My sorrow turned into full-blown tears as I shook back.

  He allowed me to cry, but not for too long. He rested a hand on my arm. His touch was the only thing that could stop the grief from splitting my chest in two. Making no attempt to hide my blotchy face, I let my hands drop. “I didn’t want her to die. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to ignore her. It was just too hard. Before she died, she sent me a card. Perfectly written.” I lifted a hand and pretended to write, but my fingers shook and my words spluttered. “She told me I wasn’t ready for my inheritance. So why the hell would she turn around and give me her entire fortune?”

  He stared at me, his expression soft. “She did not mean her fortune.”

  I stared back. My lips jolted open. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that your grandmother knew of your abilities. And it was from your abilities that she desperately tried to protect you. And it was for your abilities,” he paused, “that she paid the ultimate price.”

  I jolted back hard in the chair, my nails dragging across the armrests. “What?” My voice shook.

  “Now is no time to discuss your destiny,” he said.

  Destiny.

  At first, that word did nothing. Then the reality of it started to dawn on me. Like a twisting vine, it wrapped around my insides, strangling my heart.

  I locked a hand on my chest and began to breathe, every inhalation shallower than the last.

  That same concern kindled in his eyes – the concern he only showed when I began to hyperventilate. He leaned down on one knee and rested a hand on my arm. “Calm yourself,” he said, his fingers slipping towards the large armlet around my wrist.

  I knew what he was worried about – that I’d lose control and let my powers go. Hey, I could turn this entire mansion into ice, and then there would be no fortune to fight over.

  I continued to struggle through each breath, but Vali faced me. Under his direct attention, I calmed.

  “The answers will come,” he assured me in a quiet tone.

  I wanted to push – wanted those answers now – but I didn’t. I pressed my trembling lips together. “What now?”

  “Now, we wait.” With one last meaningful glance, he rose to his feet and walked towards the window. He hooked his arms behind his back, clasping his hands like a soldier on patrol. He reached the window and inclined his head down. I got the sudden impression of a hawk tracking prey.

  Though all my body wanted to do was remain crumpled in the chair as I cried my last tears, I forced myself to get up. I padded over the carpet and stopped by his side. I looked down.

  I saw Bradley. He was parked out the front of the house. He leaned against his expensive canary-yellow Lamborghini. One arm was locked tensely around his middle as he pinned his phone to his ear. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I knew from the sharp, jagged movements of his lips that it couldn’t be pleasant.

  I watched Vali’s eyes narrow.

  “What’s he doing?” I asked.

  “Inviting Caxus in,” Vali said.

  I jolted. “What?”

  “I thought this could happen.”

  “You did? We have to stop it. You said we can’t allow Caxus entry—”

  “And we won’t. But now we know his intended doorway.” Vali thrust forward and the window opened. “It’s time to slam the door closed,” he added.

  Before I had any idea what he was doing, he picked me up, nestling one arm under my legs and the other behind my shoulders. I latched onto his arms in fright and caught the barest hint of his smile as he jumped out of the window. The window was on the fourth floor. I held it together and didn’t scream.

  A single word played in my mind. Trust.

  All Vali wanted was for me to trust him.

  So I did.

  I squeezed my eyes tightly closed as I expected to be pancaked on the cobble below.

  Vali landed lightly.

  He hesitated before he put me down.

  Clutching a hand on his arm for support, I shivered as I stared around.

  We were on the opposite side of Bradley’s Lamborghini, behind him. We landed so lightly, we didn’t make a sound.

  Vali walked forward. There was something so strong about his gait, it reminded me of the god I’d seen only that morning. For a split second, I swore I saw his armor and his blistering breastplate layered over his suit.

  Bradley hadn’t heard us. He was still leaning against his Lamborghini, his phone pressed so tightly against his ear it was like he was trying to shove it into his brain.

  “I don’t care – you hear me? I don’t care. Whatever it takes. You offered help, and now I’m accepting. Show me what you can do.”

