There was nothing he could do. Loki was grossly outnumbered and getting caught himself would only put Chantelle in further danger. He hoped Chantelle knew that she needed to stall them until backup got there. At least with a few more fighters they would have a chance.
Closing his eyes Loki tried to breathe in Chantelle’s scent. It would calm his overeager beast. It was rattling the bars of his cage; wanting nothing more than to charge in there and take them all on. It didn’t matter to Loki’s beast if he lived or died so long as Chantelle came out of everything unscathed.
“Come out of your hiding place. I know you are here, I can feel your magic.” Signe called as her eyes scanned the forest.
Loki watched as she moved toward Chantelle. A tiny dagger gleamed in the fallen immortals hand. With her free hand she grabbed Chantelle’s chin, “It’s a pity he doesn’t love you enough to save you. He’ll be so easy to seduce into my bed. You are nothing more than a pathetic mortal; forgettable.”
Loki knew Signe was trying to draw him out. He also knew she was wrong on all counts. If he could assure Chantelle’s safety then he would have rushed in to save her. He also knew that he would die before he betrayed Chantelle’s heart by taking any other into his bed. But the blond immortal was lying the most about Chantelle’s status. Once they had bound their souls, she had become his equal. More so than the woman who taunted her.
Chantelle jerked her face away from Signe’s cold clammy hand. “I hope you choke on all the lies you tell.” A defiant gleam filled her eyes as she smiled in Signe’s direction. “Then again, it’s kinda hard to swallow that much bullshit.”
Loki wanted to laugh at her sharp tongue. He had known that Chantelle had a warrior’s heart. But the way she held her own with Signe, left him breathless.
Signe lashed out with the dagger, slicing Chantelle’s left arm wide open. She cried out in pain and tried to pull away from her captors. But any pressure on her arm had her falling forward in pain.
“Speak again and I’ll remove your tongue.”
The leaves parted and an angry looking Loki marched forward. Backup be damned, he needed to end this now, or else Signe would bleed Chantelle out.
“Well, now look who decided to join the party.” Signe cooed.
He watched as the warriors shifted around them. Moving closer to where they held Chantelle. They formed a tight half circle; making it impossible for Loki to reach her even if he used his magic.
“Let her go.” His magic was beginning to gather, his hands glowing an unearthly green. He was gathering himself to attack.
“Why? Seeing her bleed pleases me.” Her arm shot out again and left a matching gash on Chantelle’s right arm.
Chantelle let out an anguished cry, as blood welled on her arm. Loki shifted his weight ready to release his magic. He was too caught up in Chantelle to notice Signe gathering her magic as well.
With the swiftness of a shark attack, Signe cast her spell, before Loki had a chance to blink. In an instant he found himself encased in a crystal cell. There was no way for him to reach Chantelle now. No way for him to conjure his magic.
He knew Signe would make him watch as she slowly killed his mate and impotent to help her. If that was her intention then she had better hope he died along with Chantelle. Or else his vengeance would be slow and without mercy.
Loki centered himself and tried his magic again, yet as he called on it there was no response. No pulling in the region of his heart; the seat of his power. The cell she had put him in must have been enchanted.
Frantic now with this new discovery, he pounded his fists against the glass, hoping to find a way out. No matter what it cost him, Loki had to get Chantelle out of here and soon. He didn’t know how much more she could take; their traveling had been hard on all of them. She was already swaying on her feet from the loss of blood. If Signe didn’t stop, there was no telling how soon Chantelle’s body would give out.
“Now you’ll watch as she pays for all I’ve suffered.” Signe turned back toward Chantelle her arm raised she was ready to strike the death blow.
“Wait.” Loki called from behind the glass wall of his prison.
Signe turned to face Loki, her lips tugged upward in a parody of a smile, “What now? Can’t you see I am busy trying to kill your little toy.”
“I shall do whatever you ask, just let her go.” Loki looked at her beseechingly.
