Page 91 of Fallen Gods

“It will.”

Hmm. “I’ll help you,” I finally force out. It’s the best I can do. “For now. But I need something in return.”

Her brow arches. “Nothing’s free, Giant.” Her smile is unguarded, stunning. I almost stumble backward in disbelief. How can a simple smile unarm me that much?

I look away. “I want answers Sigurd won’t outright give. I want to know the real reason behind the runes on my back. I want to know what my parents died for, because no chance in hell was it an accident, and you know it.” She says nothing. “I’m changing, becoming something different,” I admit. “Before, I could control myself. But it’s nearly impossible to keep up now, and with the runes—well, you saw what just happened back at that tree.”

Her lips part, then curve into something that looks too much like pity. “Is this where I’m supposed to tell you that you’re a special sort of Frost Giant and give you a high five and pat on the ass?”

I bark out a laugh, but it sounds wrong in my own ears. “Work on your bedside manner, doc. And I don’t know. Whatever power’s inside of me, I just need to understand what it is.” I know I’m being vague, but trust isn’t something I can just turn on at will.

It’ll have to be earned.

I look away, jaw grinding.Focus. “And you? What do you want?”

She hesitates, eyes glinting in the moonlight before she finally answers. “My theory? You actually havefiverunes on your back,but only two are unlocked right now, so you can see them. Each one that unlocks wakes up your sleepy-powerful self a little more. Until your power’s unleashed fully and you either go boom”—she flicks her hand like an explosion—“or you’re finally free.”

My heart pounds double-time at her words. It’d either be my end…or my new beginning.

“After that,” Rey continues with a nonchalance I know can’t be real, “you’ll know exactly where to find it—my reward.”

My gut knots. “Find what exactly?”

Her arms cross over her chest as she leans against a tree. Calm. Deadly. “The most powerful weapon in the world. Something that was stolen from us. Something I need to get back in order to save the people I love.”

I freeze. “The most powerful weapon in the world?”

And she what? Is just going to keep it and never use it? I know she wants my trust, but this is too much.

She nods, eyes sharp. “My weapon. My family’s weapon. One that was stolen during a bloody war both of our families were tangled in. Mjölnir’s been hidden away, and your runes, I think…they’re the map. Except someone locked you down. As long as you stay quiet, controlled, normal, the perfect weapon stays hidden, too.”

The words crush me, heavier than the storm still growling above.

“And what if I’m not a weapon?” I whisper. “What if I’m the opposite of everything you need? What if I’m the villain? The monster?”

Rey’s composure slips. “Then I guess we face it head-on. Together. Besides, we’re all born with a little bit of monster inside us. Who says that’s a bad thing? Something has to save us from ourselves.”

Her mouth tilts, the faintest hint of a smile appearing on herlips. I like it more than I know I should, how easy and pretty it is, how desperately I suddenly want to be the reason for it.

“And it’s not Hyde that does the saving. It’s Jekyll.”

Her words hang in the air, as dangerous as they are comforting.

And I don’t know if the storm inside me is fear…or hope.

Chapter Forty-Four

Aric

I stand in front of the carved rune she says should be the third one, its lines faint in the moonlight. I brace myself, reach out, and brush Hagalaz with my fingertips.

Nothing.

The silence is so complete, it’s unnerving. No crackle of power, no storm breaking loose—just the sound of my own breath.

Rey exhales, her voice soft. “It must be terrifying…knowing you can wake up from a dream but not knowing what you’re waking up as. It’s fitting, I suppose, that Hagalaz is the third rune.”

She steps closer, eyes locked on the symbol. “It means awakening, awareness, hope, balance, transformation…” Her words trail off, then harden. “It’s the point of no return, Aric. The moment where you either look back and walk away—or move forward.”