Page 149 of Alien God

“And what do I have to ensure that you will actually return here and hold up your end of things if I let you take her away now?”

“My word,” I grunted.

He laughed bitterly.

“Ah, yes. Your word. It holds a lot of weight, very credible. Especially after you went before the council and lied about your mortality, and now will lie to every other stone sky god who asks about what happened here.”

“This is the deal,” I bit out. “I will not leave this world without her.”

“It’s like trying to reason with a block of ice,” Sceadulyr muttered. “Alright. I agree to your terms. Take her back to Sionnach as soon as your strength allows you, and return here in three days to open the first sky door for me.”

“Three days? It is not enough. I-”

“This is the deal,” he snapped, shooting my own words back at me. “You’d be wise to remember that everything I have done here I can yet undo.”

We stared at each other in silence until I finally agreed.

“Three days,” I acknowledged, turning back to Torrance. Sceadulyr smiled and strode from the room.

“Three days,” he called over his shoulder, as if I needed reminding. “I’ll be waiting.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Torrance

I cracked my eyes open, laying totally still. Silver-bright light flooded the room, and a familiar, soft mattress was beneath my back. What wasn’t familiar was the exhaustion pinning my limbs to the bed, and the straining ache in my chest every time I took a breath.

I’m... I’m in our room.

My head felt like it was full of snow, like my brain had been frozen. I trudged through my own thoughts and memories, trying to remember what had happened. We’d gone to the gathering, and after Sceadulyr’s stunt, we’d left in a hurry...

For Heofonraed.

I gasped, pain shooting through my ribs and lungs. Where was Wylfrael? The last time I’d seen him was when he’d left me in the hall, chasing down some unseen monster. The events came back to me slowly, then in a rush. He’d been gone so long that I’d grown afraid. And not just afraid... That’s right, I’d been sick. Wracked with fever and chills, growing so weak I’d slumped back against one of the red walls and...

And, nothing. I had no recollection of what had happened after that. We’d obviously come home to Sionnach. But how? When?

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