House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas

“I’ll get the mop and bucket,” he said, and flashed her a smile.

She looked at him, all regal fury and poise—and laughed. The first moment of normalcy between them, joyous and beautiful. Another thing for him to fight for. Until the very end.

Tendrils of night-blooming purple flowers unfurled around her in answer, despite the daylight. Had it always been leading toward this? In the night garden, before they were attacked by the kristallos all those months ago, he could have sworn the flowers had opened for her. Were they sensing this power, the dusk-born heritage in her veins?

“This is remarkable,” he said, nodding to the island that seemed to respond to her every emotion.

“I think it’s what the Prison—the island in the Fae’s home world—once was. When Theia ruled it, I mean. Before Silene fucked it all up. Maybe they’re linked in some way through being thin places and spilled over to each other a bit. Maybe back in that other world … maybe I woke up the land around the Prison, too.”

Hunt’s brows rose. “Only one way to find out, I guess.”

She huffed. “I don’t think they’ll ever let me set foot back in that world.”

“Do you think there’s any chance we could recruit them to fight for us?”

“No. I mean, I don’t know what they’d say, but … I wouldn’t ask that of them. Of anyone.”

“I take back what I said earlier, about giving the planning a rest: we need to start thinking through our strategy.” He hated putting the burden on her, but they had to make a move. She was right—they couldn’t hide here. “The Asteri clearly want us to retaliate for what they did. Rigelus probably expects us to try to rally an army and attack them, but it’ll never work. We’ll always be outgunned and outnumbered.” He took her hand. “I … Bryce, I lost one army already.”

“I know,” she said.

But he pushed, “We’re also talking about taking on six Asteri. If it was us versus Rigelus, maybe … but all six? Do we separate them? Pick them off one by one?”

“No. It’d give the others time to rally. We strike them all at once—together.”

He considered. “It’s time to let Hel in, isn’t it?”

The sweet breeze ruffled her hair as she nodded.

“So where does that leave us?” he asked.

The star on her chest glowed. “We’re going to Nena. To open the Northern Rift.”

“Fuck. Okay. Ignoring the enormity of that, and assuming it all goes right, what happens next? Do we walk into the palace and start fighting?”

Her gaze had again lifted to the islands and glimmering sea. That regal expression spread over her face, and he knew he was getting a glimpse of the leader she’d become. If they got through this.

“What is the one thing Rigelus has constantly told us?” Bryce asked.

“That we suck?”

She chuckled. “He went out of his way to offer you freedom,” she said, nodding to where the brand was back on his wrist, “as a way to entice me to keep my mouth shut about killing Micah. And keep you quiet about killing Sandriel.”

He angled his head. “You want to go public about it?”

“I think Rigelus and the Asteri are nervous about the world finding out what we did. That their precious Archangels could be killed. By two apparent randos, no less.”

It was Hunt’s turn to chuckle. “We’re not exactly randos.”

“Yeah, but I’m still going to show Midgard that even Archangels can be killed.”

“Okay, that’s … that’s awesome,” Hunt said, his blood pumping at the thought. Rigelus would lose his fucking mind. “But what will it accomplish?”

“They’ll be so busy dealing with the media they won’t think about us for a little while,” Bryce said, smiling cruelly. Just a hint of the father who now lay dead beneath the earth here. “It will be more of a distraction than any army from Hel.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Hunt said, mulling it over. “I really do. But how are you going to prove it? Everyone would have to take your word for it, and the Asteri would deny it immediately.”

“That’s why I need to talk to Jesiba.”

“Oh?”

She got to her feet and offered him a hand to rise. “Because she has the video footage of what I did to Micah.”



* * *



What lay before Ithan was truly a paradise on Midgard. Crystal clear water, lush vegetation, streams and waterfalls pouring into the sea, powdery sand, birds singing …

He remained on alert, however, as the boat pulled up to a cove, close enough to the shore that he and Hypaxia jumped out and waded the few feet onto the beach.

“Which way?” he asked the former queen, scanning the dense foliage bordering the beach, the rising hills. “Jesiba said the castle was a few miles inland, but I didn’t see anything while we were sailing in—”

Wings flapped above, and Ithan shifted on instinct, his powerful wolf’s body nudging Hypaxia behind him as he snarled up at the sky.

Two scents hit him a heartbeat later.

And Ithan’s head emptied out entirely as Hunt Athalar landed in the sand, Bryce in his arms.





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