“No,” I screamed, but it was too late. The sword cut through her heart.
Galina shot me a wry smile. “To live an eternity without the love you crave is no way to live at all.”
I understood her perfectly. I thought I’d lost Grim, but I went to the edge and back to get him. To live one lifetime without someone you love is a terrible thing. To live for an eternity without them would be interminable torture.
Miranda’s eyes flew wide with shock. Then she stared down at the sword as a purple light surrounded the blade, before it wound around her wrist and then traveled up her arm before disappearing into her skin. She pulled the blade out, expression panicked.
Galina rested a hand across her heart before she sunk to her knees, then leaned back into a seated position. Grim walked over to her, his face solemn. He laid Sekhmet down next to Galina, and Galina embraced her sister one final time. Her legs curled in and her head fell to the side in a beautiful repose as her eyes turned white and the last breath left her.
It was done.
27
Grim
With Galina and Sekhmet gone, I soon discovered how they’d been able to hold my brethren. A magic cage, once used to contain the monstrous titans who reigned terror many millennia ago, had been refashioned to trap the other gods.
Taking a page from my book, Galina fashioned the prison below her hotel in a custom-built basement she’d clearly been preparing for some time. Though the massive enclosure had been well stocked with luxury furniture to accommodate comfort, it still grouped together a bunch of highly pissed-off gods.
I found the key in one of Galina’s books. A first edition of C. S. Lewis’sThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Fallon grinned as I unlocked the gate. “I knew she could do it.” He clapped me on the back as he exited.
Bianca’s reaction had quite a different tone. Her face grew drawn and pensive. Still, she hugged me to let me know she was glad to see me, but she said nothing.
“Sire,” Timothy said in a stilted voice, nodding his pleasure at seeing my return. Before he knew what was happening, I grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. Shocked, he stilled for a moment before returning the embrace.
When Qwynn emerged, she stared at me with equal parts relief and pain. Then she looked past me to Vivien. With a nod, she accepted the truth. Vivien would always be the one for me.
“Thank you,” I said, with genuine gratitude. “I was told what you did. How you tried to stop them.”
A seductive smile flickered across her face. “I only did it because it served my needs.” Then she gave a little sniff as if it had all been a terrible inconvenience.
But I could see through the bravado. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Perhaps we can be friends?” I asked.
An arched eyebrow rose. “Friends? Absolutely not.” She turned to go. She got only a few steps before she paused and swiveled around. “Maybe in another eternity, darling.” Then she was gone.
Miranda escaped mostly unscathed, though Aaron had a concussion and suffered some internal bleeding. Fallon laid hands on Aaron, healing most of his traumas. Timothy fussed over Aaron, going on about needing a doctor. Aaron shut him up by grabbing his head and kissing Timothy speechless.
“Y-you give me strength,” he said when he broke away.
Timothy’s eyes darkened as he framed Aaron’s jawline with his hand.
While I looked elsewhere, to afford them privacy, Vivien cooed in happiness while squeezing my arm.
“Did you see what happened when the blade cut through her?” Miranda asked me and Vivien, her tone somber.
I nodded. A supernatural power arced off the sword and sunk into her body. “Looks like the weapon has attuned to you.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she asked.
“It means there are magical properties that have opened up to you and only you.”
Miranda snorted. “I don’t know how to use a sword. Why couldn’t it have been a firearm?”
I nodded. “We’ll see that you are well trained if you are to be the guardian of the Blade of Bane.”
Something tugged at my gut. A familiar, yet rare sensation. I knew it would come. I just didn’t know when.
