Page 46 of Storm of Fury
Behind them, the Kamchatka volcano spewed heat and ash into the air, though the mountain had finally ceased its incessant shaking. Tormund slid from Marduk’s golden back, gaping at the mountains in the distance.
Holy shit.What had happened?
“Here,” Haakon said, lowering the semiconscious guard down from Marduk.
Tormund caught thedrekiwarrior under the armpits and laid him beneath the shade of a tree. The guard hissed at him, trying to draw his knife with shaking hands.
Tormund took the knife off him. “I saved your life, you fool.”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” thedrekidemanded, his eyes rolling toward Ishtar.
“Rescued the princess, saved the prince, and set adrekicourt on fire.” Tormund said with a shrug. “A good day’s work, really.”
The princess clambered down from Marduk, her green eyes wide and anxious. Her nostrils flared as she backed away from them, her teeth bared. A simple dress of homespun covered her slim form, though it was badly stained and torn in places.
“She isAlal,” the guard hissed.
“I don’t speak your language,” Tormund replied, “but from what I can see, she looks like a frightened young woman who’s been kept in a cage her entire life.” His voice roughened. “I don’t like cages.”
“She was caged for her own safety, her magic safely warded away from her. Do you think Kronotsky spews fire of its own accord? She set off the entire chain of volcanoes. Did you not feel it?’
Tormund glanced toward the distant mountain, feeling a little troubled. “It is well known thatdrekican manipulate the elements.”
“Not like this,” Bryn whispered, staring at the volcano. “She didn’t just set off this volcano. I felt the vibrations of her power echo through the world. It’s raining fire all along the peninsula.”
Hell. “We’ll see what Sirius says.”
Bryn knelt by the guard, setting her knife to his throat. “Alal. It’s a Sumerian word, isn’t it? What does it mean?”
The guard tipped his chin up. “It means Destruction.”
An edge of ruthlessness crept over her expression and she slowly stood, flipping the blade into her hand before turning to glance at Ishtar.
Frigg’s tits.
Tormund recognized resolve when he saw it.
He stepped in her way. “She’s just a youngdrekiprincess who’s scared.”
“We don’t know that.Drekiare arrogant beasts, and I’ve never seen an entire clan so frightened of a ‘youngdrekiprincess’ before.” Trouble filled her eyes. “The völva spoke of destruction too.”
“He also said she’s his twin sister, stolen at birth by the queen of these lands and locked away.” He dared to reach out and cup her shoulders. “She deserves a chance, Bryn. And that völva has spent many years communing with the dead. I don’t think she was entirely sane.”
“The omens are lining up. Sane or not, that völva was scared.”
“Prophecies, omens….” He shook his head. “I’ve heard of a lot of women burned at the stake for less.”
“Every culture has their own prophecy,” she argued. “The Destruction of All. Ragnarök.Ragnarök, Tor! How can we take the chance? She needs to be contained until we can discover just how dangerous her magic is.”
“Are you going to tell Marduk his sister needs to be put in chains?” Besides, he could feel the ground rumbling beneath his feet. What good would chains do against that much power?
Thedrekiprince was trying to speak to his sister, though she hissed away from him, clutching at her ears. A thin trail of claw marks bled across Marduk’s cheek, though it didn’t seem to sway the prince. The more he tried to comfort her, however, the more overwrought she became.
Tormund sighed. “Stay here. And put your bloody knife away. We’re not chaining anyone up.”
“Tormund—”
He strode toward the princess, slinging the heavy fur cloak from his back. The air held the crisp chill of early winter, and though there was no snow on the ground down here in the plains, she had to be cold.
