Chapter 15

E very muscle in my body clenched and an immediate, frantic sweat flushed itself through me. Frya stared, silently apologizing, as the two guards pushed her aside and marched towards me, the hems of violet cloaks dragging flurries of snow behind them. My eyes darted to each corner of the courtyard, looking for something- anything to help me out of this situation.

Rune's head jerked toward the two men, then back to me, confusion pouring from his gaping mouth. My lips still tingled from where his had been as the guards continued to march forward, their motion slowing with every approaching step. I had only seconds to make my move, or I'd be captured. I couldn't go back to that fucking tower.

Everything became much, much worse, however, when a plump old woman with auburn hair stepped out from behind Frya.

"My, my," her voice was like venom, "Lady Elpis. You've got a lot of explaining to do, my dear."

Hela knocked the handle of a brown leather whip across her open palm as she hobbled towards me. The guards, now circling my position, nodded at her as she waved them to take a step back.

"L-Lady Elpis…" Rune stammered, "as in the Queen Slayer?" His eyes were wide and bright with uncertainty as he processed the situation at hand.

I looked at him, mouthing an apology as I backed away from the approaching handmaiden.

"Don't even think about going anywhere. We've got the yard circled, dear. Might as well accept that you're coming with us. Do you know exactly how many rules you've broken?" Hela grinned, her chin doubling over in layers of swollen flesh beneath her neck.

I scanned the yard again. There had to be something. Anything.

"I think I'd like to deliver your punishment before we return to the tower." The whip glowed in her fat hands. Glaring at me, yearning to be cracked against my bare flesh.

My feet, frozen beneath me, refused to move as I tried to run. If I could reach the wall on the opposite side of the courtyard, scale it and escape through the neighbor's flat, I'd be free. I'd need my legs to work, though.

Frya sobbed, falling to her knees in the tavern's threshold, the deep navy skirts she wore pooling around her fragile frame. I couldn't leave her to face the punishment alone. What was I thinking? They'd arrest her for helping me, and after everything she'd done, how could I possibly abandon her?

Then there was Rune, the innocent, charming man whose lips I'd just attacked. Thousands of thoughts probably zipped through his head in this moment. Queen Slayer he had called me. Regardless of the innocence he'd try to claim, the guards would accuse him of aiding me. They'd most likely arrest him, too. My throat was dry as everything around me collapsed. This couldn't be happening. I just gained my freedom back, tasted a future without fear.

"Guards, hold her down for me, please," Hela snarled.

The men grabbed my arms and threw me to the ground, ripping away my cloak and slicing down the fabric of my cotton tunic, exposing bare flesh to the frigid night air.

With a mouthful of snow, I struggled beneath their firm grip, trying to tear myself free. Cold, clammy hands traced each of my shoulder blades as Rune's screams of protest echoed across the yard. Frya's sobs grew into wails as the two guards pulled at the sleeves of my tunic, exposing more of my back to the pale wash of moonlight.

I took in a breath, no longer struggling to escape, and preparing for what was about to come. I'd been through this before. This time, I'd remain still. Emotionless.

I would not show her my pain.

I would not show her my tears.

There would be no begging or pleading.

No cries or sobs.

Just silence.

Biting my bottom lip until the metal taste of blood soaked into my tongue, I flexed every muscle beneath my skin, building up my fortress walls.

Crack! Pain erupted across my flesh as the whip whistled and retracted back to its handler. Clenching harder, I fought against the automatic jerk of my body. Thinking only of Rune's lips against mine. Igniting flames at the pit of my stomach. Only of Frya's stews and peeling potatoes until my fingers cramped and grew numb. Only of Arcturas and the feel of her thick fur beneath my hand as I stroked her to sleep.

Crack! Another lash sent me spiralling into torturous ash as the welts across my back rose like mountain ridges of red, stinging flesh. Crack! Crack! Crack! With each swing of her whip, Frya's breath deepened until she heaved for air like a fish out of water.

My entire being was trembling fiercely now, so much so I struggled to stay on my knees. Drops of red sprayed across the snow beneath me as the lashings oozed and dripped down my spine.

Crack! Rune, hoarse from roaring at the guards, had sunken to his knees- tears pooling from his lower lids. I prayed to the gods for strength as a tear escaped from my scrunched eyes.

Fight, Elpis. You must fight. A whisper licked at the back of my neck. I recognized the silkiness of her voice.

The Northern Goddess was guiding me, urging me to carry on when I teetered on the precipice.

Fight, Elpis! Fight back!

Biting harder against my lower lip, I struggled to pull free once more from the two unmoving men holding me down.

The whip flung through the air, and I shut myself down preparing for its impact.

It never came.

Screams of agony and shredding flesh rang out. The guards, flanking each side of me, rushed back towards where Frya had stood, leaving my wrists bruised and swollen. Rune ran to my side and pulled me up by my elbow, careful not to touch the tender, bleeding skin of my back.

The scene behind me was bloody and brutal- nearly as nightmarish as the vivid dreams I'd been having. A hand, missing its adjoining arm. A body mangled in the snow. Sprays of blood and shreds of fabric stained the bleached white snowpack.

Hela, squirming beneath a jet black beast, flailed and screamed as sharp fangs penetrated the gushing stump where her left hand used to be. The handle of the whip rolled to my feet.

"Arcturas, enough," I commanded, straightening against the pain of my wounds.

The wolf stopped immediately, rushing to my side and sitting eagerly for her next order. The guards, now paralyzed by fear, simply stared at the horror. Their faces were spattered with crimson. The violet of their uniforms was stained an unsettling shade of brown. I uncurled my spine, neck cracking on each side.

Shadows slithered around me, extinguishing the starlight until the air was heavy with a deep, unending blackness. I closed my eyes, breathing in the rush of pain from the wounds across my back.

"Oh Lady Elpis, please, please help me. That.. that.. thing came out of nowhere. My hand! It's gone. My hand." The round woman rolled in the snow like a sausage, cradling her stump as she begged.

I continued forward until I towered over her, a violent glint refracting beneath the surface of my eyes. A rush of tingles bolted through me, and darkness leaked from every pore of my skin. Flames of jade and magenta licked between my fingers, wrapping themselves down the hilt of the whip until the entire length of it glowed like the northern borealis.

This time I welcomed the charge, the power. I didn't run from it. I didn't fear it. This electricity coursing through me had always been there. It was as much a part of me as my lungs or my stomach. Smiling with deadly sweetness, I lowered my gaze to the handmaiden and knelt before her. I tipped her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet mine. They were full of terror.

"Oh, my dear," I spat, "you've broken a rule. Are you ready for your punishment?"

My voice, laced with shadows and smoke, interrupted her pleading sobs and forced her into silence.

I raised the whip and watched as the power emulating from my fingertips connected with its cold metal handle. The leather glimmered as I jerked my hand down and split it across Hela's open jaw.

The glow spread to her skin as she dissolved like acid. In seconds, nothing but bones and burnt flesh remained.

Arcturas howled deeply towards the sky.

"They're all yours, my friend." As the words exited my mouth, she shot across the yard, lunging at the guards. The gleam of power fading from my palms, and the shadows receding back into my flesh, I reached for Rune. With wide eyes and shaking hands, he interlaced his fingers through mine and rose from the hedge he now hid behind.

Frya sat against the brick of the tavern's exterior, her fingers white knuckled around the hem of her skirts.

"It's okay," I assured her, my voice my own again, "I won't hurt you."

She stammered, trying to find a response, but I hushed her and placed her hands in mine. The deafening sounds of two men being shredded apart consumed the night as I led her back into the tavern's warmth .