Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Reid
None of us slept in our rooms that night. Instead, we dragged our blankets and pillows out to a study room at the end of our hall and created a giant bed for ourselves, locking the door to create our own little sanctuary.
I managed to snag a spot next to Izzy, so for the first time in my life, she was tucked against me, sleeping soundlessly. Everyone was actually asleep. Everyone but me.
But then, few people could sleep when being watched.
Across from me, in a chair, the goddess Hel sits. More spirit than woman.
She’s exactly the way Mercy described her to be, except beautiful in an eerie way. Her hair is long and dark. Her eyes are as black as night, and her bones are visible beneath her flesh on half her face and neck. The rest of her skin is covered by a long, dark gown.
But it’s her gaze that holds me beneath her spell. It’s unsettling, as if she’s staring down at a wounded animal that she’s considering killing to end its misery. Beneath her flesh, I also sense the power to do just that…and more.
“Are you afraid?” she asks.
I answer honestly. “Yes.”
Her eyes are sad. “You should be, son of man. The supernatural creatures want you dead. The gods want to destroy you. And you are only one human. The odds stacked against you are impossible.”
My heart races. “But I’m not alone. I have Izzy. I have my friends.”
Her expression gentles. “Already the gods invade them.”
“No.” I shake my head. “They’re just learning to use their powers.”
“Are you sure?” she asks.
Am I sure? I feel sweat moving down my spine. I’m not sure of anything.
“I think so,” I tell her slowly.
Her lips draw into a line. “And right now…this moment between us…do you know what it means?”
Again, I shake my head.
“It means I’m growing more powerful, son of man. Before much longer, I will control you, whether I wish to or not.”
“No.”
Her gaze runs over my friends. “You think they fought the gods and won today, but you’re wrong. One of your friends is still controlled by the gods. One of them will hurt you, if you can’t determine who it is in time, and help your friend push the god back down.”
I feel a cold sweat dampen my skin. “Which one of them?”
Her lips twist into the saddest smile. “I can’t tell you that, Reid, because as much as I like you, I’m on their side, not yours.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
She wraps her arms around herself. “Because I don’t know if I want to come back sometimes. And because…I want you to have a chance. If you don’t realize one of your friends is now an enemy, you’ll be destroyed before you even begin to fight.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
The goddess rises. “I’m so sorry, Reid. I meant it when I said I liked you. I won’t relish feeling you inside of me, trapped in a cage of darkness, suffering for eternity.”
And then she’s gone.
I reach out and stroke Izzy’s hair, my gaze moving over her and my friends. Which of them allowed a god within them and couldn’t get them out?
And will I be able to help them find their way back?
I close my eyes, ice moving through my veins. I have to. I have no other choice.
These people were my family now, linked to one another through more than magic: love. I didn’t give a damn if I had to take on every creature in the supernatural world and the very gods themselves. I would keep them safe.
Hel thought I’d be defeated easily. But even though she knew me in a way no one else did, she didn’t know me. She didn’t know what I’d do to protect the people I love.
Beneath the ground, I feel the creatures of Hel. They pound the ground. They scream in triumph, and I know it’s because they feel their ruler once more.
They feel me. And I was determined to become a god more powerful than Hel herself. A god who would find the enemy god within my friends and save their life…before the god could take over their body forever.
But how much time did I have? The question haunted me, repeating in my mind over and over again. How much time?