeper into the forest. The others follow suit, their eyes scanning the shadows for threats as we move toward the center—where the heart is.

It also happens to be right next to an arachnyx horde, but as long as we stay utterly silent, we’ll be able to avoid detection?—

“Ow! My fucking toe!”

I whip around, my mouth falling in disbelief as I take in Cyprien’s pinched expression, mouth still partially opened from his outburst.

Are you fucking kidding me? I scream into his mind. I told you to be quiet! One thing—one—and you can’t muster the barest morsel of willpower to shut your hole for five minutes! I gesture around the barren landscape, my face purpling from the amount of rage I’m holding inside. What in the fuck could you have stubbed it on?

Cyprien frowns, reaching down to rub his sore foot. I don’t know. I just know I did.

My gods. I bring a hand to the bridge of my nose, exhaling a shallow breath as I try to calm myself. Watch where you step from now on. You’re lucky you didn’t alert one of those horrible creatures to our loca ? —

Shut the fuck up! Fenryr interrupts, bringing a finger to his lips as his eyes scan the shadows. Be quiet for a second. I think I heard something.

We form a protective circle around Dagny, our muscles twinging and primed to strike down anything that would dare have ill intent toward our mate. And then, from deep within the shadowed forest comes that rhythmic, low-toned clicking—piercing through the stillness and filling my veins with adrenaline.

Fenryr whips his head to the side, his mouth wide and eyes filled with a terror I’ve never seen before. “ Cover Dagny no ? — ”

He doesn’t get to finish. Before the last word passes his lips, a giant white ball of movement slams into his side, knocking him off his feet and sending his body cartwheeling through the air with a piercing scream. My muscles coil, preparing to lunge after Fenryr when another sound makes its way to my ears, clearing my mind of anything else and freezing me to the spot.

Dagny’s horrified gasp shudders through the clearing as my head whips toward her, finding her eyes wide and face paling as she gazes at something standing just past the tree line.

I shift my gaze to the side, and a bolt of horror spreads through my veins at the sight of the massive white spider demon crawling out from the shadows. All eight of the spider's milky white eyes hone in on Dagny as it rears up on its four front legs, the clicking sound replaced with a low-toned hiss as the creature inspects her small frame, debating whether the fight will be worth it.

That horrific clicking breaks the air once more, vibrating beneath my skin and slipping between the cracks in my ribs, then stopping my heart as a dozen more arachnyx materialize from the shadowed forest. The horde surrounds us in the next blink, their mandibles tapping together and filling the air with a chorus of gut-churning chittering sounds as they prepare to strike.

“Oh gods,” Dagny whispers, her voice hoarse as she takes in the horrifying creatures. “Holy fuck… we’re going to die… we’re going to fucking die…”

“Shh.” Malice brings a finger to his lips, his eyes scanning the horde of arachnyx, carefully assessing each twitch and slight movement. “It’s okay, little one… everything is okay…”

“I fucking hate spiders,” she whispers, sounding close to tears.

“I know,” Malice says, shifting his eyes to her briefly. “But you have to be brave. You have to calm down .”

Dagny takes a deep breath, her eyes sweeping around the circle wildly. “Okay… I’m calm.”

“You don’t look calm,” he murmurs, flicking his gaze to the arachnyx closest to him. “But you know what? That doesn’t matter… I’m not fucking calm right now.” We all step back, tightening our protective circle as the creatures inch closer, their jaws clicking and dripping with a viscous, clear liquid.

“Malice?”

“Yes, my dear sweet mate?”

“What am I supposed to do?” she whispers, her voice hoarse, holding all the fear her expression conveys.

Malice turns to her, taking his eyes off the arachnyx and giving it the perfect opportunity to pounce. Just as it lowers, preparing to strike, Malice grabs Dagny’s shoulders, looking deep into her eyes with a small smirk tugging at his mouth.

“Show me what you’re really capable of.”