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“Please tell me you didn’t kiss him,” Finn protests, covering his face with his hands and dragging them down until his skin stretches.
“I thought he was Kai. I’d seen an oracle and their magic is intoxicating,” I explain, incapable of gathering the nerve to meet his eyes.
“Ahh… That makes more sense. I can see the resemblance a bit. Maybe if you covered up the scar and maybe ignored everything from the chest down…” Finn continues digging his grave for a moment, while I try to formulate a plan.
“I need you to take Finn to Hell Hold,” I tell Asmo, interrupting.
“Me? I just rode Eva up here to help you.” Finn stalks forward, talking with his baby hands.
“I know. And you will. You’re going to take the king’s heart with you. There are only two people I trust unconditionally and that is you and…” I trail off, realizing this means Kai will know I’m alive. It will break the peace he’s just started to acclimate to.
“I understand. Why didn’t you tell him you were alive?” I glare at Asmo, knowing he must’ve snitched.
“Because he seemed sad, but at peace. I didn’t want to put him through the effects of the deal again, and clearly, since he believed me to be dead, the fates left him alone.” I hand him the small coffin.
“Does he have to be the one to take me?” Finn gives me a shy smile, and I wish I could tell him there was another way.
“Yes… but I need to speak to him–alone–before you go.”
“Very well…” Finn nods to Eva and she joins him, heading toward the hall.
The moment they’re around the corner, I summon a replica of the fertility stone, and the moment it touches my skin, Asmo’s back straightens uncomfortably. His eyes lift but it isn’t dark eyes that meet mine, even though his jaw clenches and ticks like a deranged man. I set it on the shelf to my right.
“What are you doing?” he growls.
“The last time I touched a fertility stone, your eyes became demonic. Kai’s too. It was almost instantaneous, and it’s the one thing the high king can’t replicate. He’s not related to Lucifer or one of the archangels created in his image. Lucifer was the only Greek god who had a darkness inside him that manifested into demonic attributes, but since he was the only one who listened to God, the Almighty modeled the archangels after him–like my father–giving them grace to demand their control. It’s why mine match, even though we don’t have a blood relation. So, you can either show me your true face, or…” I summon a replica of his mother’s blade. “Must I spell it out?”
Reaching once more, I touch its smooth milky stone surface, and this time Asmo doesn’t fight it, but he does walk backward until he’s clear on the opposite side of the room from me. His eyes darken until wisps of inky black veins splay across his alabaster cheeks. “Proof enough?”
“Yes,” I say, taking my hand off the stone. “Please get Finn to Hell Hold safely. Kai will ensure that no one gets their hands on the prior king’s heart.”
“Yes, my queen.” He bows, bending at the waist. It’s not formal or stiff, rather loose and lazy if you ask me. “Let’s not forget who helped earn you that title.”
When we reunite with Finn and Eva in the hall, he rushes over to hug me, lifting my chin with the side of his hand. “You did great, young grasshopper. I’ll see to this getting dropped into a bottomless pit.”
“Not dropped. Floated,” I tease, fixing his shirt. “If the glass breaks, the king is reborn.”
“Got it. Eva is going to stay here and help you clear out the castle…” He pauses, looking at me out of the corner of his eye, his hand stroking his beard. I’m sure he’s itching to trim it up. He’s always looked so clean and manicured, despite his pirate-looking clothes. “Would you like me to say anything to Kai? Give him a note, or…”
“Just let him know that I’m okay… and that it was me he, um,slept with. Tell him I understand.” My hand into a fist. Now is not the time to cry and I won’t. He deserves happiness and if being with me causes him pain, I’d rather he find his happiness elsewhere.
“I will relay it word for word,” Finn says, leaning forward to quickly kiss my cheek. Eva growls, and he quickly throws his hands up in surrender. Slowly, he turns to her, wrapping his hand behind her back and yanking her forward for a kiss. “Don’t have too much fun,” he coos, and now I’m understanding why Finn felt awkward around us when Kai and I showed public displays of affection. “I’m ready,” he says, holding out his forearm to Asmo.
His amber eyes lock on me, then he shakes his head, disappearing with Finn.
“Well, I’m not sure about you… but I’ve grown quite the appetite, or rather my other half has,” Eva smiles. Her white hair is pulled tight into a ponytail and her bright blue eyes light up at the sheer mention of bloodshed. And here I thought I was having too much fun. She’s going to thrive in those halls the moment the barrier drops and it will be a marvel to witness.
“I think we can fix that.” I lift my hands, pulling at the barrier Asmo put up, and pluck at the magic strings until it crumbles before us, letting the men still loyal to their late king rush to their death.
23
Kai
Ivar’s fist collides with my cheek, but my upper cut manages to make contact with his chin, even as I’m stumbling backward. It’s not every day that I choose to spar without my power, my sword, or any semblance of protection, but I refuse to be a king that won’t fight along with my men.Trainwith my men. Most of which are mortals, and therefore I’ll settle myself to hand-to-hand combat.
“Are you sure this is okay?” he says, nordic accent thick in his draw.
“If you want to become my first hand, yes. Everyday men don’t become first hands. Only the best warriors. If you want that seat by my side, you have to earn it and that comes with practicing to become the best.”
