LAST BLOODLINE STANDING

The Unwilling Sacrifice

Mara's blade pressed against Niko's throat.

The world had stopped. The snow fell in slow motion. The settlement men watched, their faces pale in the darkness. And Astrid stood at the edge of it all, her green eyes glowing, her small voice cutting through the silence.

"I'll go with him."

"No." Mara's voice was hard. "You're not going anywhere."

"Mara—"

"No." She pressed the blade deeper. Niko winced but didn't move. "You're not a bargaining chip. You're not a weapon. You're a child. And I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself for me."

Astrid stepped closer. The snow crunched beneath her bare feet—she'd left her boots in the inn. Her doll was clutched against her chest.

"He'll kill you," she said. "If you don't let me go, he'll kill you. And then he'll take me anyway."

"Then I'll die fighting."

"That's stupid."

Mara almost laughed. The girl was six years old—or looked it, anyway—and she was calling Mara stupid.

"Maybe," Mara admitted. "But it's my choice."

"It's my choice too." Astrid's voice was steady. "I'm the one who's connected to the god. I'm the one it wants. If I go with him, he'll leave you alone. You can find Leif's daughter. You can find a way to destroy the god. You can save everyone."

"And what about you?"

"I'll survive. I always do."

Mara looked at the girl—really looked. She saw the fear behind the brave words. The loneliness. The desperate hope that someone, anyone, would fight for her.

"No," Mara said again. "I'm not leaving you."

"Then we'll both die."

"Then we'll both die."

Niko moved.

Mara felt the shift in his weight, the tension in his muscles. She reacted on instinct—twisting, slashing, driving her blade toward his chest.

He caught her wrist.

They struggled, boots slipping on the ice. Niko was stronger—he'd always been stronger—but Mara was faster. She broke his grip, spun behind him, pressed the blade to his throat again.

"Yield," she hissed.

"Never."

"Then die."

She drew the blade across his throat.

Nothing happened.

The knife didn't cut. It scraped against his skin like stone against stone. Niko laughed—a cold, bitter sound.

"You think I survived all these years without protection?" He grabbed her arm and threw her. Mara hit the snow hard, the wind knocked out of her.

Niko stood over her, his eyes burning with something that wasn't entirely human.

"The god blessed me," he said. "Long before I came to Varrholm. Long before I knew what I was. It marked me as its servant."

"You're one of them."

"I'm the one. The servant it chose. The vessel it prepared." He knelt beside her, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Did you really think I was just a drifter? Just a man looking for his roots?"

Mara spat in his face.

Niko wiped it away, smiling. "I like you. You've got spirit. But spirit won't save you."

He stood, turning toward Astrid.

"Come, little one. Your master is waiting."

Astrid didn't move.

"I said—"

"I heard you." Astrid's voice was soft. "But I'm not going with you."

"You don't have a choice."

"I always have a choice." She looked at Mara, then at the settlement men, then back at Niko. "You want to use me to control the god. But the god doesn't want to be controlled. It wants to be free."

"I know."

"Then you know it'll destroy you. The moment you try to use it, it'll consume you."

"Maybe." Niko shrugged. "But I'll take that risk."

He reached for her.

Astrid screamed.

The sound was not human.

It was a frequency, a vibration, a force that threw Niko backward. He slammed into a snowdrift, his body convulsing. The settlement men fell to their knees, clutching their heads. Mara felt blood trickle from her ears.

Astrid stood in the center of it all, her eyes blazing green, her small body trembling with power.

"Leave them alone."

The voice was not hers. It was the god's voice—vast and ancient and terrible.

"Leave them all alone."

Niko struggled to his feet. "You can't control it. You're not strong enough."

"I don't need to control it. I just need to let it in."

The green light intensified. The snow melted around Astrid, turning to water, then steam. The air grew hot. The settlement men screamed.

"Stop!" Mara shouted. "Astrid, stop!"

The girl looked at her. For a moment, the green faded. Her eyes were her own again—dark and frightened.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know how to stop."

Mara crawled toward her, ignoring the heat. "Focus on my voice. On the cold. On the snow. Anything but the god."

"I can't—"

"You can. You're stronger than it. You're not its vessel. You're Astrid. You're a child. You're loved."

The green light flickered.

"You're loved," Mara repeated. "I love you. Ingrid loves you. You're not alone."

The light died.

Astrid collapsed. Mara caught her, cradling her against her chest. The girl was burning hot—feverish—but alive.

Niko was gone.

The settlement men didn't stop them from leaving.

They were too frightened—too shaken by what they'd witnessed. They watched in silence as Mara carried Astrid away from the settlement, Ingrid following close behind.

"Where's Niko?" Ingrid asked.

"Gone. He ran when the light died." Mara adjusted her grip on the girl. "He'll be back. Men like him always come back."

"We need to move fast. Get to Dunhaven before he does."

"We will."

They walked through the night, the snow crunching beneath their boots. The sky was black—no stars, no aurora, no light at all. Just darkness.

Astrid stirred in Mara's arms.

"Mara?"

"I'm here."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"I know. It's okay."

"Is he gone? Niko?"

"For now."

"He'll come back."

"I know."

Astrid was silent for a moment. Then she spoke again.

"He was lying. About being chosen. About being the god's servant."

Mara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The god didn't choose him. It rejected him." Astrid's voice was barely a whisper. "He came to Varrholm because he wanted to be chosen. He wanted power. But the god didn't want him. It wanted someone else."

"Who?"

"Me." Astrid looked up at her. "It wanted me. It always wanted me."

Mara's blood ran cold. "Why?"

"Because I'm the only one who can destroy it."

Astrid revealed that the god didn't choose Niko—it rejected him. Niko has been pretending to be a chosen servant, but he's actually a rejected supplicant seeking power. Now Astrid says she's the only one who can destroy the god. But can she be trusted? Is she truly free of the god's influence, or is she just another pawn in its game? And what does it mean that she's the only one who can destroy it?