The world intruded with a knock at the door. Reluctantly, I pulled myself from Elatha's arms, rolled to my feet, dragged on my leather pants, and strode to the entrance. When I dragged the heavy wooden door open, an empusa stood on the other side. Although she looked like a beautiful woman with bright red curls down to her waist, the hint of fangs on her ruby lips and the dark crimson depths to her eyes gave her away.

"If you are healed and recovered, the Goddess Hecate would like to see you now," she said.

Her tone was seductive, as were the veiled eyes she gave me, but they left me unmoved. No woman, no empusa, would ever capture my interest. My Shannon was dead and that part of my soul had died with her. It was a pit in my chest, an emptiness that even the warmth of Elatha couldn't replace. The agony of it had me battling back tears, blinking against the heat behind my eyes.

I swallowed, my throat tight. "We'll be out momentarily," I told her with an unnatural huskiness to my voice, then shut the door to rouse Elatha.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked at me, already sitting on the side of the bed and pulling on his skinsuit. "Hecate? She is the woman that healed you?"

"Yes, I imagine so. She's the Goddess of Witchcraft, Poisons, and Necromancy, so she'd have the skills for healing if she was so inclined." I tugged my tunic over my head and pulled on my boots, swiping at my eyes.

Elatha's low voice was muffled as he bent to pull on his own boots. "What could she want with us? I already gave her the power module."

What more would they take from us? Tension filled my muscles. They wouldn't take Elatha from me. Recharged and healed, I wasn't as easy of prey as I'd been out on that frozen wasteland. I'd fucking kill them all first.

"I don't know. Nothing good, I expect." As I strapped on my armour and saw Elatha do the same, it surprised me we still had all our weapons. Why had they not taken them? Were we not prisoners?

Handing him his sword after sliding my own into its sheath, I griped his cheeks and kissed him, holding his silver gaze. "Don't go offering your life up again, okay?"

A small smile flirted at the edge of his lips and his eyes challenged me. "I won't as long as you don't."

I huffed, a growl of annoyance escaping, and glared back at him. "Fine." I would protect him regardless, damn it.

"Fine," he agreed in a tone that told me he didn't believe my capitulation and was going to do whatever he the thought was right. It had my fists clenching. I wanted to tie him to the bed and keep him here as he led the way to the door. He opened it with a flourish, bowing to me, eyebrow raised.

I rolled my eyes and snorted, but walked through. Elatha was going to be far more of a handful that even Shannon as a consort. The empousa waited for us, her eyes lingering as she took us in.

"You are wasting your time," Elatha told her with a growl. "Neither of us are interested in you."

Her dark eyes narrowed and she scowled, but turned with a flounce to lead us down the hall.

"Making friends, are we?" I teased.

"It was making my skin crawl to have her look at me like that." Elatha shuddered and reached a hand for me.

I took it and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'll protect you from her lascivious advances."

"Good. But remember it goes both ways. Your sexy ass only belongs to me," he growled.

Possessiveness trickled down the bond and it surprised me, even as it created a warm glow within my fractured heart. Elatha had never demonstrated that trait before. At least, not that I'd seen. He'd even told Shannon and I how Atlanteans weren't possessive in their relationships.

He'd also surprised me earlier in our bed. Not content to stay submissive, he'd insisted on staking his own claim on me and I'd let him. To our mutual enjoyment. It wasn't a role I'd let him take often, but after our loss... I'd understood his need. Our need.

I swallowed against the swell of agony that again surged up my throat and had me battling the hot tears that seemed almost ever present since I'd awoken to Shannon's death. Elatha's hand tightened on mine, my pain reflected in his glistening silver eyes as we followed the empusa around a corner and into a long, wide chamber. The ceiling arched high above us in graceful curves shining with blue light.

As we walked towards the other end, tapestries woven with scenes of Hecate hung on the blue ice walls. Hecate surrounded by empusai, blue seidhr encircling her hands that held smoking uncorked bottles. Hecate with her hands on the heads of spectral white hellhounds, their ears blood red and flames in their eyes as they howled. Hecate holding a soul, blue seidhr spiralling around it, with part of the soul solid and part translucent. Hecate with outstretched arms, blue seidhr gripping bodies writhing on the ground, with their features that of half wolf, half man.

It was a throne room.

In front of us, the silver-haired woman from Elatha's memory, Hecate, sat on an intricately curved chair that seemed to be translucent. Several empusai lounged on stairs that led up to the throne. Behind the throne, the ice wall was carved in bas-relief, with an image of Hecate and numerous doors, either open or closed.

She rose and came down the steps as we got close. Graceful in her flowing blue empire-waisted gown, her eyes held our gaze. Elatha and I inclined our heads when she reached us.

Hecate smiled, a small lifting of her lips, and stretched out her hands to both of us.

