Page 23 of Outcast

“Brother.” The gargoyle I knew as Achar stood. “When I heard you were involved and we had a new queen, I had to come pay my respects.”

“The new queen is my mate,” Kol said, chest puffed out. “And after Hel’s betrayal, it’s high time for a change here.”

Achar shifted from foot to foot as he looked at Kol, then over to us. “Most of us here have no knowledge of what happened in the castle. Outside of her trusted few, our former queen had secluded herself. The shift in demons was obvious but she kept the gargoyles in the dark.”

“Because you would have tried to stop her,” Kol said. “She opened the portal on Earth and made sure the gargoyles she had there had no chance of stemming the tide and keeping them in check. The demons rebelled against Ivar as well and on Hel’s orders, though she kept that hidden as well. Overall, it’s chaos and she was at fault. Then she fled and left the realm to Harlow.”

“Then let me welcome you to Helheim and offer you my loyalty and that of the gargoyles. We’re here to serve,” Achar promised, a fist over his chest as he bowed his head slightly.

“I appreciate that, Achar,” I said with a bow. His eyes widened at the gesture and again I was reminded I had no real knowledge of the status quo here.

“I’ll leave you to your group and will protect your castle as you adjust,” he said as he turned to leave.

“Keep an eye out, another demon that was loyal to Hel, Gravik, may try and barge in,” I rushed out. As far as enemies went, they were my biggest to worry about.

“Hiro killed him, actually,” Roman informed me. My eyebrows shot to my hairline as I turned to him. I’d thought it strange he looked like a human still, but apparently there was more to him than met the eye.

Hiro looked both proud and a bit unsettled by it. “Apparently I can explode, like I did earlier but with more damage.”

“Good to know.” I laughed. “Glad we’re a bunch of misfits still, even in this realm.”

“Can you really be an outcast and be a queen?” Drake joked.

“Ask the demons who have lived in this realm,” I said. “I doubt they’re embracing my human side with open arms.”

“You’re not a human. You’re a goddess and were chosen by Hel herself,” Roman reminded me.

“They do have a point,” Monty said. “Leave my demons to me. Now that I’m back and healed, it’s time I dealt with them.”

“Where are the demons?” I questioned. We’ve been through a few locations in Helheim so far and not a single demon outside of the warden and those in prison had appeared. Even in the castle it seemed only wraiths frequented the halls.

“They have their own gathering place in Helheim,” Monty explained. “There are barracks and training grounds. I always wondered just what she was training us for. Didn’t expect it to be to fight our way through gargoyles at Dark Haven.”

The betrayal had clearly gotten to Monty, and I made a mental note to check in with him when I could. Maybe when I convinced him to take me along with him to the barracks.

“I’ll be back.” Monty’s declaration was followed by a quick kiss and a swirl of shadows, then he was gone.

“I’m going to go reacquaint myself with the castle and my old quarters,” Elkan said. “I’m around if either of you need me.”

Drake didn’t protest as his dad walked away and I wasn’t going to turn down some time with my guys. We had pressing matters, but we also could do nothing on empty. We had to be a united front, and even if Monty stepped away, he’d be back soon enough.

“This castle is awful,” Hiro noted as Drake led us down the hallway to the set of rooms we’d claimed. “Hel expected to thrive here like this?”

“I manifested clothes, maybe I can manifest some fucking light and color,” I deadpanned. “In reality, when we figure out this shit, we better figure out how to power game systems and laptops. I miss movies already.”

“I’d kill for a new system,” Roman said. “Thank fuck I don’t have claws like Kol. He gets his own controller.”

It was so silly to be discussing video games and movies while dealing with everything we were. But nostalgia could go a long way right now.

“Do you realize it?” Roman asked as he sat down on a low stone bench in our quarters. The gravity of his tone had us all moving closer on instinct. Dark Haven and our pasts meant when someone was struggling, we listened without question.

“What?” I asked as I sat beside him. His hands were icy as his fingers intertwined with mine but they warmed in an instant and the tension seemed to melt away. Not wanting to do fanfare, I pulled on Helheim and gave what she was willing to my gargoyle, not just for support but because he’d earned it.

“We’re free.” The words struck me as soon as he’d said them. I already knew my hallucinations were gone but hadn’t considered that my moods were stable. No more huge dips that left me achy and drained. There wasn’t a giant upswing that left me reeling.

“And there’s no real chance of being erased,” Hiro said with a laugh.

“Do you feel different?” Drake asked. “Without all the extra baggage?”

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