Trees whip past me as I sprint up the slope. Deeper into the woods. Every breath is a stab in my chest. Branches scratch my face and arms. The hammer pulls in the opposite direction. Unwilling to put more distance between itself and the giant.
Wood cracks behind me. I toss a glance over my shoulder.
His massive form crashes between the trees, snapping trunks like twigs. A blue glow conquers anything he destroys, anywhere he steps. Frost blooms from his touch. His breath is frosted, like a blizzard.
“Stop!” I scream at him. “Ari! Stop!”
He doesn’t. He can’t. He is a slave. A slave to the Queen. To his mother.
I am running from the man I love. I have to. Ari will catch me. He will crush me. Squeeze me like he did that soldier.
The monster roars. A heart-wrenching call of desperation. I can feel Ari’s pain. I turn to him. He has stopped.
Did it… did it work? Is he listening? His eyes stay fixed on me. But he isn’t moving. My breathing is ragged. I don’t know how much longer I can go on. I’m fucked. Why not just?—
Ari’s foreign body lurches downward. Like he’s preparing to run.Fuck. In a split second the tension in his body is released. He barrels toward me. The fastest thing I have ever seen.
I’m dead. I’m fucked. Freya, take me to?—
But he stumbles. His feet entangling like some clumsy toddler learning to walk. He howls as he crashes face-first into the forest floor. The world shakes around me. Pinecones fall from trees. Branches tumble to the ground.
I blink through the chaos. This is my chance. My only one. The hammer is stuffed in the bag. Ari knows his target now.
I scramble up the mountainside, grabbing any root or rock willing to help me. Every breath slices my throat. My legs burn. My side aches.
“Ylvin!” I scream, voice cracking. “Elof!”
My shout tears through the mountain air.
I shout again. And again. My last hope. My teacher.
Below me, Ari releases a roar so loud the sky seems to shudder.
“Ylvin! Help!”
Silence.
But then. Above me.
A low growl.
The guttural sound of an animal. I freeze in terror as a shape takes form in the shadows. White fur contrasts against the pitch-black behind. My stomach tightens as I pant, desperate to breathe. What the…
Massive blue eyes shine at me from the darkness.
Strangely, it’s like I recognize them. Like I’ve held their gaze before. Like I have felt their judgment. I should flee. I should escape. Surprising myself, a wave of relief washes over me.
The wolf speaks in a deep, feminine voice, colored with maternal care.
“Kilda, my dear, what have you gotten yourself into this time?”
CHAPTER 80
Istagger forward, almost falling to my knees.
“Ylvin… Is that… is that you?”
The white wolf tilts her massive head. Her maw splitting into what resembles a smile. She found me. The eyes. I know it’s her. It has to be. But… How?