He watched as Signe shook her head. It was almost as if she hadn’t heard him. That his pleading was going to go unheeded.
“Please, she had nothing to do with your suffering.”
Signe turned the full force of her gaze upon him, “No single snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”
“You cannot punish Chantelle because she is my mate.”
“Your mate? I thought I was your mate. Isn’t that what you claimed all those centuries ago, when I left you begging for my love?”
Signe turned to face Chantelle, “Did you know that your precious mate waged war with your race because I left him for a real man?”
Her words stung Loki. He knew the blame lay solely on his head. If he had just waited for Chantelle as he was meant to, none of this would have happened. But to gain his father’s favor he agreed to marry Signe. Odin had wanted to make a good match for his youngest son. All those years ago he had worried about bloodlines and then Signe had run from him.
If Loki had only treated it as a passing fancy, but he had been crushed by yet another person turning him away because of his Jotun blood. He had been too young and too rash to realize that if she couldn’t look past his bloodline then she wasn’t meant for him.
“Where is he now?” Chantelle said, her voice laced with malice.
“He is dead. At the whim of a jealous immortal. He was taken from me before his time. A mate for a mate is poetic justice. Don’t you think?”
Loki knew that if he let her continue she would shatter Chantelle’s heart. He reminded himself that their bond was still fragile. That overexposure to Signe’s lies might tear Chantelle away from him.
“Enough. My offer stands. Let her go and I will do whatever you wish.”
“So you’ll do anything, for her. Will you?” Her lip curled in contempt.
“Anything. Just let Chantelle go.”
Chantelle’s head snapped up, her cheeks stained by her tears. “Please don’t give in to her. Can’t you see she wants to destroy us?”
Loki shook his head a fraction of an inch. Trying to tell Chantelle to be still, that her struggling only fueled Signe’s hate. She didn’t need to give Signe any further reason to hurt her. She had already caused his little mate enough harm.
“Shut up you poor excuse for a placeholder.”
Signe shoved the now bleeding Chantelle to the unforgiving ground. Her men began to laugh at the fallen woman. But all laughter ceased when Signe raised her hand for silence. No one wanted a repeat of earlier.
Slowly she edged toward Loki in his new home. He said he would give anything to see his toy safe. At least that was what he was claiming now, but he had always been a convincing liar. Signe was going to test him to see if what he said was what he was willing to do.
“I will give you one chance to save your mortal.”
She spat the word mortal as if Chantelle was an unsavory pet. The truth of the matter was Signe thought far worse of her than that. She was no better than a thief trying to take what was by rights, Signe’s. For too long Chantelle had been an obstacle. The one thing that stood in Signe’s path to making Loki her slave for all eternity. And that was something Signe planned to rectify shortly.
“No.” Chantelle croaked. She was struggling to rise, but a boot to her back stopped her movement.
“Enough! I will do whatever it is you ask.” Loki hung his head.
He had failed Chantelle. He had failed to keep her safe and he was failing her again by agreeing to whatever lunacy Signe had planned. Loki hoped Chantelle would be able to move on and forget him; he was
sure there was someone out there that was better for her. Someone that would do a better job of keeping her from harm, a better job of guarding her heart.
He looked up then and saw the light of triumph in Signe’s eyes. “I will agree to whatever you ask, so long as you promise you will not harm Chantelle any further.”
Chapter 40:
Signe nodded her head in agreement; she wouldn’t have to do anything else to Chantelle. Not after he was forced to follow through on his promise. Just the words she would force Loki to utter would destroy Chantelle once and for all.
“I give you my word.”
Loki shook his head, “Your word holds no weight amongst immortals. And we both know it.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, “I will only agree to a blood oath.”
“Very well.”
The oath was easy to agree to. It would cost her nothing and in the end his own distrust would cost him everything. Signe slashed her palm and let the blood well up; placing her palm flat against the crystal wall. Instantly the skin of Loki’s palm split.
