House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,35

had been scared to bring Button to Hel for fear that he would steal it. He was feeling her out to see if she thought him to be the culprit of the last unfortunate mishap.

“He is at home in Yggdrasil. I thought it best for it to be just the two of us.”

It sounded like a very political answer, he thought. “Yggdrasil is not really your home though, is it?” he asked.

“My home is where I choose to be,” Tara said. And then she countered his question with another, thinking that it seemed as though he were just trying to unnerve her. “Hel is not really your home either, is it?”

“No,” he answered. He was—and had always been—impressed with her quick thinking. “Valhalla is my home, although this place has grown on me.”

“So which realm is it that you will choose to live in when the worlds separate from each other?” she asked with a face displaying no emotion whatsoever. She had always done well with being political, even as a small child.

Her question hurt Tannin more than he had thought it would. It was as if the sting of her scorn had already poisoned him before he had even been bitten.

“You are already giving up on us and conceding to the separation of worlds I see.”

“No,” she said. “I was merely hypothetically curious.”

“I would choose here,” he answered. “The underworld seems to be better suited to the beast that I am.”

It was now her turn to be stung. Hearing someone else call him a beast was bad enough but hearing him refer to himself in that way made her chest hurt as if she were being electrocuted. She had had enough of the cruel game they were playing with each other.

“You are not a beast,” she said as she strode forward through the room to his chair at a flurried pace, faster than what he was prepared for. She put her hand against his chest and leaned her face toward his.

“What are you doing?” he said. He was completely flustered and taken aback.

“I know you didn’t take Button,” she said. “I know it was my brother.”

“But then, why did you run from me?” he asked as his voice shook. “In the forest, before I left, you ran from me.”

“No. I didn’t run from you. I ran to Rolf. He is still my brother, and I thought he was dying from the blow that you gave him. I ran to him because of that, not because I was running from you.” She shook her head and lifted the hand that she had placed on his chest to shove him with it. “Why must you always be so arrogant?”

“Arrogant?” he asked. “Really? You think that I, this half-man, half-demon with horns growing from his head and a temper that scares most people into shitting themselves, have anything to be arrogant about?” He laughed, but it wasn’t out of humor; it was out of exasperation. “I have nothing to be arrogant about, beautiful girl.”

She wished he could see how beautiful he was, how stunningly handsome and powerful he was, and how kind and gentle she knew he could be. She wanted to shake him until he could see himself through her eyes. But she could not even say anything further to him before they were interrupted.

“Tara,” Helia screamed as she rushed into the throne room. “You must go back, now!”

“What? Why? What’s happened?”

“There’s not time,” Helia said as she called upon her magic and pushed Tara through to Yggdrasil.

“You know that will be the end of things now,” Matt said as he looked at Helia with a grim expression. “The time has come due, and if they’re not together—”

“Yes, I know,” she said sharply. “There was nothing else that could be done. She had to get back to the safety of the forest.”

“What the hell is going on?” Tannin asked as he stood from the throne.

Helia wanted to scold him for being on her throne again simply out of principle but now was not the time.

“Rolf has seized Alfheim,” she said.

“What? How is that even possible? Doesn’t Lopt rule Alfheim? And Celeste? How in the hell could that little worm have seized an entire realm from the hands of a god as powerful as Lopt?” Tannin was bewildered.

“He’s been stealing magic.” Helia could hardly believe the explanation she was about to give. “Apparently, he has built a device that allows him to steal the power of others. He has been using it