  I felt cold as an unmistakable memory of Caxus clawed up my spine.

  I went to shove forward, to reach Bradley and snap the phone from his hands. Vali didn’t let me. He locked a hand around my arm and grimly shook his head.

  I looked at him questioningly. “We can’t allow Bradley to make a deal with Caxus.” Not only would that allow Caxus entry to the premises, but despite the fact I hated the guy, I didn’t want to see Bradley die.

  Bradley paused, and I heard him take a breath. I shrunk back, wondering whether he’d seen me in the car’s wing mirror.

  “Are you… serious?” he said through a strangled gasp. “Don’t you just want money?”

  There was another long pause, and I watched Bradley crumple even further as he listened to whatever Caxus was suggesting.

  Vali kept his hand on my arm, and it was clear he was waiting. A second later, he got what he wanted.

  Bradley caved. “Fine, whatever. You just kill that bitch, you hear? Change the will, do whatever the hell you have to do. Get me that estate.”

  Vali swiftly walked around the car. His footsteps didn’t make a single sound, yet the import of every step was like a mountain crumbling asunder.

  I hesitated, watching as I hung back.

  Bradley sputtered and jerked away from his car.

  Make no mistake – it was Vali. From that dark expression to the power of his every move.

  Without a word, he reached forward and plucked the phone from Bradley’s grip.

  The spell that had transfixed Bradley to the spot broke. He shoved forward, trying to snatch the phone back. “Give me that back, you bastard.”

  Bradley was a lot of things, and though he was handsome and had a tall build, he had no chance against a Nordic god.

  Vali turned his face to the phone.

  I couldn’t be sure, but the screen appeared to be acting erratically – flickering in and out. It was crackling, too. It was Caxus trying to push through.

  Without a word, Vali turned and threw me the phone. “Make sure he can’t take hold.”

  “You mean—”

  “Do what you have to.”

  I knew it was one of the worst crimes on the books to let an ordinary human know about your magic.

  I didn’t have any choice.

  Lurching around Bradley’s car and pressing my shoulder into it as I leaned forward, I hesitated then unlocked one of my bangles.

  Before I did, I heard it unclick. When Vali had given them to me, he’d said these would be harder to take off except in his presence.

  As soon as I took my armlet off, the ice spread. I wouldn’t let it spread too far, though. I locked Bradley’s crackling phone in my hand and concentrated with all my might.

  With half an ear, I listened to Vali and Bradley.

  Bradley was breathing so erratically, it sounded as if someone had sliced through one of his lungs. “I don’t know what you’re doing. But you better stop. I’ll call the police—”

  “And they won’t come. No, justice will be served by me today.”

  I heard Bradley wheeze. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are—”

  “I think I am the god of revenge,” Vali said.

  Clouds darted out and covered the sun. This time there was no mistaking it. Nor was there any mistaking the impossible luminescence of Vali’s irises as he dipped his head low. His lips pressed open. “Bradley Williams, you have committed a sin. A sin which has brought you to the attention of the gods.”

  Bradley bucked back, his shoulders slamming into the car.

  I was still on the other side, and I still had my hand wrapped tightly around the phone as I concentrated on my power.

  I could feel Caxus trying to push through. Just as had happened with that letter in Captain Smith’s house – Caxus was using Bradley’s phone as a doorway.

  My fingers were white and bloodless as they pressed against Bradley’s phone with enough force to shatter the screen.

  “You will be punished for your crimes,” Vali continued.

  A blast of surprise shot up my back. What… what was Vali going to do?

  Yes, my feelings about him were changing. But wasn’t I forgetting something? He killed sinners he couldn’t redeem.

  I jolted away from the car and jerked around it, determined to stop him.

  Bradley saw me, and he lurched forward. “Lilly, save me.”

  He had such an entreating expression, it momentarily thawed my heart.

