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“Raiden.”
Right. She’d said his name. I inhaled deeply. “The god of beasts.” I remembered from the conversation with Maddox and Naomi.
“God of creatures,” he said, correcting me.
“Right.” It said as much in the book I’d read the other night. “Why are you here? In Deadwood, I mean.”
“For my family. That’s why I need to be a keeper, so I can access the vaults.”
My heart pounded; I could feel my pulse in my closed fist. “What’s in them?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” I blew out a tense breath. “I already know too much.”
“You’re not going to leave until I tell you, are you?”
I shook my head.
He eyes darted up as he took a moment to consider. “I’m searching for two keys belonging to my sister and brother’s prison realms. They’re in the vaults, and that’s why I’ve been trying to gain access.”
“Oh great.” I glanced down then climbed my gaze back to him. “You want to free more gods. That doesn’t sound dangerous at all.”
“It could be, but they’re my family.” He closed the distance between us. “Let me get you out of this rain.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Cold seeped through my skin and into my core, but I didn’t care. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You ruined my life. Maddox almost died because of you.”
“I didn’t expect Freya to turn up like that. She had been hiding from me.”
“Still your fault.” Tears trickled down my nose and cheeks.
“Anything else?”
“Yes. I have no chance of being keeper. You’re a god. An actual god. You can pass any test, so I’m never going to be able to see my sister now.”
He brushed his fingers against my cheek. I batted his hand away. He stretched his rain-soaked lips into a smile. “You can find her, still. You’re the only one standing in your way.”
“I can’t go.” I looked at him incredulously, blinking droplets from my eyelashes. “She might…”
“She might not want to see you?” he asked, and my stomach knotted. No one had ever said it out loud before, not even me. “She will.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Don’t let your fear hold you back.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “You’re one to talk. I’m not the only one standing in my own way.” I gritted my teeth. “That’s why you were in the woods, right? Looking for Freya? She’s the one who’s been killing the people. I put two and two together, and for whatever reason, you hate her. You could have found another way into the vaults, but you were busy looking for her. Why is vengeance more important than your own blood?”
Darkness flashed in his eyes. His stare was impenetrable, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. “Careful, Elle. I’ve been doing everything I can to get those keys.”
I hugged myself, shuffling my weight from one foot to the other. “You like calling me out. Well, I’m doing it back for once. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it, Raiden.” Hearing his name on my lips silenced us both.
The rain picked up, turning stretches of mud into streams of brown, dragging dead leaves and twigs deeper into the woods. Hearing him talk about my sister had hit a nerve. I was braver than I should have been. He could kill me as easily as snapping a twig.
“We’re getting out of here.” He grabbed my arm, but I pushed back.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He clenched his jaw. “I’m not asking.”
