That was obviously not a plan I was going with unless there was no other choice.

 

No.

 

I would find a way to get her back. And then I would kill him, and I didn’t care which prophecies it ruined.

 

Except she did.

 

She would.

 

I let out a breath. When had she become something of a moral compass for me? Almost from the start, I thought. Almost from the start.

 

Maybe mortals did have a better sense of right and wrong. Maybe they needed one. If my nature was fire then it was my nature to warm and to burn. And I already knew it was part of my nature to kill, as much as I kept the urge under control.
“Any progress?” I asked Thruor.

 

“What did Hel say?”

 

“She acknowledged my claim, which was apparently the point of the exercise. And a few other things…that were for me.” We’d actually had quite a long conversation afterwards, mostly getting to know each other a little better.

 

I wasn’t anywhere near as intimidated by her, although I still knew death gods should be treated with the utmost respect. Even if she was my sister.

 

“Good.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“Not a way we want to handle it, no, although it would remove her from his grasp. Unless he gets you to marry him.”

 

“I won’t. I’m not going to do it that way either. I’m going to take him down in a fair fight.”

 

“No. You are not.” Thruor set her eyes on me. “I am not letting you do that.”

 

“He’s crossed every line there is.”

 

“And he’d kick your butt and piss people off. I’m not letting you do that because you can’t beat him.”

 

I looked away.

 

“One day you’ll be better than him. You aren’t. Yet.”

 

I still didn’t look back at her. “Then…what do we do?”

 

If I couldn’t beat him in a fair fight, and I wasn’t willing to beat him in an unfair one, then I was left with…it not being my task. “Who can beat him?”

 

“You don’t fight him in a fair fight, Siglaugr. I know you want to, but it’s going to take more than one of us.”

 

I finally looked back. “I…”

 

“Don’t want to be dishonorable. But at this point we’re taking him down because he’s insane.”

 

“Not my task…”

 

“Could just mean you aren’t the one destined to actually do it.”

 

And that felt right there. “I’d still rather just yank her out from under his nose, even if that puts us to square one.”

 

“Well. We should be expecting the ransom demand any time about now.”

 

“I’m surprised it hasn’t come already.”

 

“He’s probably decided to try and worry you into a tizzy first.”

 

Which, I thought, he had more or less succeeded at.