his own skin, and gotten rid of us all in one fell sweep.
“Loki isn’t behind this,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else. “I was wrong.”
They were staring at me, Grim with darkness in his eyes, Mimir with intent, but they were both silent—unable to tell me anything more, thanks to whatever spell had been put on them to keep them quiet.
How long had Grim been working for them? Before we arrived at Valhalla? Or had he been turned after?
I spent the next couple of hours in silence, working over what little information I had of who might be behind it all. It’d been a sort of comfort, really, when I was sure it was Loki. Not knowing was infinitely scarier, even if some small part of me was relieved we wouldn’t have to kill Bjarni and Saga’s father.
But would we have to kill Modi and Magni’s? I remembered my concerns—concerns Bjarni had shared—when Magni’s pleas for help to get us back from Seattle had gone ignored. And I remembered the power of the entity that had faced Saga and me during our trials to enter Asgard.
Wasn’t Thor supposed to be the mightiest god of them all?
As far as evidence went, it was weak. I’d accused Loki too hastily, ignoring how easy it would have been for him to end my life without having his son kidnap me to Hel. Sure, before I knew he couldn’t have been behind the well creature, I’d assumed he had some nefarious and magical reasons for not killing me the old-fashioned way, but I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I wasn’t going to do that again. Even if Thor had proven to be a prime jerk and an awful father, it didn’t necessarily mean that he was trying to bring about the end of everything that’d ever lived.
But who, then?
I rubbed irritably at my neck, the sweat on it making me itchy. I didn’t know nearly enough about the intricacies of the gods to hazard a guess, and yet somehow it was my job to figure out not only who was behind this whole catastrophe, but also stop them. Because why not? It wasn’t like Asgard was littered with literal gods who could maybe get off their collective asses and do something about it.
The feathers decorating my armor brushed against my throat, aggravating it, and the leather clung to my chest, overheating my body.
Growling, I pulled at the feathery piece, intent on freeing myself from its constrictive confines, when realization struck and my fingers stilled.
I was sweating.
Slowly I lowered my hands, my mind switching from trying to puzzle out the betrayer’s identity to the here and now.
My blood felt too warm in my veins, and when I focused inward, my pulse drew me down to the heavy press low in my abdomen.
It was happening.
I bit my lip, anxiety flaring as I glanced over my shoulder at Grim. He was staring blankly into the fire, an unmoving sentinel, just like he had for the past four days. Waiting.
I should have felt relief; I’d been waiting for this. Once it was done, we could continue our search for a way out of Hel, and Grim…. Grim would learn that there was no choice but for us to fight against Ragnarök. Together.
But… I rubbed a hand against my chest, the leather still too tight on my skin, eying him again. This was… so very different than it had been with my four other mates. Saga, Magni, and Bjarni had all been keen to bed me, eager to put their marks on my neck. Even Modi, who’d been reluctant at first, was all heat and primal urges underneath.
Grim? Grim was ice and shadow and hate.
My supposed soulmate, who had killed me without hesitance.
Enough wallowing, Annabel. No amount of trepidation was going to change what had to happen now.
Trying to will my hands to stop shaking, I began to undo the straps tying my armor in place. First the plumed chest piece, then the wrist guards. My boots. I kneeled and undid my belt and leather trousers, sliding them and my panties off my thighs, until I was naked.
Still warmth licked along my veins, the momentary relief of being bare drowning as my temperature climbed. There was only one thing that would bring me true relief.
I walked on bare feet across the cave floor toward the fire. And Grim.
Only when I stopped by his side did he glance up at me.
“What—?” His smokey voice quieted as he took