Page 57 of Storm of Fury
“Aye. Maybe several of them. Not my best seduction,” Tormund said with a wince. “’Tis a good thing I had this fierce goddess there to protect me.” He grinned. “She was screaming all kinds of threats at the queen, when you caught her attention and stole Bryn’s kill.”
“Trust me. Zorja is more than Bryn can handle. Flaming sword or not.”
Sirius opened his Third Eye, letting his mind look beyond the physical. Tormund’s heart throbbed in his chest like an enormous golden pump. A single thought and he could snuff the life from the man’s veins….
But he pushed away from the human’s heart, letting his power slip through the mortal’s veins. There was hidden damage there; a broken rib, internal bleeding near the right kidney that probably would have killed him if left untreated; numerous bruises and cuts, and there, a torn ligament in the man’s ankle.
He’d spent years tearing blood vessels apart or slashing a spear of ice through an enemy’s heart, killing them instantly. To heal was to work backwards, and it was hard, slow work that brought a sweat to his brow.
Finally he was done. Every inch of him felt like it wanted to collapse into his bedroll and sleep for a week, but at least the after-battle aggression had faded.
“The worst of your injuries are healed,” he said, blinking as he closed his Third Eye and saw the mortal plane again.
Tormund rolled his ankle. “Feels… amazing.”
“You had old scarring there. I fixed it.”
Tormund used his shoulder to push to his feet. “Thank you.”
It still felt odd to be thanked.
And then it was his turn to be saved. Sirius blinked, realizing he’d swayed forward, but Tormund caught him and hauled him to his feet.
Their eyes met.
“Feeling a bit lightheaded. Thanks,” Tormund said, as if to make out that it had been he who had needed the support.
Marduk watched him from across the fire. “Haakon has told me the story of how the mighty Blackfrost has become one of theZiniclan. He said you helped my sister escape your mating ceremony, and then ended up falling in love with a drekling.You.”
“You’ve met your sister. Mating with Árdís was my worst nightmare.” At Haakon’s lifted brow, he shrugged. “Which only worked in your favor. Helping her escape was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Apart from killing the queen.”
Marduk shook his head. “I told you. She’s not dead. Can’t you feel her energy out there?”
Sirius’s one eye narrowed. “I put my sword straight through Amadea’s heart and then I burned her body myself.”
“Then why can I still hear her song on the winds?”
Sirius stared at Marduk. He’d sworn to the Goddess that he would kill Amadea, and he’d thought the task done. “You can hear Amadea’s song? It wouldn’t be Árdís’s magic?”
“It all sounds different. I could always sense the magic within Árdís, as though she occasionally plucked at the strings of a lute but couldn’t always control it. Her song has grown louder of late, and more confident. She’s coming into her own. My mother’s song was old and full of jagged edges. It sounds like the rumble of thunder. And Ishtar…. Ishtar is the storm in the night sky. A crashing, thunderous storm that constantly boils.”
“And you can still sense them all.”
Marduk looked into the distance. “The queen’s song has changed. It sounds hollow and it echoes, but it’s still there. Just not as strong as it once was.”
“Perhaps death made Amadea’s magic weaker,” Sirius said slowly. “Perhaps some echo of it still remains.”
Or was her spirit haunting the court?
There had been… several odd occurrences of late. One of Rurik’s guards had vanished completely, and nobody could find a trace of him. Then there’d been the day the queen’s chambers were found in ruins, the curtains on her bed slashed to ribbons and all her gowns torn to pieces. They’d thought it was one of the drekling ordrekiAmadea had once tortured, taking their rage out upon the queen’s old chambers.
Mirrors kept breaking within the court, and severaldrekihad reported a sudden chill, as if a shadow swept over them.
Superstition, he’d thought at the time, far too enamored of his new mate to look further.
“You’re probably right.” Marduk stood and straightened his sling. “It’s probably just an echo of her magic remaining. None of us truly understand the limits of Chaos magic. Perhaps some of her spells are slowly unwinding and I can still sense them. I’ll take first watch. Get some sleep if you can. We’ll fly after Ishtar in the morning, as soon as my shoulder is healed.”
Sirius took his advice, stretching out in his bedroll and staring at the stars above him. No matter how much he tossed and turned, the knot in his belly wouldn’t go away.
