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With her talents, the keys ht as well have been under the front doormat “I stole these with ease,” she told Thronos “Your ‘lacking’sorceress, remember?”
“So all these brutal deed to do what armies couldn’t over an eternity?” He looked a littleawestruck
She brushed off one shoulder, then the other “Just let me do like I do”
Unfortunately, the portals had turned out to be trickier than she’d suspected Each one was ensconced in stone, with etchings all around the opening In Deep Place, clouds and vines were depicted, indicating a heaven plane The one in Inferno was surrounded by dripping fangs, as if the opening were a ravenous mouth
Should be a no-brainer—I’ll take the heaven plane, Alex—but then, this was Pandemonia Could be a trick or a test
Worse, they were old-school portals, basically huge vacuums, which meant she couldn’t dip a toe and then return
Worse still, she couldn’t steer theh she had the keys, those portals were permanently pointed in one direction like subway tubes—and she had no idea where they led
“I can’t believe you’ve seized these” Thronos reached for her chain, raising the keys He inspected the engraved ends, one depicting dripping fangs and one those vines “Why do you re back forinside her
She snatched her keys back “Nope”
Scowl “Then why are you still here?”
“Because the portals are more complicated than I expected” Not because she hesitated to abandon Thronos on a hell plane
Not at all
“I don’t want to rush anything” She ht be better off in the Zero-G Glade for another day She azed past hi Her crime-playtime was over for the day In any case, before she made another foray into either cae Remarkably, she hadn’t tapped out her persuasion, but a top-off wouldn’t go alade
“Where are we going?” he asked as they neared the brush
We? Optiled the two lance over her shoulder “Eventually those delade”
“I’d fly you there, but the dragons will be out foraging soon,” he said “I’ll guide you back”
“Clearly, I don’t need your help” No sooner had she said that than they reached a junction where the path forked out three ways, engraved stoneseach She didn’t re Eeny, meeny, ht
“You don’t want that one”
She faced hi Way Which doesn’t sound very pro”
“And the other ones?”
“One reads: To the Frozen Lake The other: Hell Beast Trail”
She headed toward the frozen lake, intending to step off the path as soon as things got close to chilly
He remained by her side “Melanthe, I need to talk to you about what you told me About my brother”
“You’ll find out the truth for yourself soon enough Everything I’ve told you can be verified”
“You were young, and it was so long ago Perhaps you s would be like any other knight’s”
“He used to swig froolden flask” When Thronos paled, she said, “Oh, so you reet his gold”
Thronos sed “Maybe he didn’t ot stabbed, the next pitchfork jab nicked my ear Before another one could land, Sabine ran to distract theored me to death Look, I don’t care if you believe ut-wrenching that o to the Skye—and clean house”
“I intend to I will make my brother see reason e return”
She stutter-stepped She didn’t knohich part of his statement o with him, or that he planned to rehab Aristo “I hate to tell you this, but your brother is evil EVIL The kind you can’t rehabilitate Face it, Thronos—in the brother department, we both lost out”
“Do you expect ht you were evil, but decided not to har yourself up for disappointment Which is your business I just want to return to an to thin In the distance, she could see a field
He walked backward to keep his gaze locked on hers “I can’t allow that We will not be parted After this long without you, how could I release you now?”
She waved a hand shining with blue energy in front of his face “You won’t have any choice”
He glowered at her hand “Melanthe, just stop and discuss this with me”
“The same problems as before apply When you can see past my number, then maybe we’ll talk”
“So if I could see past it, you’d coet the men you’ve been with,” he said, as if he’d just lit on the idea and found it excellent “If that’s what it takes, then I’ll subject myself to your sorcery onceher yet again, hating that he didn’t even understand hoas hurting her “Should I in, or maybe that I only had a couple of fk buddies? How about one conquest per century?” Voice rising with each word, she yelled, “I hate the way you make me feel!”
“I don’t want to! But I don’t kno to handle this I can’t just act like I haven’t felt wrath Like I haven’t been brought toat a pair of marble markers that bordered the path Only two lines had been carved on them