  I let him reach me. Then he twisted around, grabbed something from his pocket, and pressed it against my neck in an impossibly smooth move.

  It was a knife, one that grew out of his pen.

  I shoved back but managed to keep hold of the phone.

  “I’ll cut her from ear-to-ear. I don’t give a fuck about you – I’ve got my own friends.”

  Was Bradley… magical?

  Vali simply watched.

  “I said get back. I’ve got no qualms about splitting her throat.”

  Vali put his hands in his pockets. “Indeed. But she may have qualms.”

  Suddenly I remembered I was a frozen witch. With a single thought, I could freeze anything….

  I let my eyes pulse closed, and I let my magic out.

  This time it wasn’t slow. I didn’t let it march up Bradley’s body. I focused with all of my attention on the knife he held. There was an earsplitting crack as the thing shattered. Sparks shot out from it and caught the side of my cheek, burning it. I jolted forward, straight into Vali’s arms. Bradley fell down to one knee, his hand bleeding from where the knife had exploded.

  He looked from me to Vali, then something clicked. He shoved back on his knees and brought his hands out wide, blood splattering his fine suit. “We can cut a deal. We can cut a deal.”

  “There will be no deal,” Vali said darkly.

  I pulled back from his arms and stared at Vali. “You can’t kill him.”

  Vali tilted his head up. “I do not murder,” he explained.

  That didn’t reassure me. In Vali’s head, he probably didn’t think it was murder when he killed somebody – he would think it was justified execution.

  He moved towards Bradley. I snaked a hand out and caught Vali’s sleeve, holding it in place. “Please, I know he’s a bastard, but he doesn’t deserve….”

  “He tried to kill you,” Vali said.

  “I know. But… but he must be redeemable,” I said in a stronger tone.

  Bradley was not like Larry. I’d been able to see through Larry’s bad behavior to his good heart instantly. With Bradley, if you’d asked me several seconds ago, I would have told you he was bad through and through. But now, at the prospect he would be killed, I tried harder. I stared into Bradley’s shaking gaze. I stared through the desperation and saw something more – the boy who’d grown up in the shadow of his domineering father. Under the old man’s thumb, Bradley’s destiny had been decided for him.

  Yes, Bradley had turned bitter. Yes, he now took pleasure in hurting others. But did he deserve to die? If he did, didn’t that say more about us than it did about him? That we were willing to commit a sin to save ourselves?

  Vali didn’t break my grip on his sleeve, call on his eternal sword, and slice Bradley through.

  He locked a hand on Bradley’s head. Vali’s fingers spread wide.

  At first Bradley tried to clutch hold of Vali’s wrist, but soon he became weak. His arms fell loosely by his sides.

  “What are you doing?” I asked through a strangled breath.

  “Bradley Williams, this will be your last chance. If you do not change, the protection of the gods will be rescinded. And if the protection of the gods is rescinded, the dark will flock towards you.”

  I became cold. Everything became cold. His words were beyond dark – they were timeless and endless, and they left you with no doubt he was telling the truth.

  “Pro-protection?” Bradley spluttered.

  “Every human being is protected by the gods. We prevent the dark from consuming you. But if you open your heart to it, there is nothing we can do. This is your last warning,” Vali said once more. “Turn away again, and you will be embraced by Hell.” Vali broke his grip on Bradley’s head and took a step back.

  Bradley fell down on both hands, his brow covered in sweat. He looked from me to Vali. “So… so you’re going to let me go?”

  Vali glared at him. “You will be free. Free to either make your last mistake, or redeem yourself.”

  “So I’m… I’m free to go?” Bradley stammered.

  Vali nodded.

  Though Bradley looked awed, it didn’t last. I saw that same greed creep back into his expression. “You’re just going to let me go? What happens if I tell the world what you are? If I tell the world what she is.” His teeth clenched as he turned his attention on me.

