Page 92 of Shrine of Fire

It also meant that I had a hard shell nothing could break through. A cage, one of my own making.

“Because we know what to do sometimes, but actually doing it isn’t any easier.” I sighed.

“Hella Mora’s Shadow can take many forms. We tried to seal her with one such way. Spirits, shaman, and mortals alike banded in our earnest desire to life, to not die alone in the dark woods.”

“Why didn’t it work?”

“Because when you are that close to a powerful spirit, holding her Shadow becomes almost impossible. It’s much easier to give in than it is to fight.”

I flinched inwardly. I knew that. So did Nova. Everyone here, everyone alive had experienced battling against loss. Most of the days, it felt easier to give in and lay down than to keep fighting.

“It is why I have not suggested it.”

I sighed. “I’m a delta. I should be good at sealing away spirits. We have Cuan, a shaman. Can you teach him sealing techniques?”

“They are some of the techniques I’ve introduced during his training.” Kalahar’s calm expression didn’t waver. “I will be more than happy to add my own fire to sealing her away, if you think the rest of you are capable of building a Shadow against her.”

“Is it all of us? Just me?” I tried, and failed, to keep the doubt out of my voice.

Even with the world at stake, I wasn’t sure I could ever allow myself to be open enough to push that cathartic energy at a primordial spirit of grief.

“All of us.” Kalahar patted my hand again. “Nova is uniquely matched against Hella Mora.”

“I don’t want Nova anywhere near that spirit.”

Kalahar sighed. “It cannot be helped. If we fail to seal away the spirit, Nova will be among the first to feel the impact.”

I huffed.

With the world at stake, I wasn’t sure I could do it.

But with Nova at stake?

I would be damned before I let my own failings hurt her.

“I’ll make it work. We need the Seal of Souls?”

“It will act as a conduit between us and Hella Mora. Since she is still mostly in the spirit world, our efforts will be directly linked to her.”

“Alright. That’s a plan.”

Maybe Kalahar was right. We all knew, deep down, that we could look up methods and find artifacts, but at the end of the day, sealing Hella Mora away was going to come down to willpower.

Ours versus Hella Mora.

I only hoped we were up to the task.

Dread seeped into my bones.

I watched Nova sleep, nestled beside her, and felt nothing but panic and apprehension.

She was curled on her side, facing me, her heart-shaped face finally smoothed of all tension and worry.

Her body radiated warmth. It was obviously just a matter of hours before she went into heat.

I should be there. The thought of stepping back, of telling hernoand watching her face fall and then snap into a pleasant expression like she did when I stopped our make-out sessions was unbearable.

But I wasn’t an alpha. My precious omega would look at me to knot her, and I couldn’t give her that. I’d lied to her for weeks.

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