He couldn’t get his last image of her out of his head...the shock and horror that had glinted in her hazel eyes, fury, too, perhaps even hatred, all magnified by unshed tears. She’d been pale and unsteady, so hopeful about their future. He’d thought he’d spied a shimmer of love in her eyes, had suspected she would willingly risk her life for his...had feared she would be forced to give up her dreams for his.
He couldn’t let her do it. He just... He couldn’t. She’d lost too much already.
From now on, Knox would spend his days taking out every obstacle in her path. He would be her first line of defense.
And she would hate him forever.
He drilled a fist into his temple. He’d hurt her, and he deserved a lifetime of misery for it—which was exactly what he was going to get.
One day, she might look back and thank him for this. Never would she have to choose between her lover and her sister. Her lover and her world. Her lover’s life and her own.
My sweet valina, lost to me forever. She’d brought his dreams to life, and he’d done the same for her worst nightmares. He’d walked away, just like her father.
I expected better from you, she’d said. You’re a coward.
He was a coward. Maybe he hadn’t done the right thing.
He’d won multiple wars, and he couldn’t find a better way to aid the woman he loved?
Loved. Yes, he realized, stopped cold. He loved Vale London. The knowledge glowed, bright and undeniable, as if Valtorro—the sun that lit—had dawned inside him.
Like Minka, Vale had brought his deadened heart back to life. He’d failed his daughter but he wouldn’t fail Vale. He would do anything, give up everything to secure a better future for her.
Only now, in this moment, did he understand and accept that he’d lost the war the second they’d met. The All War, yes, but also the war within himself, and even his private war with Ansel. In order to grab hold of Vale and keep her safe, Knox had to let go of his vengeance.
He chose her. He would always choose her. After he’d laid her enemies at her feet, he would present himself to Seven and cut out his own heart. War over.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Only one thing stood in his way. Ansel’s compulsion to win, whatever the cost. Which meant Knox would have to take the risk and bind himself to Gunnar’s sword. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn’t. He’d worry about a backup plan if it failed.
{Danger comes.}
A combatant? Dagger and revolver at the ready, he scanned—
{Too late. Rift!}
Leave Vale to face the danger? No. He clinked the Rifters, intending to enter the cottage.
Boom!
A white-hot blast flung him across the field, into a tree. Gnarled limbs stabbed through his torso, impact cracking various bones. He lost his breath and his hold on the shadows.
Half the skin on his face had melted off, and a hank of muscle hung from his jaw. Shiloh’s lenses protected his eyes and corrected his vision without missing a beat—
What he saw utterly wrecked him. The cottage...it...it was...ruined. Only rubble remained.
Blood roared in Knox’s ears. He struggled to make sense of what had happened. The land mines hadn’t exploded. The field was intact.
Vale had been inside the cottage, and it had just blown up.
Didn’t matter, didn’t matter. Even if each of her limbs had been amputated, she would recover. She would hurt, but she would recover.
The fire wouldn’t kill her, either, since she’d absorbed Ranger’s ability. If her heart had been ripped out, or her head had been blown off—
“Vale!” He screamed her name and reached toward the cottage.
Just outside the field’s boundary, bushes shook and tree branches slapped together. Erik stepped into sight. His foot had regrown, and he looked to be in peak health. A rocket launcher was slung over his shoulder.
Adonis and Rush flanked his sides, an army of mortals spread out behind them.
The roar in Knox’s ears faded just in time to hear Erik say, “Told you.”
Rage like he’d never known unfurled. This man...this bastard...had just bombed Vale’s house. Had just...He’d... Knox threw back his head and shouted curses at the smoke-infused sky, the sound broken and animalistic. Like me.
I will slaughter this man and all he holds dear.
“Let me hip you to a few truths,” Erik said when he quieted. “I’m the reason the ice prison fell. Me. As soon as I was ready, I used the Rod of Clima to warm up the cavern, bit by bit.”