  Though I thought I’d been careful to hide my magic, too many symbols were playing across my skin, and Bradley obviously knew enough about magic to recognize them.

  I took a step back, but Vali took one forward. “Try,” he challenged. “Try to say a word about her.”

  Bradley opened his mouth, turned his cruel gaze on me, and then stopped. It seemed like something grabbed hold of his tongue, locking it in his throat.

  Vali pushed a hand into a pocket and took another step towards him. “You will not be able to spread the word about Lilly nor about me. Now, you leave. You sell your fortune. You give it to charity. And you never, ever return.”

  With his tongue still magically locked in his throat, Bradley took a gulping swallow. He jerked to his feet, threw himself at his car, and opened the door. Before he clambered inside, he shot me a look.

  I couldn’t read minds, yet I swore I could figure out what he was thinking. Bradley wouldn’t let this go.

  I didn’t have a chance to reach out to him. He turned on the ignition and pulled out, yanking down his handbrake at the last moment, his tires spinning. I brought up a hand to protect my face, coughing at the exhaust.

  I watched Bradley’s Lamborghini spin-off down the driveway.

  Vali was nothing more than a silent force beside me. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, wondering what he was thinking.

  I was the one to make the first move. “What… what if he doesn’t do what you said? What if he contacts Caxus?”

  “Then he will pay the price.”

  I locked a hand on his arm. Before today, I hadn’t been hands-on with Vali. I wasn’t suicidal.

  Now I couldn’t help myself. “We can’t just let him fall. Surely we have to do something?”

  Vali looked at me like I’d never seen him look before. I had no idea what he was thinking as his lips set into an unreadable line. “Lily-white, you cannot save those who will not save themselves.”

  I wanted to say I knew what he was thinking, knew what he was feeling, but the only certainty was the mystery flickering behind his eyes.

  I remembered what he’d said. I shook my head hard. “No, don’t we have some kind of responsibility? Aren’t we setting him up for a fall?”

  Vali shook his head. “As gods, we cannot intervene. Humans have their free will. They make their decisions. We cannot change that. Nor can they. They cannot hide from what they do. All they can do is pay the consequences.”

  My breath became stuck in my throat.

  He’d said as gods, and didn’t that… didn’t that imply I was a god, too? No, it must have been a mistake, just an incorrect choice of words.

  “Come, Lily-white – it is time to return to the office.”

  “What about Caxus? Won’t he keep trying to get in here?”

  “For now, we have stopped him. Now come.”

  I didn’t have any choice, did I? I followed Vali.

  9

  From my grandmother’s mansion, we made our way back to the car and then back to Vali’s tower.

  I was silent. I had too much to process.

  Vali – or Franklin, as I couldn’t tell the difference anymore – let me keep my peace.

  I should have taken this opportunity to fling thousands of questions at him. I still wasn’t satisfied by his explanation – I felt that going back to my grandmother’s house had been a test. Just another twist in the game Vali kept playing with me.

  I felt weary, even though I hadn’t expended too much energy today. I rested my head on the window beside me, not caring as my face banged against it whenever we hit a rough section of road.

  By the time we made it back to the tower, I just wanted a shower. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about my grandmother and appreciating just how much I’d lost. It was easier to make sense of our troubled relationship when she’d frozen me out of the will. She’d been the one to turn her back on me, after all. Except she hadn’t frozen me out of the will, had she? She’d left everything – every cent, every fine bone china cup – to me.

  Vali cast his worried gaze over me several times and didn’t leave my side until we reached my room.

  There, he hesitated. “This situation has not been resolved yet,” he said needlessly.

  I’d been massaging one of my tense shoulders, but abruptly I let my hand drop. “I know that,” I managed softly.

  He shot me a grim look. “Caxus will strike again, with or without the help of Bradley Williams.”

  I winced, making no effort whatsoever to hide the move as it crumpled my brow and knotted my shoulder muscles. “I… know that too.”