Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
I croon to her in ancient Fae as she shivers and shakes through aftershocks, my hands running up and down her sides.
For long moments after she settles, I simply hold her close, more at peace than I've ever been. My mate, my Valkyrie, is satisfied and safe in my arms. I would kill for this. Die for this. Without question or hesitation.
The same instinct drives my brothers. We were designed to defend and protect our mates above everything. It's who we are. But we can't do that now, not with the Valkyrie.
Keeping Marion safe means fighting our nature. It means pushing when we shouldn't. The thought twists like a blade between my ribs. But the Norns didn't bind Fae warriors to Valkyrie souls just to coddle them. They sent us to bathe them in Light to ensure that no matter what Darkness they faced, the Light surrounding them always shone brighter. That's the Fae role in the coming war—to be their shield so they can be the sword.
Unless we're willing to do what we must, to put everything on the line, we've already lost. And so have the Valkyrie.
They cannot fall. Even if it costs every Fae life, they cannot fall. And we're out of time to learn to accept that we can't protect them from the dangers hunting them. Whatever risks they have to take, we have to allow it. Whatever pain they have to face, we have to help them do it.
War is upon us. I feel it like an ice storm rattling the shutters, seeping beneath the door. It's here. And it's here for them.
No part of me relishes what I have to do, but for her sake, I have to do it.
Forgive me, Valkyrie, I pray silently.
"We were trapped here when the portal to Valhalla fell," I murmur into her hair after a moment. "We still don't know if the Forsaken shattered it or if it sealed itself when they attacked. But the result was the same—we were stranded here while they were cut off from harvesting souls."
I brush an errant curl from her cheek. "They need the five of you to reopen the portal, ljúfr. And we need you to free the souls trapped in limbo just beyond the Veil. If we lose…"
"The end of everything," she whispers, shivering in my arms.
"Ja, the end of everything." I press a kiss to her temple, breathing in her scent—honey and sage and home. "We aren't going to allow that to happen, ljúfr. I vow to you that we will win this war." I pause, steeling myself for what I have to do. For what I need her to do. "But I need you to tell me everything you know in order for us to do that."
"Malachi, I…"
"I need to know about the night the Forsaken took you, about what happened to your parents. It's important, Marion."
She lifts her gaze to mine, blinking rapidly. The suspicion in her emerald eyes sends my heart plummeting. "Did…did you do that to make me talk to you?" she asks, scrambling from my lap. My arms fall from around her, aching from the loss of her warmth. "Is that why you've been so nice to me?"
Faen. Is that what she thinks? That I'm only here because I have no choice? Because I want something from her? Already, I'd rip my heart out and hand it to her if that's what she demanded.
"Nei," I growl, rolling swiftly off the bed.
She practically darts across the room, keeping distance between us. "You…t-touched me, told me those things just to get me to tell you about my parents," she whispers, her voice quivering.
"Nei," I growl again, stalking slowly toward her. "You know I did not."
"Then why are you pushing this, Malachi?" she cries, tears welling in her eyes. "Why now?"
I don't say anything as I approach. Instead, I take one careful step at a time, trying not to frighten or overwhelm her. But she's already frightened and overwhelmed. And as soon as I get close, she tries to dart away again.
I grab for her, pulling her up against the hard wall of my chest.
"Let me go," she growls, jerking against my hold, but I'm far bigger than she is, able to contain her with ease.
At least, that's what I think until she blazes like the sun in my hands, and a blast of scalding Light rips through me. It doesn't necessarily hurt, but it stings like a bitch.
I release her with a gasp, stumbling back a step.
She wheels around to face me, her eyes wild, a tiny blue dagger glowing in her hands.
Helvete. She wields a blade like a Fae.
Who is this Valkyrie?
"Don't touch me, Malachi," she whispers, her voice strained, edging toward desperate.
"Nei, I won't, Valkyrie." I hold up my hands, showing her that I mean her no harm. "Release your weapon. Talk to me."