swung again, and I only narrowly managed to dodge out of the way before its fist connected with my head. It hit me in the left shoulder instead, shattering the joint with another crack.
I managed to bite back on the dark fissures threatening to take away my consciousness, pulling strength from the pain as it fueled my battle rage. Before the troll got another chance to hit me, I tightened my magic around it like a fishnet. The beast struggled against my bindings, but I kept my focus ironclad.
A gleam of metal from the stream revealed the location of my discarded blade. I did my best to protect my injured left side as I rolled up on my knees with a grimace, reaching for my weapon with my right hand. Only when I was once again armed did I force myself to my feet and turn to face the troll.
It was lying on its back in the creek again, muscles straining against the dark ribbons of my magic. Living in Midgard for all those years had dulled my senses, had made me forget the lessons I’d learned in my youth. It wouldn’t happen again.
Baring my teeth at the creature, I straddled its chest and pushed the tip of my blade against its thick skin, this time using the tendrils of my magic not binding the troll to help me push down. My broken ribs and shoulder made me hiss with agony, but I kept my focus, and the knife slowly slid through its flesh and into its heart.
Beneath me, its great body lurched a final time with a shout that shook the trees lining the stream. Then, finally, it stilled.
Breathing heavily, I sagged against the troll’s chest, hand still wrapped around the knife. For every rapid pulse of my heart, the adrenaline left my system, allowing the pain from my broken bones to overshadow my relief at bringing down the monster.
“Why did you follow me?”
Annabel’s sharp voice pulled my thoughts halfway from my misery, and I looked at her over my uninjured shoulder. She still had Mimir tucked under one arm. The other she had raised out in front of her. Light glowed around her palm.
I barked a laugh, instantly regretting it when my ribs were forced to expand around my lungs. “Are you going to kill me, omega?”
She could, I realized. I was too weak to shield myself from an attack for long, thanks to the troll’s fists, and inexperienced as she may have been, I wasn’t a fool. She’d taken down Loki. She was powerful. And very, very angry.
“I’m thinking about it,” she said, a snarl on her delicate features that made her look more savage than any omega had any right to. “Fair’s fair—you killed me, after all. So, I’d like to know why you saved me from that… thing.”
I blinked slowly. She was trying to weigh whether my reasons for saving her were noble enough to spare my life. I wheezed out another laugh.
“I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. I have not turned honorable, and I do not have regrets. I saved you from the troll because you are still tied to my brothers. If you are hurt, if you die here… they will feel it. And their lives will be forfeit. So I will remain by your side, and I will protect you until Ragnarök has shattered the nine realms and I can break your bond to them.”
She stared at me, her dark eyes hard. I remembered their chocolate-brown color from the world of the living, the eager shine in them as she’d looked over my horse, Draugr. She’d been a different person then. Softer. Innocent.
“You won’t make it here on your own,” I reminded her. “Even with your magic, you’re nothing but a lamb in this world, ripe for slaughter. You can hate me as much as you like, but I know how tight those matebonds bind you. Just the thought of the agony they’d go through at your death… You won’t risk it, even if it means sparing my life.”
Annabel narrowed her eyes at me, and for a moment the light in her palm flared brighter. With a scoff, she closed her hand into a fist, the light dying down. She spared me another hard look before she turned on her heel and stalked off into the woods.
Grimacing, I forced my aching body upright and followed her.
She walked until nightfall, only occasionally exchanging a few words with Mimir. When the gray light