“Please, Kilda, listen to Ylvin.”
I stand and nod at them both.
“I want to see,” I say.
Ylvin moves and continues.
“Ari is in his primary transformation. Those are always… violent. Pure berserk energy with no mind to guide it. No discipline, but it makes him powerful. He’s practically unkillable in this form.”
Ari scratches desperately at Elof’s arms, trying to break free. To no avail. The punches keep hammering into my Ari’s monstrous face.
“How can I just watch?” I shout into the night, my blood simmering. If Ari dies and I do nothing, what does that make me? Just watching feels like… betrayal. I would be no better than those who watched me suffer.
Ylvin laughs. A primal laugh. Raw pleasure.
“I love your temper,” she says. “But what the fuck will you do down there? And Ari might target you. Elof will have to protect you. Then we risk losing. If Ari knocks Elof out of his giant form, we’re in real trouble.”
Beyond the Jotnar battle, the blazing fire lights up the night sky, even if the farm is out of sight. All the pain. All the loss. On my shoulders. It has to end well. As well as it can. I can turn Ari back, wake him up.
“But I?—”
Ari throws off Elof with a sudden surge of strength, frost energy crackling along his arm like lightning. He lunges forward,snarling. A wounded god. I know it’s selfish, completely fucked up, but somewhere within me, I hope Ari wins. Even if it kills us all. Even if it curses me. I don’t want Ari to die. I want my Ari back. Soft, warm Ari.
“Here we go,” laughs Ylvin, like it’s a game, some silly children’s game.
Elof dodges Ari’s attack easily, making Ari overreach and stumble forward. The rock giant smashes a fist into the back of Ari’s head, crushing his face into the mountainside. Chills run down my spine.
“That’s it—” I say and prepare to descend.
“Kilda!” Eidunn’s voice rings out.
She looks furious, not crying anymore. She holds a finger up at me like she’s reprimanding a little girl. This is the Eidunn I know, the Eidunn I remember. Despite the situation, a silly smile grows on my face.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” she hisses. “You listen to Ylvin now, or I’ll?—”
“Watch out!” shouts Ylvin, moving out of the way.
The air is quiet. A shift in the rhythm below.
No rumbling. Is it over?
Is it?—
The world explodes.
Ari’s enormous body flies above us, flung through the air like a rag doll. He sails above me, so close I feel the icy aura that surrounds him. So close my hair is dragged by the wind following his body. For one breath, for one impossible heartbeat…
Our eyes meet.
A flicker of blue drowning within the titanic glowing white. Just enough for me to know. I always knew.
Ari is in there. Still. Ari is alive.
Hope heats my chest. My heart jumps with joy. But it’s only for a brief moment.
Ari crashes into the mountainside behind us, rock raining down his massive form. Elof leaps over us, shaking the earth beneath my feet as he lands closer to Ari. He charges the ice troll, storming forward at horrifying speed.
“Elof!” roars Ylvin. “Don’t bring him here, you troll!”
