thanks to Ali’s blood. Gods, she had tasted sublime.
It had taken every ounce of my self-control not to drain her completely.
I returned to the familiar stone bench. Thick smoke gathered at my feet as the curse smoldered deep within my core.
Where would Ali be now? The question seared my brain, and fate be damned, I wished I’d never gotten her mixed up in this. I should have set her free, gotten the wand myself, and found her later.
Whatever was happening now, King Gorm certainly wouldn’t be treating her to a manicure and clay face mask. He’d want to torture her, extract all the information he could. Worse, Ali was a Night Elf. She was supposed to be banished to the Shadow Caverns. Her very presence in Midgard was enough for a death sentence. And if they learned she was an assassin…
Cold rage slid through me, and I imagined ripping open the king’s throat before I savaged his entire family.
And then there was Levateinn. The king now possessed Loki’s wand, and he had the power of the gods in his grasp. He’d be nearly impossible to defeat.
I should have never set this sequence of events in motion. I shouldn’t have used my magic to call Ali to me.
I stood and rested my head against the iron bars. Trapped in the cell, there was nothing I could do.
I frowned as an idea came to me. Actually, there was one thing I could do. I could access the astral plane.
I sat on my stone bench. Closing my eyes, I focused my inner eye on the ethereal realm. Without my soul, I couldn’t traverse it, but I could still gaze upon its vast expanse. I could look for my mate again.
Where is Ali?
As I searched, the curse kindled, a low, throbbing pain in my stomach. I ignored the pain and scanned the astral plane, searching for Ali. I could see the souls of the castle guards stationed at the gates, the High Elves in their chambers, even a few humans as they walked Boston’s icy streets.
In the distance, a pair of souls glowed, so close together they might have been one—it was Ali’s and my souls together, shimmering faintly. Thank gods she was alive.
Heat began to fill my veins, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.
Horror slid through my bones. I knew exactly where she was. By the edge of the Well of Wyrd.
“Marroc?”
I opened my eyes to find a High Elf standing before the cell bars, her pale hair tumbling over a golden gown.
“Welcome home,” she said with a smug smile. “We missed you.”
Pure panic was claiming my mind now. “Revna. I want you to know that if you harm a hair on Ali’s head, I will find a way out of here and personally destroy everyone in your family. I will make it hurt. And after I kill you all, I will take over the kingdom myself.”
Her face paled, and her jaw dropped open. “You can speak?”
“Apparently. What are you doing with Ali?”
“I want the ring back.”
A plan started to form in my mind. “The Night Elf has it,” I said. “Why don’t you ask her for it?”
Revna crossed her arms, pouting. “The king won’t let me anywhere near her.”
I was about to tell her she could find Ali by the Well of Wyrd. This, at least, would stop her from being thrown into it, and it would buy me a little time to get to her. I’d have said anything to forestall what was surely Ali’s imminent demise.
But before Revna could reply, a group of guards burst in.
“Step aside, princess,” shouted a burly guard. “The king wishes to see the prisoner.” Already, he was at the front of my cell, unlocking it.
Normally, I would have put up a fight, wet the floor with the guard’s blood, but that wouldn’t get me to Ali any faster. My best guess was that they wanted to throw us into the Well of Wyrd together.
I turned back to Revna as he led me away. “Princess,” I called, “if you want your golden ring, you’d better make sure nothing happens to Ali.”
As we started to climb the stairs to the amphitheater, frustration ripped through me. We were moving far too slowly, and panic was still searing my brain. What if we didn’t get there in time? I had to expedite this.
I whirled to the guard closest to me and sank my teeth into his neck. With the power of his soul flowing into me, I