He sucked in a deep breath, trying to steel himself for the surge of magic that would soon flow. He knew it would make him too weak to stop Signe’s men from anything nefarious they might have planned. They would have every chance to hurt Chantelle with him in a weakened state.
He eyed her for a moment, trying to find the best way to word his next stipulation of their oath. Loki knew that whatever he said Signe would take offense to it. He had no choice but to come right out and demand her men stand down as well.
“Swear it of your men as well.”
“Your mate shall not suffer from our hands. No one will harm her. Not myself or my men.”
This was his only way to keep Chantelle safe. It didn’t matter if he trusted Signe or not. She was willing to take a blood oath and that was more than he could have hoped for. A blood oath was irreversible. It joined them through their magic. If the oath was broken, it meant sudden death to the one who broke it. This was the only way to keep immortals honest and with Signe it was the only way he would trust her.
Loki placed his palm upon the bloodied crystal wall. A bright flash of light filled the space between them. He could feel the oath tugging on his magic. His strength began to wane. The light finally subsided and Loki had a clear view of Chantelle. He watched as tears fell from her eyes. There was a wrenching in the area of his heart and he knew that for the first time in a millennium it was breaking.
Then his eyes shifted to Signe and the look on her face scared him. In that one look he knew that he should have let Signe kill Chantelle. Because whatever she had planned would be a fate worse than death.
Loki pounded on the glass, “Just what have you tricked me into agreeing to?”
“Renounce your bond.” There was a moment of hesitation on Loki’s part. “Do it now.”
A look of horror crossed Loki’s face. To renounce their bond would cleave Chantelle’s soul in half. Although he himself had never witnessed the magic performed, everyone knew the consequences of a broken bond. It was easy to spot someone who lost their Fatum Anima, or suffered from a broken bond. They walked around like zombies; never lasting very long. No one knew whether it was the sorrow or the loneliness that killed them. But whatever it was it wasn’t something that you wanted to witness firsthand.
“No. Don’t give that bitch what she wants.” Chantelle was now on her knees, attempting to rise and attack Signe.
“I have promised your prince that I would not kill you out of vengeance. Do not make me kill you out of anger instead.” Signe gestured toward her men. Two of them pulled Chantelle to her feet.
“You cannot be serious?” But Signe just crossed her arms and waited. “Anything but that.”
“You are oath bound. Now do it.” Signe called over her shoulder, “Bring the mortal closer. I want my pet to watch as he breaks her.”
There was a scuffle as the two men tried to make Chantelle move. She scratched and clawed at them, giving them one hell of a fight, but the bigger of the two backhanded her and she grew quiet. Loki couldn’t take another moment of them hurting her.
He would break their bond; giving Signe what she wanted. He would cast Chantelle out of his life and back to safety. If she survived the broken bond, he knew she would grow to hate him. But that was better than her dying because of his own selfish wishes.
With a defeated sigh, Loki began to focus on the magic that connected them. Slowly shimmering silver light appeared between them. It connected them at the chest; seeming to pierce their hearts.
“I recall from you my vow.” A single tear slid from Loki’s evergreen eyes. “You are cast aside, to no longer walk beside me. I free you from your promise to me.”
Chantelle gasped as she felt a tearing sensation in her chest. It felt as if someone had grabbed a hold of her heart and ripped it in two. Her ears stung with the finality of Loki’s words. Her heart ached for the loss of him. Chantelle’s soul already knew it was meant to forever walk in darkness alone. For when Loki had first bound them she had taken some of his darkness into her. It was his magic’s way of marking her. Now that he had pulled his magic back from her, his darkness continued to dwell inside her.
She looked down at her left hand and her eyes grew blurry. The ring that symbolized their promise to each other was slipping from her finger. As it slid fully off, it began to shimmer and disappear. Her tear filled eyes flashed to Loki and there on his arm once more was his Compes. They were no longer joined.
