Chapter 39

CHAPTER 39

HANNA

We sprint through the hallowed halls of Shadow’s End, our footsteps echoing against the stone. The air is heavy, laden with the scent of damp rot and old magic, not at all the way I remember it.

My home. This used to be home, more so than California, Finland, or any place I lived in the Upper World. And now Louhi has taken it from me, from Tuoni, from everyone.

I growl to myself, hoping, praying, that he’s able to defeat Louhi. It took everything in me to not go after him to help, but I know that rescuing Lovia was his priority and I’m sure she’s heavily guarded. Still, I worry. My Goddess side is retreating, letting my emotions out in full force, and right now the anxiety is drowning me. I would give my left tit for some lorazepam right now.

But Tuoni is counting on me as much as I’m counting on him.

So I lead the way, Vellamo close at my side. My father grips his staff behind us, his chants a low murmur as he strengthens our path with wards against whatever dark forces might try to snare us. I’ve told him several times that he should hang back, watch for any attackers, but my old man is as stubborn as I am and so he’s right behind me.

As is Tellervo, General Suvari, the Magician, and the remaining trolls and troops that form a tight group around us, weapons at the ready. Rauta darts ahead, his nose to the ground, growling softly as if he senses danger in every shadow.

We push onward, deeper into the heart of the castle, toward the Library of the Veils. I can feel its pull, a strange hum in my bones, like a chord struck in a hollow chamber. The library is repository of souls and lost knowledge, and, for now, our best hope of finding Sarvi and Lovia. I can feel it.

We burst into the library, and I stagger to a halt. The Library of the Veils is vast, its vaulted ceiling soaring above us. Shelves carved from black stone rise like jagged cliffs, crammed with ancient tomes and scrolls. Flickering orbs of blue light hover in the air, casting eerie shadows. Despite the grandeur, the space feels suffocating, the weight of Louhi’s magic pressing down on us.

And then I see them.

Sarvi and Lovia.

They’re chained to the far wall, their wrists bound by enchanted manacles glowing faintly with dark runes. Lovia hangs limply, her head tilted forward. Sarvi’s one white eye flickers open as we approach, its gaze frantic. The sight of the skeleton unicorn is enough to bring tears to my eyes, another wave of emotion that wants to pummel me into submission.

Hanna! Sarvi’s usually blasé voice is raw, trembling with relief and fear.

I don’t hesitate. I sprint across the room, the others fanning out to secure the space. Reaching Sarvi first, I grip the chains and summon my power. My hand glows faintly with sunlight, the heat biting against the cold iron. The manacles resist, the runes flaring angrily, but I push harder, my light searing through the darkness. The chains shatter with a metallic wail, and Sarvi stumbles forward. Its sawed off horn is a sorry sight, but otherwise the unicorn seems alright.

“Go!” I cry out. “Go! Tuoni followed Louhi into your room. He needs you.”

Sarvi doesn’t even hesitate, instead nods and immediately gallops off, its hooves striking the stone with a steady rhythm as it races out the door.

I turn to Lovia, crouching in front of her. Her eyes flutter open, clouded with pain but sharpening when she sees me. “Hanna…” she croaks.

“Hold on.” I work quickly, breaking her chains with the same heat and light. She slumps forward, and I catch her, pulling her into a brief embrace.

“You’re okay,” I say, brushing blood-matted hair from her face. “Stay with the others. You’ll be safe now.”

Before Lovia can answer, the air shifts. A wave of icy magic sweeps through the library, and I whirl around, pulling Lovia to her feet. Black mist gathers around us, curling like living tendrils. The temperature plummets, and my breath fogs in front of me.

“Hanna!” my father calls out, his voice sharp with warning.

The mist thickens, swallowing the faint blue light. Shadows twist and coil, separating me from the others. I can just make out Vellamo’s shout, the trolls’ roars, but their voices seem to come from a great distance. The darkness presses in until I’m alone.

And then she steps from the shadows.

Salainen.

She’s a mirror image of me, yet entirely wrong. Her features are identical, but her skin is ashen, her eyes pools of liquid darkness. She wears a mocking smile, her movements smooth and predatory.

“Hello, sister ,” she purrs, her voice laced with venom. “Did you miss me?”

I draw my sword, its light flaring weakly in the oppressive gloom. “Salainen,” I say coldly. “We meet again,” I add, because it seems like the thing to say.

“How is it that you don’t die, dear sister? You’re like a cockroach. A cockroach that somehow gets everything she wants. A loving father? You have it. A powerful husband? He’ll kneel before you. Powers of the sun? Well…perhaps that one I’ll need you to prove.”

