Page 4 of Outcast

“No, they didn’t, but what you want matters little in this world. Odin approached. Word has reached the other gods. There’s no stopping this now.”

“But—” I silenced her with a hand over hers and a pleading look. This wasn’t Dark Haven. She’d been able to speak to Monty how she’d wanted, even Hel who needed her. Now she was in a different world with far different rules. I couldn’t protect her against a god’s fury.

A crack of thunder sounded in the throne room before a flash of light had us shielding our eyes.

“You always did love a good entrance,” Loki mused. “And they say I’m the exuberant god.”

“Loki. I’m here for an update,” the god demanded. Odin was a sight to behold. He wore full battle armor made of a polished gold. A large staff was gripped in one giant fist, the other pointing at Loki.

Odin was a silver fox to the extreme. His long silver hair was braided down his back, giving a full view of his handsome face. He had scars from battle, but it did nothing to take away from his striking features and glowing silver eyes.

“Hel is gone,” Loki said as if it were no big deal. “It seems she has chosen a replacement.”

Odin’s gaze traveled from Loki to Harlow. “A human?”

“Not anymore,” Loki said with amusement. “She died and was reborn here. She even has some of Hel’s powers, it seems.”

“You’re nothing but a fledgling,” he said to her. The doubt blared in his words. I saw it for what it was, a test. To see if she had the ability to hold her own here. “You couldn’t possibly handle a realm such as this.”

Anger flashed in Harlow’s eyes. “Do not question the sacrifices that led me here. Not only did I suffer at the hands of the humans who raised me, but I lost everything in Dark Haven. Hel took my mates from me without a second thought. She forced me to sacrifice myself willingly for her own gain. I did it, not for her, but for them. And I will spend every second of this afterlife finding them and avenging their suffering as well as mine.”

As she spoke, her anger rose, taking over and forming into a shadow-ridden storm around her, lightning and ice making her look downright deadly. She was magnificent and would be a force to be reckoned with when she came to terms with it.

Odin didn’t speak or interrupt her tirade, he just watched, with a slight glint of acceptance in his eyes when she finished.

“It appears I might have underestimated you. Hold on to that fire, girl, you’ll need it here or you’ll be eaten alive. I suggest you learn the realm and embrace it. This is your only option now, it seems Hel betrayed not only me, but you as well. You’re now tied to Helheim.” Harlow’s eyes flashed in fear, then anger.

“That bitch,” she bit out. “What happens to her now?”

“She’ll be found, stripped of her immortality.” Loki’s low growl had his superior looking at him with no hint of remorse. “She has betrayed the gods. Hel will pay. She’ll be human and live out her life. When she dies, there will be no honor, only nonexistence.”

“That seems drastic,” Loki drawled. “For merely wanting out of a death sentence?”

“Trading one for another,” Odin corrected him. “We are gods, and are given powers beyond imagination. But with that comes responsibility and she has let go of hers. Therefore, she is no longer among us.”

Loki didn’t say anything, but I saw the look of determination there. He wasn’t letting his daughter fall quite so easily. But what would that mean for Harlow?

“I’ll be back in three months’ time,” Odin told Harlow. “I suggest you prove to the gods that you have a place among us.”

“I want the ability to travel from here to Earth. I have a duty to close the portal that Hel threw open,” Harlow countered. “Hel said she was unable to go back and forth. I want that ability... if possible.”

We both knew she was doing it for Dark Haven and those we left behind, not for duty, but Odin didn’t know us well enough.

“Done.” There was no fanfare to his words, he simply nodded and disappeared, leaving the rest of us in confused silence.

“You survived meeting the God of Gods, congratulations,” Loki deadpanned. “Now, remember that favor I did for you?”

“The favor that you still have yet to show me you did? I have yet to see my men,” she growled. Harlow was swiftly reaching her breaking point, but I would not stop her.

He waved his hand in dismissal. “My price is that you make a place for Hel here. I’m going to find her before the gods do. You’ll ensure she doesn’t die.”

“Can I even do that?” Harlow asked in disbelief. “I don’t even know how to get around this castle, let alone ensure life or death, Loki.”

“You have time to figure it out,” he said. The ‘or else’ was left unsaid. Loki didn’t cast a glance back before he walked away, disappearing mid-step.

“He didn’t even fucking tell me where Roman and Hiro are!” she screeched.

“It’s Loki. He said he saved them, that’s all his obligation extends. It’s up to us to find them, Harlow,” I said, offering a small smile.

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