Page 6 of Outcast

“I don’t know how to be alone.” Roman blinked at me a few times before understanding dawned in his now gray eyes.

“It’s weird, isn’t it? I feel empty without having another presence in my head. We couldn’t exactly talk, but I knew. You were always there. But now? We get to actually talk. No more blackouts, and that trauma that created all this? It feels like a whole other lifetime,” he explained.

“What more can we do here, then?” I bit out. “We get it, everything is different. This will obviously not be something we get over, it’ll take some getting used to.”

“What’s the real issue here? Why are you so angry, Hiro?” Roman sounded hurt at my reaction, and I had to take a few calming breaths to continue.

“I’m a human still, Roman. She’s going to be some type of goddess, surrounded by demons and gargoyles. Then there’s me. Unchanged.”

My voice rose with each word, all semblance of calm slipping away as the panic took over. How could I be enough for her now? I was nowhere in the same league as the rest of them.

“Uh, humans can’t do that,” Roman called out. It sounded like he was far away as deafening winds swirled around me, encasing me within them.

It stunned me enough that the anger slipped away, and with it, the storm.

“So... maybe I’m not a human?” I said glancing around. “But I’m still a freak. Is it weird that’s oddly comforting?” Roman’s laughter echoed in the space as he lost it.

“No, I get it,” he said as he shook his head. “But do you think you could maybe bust us out of here with that power?”

“Uh... maybe?” I stood against the far wall and held out my hands, willing whatever magic or power I had to act.

Nothing happened.

“You were angry. Maybe the emotions help you channel it. Think about that asshole that killed us. Or about our past.”

Shaking out my shoulders I turned back to the wall, breathing evenly as I drew up every bad memory I could muster. The fear I felt, the helplessness when Vance tried to touch me before Roman took over. The fact Roman had to be strong so many times for me.

Each memory that built had the hair on my arms standing on end and an electric charge dancing along my skin. The magic felt so foreign yet familiar, like it belonged and was a part of me. I had no clue what Loki had done to change me, but I’d take not just being a simple human among a group of powerful supernaturals.

The storm thrummed violently around me, and I used every bit of willpower in me to shove it at the wall, hoping it would obey.

Our room shook violently as stone and plaster rained down around us. As soon as the dust settled, we were met with a view of Helheim. Our first moment to take in the realm that was now our home.

We were standing in a city of sorts. Every building was made of a material that reminded me of bone, and seeing as we were in the afterlife, it was fitting.

Stone braziers burned brightly with a mix of Helfire and orange flames that gave the city an ethereal yet warm aesthetic. The streets were inlaid with stones of different sizes and polished so they were smooth.

It was night, though, I didn’t know enough about Helheim to know if it had interchanged night and day or if it was a perpetual swirling galaxy overhead. The overbearing darkness beyond the city made the bonfires even more inviting.

A slew of gargoyles were staring at the building in confusion, watching as we emerged slowly. I scanned the crowd, hoping to spot a familiar gargoyle but Kol was nowhere to be found. In fact, after sharing Dark Haven with gargoyles for weeks, I’d realized I didn’t recognize a single one. Were these gargoyles the rest of the army?

“Is Kol here?” Roman called out as he stepped up behind me, wings outstretched as if he were my personal bodyguard.

“He hasn’t returned from the human world,” a gargoyle answered. From the jagged crown on his head, he was someone of importance. “I am called Achar, the original gargoyle forged from Hel’s hands herself. Who are you?” This gargoyle was twice the size of Kol, towering over his brood easily. His skin was rough and his eyes burned a violent blue. I didn’t doubt his origin for a second.

“I am Roman, and this is Hiro. We were brought here by Loki upon Hel’s departure,” Roman articulated. It was as if his new wings and body gave him copious amounts of confidence. Strangely, I wasn’t jealous, but proud. My brother and host had earned peace of mind, and I was happy he was getting it.

“The new queen is looking for you, I believe, word is traveling fast. She’s refusing to do anything until you’re returned to her side,” Achar said. “Are you her missing mates?”

“As is Kol, and Ivar,” I answered. The gargoyle turned and studied me, though his stone expression gave nothing away.

“Interesting.” That was all he gave before sweeping a hand to the horizon. What seemed like miles away, a castle jutted into the sky. The only reason we could see it here was the moat of fire that surrounded it, making it a beacon in the night.

“That’s going to be a journey,” I said with a sigh. We couldn’t exactly fly; I was wingless and it would be a bit much to ask Roman to carry me to our destination.

“I’ll lead you. It’s my duty to meet the queen, I was heading there soon. You’re welcome to travel with me. We can go on foot,” he said, casting me a look that said I was the issue here.

“It’s appreciated,” I said without a hint of embarrassment in my voice. Maybe the old Hiro would have cowered under that stare. But I was important to their queen, and Roman was right, this was a second chance, I would prove that I belonged here.

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