Page 86 of Goddess of Light

Perhaps you should have told your wife that when you had the chance, I chide myself.Maybe you should tell her that anyway.

Gods, what happens if she never returns to me? The thought strikes horror in my battered heart. I swore I would never leave her side, even if she remains stately and cool (in her brief moments of clarity, she kept comparing her other self to some Doctor Manhattan, yet another—potentially nerdy—pop culture reference I don’t understand), and I plan to uphold that promise. But it would certainly lead to an emptier, colder and boring life without the real Hanna by my side.

I push the thoughts away—the garrison still staring at me, waiting for something—and look back to the steep rock face. Normally I have a key to unlock the magic veil and make my lair visible, but who the hell knows where that is at this point.

I have to dig in deep, see if I can remember any of the magic the Book of Runes has taught me over the years. For a moment I feel a spear of panic at the idea of Louhi corrupting it, but at this point, I doubt that would change anything.

“Lord Death?” General Suvari asks, clearing his throat. “Are you alright? You’re standing there, staring at nothing.”

“Just a minute,” I grumble, raising my hand to tell them to be patient. Since when did the General learn to talk back like that?

I close my eyes and concentrate, trying to remember some line or stanza.

Then Hanna puts her hand on my shoulder.

“I remember this place,” she says in her calm, quiet voice. “Allow me.”

As I open my eyes to look at her, suddenly the world erupts in bright white, the source coming from her open palm. I squint but the light fades quickly, revealing the true nature of the mountain side when it’s gone.

The steep cliff looks the same at first, but when my eyes adjust I can see the narrow stairs made of glossy obsidian carving up the face, leading all the way to the metal door. Yet another thing I need a key for.

“I will take care of that too,” she assures me.

I give her a tight smile of thanks, feeling a little small after that show of power. I can’t even find a fucking key and she’s out here doing her own magic tricks.

We march to the base of the mountain, shadow stones rearranging themselves to show us a clear path, then start up the glassy black stairs. I remind everyone to be careful and once inside, don’t touch the skull snails.

“They’re poisonous,” I add.

At the top, Hanna puts her glowing hand on the door and unlocks it with ease. I glance at her before I enter, searching her face for a smirk or a sign of arrogance, anything that would tell me there’s still a spark of her underneath. How I yearn for her to tell me howbadassshe’s being, besting a God.

But there is nothing. Just Hanna’s beautiful but blank gaze of molten copper.

Still, I give her a nod of thanks and step inside the cave, while the rest of the party continues up the steep stairs.

Once inside, the troops murmur their surprise. The cave system is elaborate and long with high ceilings, not at all what they were expecting, I’m sure. I lead everyone through the lair, pointing out the different rooms and caverns where they can hunker down. Some of them are made up for entertaining and sleeping, a home away from home with animal skin rugs and furniture made of bones, but most of the spaces are empty. Still, it’s better than sleeping unprotected in the forest. At least here everyone will be safe and can finally get a good night’s rest.

“Where shall I go?” Hanna asks me.

I grab her hand and squeeze it tight. “You’re with me, my little bird. Come. I have a surprise.”

Her brows raise quizzically and I lead her down a tunnel to the left, the torchlights magicked to flame to life with a wave of my hand. We pass by my chambers, sparsely decorated with onlya handful of furnishings, and I point it out to her before leading her further down the passage.

“Where are we going?” she asks idly.

“You’ll see.”

She points at the skull snails climbing up the sides of the walls, each one the size of a fist, with a different tiny animal skull housed on their back. “Do you have an infestation problem?”

“They cleanse away bad energy,” I tell her. “Helpful at a time like this.”

The tunnel leads to a narrow set of stairs and damp, warm, sulfur-scented air rises up to meet us as we descend.

“Here we are,” I say to her, gesturing around the small cavern that spreads out from the bottom of the stairs. The air is thick with warm humidity as a steaming creek runs through it, glowing a bright greenish blue as it gathers in a small bubbling pool. “My private hot springs.”

I lead her to the edge and then start taking off my clothes. I nod at her to do the same. “We are both filthy,” I tell her. “And normally I like that, but even I know when enough is enough. Take off your dress.”

“I am to go in there?” she asks, eyeing the pool.

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