“You lie!”
“Global warming helped speed up the process, so I wasn’t where I was supposed to be when the columns cracked. But I’m here now, and I will postpone this war.”
“You cannot defeat the High Council.” You’ll be too busy being dead.
Erik waved the statement away. “I had centuries to find and prepare traps in different safe houses. Those I couldn’t find, I made arrangements to hunt, putting cameras in the mountains, recording combatants as they rifted away. Modern technology had been my best friend.”
Enough! “I. Will. Kill. You.”
“You are one of the only males I couldn’t track,” Erik continued, “even after you invaded Shiloh’s camp. But I’d hoped you and Vale would return here to the cottage. Then, suddenly, I got my wish.” He smiled, but quickly frowned. He sniffed the air.
Vale’s pheromone fused with smoke, drifting past. The viking didn’t deserve to smell her—I will stop him.
With a snarl, Knox yanked his body free of the tree limbs.
Erik flicked a glance to Adonis and Rush. “Shall we have a contest of our own, boys? The one who kills Knox of Iviland wins his weapons, of course, but also wins the day.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Four minutes earlier
“OH, VALE. I’M BEYOND SORRY,” Nola said, hauling her close for a hug.
For the first time in Vale’s life, tasting warm brown butter failed to comfort her. She wanted whiskey and honey.
No. No, she didn’t. She hated whiskey and honey. The owner of that whiskey and honey voice considered her disposable.
Buck up. She’d been broken before and survived. She would survive this, too.
Would she?
Hurts so bad.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” she said. “Good riddance, right?” If a man didn’t want to stay with her, if he wasn’t willing to fight for their relationship, he wasn’t worth another thought.
But why wasn’t she ever good enough? Why was she so easy to abandon?
“If I hadn’t seen with my own eyes, I never would have believed it,” Zion said. “That man loves you.”
Hope soared, then crashed, hard. She’d told Knox she wouldn’t take him back, and he’d left, anyway. He hadn’t looked back. Love her? Not even close.
“I don’t agree. But even if you were right, it wouldn’t matter. Sometimes love isn’t enough.” Her deadened voice lacked any hint of emotion. “You don’t convince your love to stay, letting her pin her hopes and dreams on you, then forsake her a few hours later.” Oops. Not so deadened, after all. “Anyway. No more chatter about Knox. Did you happen to tag any other players with a bot?”
“There wasn’t opportunity.” Zion took Nola’s hand and helped her to her feet. “If Knox created a footpath to the cottage, other competitors will arrive. Soon. Let’s stash Nola somewhere safe.”
Nola rested her head on his shoulder, unable to stand on her own. The sight of their easy camaraderie roused the darkest, ugliest thread of jealousy, and a bucket of guilt. Nola deserved every happiness, every moment of peace and connection. What was more, her sister’s good fortune didn’t preclude her own.
Brave face!
She wondered if Nola had been this at ease with Bane, wondered if she missed him
, and what she would do if—when—he was taken out of the game.
A beast with his destructive tendencies had to be taken out of the game, and soon. He could tear this planet apart at the seams. The fact that he hadn’t already done so was a miracle.
“Where can I go?” Nola asked Zion. “Your safe houses are compromised.”
Vale could take her sister to the cave in the Amazon but...if something happened to her today, Nola would be stuck out there, helpless. Better to leave her near civilization.
“There’s a tunnel beneath the house,” she said. “It runs a mile and a half. Ranger and Celeste dug it before they were frozen. Then, when he was freed, Ranger discovered the cottage was built over it, killed the homeowners to ensure he had privacy and dug a new entryway.”
Nola placed a hand over her heart. “Those poor people.”
“I know.” But she couldn’t let sadness pull her strings. “Come on.”
She marched into the kitchen, her guests not far behind. In the pantry closet, she kicked away a dirt-stained rug to reveal the secret hatch. Ranger had done amazing work in a very short time.
