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"Tori," he whispers, as if my name is a prayer, a plea. He crosses to me in two steps, dropping to his knees before me. His enormous hands, always so capable and strong, tremble just slightly as he reaches out to touch me. The warmth of his touch seeps into my skin, grounding me as I continue to shake with sobs.
He wraps himself around me, pulling me up against his chest as if to shield me from the world outside this room—the world we're both so desperately fighting against. His chest rises and falls quickly beneath my cheek—a testament to the battle he wages within himself. His intrinsic need to protect me battling against his desire to give me this thing I need so badly.
"I promise you," he murmurs into my hair, his voice a rough rasp. "I'll find a way to make it safe for you to say goodbye to them."
His words stir something within me—a glimmer of hope. This beautiful Fae is willing to fight his very nature for me.
I bury my face in his chest, choking on sobs even as he stitches pieces of my broken heart back together, claiming those as his own, too.
Eventually, the tears slow and my cries fade until I'm left with nothing but quickened breaths and the rhythmic beating of his heart against my ear.
His arms tighten around me, a protective cage shielding me from the outside world. He traces idle patterns on my back, each touch soothing the raw edges of my grief until I feel human again, flawed but functioning.
"Thank you," I whisper when I can speak.
"You don't owe me thanks, little Valkyrie," he rumbles, his voice like the thunder shaking the world outside. "I'm your mate, and you're mine. Caring for you is my joy in life." His lips press against my forehead, comforting rather than possessive, and then he pulls back with a small sigh, his brows furrowed.
I've become intimately familiar with that sign. Matters outside of this room require his attention.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to go see Damrion," he admits, his voice full of reluctance. "He called us just as I came looking for you. Will you come?" He doesn't want to leave me. Yet again, he's torn between his biological need to protect me and his duty.
I don't envy the Fae. Even in the quiet moments, they're a race constantly at war, fighting their very nature for a moment of peace. Those seem to come few and far between.
"I'll stay," I say gently, not ready to face the outside world just yet.
He nods his understanding and kisses me gently before pulling himself to his feet. I watch, fascinated, as he slips back into his warrior façade, my loving, protective mate becoming the fierce, indomitable Fae once more.
"I love you," he murmurs, striding for the door.
"I love you, too," I whisper as he slips out to fulfill his obligation to the Fae and the oaths he swore millennia ago.
For a long time after he leaves, I just sit there, staring at swirls in the cement, my mind blank in a way that's only achieved after a storm of grief.
I reach for my necklace again, a sharp lance of sorrow piercing my heart as I think of my parents—gone, ripped from this world by the Forsaken. My fingers trace the grooves of the chain. I lose myself in the cool metal and the memories that come unbidden.
Laughter echoes in my mind. Warm embraces and gentle words whispered in the dead of night. The feel of my mother's soft hair against my cheek, my father's strong arms around me. Their love was a constant, a shining beacon in my life.
The echoes of joy are fleeting, replaced by the chilling memory of their cold bodies, their lives cruelly snatched away by the Forsaken.
The door creaking open keeps my world from shattering again. I lift my gaze, prepared to find Reaper standing there. Instead, an unfamiliar man stands in the doorway, his form imposing. He's human—I don't know how I know, I just do.
"Valkyrie." His piercing gray eyes lock on me with an intensity that has me sitting straighter, unwitting prey caught under a predator's gaze. The corners of his mouth lift into a smile but it doesn't reach his eyes. His gaze is hard, as cold as the frozen mountain visible from virtually everywhere in Seattle—the one where Eitr stands hidden. "I didn't mean to intrude."
My instincts awaken with a sharp jolt, screaming at me not to trust him. He's lying. He knew I was in here alone. He shouldn't be here, not in this meeting room and not in this safehouse.
My heart beats a frenzied tattoo against my ribs, but I steady myself against its panic-stricken rhythm as I push myself to my feet. This isn't the first time I've come across a soul shrouded in darkness. But something about this one unsettles me.
"I was just leaving," I lie. "Damrion needs me."
"I'll walk with you," he offers.
"No. I'll walk myself."
He stands in the doorway for a long moment, blocking the way before he reluctantly steps aside, letting me pass. I do it with my head held high, refusing to shiver even though one crawls down my spine.
"Have a good day," I mutter politely, keeping my steps unhurried and even as I stride down the hall, trying not to let him know that I know he's evil. I feel it in my bones. Whoever he is, he isn't one of us.