Chantelle felt her heart breaking in her chest. Her soul was shattered by three sentences, hollow words that Loki really didn’t mean. But none of that mattered because her fate was determined the moment Loki had taken his oath.
“Forgive me.” The pleading note in his voice broke her even further. She saw a tear slip down his cheek before her world went black.
As soon as the last words had fallen from Loki’s lips, his crystal cell disappeared. With his newfound freedom he rushed toward Chantelle. But several of Signe’s warriors blocked his way.
“Let me through.”
Signe made a tisking sound from behind him. Her hands ran up his back and over his chest. Loki shuddered in revulsion. Even if she had looked like the same woman who had cast him aside, her touch would have sickened him.
“Now, now. There’ll be none of that.”
He grabbed her by her arms and shook her. The warriors around them began to draw their weapons. Signe pulled away from Loki with a strength he didn’t know one so frail looking could possess.
“Stand down you fools.” She hissed at them.
“Let me pass.” Loki began to step forward, but her hand on his chest stopped him.
“When you broke your vow to her,” She cast a disgusted look in Chantelle’s direction, “you became mine.” Horror flashed through him at her words. “Whether you like it or not you now belong to me.”
“That was not part of the bargain.”
“Too bad for you. Maybe next time you’ll read the fine print.”
With a nod of her head several men moved forward to subdue Loki. He struggled against their hold and tried with all his strength to get to Chantelle but their broken bond had weakened him.
“Your evil deeds will not go unpunished.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “There is no torture you could devised that, I have not already endured. Besides, soon I shall rule over all immortals and I will be the one dealing out the punishments.”
Signe moved closer to him; so close her breath blew across his face, like a stale breeze from an open gave. “If you behave I might allow you to become my pet.”
The idea sickened him. Loki wanted nothing to do with the deranged creature before him. Her outer beauty had decayed as much as her soul over the centuries.
“We must hurry the others will be here soon. Bring him along.”
Loki tried to stall them. If he was able to then maybe the others would be able to help. If not him, at least Chantelle. One of the men came
up behind the prince and clubbed him. As his world grew dark, his struggles ceased. And his last thought, was of his brother finding Chantelle and saving her.
Night had descended an hour ago; the only light was that of the stars above. Thor noticed the camp was ahead of them; the light of the campfire giving them away. He wondered for a moment why there was no noise coming from the camp. Not the sound of conversation; or in the case of Loki and his mate, arguing.
“Up ahead.”
At his words, Savannah took off with all haste in the direction of the light. But it wasn’t a campfire that greeted her. It was the tent that was ablaze in the night. The fire was spreading with a greedy hunger. In that instant her heart stopped in her chest. The tent was ablaze and there was no way anyone could have survived the flames.
They were not in time after all. She had failed Chantelle, broken the vow they had made to each other nine years ago. They had vowed that if one of them was ever in need the other would be there no matter what the cost. So often she had run to Chantelle when life at home with her alcoholic mother had become too much.
How does she repay her? Now there would never be a chance to make it up to Chantelle. Savannah should have insisted on following them when they had first set out. But she wanted to give Chantelle time alone with Loki.
Frantically, her eyes searched the clearing. From atop her horse Savannah had a good vantage point. The forest was alit from the flames and everything was illuminated in a harsh red glow. That’s how she noticed Chantelle’s prone body.
She was maybe thirty feet from the tent and she wasn’t moving. In the light of the blaze, Savannah noticed she was covered in blood. Quickly dismounting, Savannah rushed to her side. Her friend was still as death. All she could do was pray that Chantelle was still alive. But it didn’t look like she was breathing.
Savannah had propped her head up in her lap, when the others came riding in. Tomas was off his horse and at her side in seconds; his first priority was to the princess. The others began to fight the blaze raging around them.
Mischief's Mate (The Immortal Mates Book 1) Page 30