Zion was the first to descend the wooden ladder, wincing when he put weight on his injured leg. Nola was second, and Vale took up the rear, not bothering to close the door since she would be returning in a moment.
Darkness enveloped them, making her miss Knox like crazy. He flourished in this kind of environment. Well, screw him. She would flourish without him.
With a simple mental command, flames ignited at the ends of her fingers. Flickering light scared the shadows away. Take that!
“Oh. My. Gosh,” Nola said. “You do realize you are the coolest person I know, right? How is this even possible?”
“I’ll explain later.” Vale kissed her cheek and strode over to pick up a lantern Ranger had left. After the wick caught fire, she blew on her fingers.
Zion reached out to claim the lantern’s handle. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Nola has your new number. She’ll contact you if we spot any combatants in the area.”
“Thank—”
Boom!
The ground shook with so much force, both Vale and Nola toppled. Because Vale was directly underneath the hatch, she got hit with the worst of the blaze, an inferno licking over her, burning holes in her clothes but not her skin. What did injure her? Planks of wood and pieces of kitchen appliances rained upon her, crushing and slicing with abandon.
Already pinned down, she couldn’t dodge when a concrete block slammed atop her leg.
As she screeched with pain, Zion limped over, heaved the block off her and helped her stand.
“What happened?” Nola said between coughing fits. Dust and smoke seemed to clot the air, and soot streaked her face.
“Bomb blast,” Vale said. Her best guess. “Are you okay?”
Her sister’s dark eyes flittered with the beginnings of hysteria. “I—I’m fine. You?”
“Fine.” Vale shared a worried look with Zion.
“This is Erik’s doing, I know it,” he grated.
Oh, yes. Most definitely. Had Knox remained nearby, intending to kill Erik on his own, or had he returned to his bunker?
Knowing Knox, he’d remained. Was he hurt?
What if he had bombed the house?
She sucked in a breath, suffused by horror. He wouldn’t do such a thing...would he? He’d promised to stay with her until the very end, but he’d lied about that. Plotting to destroy her wasn’t too far outside the realm of possibility.
Despite her aches and pains, she said, “Let’s not wait around for the culprit’s next trick. Let’s go.”
“Once we’re aboveground, you’ll stay with Nola and I’ll double back for Erik.” He swept Nola into his strong arms and sprinted for the exit, and it was clear he was ignoring his pain, too.
“Strategy isn’t your thing, hot stuff.” Vale kept pace at his side, the sword bouncing on her back. “Nola will stay in the tunnel, and you and I will head out together to fight side by side, guarding each other’s back.” Do it. Tell him everything. They were allies—for now—and there were things he deserved to know. “I have to be the one to kill the combatants. I can absorb their abilities, as you suspected. What you didn’t know? I can also absorb their memories and learn their plans.”
“Memories? Truly?” Though his brow knit and his mouth floundered open and closed, making him look like he wanted to settle in for a lengthy Q and A, he said, “Very well. You will make the kills.”
When they reached the exit, Zion said, “You know our deal, Nola.”
What deal? Nope, she wasn’t going to ask. Mission first, personal curiosity second.
Zion set Nola on her feet. She was trembling, quaking really.
“You’re going to be all right.” Vale enfolded her sister in a quick hug. “I love you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Nola said. “Just...come back alive.”
“I will. I’m a superhero. Intangy Girl. Trademark pending. And baby girl, I pity our opponents.”
Though she loathed leaving Nola behind, she followed Zion up the second ladder. Up top, he labored to dislodge whatever blocked the hatch.
A boulder, she discovered as they exited. A boulder he rolled back into place, sealing Nola inside the tunnel.
Vale peered at her sister until the last possible second, trying not to crumple when a lone tear slid down Nola’s soot-streaked cheek.
Head in the game. If Knox had taught her anything, it was the danger of distraction. And that men sucked worse than she’d realized. And trusting people would only ever lead to heartbreak.
