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“Look at Father. He’s the most powerful being I’ve ever known. He can defend us against any foe. You don’t think it’s a gift?”
I swallowed back an angry sigh. “Maybe you should ask Father what he thinks.”
“Maybe I will. In the meantime, you should eat something. That’s why I’m here, after all.” He shoved the plate through a slot that appeared in the glass. “There’s still a bit of food left.”
He’d eaten all the meat, leaving a few carrots, half of a bun, and a small scoop of peas. “Great. I’m famished.”
“So are you going to tell me what led to this?”
“I don’t really think it’s any of your business.”
The truth was, I didn’t actually know. How could I explain something I barely understood myself?
“Something had to have triggered it. Did someone hurt you? Did you get a bad grade on your homework?”
I glared at him. “When have I ever cared about my grades? I’m not you.”
Annoyance danced in his eyes. “Tell me, brother. I’m just trying to help you. Perhaps if we understand what triggered it, we’ll figure out how to help you control it. As much as I enjoy seeing you in here, I don’t want you locked up forever.”
Taking a deep breath, I sat on the bed and stared down at my hands. “It wasn’t me who got hurt. It washer.”
Tor leaned back against the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest. “So it’s about a girl. I should have known.”
“I swore to protect her and nearly failed. She could have died because I wasn’t enough. So I became more than enough. I stopped the bastard who was hurting her—crushed him into nothing more than meat. I’d do it again. I made a vow that I’d keep her safe, and when it appeared as though I’d broken it, the berserker manifested.”
“What did you do, swear your vow in blood? Must have been pretty important for the gods to intervene like that.”
He had no fucking idea.
“Well... if your berserker is tied to protecting the girl, maybe seeing her safe and whole will sate your bloodlust.”
“Why are you so insistent on helping me? I thought you’d be glad to see me like this.”
“Maybe at first, but only because you deserved it after taking my spot. But now I’d like to get my brother back.”
The raw honesty cut through my anger. As much as I wanted to throttle the arse-licker, I really did love him. I gestured to my prison with a sigh. “And how do I go about visiting her when she inhabits another bloody realm?”
Tor lifted an object out of his back pocket. “With this.”
He slid the thin rectangle through the same slot where he’d given me my half-eaten meal. Interest sparked inside me. A mirror. Of course.
“Might I have some privacy, brother?” I asked, holding the looking glass in my palms as though it were the most precious item in existence.
“No. Aunt Quinn doesn’t know I nicked this. I’m not leaving it in here for you to tattle to her about later.”
Beggars couldn’t be choosers. I stepped away from the transparent barrier. He could spy on me all he liked, but that didn’t mean I’d let him watch over my shoulder. My pulse pounded in my ears as adrenaline raced through my veins. I could see her. I had to see her. Make sure the others had kept her safe.
“Show me Sunny,” I said as I stared at my reflection.
The smooth glass became a whirling pool of mist. I held my breath, waiting for it to clear. When it did, I nearly dropped the fucking thing.
In my wildest imaginings, I never would have pictured this. Or the way it tore me apart.
Instead of the grief-stricken mate I’d been expecting, my Sunny was curled up in bedlaughingwith that fucking priest. So much for his vows. He held her spooned against him, his lips moving as he spoke to her, a rare smile on his face.
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe life would have stopped for her because I was gone. But I thought she’d at least care. That she’d miss me. But that was not the face of a woman mourning an absent lover.
She was content. Happy.
