Page 221 of Storm of Raging Seas
She had two options. She could use her light to banish the shadows, try as she might to show the world the truth. How many would listen? How many would turn a blind eye?
The other option was much more satisfying.
She slowly walked out of the cave and trudged through the lands without stopping. The burning in her legs was nothing compared to the obliteration of her heart.
When she made it to the edge of the realm, she peered out at the water while the sun, hidden behind clouds, tried to break through. But Hel was beyond light, and though the sun wished to grace the realm with its warm presence, it was not powerful enough.
The fog along the oil-like surface of the shore ushered in a false sense of calm after the storm. Mist swept over and around her, swirling to avoid the crackling magic in her veins. Solveig closed her eyes and breathed as she felt a flicker of a presence that soothed her soul.
Her eyes snapped open as the fog gathered, rising to meet her growing resolve. She stared at her hands and watched in fascination as they disappeared into shadow.
Loki had overlooked one thing, concentrated as he was on Thor’s magic writhing in her veins. She was his daughter—she’d inherited his darkness.
The shadows were hers to control and they answered as she called upon them for the first time in her life. They stifled the light, proving to her what she already knew. Solveig knelt, using her dagger to slice her palm open, letting it bleed into the cracks of the rocks around her.
“I vow to Vidarr, the god of vengeance himself, to tear the world apart, to bring those responsible to their knees and deliver them to the souls trapped in Hel so they may be feasted upon for eternity.”
The realm shuddered with the power in her words, accepting her vow.
She stood on strong legs as her shadows swirled around her, feeling the last of the binds on her magic loosen and then break under the power she finally embraced.
Her birthright.
Solveig Lokidottir revelled in the freedom she now possessed.
She was a goddess.
Darkness was her salvation, and it would be her mate’s.
Solveig let out a primal roar that shook the very foundation of Hel.
The world descended into darkness as she shrouded herself in shadow. With a smile on her lips, she wielded her newly freed power—vanishing at the mere blink of a thought, transporting herself to the last place anyone would expect.
She would not stop until she had her mate back, until she delivered the gods’ and goddesses’ heads to where they belonged. She blinked back into corporeal form, staying hidden in the shadows, watching her prey.
He noticed the ripple she’d made in the darkness and raised his head, scrambling to the back of his stone cell. A cruel smile curled her mouth as she stepped into the light.
With a cold voice that purred with darkness, she raised the hair on his body.
“Hello, Latham.”
END OF BOOK TWO
