Page 90 of Court of Heathens

I meet his eyes, seeing how determined and serious he is. “Even if it means losing your soul along the way?”

“I have already lost it. She took it with her.”

Maybe that should worry me, but if anything, it only makes me feel relieved. We will have to pervert nature to bring her back, probably damning ourselves, and I need to know I can trust him with this. It seems losing her has altered Phrixius irrevocably.

Gone is the god of magic, and in his place is a fallen, bitter man searching for his lost love.

Why does it feel like we are repeating history?

Finding Sha is not as easy as we thought. Although we have a connection to him, it’s nowhere as strong as the bond is to each other or Freya. He is a creature born of intention and magic and only exists for her, so it makes me wonder if he has been reclaimed by the earth now that she is gone, but Phrixius is determined to find him.

We do not sleep, eat, or rest as we walk, searching for signs of him. Phrixius’s magic is draining as he scours the world.

“We are wandering without direction, focus,” I snap.

“I am trying,” he retorts as he glares at me.

Leaning down where he’s sitting cross-legged near the lake, I narrow my gaze. “Try harder,” I demand, my voice deadly. “We are running out of time. Every moment we waste, the further she is from us. You are a god, find him now.”

I don’t know whether it’s my pushing, his anger, or the reminder we could lose her, but he snaps. With a roar, he tackles me to the ground. We roll over the hard dirt, clawing and yelling at each other, expressing our anger and grief. I land below him, his hands pinning me down. He slams my hands down into the earth, and I feel his magic pour through me and below.

“I am trying. What are you doing?” he yells. “How are you helping, you useless fucking demon?”

Something rolls in the ground beneath me, and I freeze. He must sense it because his brows draw together in confusion, and he removes his hands from mine as my body jerks again, something big rising below me in the dirt.

The ground under us continues to move, and we both sit up, our eyes wide as we stare at the rolling, upturning earth.

Please don’t be a zombie or some fucked-up creature. Please don’t be a zombie?—

It breaks apart with a roar, dirt flying across us.

Yelping, I clutch onto Phrixius, who grips me too, as we blink at the creature in the hole.

Sha.

Clearing his throat, Phrixius shakes me off and brightens at the sight of Sha. “My magic must have summoned him,” he explains.Sha’s eyes are closed, and he’s unmoving. We share a look. “You check him.”

“No, you.” I push him, and he shoots me a glare before crawling over and kneeling before Sha.

“Sha?” he murmurs, and when there’s no response, he clears his throat. “Sha?” he prompts louder.

“Touch him or something,” I snap, and he throws another dirty look my way before gently laying his hand on Sha’s chest.

“Sha, it’s us. Are you in there?” he murmurs.

Sha jerks, his eyes snapping open and mouth parting in a vicious grin, and Phrixius jerks back as Sha leaps and pins him.

I sit back, my head tilted as Sha snarls in the god’s face. “Help!” Phrixius yells to me.

Sighing, I clamber to my feet and stop at their side. “Sha, if you eat Phrixius, we cannot save Freya.” His head snaps up, and his bright red eyes land on me. He appears more like a monster than the man she made. “Freya, you remember her?” He blinks, shutting his mouth. “I know you do. She’s not gone. We are bringing her back.” Crouching at his side, I smile softly. “I know you’re in there, and she needs you, so don’t eat the god. He’s probably our only chance to get our girl back.”

“Mistress,” he hisses.

I nod. “Yes, your mistress, Freya.”

He blinks again, and some humanity comes back into his eyes as he swings his gaze to Phrixius. “Bring her back.”

“That’s what we are going to do,” he says, his hands still pressed to Sha’s chest in case he tries to eat him again. “But for that, you need to not kill us first.”

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