Page 132 of Veil of Blood and Bone

I’ve given away my personal power for long enough, any shred of it I’ve got left.

Fear slicks my tongue.

“End the cycle of death. Find the keys. Break the locks. Make the sacrifice, and this time, perhaps, you’ll taste victory at last. Sacrifice to gain. Lest the offering is pure, Asgard wins."

The world spins, vicious, cruel, and uncaring, and Audra remains at its center, her milky eyes an anchor through the rolling.

It feels like falling. I know I’ll land hard. And I know, before the crash, one of us will die.

Chapter 27

Forest

Find the keys, break the locks.

My chest seizes. Flashes of light blink at the periphery of my vision and I turn my face from the girl to the sky outside.

At last the strains of breath squeak through my clenched teeth but my heart hits too heavy against my ribs.

“Hold on, kid, hold on,” Helene urges. “I love you so big. You come back. Don’t let them use you.”

The poor maiden.

She doesn’t deserve to be the puppet of the weavers. Those three are nothing but trouble and they have the singular ability to convince a person that destiny is sealed to anyone else. Solid. Providence is as unchangeable as death.

Nothing is set in stone.

Thunder cracks, and Audra goes limp.

No one moves.

Freezing rain taps softly against the windows.

Footsteps stop beside me, and I twist my head toward Nicholas. Sweat cascades along my spine, absorbed by the furs around my waist. He stares straight into me and if I hold his gaze too long, I’ll lose myself in the void of his pupils.

He has always been able to convey his thoughts without words. Because of my position, because of the creature I used to be, I read them clearly.

Contain her.

The command settles heavily.

Nicholas says nothing else.

Helene drops to her knees and reaches a shaky hand toward Audra’s face. The girl's eyes flutter shut, and I’m not the only one who breathes easier once she does, as soon as the voices of the Norns fade to bad dreams.

Nicholas holds my attention for a second before turning, sweeping his all-seeing eyes across the room. “Let’s get her into bed.”

Helene shakes her head and slides her lower lip between her teeth. “We shouldn’t move her yet.”

“But—”

“I said no.”

The room stills, and Nicholas stiffens beside me. Only one of us is able to handle her when her mood⁠—

“It’s better this way, monster. Let her rest in her own space.” Wren soothes, rising and brushing dirt and misplaced dust bunnies from his pants. “She’ll be more comfortable.”

The lights flicker, shadows darkening, a different sort of containment.