I was taken aback, stiffening and not certain how to proceed when she gripped our free hands. Energy circled between us, with Elatha and me still holding hands as well. It didn't hurt and wasn't attacking us. There was no drain, no attempt to enter my mind. It was simply unexpected, like holding my father's hand and feeling his energy move through me. What was she doing?

"You are healed and recovered, Loki?" she asked.

Her voice was a pleasant tinkling sound, soothing to the senses. It was as surprising as the rest of this. What was going on? Were we prisoners or something else?

I nodded slowly. "Yes, I understand that I have you to thank for healing my concussion."

Hecate's smile widened slightly. "It was a small thing. I'd like to hear how you came to be in my domain, if you'd honour me with a story, God of Stories," she said lightly.

I blinked. She seemed to know more about me than I would have thought, given we'd never crossed paths before.

"Shan—" My throat closed on her name, the grief welling up fast and thick to choke me. It took a few minutes before I could try again. "Shannon and I have a son, Aidan, who was cursed to die on his first birthday by Badb, Unseelie Goddess of War, through Shannon's blood relatives as revenge for Badb's sons' who died by my hand in the last war against the Unseelie. The Norns gave a prophecy through the Elven prophetess Scota at Shannon's birth that linked Elatha, Shannon, and I as soulmates, and that we'd be able to bring my brother Baldur back from Helheim as a life restored to pay for the life requirement of Badb's curse, thereby saving our son's life as well. Hades granted us Baldur's soul but refused a token of safe passage out of Helheim."

Hecate's icy eyes narrowed. "Why did Hades accept the deal for Baldur's soul but refuse you a token?"

"Because I wouldn't forsake my soulmates to have sex with him," I answered bluntly.

Hecate's eyebrows rose, and she blinked twice. "Hades truly expected you to forsake your soulmates? How? There is no desire in you for anyone else once the soulmate bond is forged. Does Hades not know this?"

"Hades' consorts are not his soulmates. I don't know if he is aware of the consequences of the soulmate bond, but I would have thought that in his position, he would be."

Hecate scoffed and released our hands to wrinkle her nose and wave an elegant hand in dismissal. "Hades is not nearly as powerful as he'd like to think he is. Nor as knowledgeable, apparently." She patted me on the arm. "Thank you for your honesty, Loki."

I inclined my head.

"Do you know what's happened to Baldur?" Elatha asked. "I didn't see... when Shannon was..." He swallowed, hand convulsing in mine.

Her expression softened, and she raised her hand to his cheek. "Yes, Elatha. I know what's happened to Baldur. Would you save Loki's son if you could still restore Baldur to life?"

"Absolutely," Elatha said.

"You offered your life, your soul, to me, to save Loki. Would you do the same to restore Baldur to life?" she asked, her eyes holding his even as I stirred and squeezed his hand hard.

"To save Loki's son? Absolutely," he said, not looking at me as I glared at him.

"Damn it!" I cursed. "No! You are not dying, Elatha. I won't trade you for Aidan. I can't." My heart clenched, a sick churning in my gut as the yawning emptiness within me widened.

Hecate cocked her head, releasing Elatha to meet my furious gaze. "Not even to save both your brother and Aidan? Two souls for the price of one?"

"No!"

"But isn't that what you were planning on doing, Loki? Sacrificing yourself to get them all past Garm?" Her eyes bore into me.

I shifted on my feet. This wasn't something I'd planned on revealing. How the fuck did she know that? "Yes, but only if it was the last resort."

Elatha glared at me, dark eyebrow raised. "So it's okay for you to sacrifice everything for me, but not the other way around?"

"I didn't know how else to save all of you," I choked out, my throat clogged with tears, frustration, and grief churning within my chest. My hand rose, shaking, to cup his cheek.

"No, Loki. You don't get to die for me, either," Elatha snarled, hand gripping the back of my neck as he pulled my face to within a few inches of his.

Hecate cleared her throat, and we shifted to face her.

"So I take it you wouldn't have wanted Shannon to die for you, to save you, your son, and your brother?" she asked.

"NO!" Elatha and I both roared together.

Her smile widened, and she turned to nod at one of the empusai. The woman rose from the steps and disappeared into a door in the wall behind the throne.

A minute later, the empusa returned and Baldur walked out of the doorway. Relief almost weakened my knees. He looked none the worse, wearing the same white armour and fighting leathers as before. With a small smile on his golden face, he walked with his usual broad stride.

Instead of embracing me as I expected, he stepped to the side when he reached us, revealing the smaller form behind him.

My heart stopped.

For a long moment, I was frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe. I stared.

Air rushed back to my lungs, my pulse pounded in my veins, and warmth expanded to fill my body. As one, Elatha and I rushed forward to embrace her.

Shannon.