“If you are through saving this one, you are needed elsewhere, Hel.” Morrigan and Macha stood behind her, and Morrigan motioned toward the body-filled yard. “Many here did not deserve their fate as wolves, nor did they deserve death.” Hel rose and followed the two goddesses to the first body.
Laying her hand over the wolf’s heart, just like with Claude, she saw the truth of his soul and asked him the same questions as she had the younger wolf. Did he want to live? She moved from body to body, repeating the procedure until she felt as if she were about to drop. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this tired and worn.
Finally, after the last creature had made his choice to live or die, she slid to the ground. Her gaze touched on those souls still remaining, black and evil. Hands settled on her shoulders, and she glanced up to see Morrigan and Macha staring down at her, tears in their eyes.
“We give you our strength with gratitude and reverence. You are, indeed, worthy of your title as queen of the dead. You gave of yourself to bestow great gifts to those who sacrificed themselves to save so many others in this battle of good against evil. We are honored to call you our friend,” Morrigan said.
As the goddess talked, Hel felt her powers return, refreshed and complete, yet her emotions were on overload. “Thank you.”
“Finish it,” Macha said. “While there are many others like these evil ones throughout Europe, it is for others to eliminate them. Your job here will be done.”
Hel nodded and turned her gaze to the black souls. Pulling them together in one black writhing mass, she raised her hand, a green to violet tinted fire shout out of her palm to surround the souls, her hellfire the only known way to forever kill evil.
From the outside in, the flames ate away the mass until the last piece was devoured, never to be reborn. Letting out a long exhale, the rightness of her actions settled. This battle was over. Her gaze moved to the tree line where her husband had disappeared, wanting more than anything to find him. Make sure he was alive.
Her thoughts then turned to her daughter. She hadn’t heard from Freyja or Shalendra since they were separated. Not that she expected to, but even though her stint as a mom was less than the blink of an eye, she still worried. Shalendra was her only daughter, and sending her on a mission with her friend, someone equally as innocent and naïve, hadn’t left her with a good feeling. She wanted to be there to protect her.
Scrubbing her face with her hands, she heard the stupidity of that thought. She hadn’t been able to save the one man who had always been there for her. The one man who held her heart and yes, even her soul. She had given that to Émilien the day she had given birth to their daughter. He just hadn’t known, and if he didn’t come back to her, he never would.
She reached out to him through their mind link, hoping and praying this time he heard her. Each time she’d tried since their separation, only silence had answered.
Émilien.She waited with bated breath, willing him to respond.Émilien, answer me now!
In the distance, she thought she heard something. Was it a voice? She couldn’t tell.Answer me, my love.I’m such a fraud and a fool. I should never have pushed you and Shalendra away. I was stupid and scared. No one had ever shown me such love and devotion. I didn’t know how to deal with it. Truthfully, I still don’t, but I’m willing to learn.
Forcing her hands to unclasp, Hel rubbed the indentations where her nails dug into her palms.I just need you to hear my voice and hang on. Don’t give up on me...please. Don’t give up on life. You are my heart, my life, my soul, Émilien, I never told you, but the day Shalendra was born, I gave you my soul. You know how important that is for me. Souls are everything, and to give it up...well, gods don’t do that, but for you, I would do it all over again. Please come back to me...
Hel... Émilien’s voice sounded so faint, but elation filled her heart. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Come on, baby, you can do this. I promise your travail will be worth it in the end.
I’m going to hold you to that, you stubborn woman.
She clapped her hands together and held them to her forehead, her heart pounding. Tears rolled down her cheeks as his beautiful, gravelly voice filled her mind.If being stubborn means you come home to me, then I will continue using one of my strongest attributes.
I’m not altogether certain that’s possible,mon coeur.
You do not get to tell me I’m your heart for you to turn around and smash it to infinitesimally small pieces by dying.A bad sensation stole through her. Something magical was trying to pull them apart. She knew in the deepest part of her soul, this was evil magic—coercive and insidious. It also felt very familiar. The bad feeling grew stronger.Émilien, how were you injured?
A sword. Damned sneaky werewolf just stabbed me in the abdomen. One minute he held nothing and the next, a sword appeared in his hand.
She groaned.Was it a regular sword or tinted black with an etched blade with mistletoe leaves?
He was silent a moment, and Hel could almost hear him thinking.It was nothing like a normal sword. I got a quick glance of the hilt. The pommel and grip were black, as was the cross guard, which dipped downward in long spiked talons. Along the flat of the blade, a silver inlay of mistletoe was barely visible. You know this weapon?
Intimately. That’s my father’s sword,Hævateinn.It kills whatever it stabs.
Then, izr?, we have our answer. Make sure Shalendra knows how much I love her. She’s so smart, Hel. She has asked about you and wants to know her mother. Don’t push her away. Not this time.
You willnotgive up. Where you go, I go. Is that the fate you want for our daughter, to lose both her parents?
You wouldn’t...
I love you more than my own life. Youaremy life. It just took me way too long to realize it. I cannot live without you again, Émilien. I refuse to live without you, so I demand that you live. I demand that you live for your daughter, andI demand that you live for all the souls who count on you as their guardian.
With a pounding heart, she felt the dark magic surrounding him lessen then disappear. She still had no idea what was happening, and her panic grew.
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