With no heart, there could be no return of Lorgukk. And with no Lorgukk, Kelewulf would never realise the immeasurable power he’d always sought – because the dark god would surely grant his redeemer anything their heart desired. He could be Lorgukk’s commander-in-chief, the most powerful mage the world had ever seen, and together they would create a reign of terror.

Kelewulf regretted that he would not be around to see the panic and pandemonium the portal would cause here in the Six Kingdoms, but he satisfied himself that the Volken people would eventually know it was he who was responsible. He could almost hear the lich’s voice inside his head. They underestimated you at their cost. We will make them pay. Just as we made your cousin Erik pay.

Kelewulf frowned, remembering what they had done. Without the lich inside him, whispering its dark thoughts so that they seemed almost his own, he knew that he had never wanted his uncle dead. He had planned to merely weaken the king, and to throw suspicion on the girl, Astrid, who had always hated him. That had been before the incident in the boatyard. Following that night, the lich had argued that Erik had seen or heard too much. They must create an environment of chaos, one in which the finger of blame could not fall upon them, and then they would leave Stromgard. Through a fog that threatened to envelop his mind at the time, the lich had argued that Kelewulf’s uncle should die and his cousin Erik would face execution for his murder. Among the fear and confusion Kelewulf must have agreed, although he had no recollection of doing so. And so the lich had taken over the prince’s body, and made him commit the terrible deed. The perfect crime was how the lich had described it. A world of chaos, remember?

What have I done? The thought had no sooner formed than Kelewulf banished it. He could not let sentiment weaken him.

He shivered. He felt, he realised, empty without the lich, as though he were half a man. The power he’d always craved was at his fingertips when the creature was in possession of him – a wealth of knowledge acquired over many years. But he resented having the creature privy to his every thought and emotion.

He shook his head as if to clear it of the jumbled thoughts and emotions he felt. Exhaustion was making him confused. Confused and … weak.