“Then what?” I demand. “Countless demons and creatures will lose their lives if I don’t. My father’s death will be in vain. All the sacrifices you’ve made will be for nothing. My life is meaningless if Slaine is allowed to continue infecting this world with his evil.”

It is never meaningless! Kaebl’s eyes flare with rage as his muscles shudder, desperately trying to control the anger the words bring. Your life means everything, little one. More than the stars, than the earth, than this whole universe.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” I whisper. “We have to do something.”

Malice turns his head toward the forest, his eyes piercing through the thick shadows. “First, we go back to the lair and regroup.” He sighs, his eyes filling with a deep, unending sadness—but I have no idea why. “And then we figure out if there’s a way we can survive this.”

30. Malice

30

Malice

“So… one last orgy before we die? Do I have any hands?”

Lir cuts Cyprien a glare, the vein bulging in his forehead and his skin purpling with the sheer amount of rage bubbling to the surface. “Must you always be so insufferably stupid? We’re not having a fucking orgy.”

“I thought it was a good idea.” Fenryr pouts, smooshing Dagny’s face deeper into his chest as his arms tighten around her shoulders. “Might as well if Slaine is going to kill us all, right?”

Roark scoffs, crossing his arms as he narrows his eyes at Fenryr. “Are you going to give up that easily?”

“Did you not listen to a word Dagny said? They know where we are. They’re coming to kill us, and there’s not a single other spot in The Far Place we can run to.”

Then we don’t run, Kaebl interjects, his voice startling everyone into silence. We fight.

Lir shakes his head solemnly. “I hate to agree with Fenryr, but… none of us are strong enough. And as powerful as Dagny is, she’s only been training for a few weeks. Eventually, they would overpower her.”

Roark turns to me with a desperate whine building in the base of his throat. “Malice, come on. Say something. Tell them that you have this figured out—that we can win. That we can live.”

My mouth pinches together in a thin white line as I stare downward, focusing on a small crack in the ice by my toe.

“Malice!”