Chapter 53 Thor
Thor
Cold air chilled my flesh, making it prickle with awareness. The fur that should protect me from such elements was gone. Instead, I was bare to the icy feeling burrowing deep in my bones. Each breath was tainted by the chill, forming ice inside my lungs.
This was not a familiar feeling. Not right.
In the back of my mind, I felt him. Not the cruel being who tried to control me. But the protector of my life, the beast I found solace in when the pain—the despair—became too much.
He was hidden away. I could almost reach for him, but there was something holding me back.
Not something. Someone.
I heard her voice, soft and desperate, echoing in my ears. A voice I’d yearned for in the darkness of my cage when the thought of death became too much. A voice I’d sought out when freedom was so close.
A voice that saved me from the brink of death when I was so close to giving in.
Now, though, it spoke in a hushed tone, full of fear and something that had my chest tightening with the need to protect her.
I pulled away from the presence of my beast and followed her voice into what felt like consciousness. Everything was hazy, sound muffled—except for her. She came through clearly, sharply, like all my senses were attuned to her.
Even her scent filled my lungs when I breathed in, still strong and comforting—not just for me, but for my hidden beast.
“We have no choice,” she murmured, words trembling. “We either get eaten by hellhounds, cut down by assassins, or become live bait for Dante. If we take our chances with the assassins and somehow win then the archers will get us. Someone will probably die.”
“It doesn’t have to be those choices,” someone else said. “If we can somehow get the demon king here to us, then—”
“And risk perhaps the strongest person here?” another cut in, voice low. “No, not a chance.”
“We don’t have any other choice,” the female said, the quiver in her words lessening. “We need to make a move. The barrier won’t hold up much longer.”
The closer I got to consciousness, the more I could sense the world around me; other than the female, I could smell water. Fresh, different. Not like the salty air I’d breathed when on the boat. This was different, nicer, and each time it filled my lungs, I felt closer to freedom.
There were other scents, too, and I recognised them all.
The distinct aromas that came from the cage of prisoners.
The winged-male. The creature of the other world, who was close.
Two others that were recognisable, but I couldn’t place them.
Then several more shifters, faint, not distinct enough that I could pull them apart.
“We can’t swim,” the female said. “Not with babies. The older children we might be able to get across, but we have newborns, infants.”
“I can’t hold this barrier much longer,” a male grunted, his voice strained. “They are going to tear us apart one way or another.”
Over their voices, I heard the rush of water. It was different to what the ocean sounded like. And in the distance, fighting. Shouts. The echoing howls of wolves I’d become accustomed to in the cages. Those I was familiar with, shouting their excitement as they ran free.
Finally, I peeled my eyes open. For a moment, my vision was blurry, a mix of darkness and hazy light. When I blinked, it cleared enough for me to see the tail of the other world creature and what looked like rock.
I wasn’t seeing anything clearly, even as my vision finally focused. Not because my eyesight was somehow worse, but because I wasn’t oriented correctly.
“He is awake,” the creature said.
“Are you sure?” the female asked, hopeful.
“Yes,” he replied darkly. “His heart is racing. He reacted to your words.”
I hadn’t noticed it, but he was correct. At the sound of her voice, my heart had raced. It felt different now in this chest I didn’t recognise. A chest that felt smaller, more compact. Different in a way I couldn’t imagine.
The female blew out a shaky breath. “Don’t put him down yet. Not until—”
She was cut off by a scream, but not her own. It came from somewhere in the distance and was not from someone I recognised. And yet, it rang through the air, making everything stand still. The hairs that I had lifted, reacting to the way the sound carried in the air. It was full of terror, of pain.
“I can hear your vampire mate,” a darker voice stated, causing the female to shift. “They are trapped on the island.”
“What?” I listened to her move, her scent drifting away. “What does that mean?”
“Someone put a barrier around it,” one of the other males explained. “Likely Dante. They must have triggered it when they landed there.”
The female was silent for a moment before moving closer again, her scent becoming stronger. Her proximity alone made my heart race faster.
She came to a stop near my head. “Who are they?”
I wished I could see what she did, but no matter what happened, the other world creature kept hold of me.
“Those are my cousins,” one of the males said, his voice unfamiliar. “Demons of Elysian. They are here. Let the barrier down enough for them to join us, Magnus. They will get us out.”
The female made a sound in the back of her throat. “Put Thor down.”
“Are you certain?” the creature asked, the rumble of his voice rushing through me. It was a strange feeling.
“Yes. Put him down. Goddess above, he won’t be able to stand on his own.
The blood rushing to his head right now…
” She trailed off as the creature did as instructed and set me down on the cold earth.
I didn’t recognise the substance beneath me; it was entirely unfamiliar.
But as soon as I was down, I saw everything beyond us.
A dozen adult faces, most familiar. Nearly twice as many little faces, none I could place. Rushing water behind them, and stars, so many of them that they completely covered the sky. They were different to the ones from the other world. These seemed brighter, bigger.
I blinked hard when she came into view. The female from the cage. She seemed even more beautiful against the backdrop of stars.
Three loud bangs sounded ahead, the kind of pops that usually signalled an execution. I flinched, though it wasn’t nearly as loud as it once used to be. It was almost muffled now, like I was hearing it through different ears.
Maybe I was. I glanced down at my body and stiffened.
I was not covered in brown fur anymore. I knew I wasn’t, had felt it, but seeing it was an entirely different experience.
Instead of paws, I had hands. Hands like the ones that once hurt me, that could handle a whip.
And legs, dusted in some hair, though otherwise bare. With toes like hers, only larger.
There was cloth covering me around the waist, creating an irritation beneath. I tried to swipe it away, but the female made a sound, eyes widening.
“Nope,” she hissed, waving a hand. “Not where children can see.”
I frowned up at her, but she shook her head, shifting the small thing on her hip. “I will explain it to you later.”
I hoped she would, if only I could hear her speak more.
Ahead, the female shifter from the maze of corridors, with the red hair who smelled sweet, lifted her gun. “Three down. I only have two bullets left.”
“I’m out,” the cold smelling one said, not even pulling it free. His eyes darted to me, then away. “Weird.”
The shifter female stepped into the water carefully before walking along the rocks. “They’re being swept away. Dumb as hell jumping into water if you ask me. Can we open the barrier enough for the Elysian demons?”
“I hope so,” the female beside me said, looking across the water at something. “Because I give it all but a few moments before Damon tries coming here himself.”
“The fact that they have restrained themselves thus far is admirable,” one of the males said, white hair glinting in the moonlight. “I would not have in their place.”
“They know how dangerous it is,” the female snapped. “The barrier might not let them back in, and Damon can’t take us all.”
“He would be forced to leave some behind,” the winged male replied. Something strange tinted his scent as he came into view. “Dante learned his lesson about the island. He knew this could happen again, and made certain if anyone made it there, they would not escape him again.”
“Then how did they get over here?” the female asked, looking up.
I followed her line of sight up the cliff to see four figures standing in darkness. Unfamiliar to me, their scents were nothing I’d encountered before. Like the smoke of fire but tinged with something else. Something sweet.
There were three males and one female. One moment, they were standing there against the outline of trees, but in the next, they were leaping into a small opening created in a barrier I hadn’t noticed before.
The air rippled as they hit the ground and rolled, each one climbing to their feet with ease.
Each one had dark red eyes, sharing almost identical features. And they all lowered themselves to one knee, fist thumping against their hearts.
“Our Queen,” they said in unison, looking up to the female beside me. “Let us take you to our King.”