Page 29 of Hopeless Sacrifice
I try to find some source of help in her words. Something. There must be something this infuriating woman can give us to assist this helpless cause.
“It isn’t helpless. Nothing ever is. You of all people should know that. The Hopeless will always know that.”
I hate how much she’s in my head, forcing me to rethink all my thoughts before they’re thought.
“Do you want my help, Zakara Storm?”
Pushing aside my irrational irritation, I nod.
Her hand extends to me, palm up toward the deep blue skies.
White, fuming smoke drifts through the air, pooling within the palm of her outstretched hand.
Crisp white. The color of the heavens. A sign of purity. The symbol of innocence. Nothing at all ominous or threatening.
And yet, the magic within my veins scurries away from it, demanding I step back from the gently swirling smoke.
“What is that?” My gaze never leaves the magic in her hand.
“It’s the Gift of Sacrifice.”
Caution is all I have with these gods.
“What does it do?” My uncertainty wavers through my tone.
Her eyes flash with unseen power.
“I shouldn’t offer you anything. You’ve been blessed more than any other. I shouldn’t even offer you prayers of safe travels, let alone something as powerful as this.”
Hesitation fills my chest, pushing up my throat and keeping me silent.
Ryder trusts this woman. He asked for her above all others.
“Do you want it or not?”
She hasn’t tormented us the way Loki has. She’s been kind. Even if I thought she’d be awful, she was nothing but polite to us.
I swallow hard, and I’m speaking before I can even second-guess the danger of the gift.
“Yes.”
A malicious smile parts her lips and her palm slams against my chest so fast I barely see it. Fire burns through me, swarming my lungs and drilling through me hard enough to make me gasp a painful breath.
And then … total euphoric energy tingles through my veins before settling warmly in my heart.
The Gift of Sacrifice.
It’s just as painful and beautiful as it sounds.
