Page 28 of Outcast

Yet I wouldn’t change how things played out. Sure, I’d slept for centuries, but I woke up to a mate. Harlow had shown me how to live and had helped me realize how far Hel had fallen from the leader I’d idolized and sworn my loyalty to.

Helheim had always been a somber place. Everyone did their duty or was forced to face the consequences. For years I’d watched her pluck away leaders that were never seen again.

Unlike the other gargoyles, I knew Harlow’s worth. I’d already seen her show integrity and knew how she operated. Hel had always viewed this realm as a prison, but for Harlow, it was something new and exciting. She was free from her struggles and her past, and for the first time, she was shown respect. The confidence she was growing was fitting of both my mate and her position.

Hel had created this world, had given us and the demons life. But Harlow would bring Helheim to life in her own way.

Not all souls here deserved to be punished. This was the end of life for all souls not fitting Odin’s warrior lifestyle. It didn’t make them any less worthy of a peaceful afterlife.

As the gargoyles greeted Achar, I was glad I didn’t come alone with Harlow. We were strangers here.

“Where are the other gargoyles?” I questioned when the streets filled with half of the numbers I expected.

“Hel decided they weren’t worthy,” Achar answered. His voice was solemn and held a pain that only watching your brethren die could induce. The creatures of Helheim weren’t known for holding emotion. Harlow had put me in my place the moment she met me. She showed me that duty and unquestioning loyalty weren’t enough.

It seemed half our species learned that the hard way.

“What became of them?” Gargoyles couldn’t simply be unmade. Harlow had cleared most of the prison, so I knew they weren’t inside.

The dark look he threw my way told me I would not like this answer.

“She crumbled them into dust and built them into the walls of her castle. Did you notice it looked different than it did centuries ago?”

My stomach turned at the thought. Even when I was in pieces in the prison, I was sentient. I couldn’t speak, but I could hear and think. My stone eyes were forced in only one direction, unblinking, but I could see.

Did that mean they could too?

The idea of spending centuries never reforming yet forced to exist and observe sounded like a level of torture I couldn’t comprehend. They could likely hear every conversation, listen to Hel’s descent into madness and her escape. Forced to know the world they knew was failing and they were sworn to protect it... yet couldn’t.

“What part of the castle?” I questioned. It was half a question but he knew what I was asking.

“She extended the entrance to the portal and created new walls in her throne room. The ceiling is higher than ever,” he explained.

“Our new queen will save our brothers,” I said with confidence. Harlow would never let them continue a tortured vigil above her castle. She’d be as horrified as I was.

But it would have to wait.

For now, we needed to find our warriors and protect Helheim. The portal had to be closed before it was too late for any of us. If Odin’s wrath rained down on us, there’d be nothing left to protect.

“They brought in five demons, we need to match that number,” I told Achar. The conversation we were having would have to wait. At one time, I’d have called the shots, chosen our guards, but this time I stood aside while he handled it.

Achar was swift, calling out names until five gargoyles stood before us.

“This is one of the queen’s men and a former leader of our kind. He holds a higher rank than I do.” Achar’s announcement was met with all five of the guards folding their wings and bowing their heads in a show of respect and deferment to my rank.

This time, I returned the gesture. It felt like something Harlow would do and if they protected my mate, then they deserved my respect. I wanted to become the commander they deserved.

Helheim was changing and we’d change with it.

“Now we return to the castle. You won’t be coming back here, grab what you need,” I told them.

They flew away, returning several minutes later with packs in their hands.

The gargoyles flew behind us as we headed for the castle. The entire time, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to go back to Dark Haven, even temporarily.

Once the portal closed, would we ever return again? Earth and Helheim would be blanched again, the gods off our backs, and we’d have to find whatever life we wanted to live here.

Could Harlow be happy living in Helheim for good?

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