She took stock. A wealth of trees. Air tinged with smoke. No homes in sight. No animals—they’d flown the coop.
With Zion blocking the signal, there was no way to tell if a combatant lurked nearby.
“Come on,” he said.
They backtracked, heading to the lavender field. Homes came into view. People stood on their porches, peering into the distance, chattering about what could have happened to the cottage.
“By the way,” she said between panting breaths as they entered a thicket. “Ranger planted land mines in the field. The remote probably got destroyed when the house blew.”
“I’ll be careful.”
They cleared the bushes, and Vale stopped, aghast. Knox had stayed, as she’d suspected. The places he wasn’t bloody, he was bruised, his skin molted and swollen. Pieces of flesh and muscle were missing. One of his ribs stuck out of his chest.
No way he had set off the bomb. From the looks of it, he might have been the main target.
Adonis and Rush hustled in the opposite direction—why? Couldn’t take the heat, or planning an ambush? Where was Erik?
Knox purged an army of mortal soldiers, despite his injuries. He was the most lethal and aggressive male she’d ever beheld, leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake. He had no mercy, only seething ferocity, and a mighty grudge. He looked at each of his victims as if they’d stolen his most prized possession, whatever that possession happened to be.
Though Vale was furious with him, hurting over his desertion, she couldn’t help but bask in his skill and rejoice when his enemies fell. But for every man he took out, three others swarmed him. There were simply too many, and not even the savage Knox could destroy them all.
Or maybe he could. The mortals never went for a kill shot. They tried to...kiss him?
Her eyes went wide. The pheromone was doing its job, twining with the smoke, drifting on the breeze and causing widespread sexual hunger.
“If you feel like making out with the guys you’re fighting,” Vale told Zion, “just go with it. I can use their distraction to my advantage.”
“I feel like killing,” he said, but he didn’t sound entirely sure. Color suffused his cheeks. “If I’m injured, or things go badly, I’m ret
urning for Nola. I suggest you do the same.” He launched into the fray, concentrating his efforts on the mortals, punching holes in their chests and proving just how dangerous he could be.
A handful of mortals broke rank, lurching toward her. My cue. She launched into the fray, too. Invisible, she ghosted through one man, spun, rematerialized, and struck. A single swipe of her sword ended his life. Rinse, repeat.
Other mortals sensed her, and rushed her way. Bring it.
As she fought, she kept Knox in her periphery. He hadn’t yet noticed her or Zion, his single-minded focus awe-inspiring.
She took a peek at Zion to gauge his progress. He paused to shake his head, as if to dislodge an unwanted thought.
An animalistic roar echoed, Bane shooting through a rift. Bane, and yet not Bane. Vale recoiled.
He was bigger than ever before, like, Hulk big, his muscles bulging around his torn clothing. He had predator eyes, malice and death glowing within their red depths. His hair had grown longer, giving him a thick lion’s mane, and he had fangs. Or maybe they were tusks. Or dragon sabers? Whatever they were, they caused serious damage. A small, razor-sharp horn protruded from different places on his body. Black claws tipped his fingers and his toes.
Had he come for the other combatants...or Nola?
Mustn’t let him near the fragile girl. Ever.
Bane tossed lusty mortals through the rift, three at a time, until it closed. He mowed through the others, blood spraying, spurting and gushing, turning the field into a macabre water park. What if he turned his sights to her allies?
An arm flew through the air, minus its body. And there went a head. Vale...had no reaction. After the assembly, she was only growing increasingly immune to such brutality.
It was kill or be killed. Today, she would prove that making a move against her or her associates came with a death sentence.
Two bodies flew past her. Bane—
Was helping Knox and Zion thin the herd, she realized. But what if he turned on the immortals?
“Girl,” Bane shouted, his beastly timbre unrecognizable. Before, she’d tasted butterscotch whenever he spoke. Now she tasted mint and lemons. “Give. Her. To. Me.”
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