Page 196
Arwan’s hands are gone.
Godric’s comforting shadow disappears.
Ze’ev’s fight vanishes into the fog.
No!
Panic seizes my chest as the newly sutured threads in my heart begin to tear.
“Such a shame,” King Njord says as thorns pierce the veil.
His crown of dark antlers breaks through, and then he spreads it more with a claw. I swallow my panic as his fingers wrap around my throat and squeeze.
All I can think of is that Arwan’s tower is inside me now.
All his pain.
All his rage.
If anything, all this has taught me that strength is built under pressure, so I endure King Njord’s wrath as he forces my body onto its knees.
I let him think he’s won. He won’t see my spirit until it’s too late.
“Let go of them, little one. It’ll be over quickly, and your soul will be free. I won’t keep it here to suffer,” he promises.
His dark eyes glitter with lies.
I know not to believe the Undertaker.
Especially when my brother’s blue eyes shine inside him.
You’ve devoured the wrong soul.
My brother has a weakness, which means that King Njord has it now, too.
Pride.
I let him think that letting go means I’ve given up.
Closing my eyes, my spirit drifts.
“That’s it, sister,” Edward purrs. His voice comes from within King Njord. They’re one and the same evil, and they’ll experience the wrath of death itself for letting their guard fall.
I release the strands I’m holding, which allows them to shoot out.
Please be enough, I pray.
I haven’t completed my mate bond to Godric, but he’s been by my side since my arrival. He’s protected me, stood by me, and I can feel the dominance of his wolf tearing through the veil.
He gave me his crest. It might have broken, but that bond is within me now. That powerful thread is tangled around my heart and cuts deep when the web I have between all my mates yanks tight.
“What?” King Njord shrieks as the darkness cuts through with a thousand golden chains that form my bonds with my mates.
I only had to trust them enough to let go.
I had to realize that I was enough.
I didn’t need to change.
