Ali rose slowly, and I heard Revna’s tinkling laughter.
“I thought it was you, cave-swine. How’s your finger?”
“This one?” Ali flipped up her middle finger. “It’s fine.”
Revna laughed. “Aren’t you clever? Now I see why Galin took you with him into the Well, even if you have a mutilated hand.”
Ali looked right at me, eyes like flecks of ice. “Your entire family is amazingly vile.”
Not going to argue with that.
“And we remain enemies,” she added.
I turned, stalking away.
Next to me, Revna walked calmly among the bodies. In her gore-smeared armor, with her sword still dripping with blood, she looked like a valkyrie choosing which among the slain would rise and go to the gods’ halls. Except the valkyries had honor.
I shuddered as reality sunk in. This was the future, the place Wyrd was currently leading us. If Gorm and Revna continued to rule, there would only be more battles, more massacres. Death and destruction were the High Elves’ identity.
“Do you know how many we lost?” I asked.
“Our side? One hundred and seventy-eight.” Revna nodded grimly. “One hundred and twenty-two High Elves, one hundred and sixty-one Night Elves, and one hundred and sixty-seven Vanir remain.”
I’d come here wanting to take Ali away from all this, but now that seemed completely unlikely. At least the Night Elves were surviving.
“Did you know it was possible to kill an elf simply by stabbing them in the balls?” said Revna. “Wait here.”
She ran ahead of me. She stopped by a fallen soldier, a Night Elf. The elf moved, seeming to ask for help, but Revna knelt, and I saw a blade flash in her hand. The elf fell back to the snow.
I snarled, my blood running cold. “That was against the rules of the Winnowing.”
She turned to look at me, glee dancing in her eyes. “Haven’t you heard? Nothing matters except for winning. And I like it that way.”
I leaned close so no one could hear me speak. “Your lack of honor is an embarrassment.”
In a flash, Revna had her dagger at my throat. “But you wouldn’t turn me in, would you, brother?”
I reached for her wrist, but before I could pull her hand away, the Helm of Awe hummed, and a blazing gout of magic hit me like a sledgehammer between my eyes. Pain split my mind. Even with the helm weakened, I felt like it was ripping my skull open. I clutched my head.
“You see?” she trilled. “You cannot hurt your own flesh and blood. Do not tell me what I can and cannot do.”
I curled my lip, a low growl in my throat. I would kill her when I killed Gorm.
At the top of the hill was an ancient carousel buried under the snow. It looked a bit like an enormous frosted cake, though the effect was disturbed by the weathered faces of wooden horses poking out from under the drifts.
In front, I found Gorm stomping around in the snow, Sune next to him. The king’s face was beet-red with anger.
“What in the darkest Hel happened? We were gods-damned slaughtered out there.” He glared at me. “Galin! How did you not foresee this?”
I shrugged. “I’m not omniscient.”
The king stalked towards me, his sword gripped tightly in his hand. “Who in Hel were those saber wielding elves?”
“As they said when they arrived, they’re the Vanir.”
He kicked a snow drift. Spittle flew from his mouth. “Loki’s blood! I want to destroy them.”
I’d never seen Gorm quite like this. Nearly unhinged. Raging. He paced back and forth before the carousel like a caged lion. It delighted me.
“What are we going to do?” He swung his sword, carving it through the head of a wooden carousel horse. Suddenly, he spun, pointing the sword at my bare chest. “I asked you a question.”
I flashed him a smile. “You are the king. Surely, in your infinite wisdom, you foresaw this possibility and have already devised a plan.”
With the back of my hand, I slapped his sword away, and fear flickered in his eyes. I didn’t think I would have been able to do that before I’d weakened the helm.
He turned from me, ranting again, shaking the sword with frustration. “This was our chance. We designed the agreement with the Night Elves so that we would have the advantage. Now, we are completely out of options.”
Now this was interesting. “What do you mean advantage? What did you agree upon?”
He swung his sword again, decapitating another horse. Splinters of wood