Page 41 of Blood Beneath the Snow

Then I realized—he was laughing.

“You can’t stand to imagine them all dead out there,” he managed to say, “and yet you didn’t hesitate to invite yourself to the Trials. To war. Now is not the time to grow soft, Rev.”

I clenched my jaw and decided it would be better not to say anything. Then I heard the crunch of a footstep behind me.

Whirling, I pulled my sword from the sheath to point it straight at the Hellbringer.

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My eyes widened, pulse frozenin my veins. My sword wavered. Something in me had enough space to feel shame at my fear.

The mask was more terrifying up close. I couldn’t see his eyes through the mask, and I didn’t want to. Nothing to humanize a monster.

Especially a monster who might be hunting me. And now he wanted to hurt my brothers.

A rumbling laugh, deep and dark, echoed from beneath the mask. “What exactly do you plan to do with that?” the Hellbringer asked, gesturing toward my blade.

Every second I wasn’t dead was precious time now, a chance for my two brothers to escape. I lunged without thinking, swinging my sword in a way that felt relieving and final. He was unarmed; maybe I could wound him enough for Jac and Frode to have time to run before he could get to them.

My sword hissed through the air. He moved so fast, I didn’t see him until he spoke again. “Are you done yet?” Though his voice had become quiet, it rumbled through my bones. There must be some kind of voice modulator under the helmet, deepening his voice so it was unrecognizable.

I whirled to my left, where he was now positioned, and sliced my blade through the air again. But once more it made no connection. He hadn’t unsheathed the blade at his hip.

“Too cowardly to fight me?” I raised my sword and faced him.

He tilted his head. “Why bother? My Lurae can accomplish the same results in mere moments.”

I scowled. “Kill us, then.”

Before he could respond, Jac dropped from the pine tree, landing steadily on the ground. His bow was drawn, an arrow pointed straight at the Hellbringer’s heart. I’d never seen Jac’s eyes wild like they were now. “I’ll shoot.”

The Hellbringer surveyed my brother, hands behind his back. “Then I will kill you.” The masked general turned to me and extended a beckoning hand. “I am only here for you, Princess. Will you come willingly or by force?”

I paled. “Come with you?”

He nodded. The puzzle pieces clicked into place. He hadn’t been looking for something in Bhorglid butsomeone. Me.

But why? Did he think I knew information about the war effort that Kryllian could use against us? I imagined all the ways he could kill me. His godtouch was only one of them.

“No,” Frode croaked. I turned to find him clinging to the tree as he pushed himself to his feet. “No, take me instead. You don’t need her. She’s godforsaken. She’s of no use to you.” It looked like he might collapse at any second. I wondered what he discerned from the Hellbringer’s thoughts.

“Sit,” I snapped. His face was devoid of all color and Jac extended a hand to steady Frode while shooting me a fearful glance.

“I will not ask again,” the Hellbringer said. “Come.Now.”

“Why?” I demanded. “Frode is right. I have no magic. I’m useless to you.”

He stepped forward until he towered directly over me, inchesfrom my face. “Is your imagination so dull? To think I would take you and try to wield you as a weapon on my behalf?” He let out a barking laugh. “If this war were to be won by power alone, I would have slaughtered your forces years ago.”

Standing this close, could he feel me trembling? I clenched my teeth. If he didn’t want me for power, then he must want me for information. Or leverage.

The picture was clear as day in my mind’s eye: tied to a chair in the center of a Kryllian war camp, I would writhe in pain while their most powerful godtouched general tortured me, trying to get information I didn’t have. And when they finally found a truthteller among their ranks to confirm I had no knowledge, the Hellbringer would stretch out his hand and clench it into a fist, ending my life.

The commotion from the fight outside of the grove of trees was dying down. I heard Erik calling out for Jac. Maybe if I stalled for a moment, I could get away; maybe then I wouldn’t have to walk to my death.

“What will it be, Princess?” The deadly voice reverberated through the crisp air. “Willingly or by force?”

Instead of answering, I shot back another question. “Why don’t you just kill us all?”

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