Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Talking to her isn't helping. Holding her down isn't helping either. She's in pain, and that isn't fair to her. Screw fate or destiny or the Gods or whoever decided she should have to carry such a heavy burden.
I squeeze my eyes closed, reaching for…something. I don't know. The same reserve of energy that's gotten me through every hard day in my life. The same one that saved my life the day my father murdered my mom and tried to kill me. I don't know what to call it. Courage? Strength? Determination? Something else? I don't know, but I reach deep, drawing it into me.
It fills me like a dam bursting the gates. Power rushes into me. Rushes through me, sweeping every piece of me along with it.
"Rissa, nei!" Dax shouts. "Nei!"
His startled cry comes too late.
The power flows down my arm to Abigail, lighting her in a nimbus. As soon as it touches her, I feel what she does. I see what she sees. And, oh God, I wish I didn't.
A bloodcurdling scream rips from my lips as the mangled bodies of everyone I know stretch before me in an endless field of death.
Chapter Six
Dax
"You've got to get her off of Abigail," Damrion growls, as if I wasn't already aware of that. Unfortunately, Rissa clings to Abigail's hand as if it's a lifeline, both Valkyrie and Seer screaming as one.
Rissa's emotions beat at me, horror and rage rising in tandem.
They pull an answering rage to the surface in me. It rises hot and fast, ripping through me in a powerful flood. I fight the urge to grasp Magn, desperately trying to gain control of the situation before her heightened emotions send us both into a tailspin we can't recover from.
I've never known of a Valkyrie to burn herself out. But I've never seen one burn as hot and bright as Rissa before, either. She's inexperienced, unaware of the power she holds. Gods only know what harm she's capable of bringing down upon herself.
I don't see what she does as I did in the bar, but I feel enough to know whatever vision she and Abigail are locked in isn't good. They blaze like a golden sun, Rissa's Light shining so bright Damrion shields his eyes against it.
"Rissa, elskan-ljós, please." I gently try to pry her hand loose from Abigail's, trying desperately not to hurt her. "Please, let go before you hurt yourself."
If she hears me, she doesn't react. Neither does Abigail. They don't move or flinch. They don't respond at all. They just keep screaming, their bodies contorted in pain as Rissa's power amplifies Abigail's one thousandfold. The more power she feeds into Abigail, the more tangled in Abigail's vision they become. It's a spiderweb, one they cannot free themselves from without help.
Forgive me, Valkyrie.
I grit my teeth and grab her wrist, applying pressure to get her to loosen her grip. It's the only choice left. She won't willingly release Abigail. I don't think she can. And I can't compel her to do so. She's resisted every attempt. Her will is forged from steel.
Her hand spasms, loosening for a split second. I move with all the speed of a Fae, hauling her off Abigail. I land on my back on the floor with her partially on top of me. She's limp in my arms, her Light still blazing.
She stops screaming almost immediately. So does Abigail.
"Jesus Christ," Stephan Anderson, one of the Blooded warriors, whispers from the doorway, his piercing eyes wide. I don't know when he arrived, but he's crowded in the kitchen along with Reaper, Malachi, Adriel, and Damrion, gaping at the woman sprawled across my chest. His ímun-laukr hangs forgotten in his hands. "What the fuck was that?"
"The Light of a Valkyrie," Reaper responds. He's seen horrors that would break most men, but even he looks rattled. "Alone, their Light is fierce. Together, it rivals the Gods. In battle, they were the most formidable weapon the realms ever had. Though, I've never seen one link with a Seer before today."
"Me either," Malachi says, eyeing Rissa with a newfound respect. "I've never seen one so powerful on her own before. Ever."
"There's never been one this powerful," Damrion agrees, carefully checking over Abigail. The girl has fallen still, but she hasn't awoken from her vision. She lies quietly, her face pale.
Rissa still blazes like the sun in my arms, though her Light slowly dims as her fury fades. I sit upright, hauling her into my arms. I keep her close, running my hands through her hair, murmuring to her. Trying to soothe her back to herself. I don't know what to expect when she wakes, but I'd prefer not to have a repeat of this morning.
"Did she share Abigail's vision?" Malachi demands to know.
"It certainly looked that way," Adriel growls. "As soon as her Light engulfed Abigail, she went to screaming."