Page 49 of Hell Kissed
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath like a crazed person as I pace toward the rocky ledge of the mountain. I peer over the edge of the cliff. A strange body of water can be spotted between the thick clouds. My vision extends with the help of my wolf to get a better view of the emerald sea that crashes against the sharp jutting rocks so far below me they look like they’re cast in miniature. “I am not jumping off of this!”
Words tumble out of my mouth before I murmur to myself about how I’m not this insane.
“I think you broke her,” Aric none too quietly whispers to Torben, who stands near their small gathering with his feet shoulder width apart and his corded arms crossed over his chest.
I swear he’s standing there to block my retreat, in case I decide to haul ass back down the mountainside and take my chances with the giants or my pack.
Now that I know Kyvain’s dead, maybe it won’t be so bad. Except for the tiny fact they’ll probably kill me on sight for having a hand in his death. His blood’s not on my hands directly, but it’s definitely splattered in my direction. I literally almost held his tattered finger as a gift moments ago.
And now I’m wearing his ring…
Definitely doesn’t put the odds in my favor with the Dark Moon Pack.
Latham’s fingers are hooked in the pockets of his jeans. His hair hangs across his forehead in messy waves while his blue gaze tracks my every move. He’s willing me not to do this, which is why I don’t meet his blazing stare.
“You don’t have to do this…” Latham tries, but Torben shoots him a slicing look that says otherwise.
“Why are you giving her false hope? We’ve been sent to bring her back. You truly think they won’t send others in our place if we fail?” the giant challenges.
Muscles in Latham’s jaw jump as he clenches his teeth, annoyance and surrender bleeding off of him in tandem.
“It’s not that bad,” Latham says weakly, nodding to the cliff’s edge.
“Think of it like bungee jumping,” Aric suggests.
“Ha.” The nervous, jittery sound wavers between us. “Bungee jumping without thebungee.” It sounds even more insane when I say it out loud.
Aric shrugs like it makes no difference to him. I have a feeling that not much scares him at all.
“You have to jump if you want to get to the bridge between realms, Love. You’re not just jumping into the ocean, you’re jumping into a door,” Aric explains more rationally.
“Sounds equally painful,” I deadpan.
Aric grunts, and Latham cuts in with a rueful smile. “Think of it as a portal. You have to access the outer ring of Helheim and be granted access to the actual Realm of the Dead.”
“This is the only way.” Torben nods toward the edge, punctuating the end of Latham’s helpful information with an immovable period.
I swallow. This is going to happen whether I like it or not. Heartbeat thundering in my chest, I pull my metaphorical big girl panties up and prepare myself.
The ledge of the mountain we’re standing on kind of reminds me of Pride Rock in the Lion King, jutting out over the ocean far from where the waves crash into the shore below. But it doesn’t ease the anxiety any less.
The snow flurries are just crisp cold air in the morning sunlight, but if we linger I’m sure the frigid temperatures will fall right back in.
I can’t linger on this fucking death trap of a mountain any longer.
“Just… just give me a minute.” I hold my hands out at them like they’re going to physically tackle me over the ledge, though none of them have moved so much as an inch toward me.
Warmth nudges aside some of the panic I’m feeling as I realize all three of them are respecting my space and ability to process yet another insane turn of events.
Although Torben does so a bit louder than the others.
“You’ve already had fifteen minutes,” Torben grumbles quietly, his complaint whipping away on the cold wind.
“Excuse me for taking a little time before I jump to my very mortal death!” I sass back.
The three men exchange another heavy look, Aric glowers hard at Torben before turning to me. The beast of a man looks like he’s ready to spill the world’s secrets. Instead, when he opens his mouth, all that comes out is another promise.
“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” Aric swears, brows fiercely pulled together like I should have known this already.