Before I can respond, she lunges. Her shadowy blade slices through the air, and I barely block in time, the force of her attack driving me back. Her strength is monstrous, her movements unnervingly fast. Our swords clash, light against shadow, sparks flying with every strike. What the fuck, has she been taking black magic steroids, or what?

Salainen’s laughter echoes as she presses her advantage. “What’s wrong, Hanna? Is the mighty Goddess of the Sun afraid of a little darkness?”

I’ll use the sun if I have to, but I know I can beat her even on mortal terms.

I grit my teeth and retaliate, slashing at her with quick, precise strikes. She dodges effortlessly, her form twisting like smoke. The shadows around us writhe, and then she steps back, raising a hand.

More shadows solidify, forming duplicates of her. Two, then three, then five. Each one wields a blade identical to hers, their eyes glowing with malice.

That bitch. She’s using Death’s shadow magic to fight me.

“That’s cheating,” I growl.

They attack as one, a storm of blades and shadow. I parry, block, dodge—every movement a desperate attempt to stay alive. My sword flashes in the dark, cutting through one duplicate, only for two more to take its place. Their blades are cold, their strikes relentless. One slashes across my arm, another catches my leg. Pain flares, but I push it aside, refusing to fall.

“You can’t win,” Salainen taunts, her voice coming from everywhere at once. “I’ve bested you before and that’s when there was only one of me.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I snap, spinning to sever another duplicate. It dissolves into mist, but more emerge, their laughter chilling.

I can’t suffer for my pride anymore. I call on my power, reaching deep into the kindling inside me and summoning light to burn them away. A golden flare erupts from my hand, but it barely pushes back the shadows. The duplicates absorb the light, their forms solidifying as if feeding on it.

My power flickers, falters.

I’m losing.

Desperation claws at me. Salainen’s blade whistles past my ear, her grin widening as she lands another blow. My knees buckle, blood staining the stone beneath me. I can’t keep this up.

Then I see it—a glint of white on her belt.

My selenite knife.

The blade I carried before she stole it, the one gifted to me. She doesn’t see me notice it, too focused on her relentless assault.

I feint right, drawing her attention, then dive forward, grabbing the knife from her waist. My fingers close around the hilt, and I roll to my feet, raising it just as she lunges again.

I stab downward and the selenite blade cuts through her shadowy form. She lets out a piercing scream. Her duplicates falter, their movements jerky, before they begin to dissolve.

“No!” Salainen shrieks, clutching at the wound. Her dark eyes blaze with fury and fear. “You can’t?—”

I don’t let her finish. I drive the blade further into her chest, the selenite glowing with a brilliant light, not unlike the sun. The duplicates shatter, their forms evaporating like smoke. Salainen stumbles, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“This… isn’t… over…,” she gasps, her voice a faint whisper as her body begins to disintegrate.

“Oh, I think it fucking is,” I say, my voice steady despite the exhaustion in my limbs.

Her form collapses into shadow, and then she’s gone.

The oppressive darkness lifts, the library returning to its eerie stillness.

I drop to my knees, the knife falling from my hand. My chest heaves, my body trembling with the aftershock of battle. I wish I had some snappy catch phrase or one-liner to mutter, but her death will have to be enough.

The shadows at the edges of the library stir, and then the others burst through, their faces tight with worry.

“Hanna!” Vellamo reaches me first, her hand brushing my shoulder. “What happened?”

I look up, my gaze meeting hers. “It’s over,” I say softly. “The dumb bitch is gone.”

Vellamo frowns at my choice of words.

“Sorry, I meant Salainen is gone,” I clarify.

“I know that’s what you meant,” she says with a raise of her chin. “But I’m certain the Goddess of the Sun wouldn’t use that language.”

“No, that’s one hundred per cent my daughter,” my father says with a sigh. But when I meet his eyes, he breaks into a broad smile and comes over to help me to my feet. He pulls me into a quick hug, squeezing tight. “Welcome back, sweetie.” He looks me over. “Are you hurt?” he asks, his voice tight with concern as he looks over where I’m cut and bleeding.

“’Tis just a flesh wound,” I say through a wince. “We need to keep moving. Louhi’s not far. Tuoni needs us.”

The urgency in my voice spurs them into action. The group regathers, their expressions grim but determined.

I cast one last glance at the spot where Salainen fell, her essence reduced to nothing. The selenite knife lies on the ground, its blade dulled and cracked. I pick it up, slipping it into my belt. A piece of my past reclaimed, a reminder of what I’ve endured.

And who I’ve become.

All of the us run back out of the library, tensions high, ready to continue fighting.

Only to run right into a battered and bleeding Tuoni, with Sarvi behind him.

My husband’s victorious gaze meets mine over the sea of heads who rejoice around him.

He grins at me, tired and grieving, but relieved.

And I grin at him.

We won.

The realm is ours.

We are the King and Queen of Tuonela again.