Theht worked her clawed hands opened and closed. Curved black nails glinted in the garish orange light cast from the rift. Her red armor creaked as she paced in front of us. A cold chill ran down my spine as I focused on the orange scales covering her skin. I hadn’t yet looked into her eyes, not sure if I would be able to meet her gaze—to see what I feared most—my own eyes staring back at me.
“Olive,” she said, her voice melodic yet haunting. “Stand.”
I had no choice but to obey. My body moved to stand, facing her. The goddess stood only a little taller than me, yet I felt as though she towered over me. Emotionless, alien eyes met mine, yet the piece of the goddess that existed within me recognized something familiar, making me shudder uncontrollably.
“I have inhabited your body for so long,” she said. “Now, I know you better than you understand yourself.” She ran her finger across my cheek. “I know the pain you feel, I know what you fear most, and I shall punish you a thousand times over for taking away from me that which I desired—the destruction of this world.
“You will watch as I open the rift and bring the demons of my world into yours.” Her eyes grew dark. “And then I shall let them tear you apart. They shall decimate every living thing.”
She backed away from me. Raising her arms, she caused the orange light streaming from the portal to grow brighter. When she outstretched her arms, red magic spiraled from her fingertips, pulsating, and then it struck the ground. An ear-splitting roar tore through the air as a seam opened in the ground behind her, forming a deep chasm.
The rift. The one element of the prophecy Lucretian had told me to fear above anything else.
Through the rift, hundreds of Regaymor flew upward into our world. Embers flitted as demonic screams filled the air. The ground shook under our feet as the rift fractured, causing seams to open in the ground around us. With the destruction, the hold Theht had on me lessened, and my companions seemed to come out of their trances.
Kull, Heidel, and Maveryck all stood. They looked dazed, but for now, uninjured. I supposed Theht meant to release the Regaymor into our world before killing us, which was a good thing. It gave us time to stop her. We backed away from the rift as the Regaymor continued to pour out like pus from a wound.
“Your Majesty,” Maveryck said after we stood several yards away. “You are the only one who can kill the goddess. You must destroy her with the sword of Dracon.”
Kull’s eyes flicked to me. He gripped the sword’s pommel, but hesitated from rushing toward the goddess.
“Do you really believe that sword can kill her?” Heidel asked.
“I know it can,” Maveryck said. “It once belonged to me, in a time so long ago I barely remember. But the prophecies are all true, and now is the time for the last prophecy to be fulfilled. The son of the Viking gods will be the one to kill the goddess. You must do it now while she’s distracted with keeping the rift open. I know this,” he said, “because I was the one who spoke the prophecy.”
Our eyes widened.
“You?” Heidel gasped.
Maveryck only nodded.
“You speak the truth?” Kull asked.
“Yes,” Maveryck shouted over the wind. “You will destroy her—that I know—and now is the time.”
Kull’s chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. “If I do this,” he said, “you must protect Olive. I will kill the goddess, but I will not be responsible for the death of my wife.”
Heidel’s eyes widened. “Your what?”
“My wife,” he repeated.
Heidel placed her hands on her hips. “When did this happen?”
A sad smile lit his face. “In the elven village. I’d hoped to reveal the news at a more appropriate time, but since I fear none of us will live through this, I thought it best to tell you now.”
“Mother will be angry.”
“If I live to tell her, then yes, she’ll be furious.”
Beyond us, flames shot upward through the gap, roaring with unabated fury. Lightning shot through the clouds, soon followed by booming thunder.
“This was horrible timing!” Heidel yelled over the noise.
“It was better than never telling you!”
“True, but I’m annoyed you didn’t tell me sooner.”
“Let me make it up to you. You must allow Olive and I to attend your wedding, Sister.”
Maveryck and Heidel shared a look. It wasn’t what I expected, as it seemed neither of them cared to argue the point with Kull.
“Very well,” she called back. “When this is over, and if we’re all still alive, I shall let you take Father’s place at my wedding ceremony.”
“Then if that’s the case, I swear I will live so I can be there.”
This was, quite possibly, the first time I’d ever heard them speak civilly to one another.
Kull faced me, though he didn’t reach out for me as I expected. He held the sword between us, and it seemed to keep us apart.
“Olive,” he said. “I… I don’t have the words right now.” His voice broke. I went to him and hugged him, trying to remember everything the way I’d done after his father’s death, when I thought he would never be mine again.
Remember him.
The steady beating of his heart, the warmth of his hands, the scent of wild forests and cashmere. The feeling of being loved that only he gives you. Remember everything.
“I love you, Kull,” I said.
“And I love you. We will never be apart. I swear it.” He lifted my face with his finger beneath my chin. “I swear it to you.”
I only nodded. Speaking was beyond me. With the sword held aloft, and righteous determination in his eyes, he moved toward the goddess.
She focused on him as she held her arms out, keeping the rift open. As she did, the Regaymor attacked. Black robed figures swarmed around us, their screams deafening. Skeletal fingers grabbed my arms,
