Being so close to Conn was torture. Having him touch me was Hell. How could he even bear it? How could he stand to touch me when I was so worthless, so... abhorrent.
"Darcy, you can't think like that..."
Even as he voiced his denial, I was backing away. My back hit the wall, the chains which hung there digging into my skin as I pulled my legs up, curling in on myself. Retreating. My bloodied arms wrapped around my knees, and it was only then that I noticed what Osgar had done to my arm. Where I had once had 'Leof' inked into my skin as a promise to remain loyal, there was a raised scar. Silver-white erased the runes which had declared me to be Conn's. For the second time in history, Osgar had taken away everything that bound me to Conn and reduced me to his plaything. His slave.
Tears slipped over my cheeks, mingling with my spilled blood as my ex-husband and my wolf edged closer, their concern clear in their eyes. Clear in their emotions. Even though I couldn't comprehend how they could look at me with anything but loathing.
My soul deep shame intensified as our combined forces descended on us, coming for us and finding, rather than their Sire, a broken toy. The sentries and wolves who entered Osgar's dungeon froze, aghast, dismayed... repulsed by what they saw. The gore coated table was bad enough, it revealed too much, without them seeing the blood that stained my naked body and that matted my hair as well. Too many saw what had been done to me before Gunner bellowed at them to wait outside.
I would've given anything to hide from them all. All except the one I wanted to fight, to hate for what she had concealed. As my people filed out again, I raised my head to glare at Lex. "Did you know? Did you know, before we left, that it would be me?"
She swallowed hard, her eyes pained even though defiance ignited within their depths. "Sometimes the past must be faced before you can move forward."
"The world would've continued to turn, either way," I hissed, my temper flaring as I grieved for the part of me that had been ripped away once more, the part that had dared to believe she could fight. "Tell me, Wyrdæ, did you see fate or are you attempting to weave the cloth again?"
Perhaps I needed someone to blame, someone to lash out at. It was easy to make Lex a scapegoat. After all, she had played a part in sending me to Earth, in placing me in the path of Ragnar and Osgar that first time. That she'd done so again, while claiming to be my friend, while claiming I could trust her, cut deep. It may well have been a betrayal too far.
"You would do anything to protect those you love, Fríge. Don't expect me to do anything less." Lex stared back at me, her lavender eyes earnest. "You could see the future of all things, but you rarely revealed what cards had been dealt. You regularly changed fate. You weave it to your own pattern. Have you never wondered why the amulet came to you? Why you gave it away? How much did you know? How much did you plan?" She frowned. "Why reveal that Fenrir, son of Loki, would kill Odin, yet keep so much hidden?"
Her implications horrified me. For a second I was mute with disbelief, before I narrowed my gaze, fury rearing up again. "Do you have something to accuse me of, Lex? Do you think I would have chosen this for myself? My husband. My son. A millennia of torture and abject humiliation?"
She studied me, frowning as she considered the price I'd paid for the decisions I had made as a goddess. When she shook her head, she looked puzzled. "No. Of course not. No. It's confusing. It's beyond me. You're beyond me."
Before she slid from the room, she murmured softly, "The Grian Amulet is in Elsie's pocket. She didn't know what it was when she took it from you or she would've worn it. Make sure you don't lose it again. You're going to need it."
