Our footsteps echo through the quiet hall as we walk into the empty library. Shelves and shelves laid bare. The sight still boils my blood as I think of all that knowledge, all that history—gone.
Freya’s shoulders creep up to her ears as she looks around the empty room. “This is an atrocity.”
I stop at her side, looking at the empty shelves. “The more you read, the more you know. And they did not want us to know anything at all.” My eyes burn with rage.
“I’ll send for some books from our libraries to restock your shelves,” she utters behind her hand, her eyes still roaming over the emptiness.
“I can’t even tell you how much I would appreciate that. Thank you.”
Luna walks ahead, coming to a stop in front of the table, and points to the items we recovered from the cave. The venom, crystals, and a few dozen books. “This is all we found.”
Freya approaches the table, her attention narrowing on the stacks of books littering the entire tabletop. “These are the only books?”
An hour later, we’ve walked Freya through everything they’ve left behind and started on the books. I unstrap my axe from my back and place it beside me as my wings vanish away and I roll onto my back, taking the book I’m reading with me.
The colorful rug beneath me isn’t just ornate, but soft and plush as I sink into it. I chose this spot specifically to be close to the fireplace. And I don’t give a fuck how un-queenly it appears. I have suffered enough and I need to feel the warmth seep into my bones, chasing away the chill that lingers.
“Are you any good with that?” Freya asks. Her words cut through the silence and the flipping of pages. I peek over the book in my hand to see who she’s talking to and find her staring at me.
“Me?” I ask, pointing at myself as I sit up.
She snickers and pushes away from the table to face me. The book she was reading left open. “That axe, it’s Odin’s, isn’t it?”
A blush crawls its way up my neck and reddens my cheeks. “Yes, it is.”
She stares patiently at me, waiting for more. The intensity of her gaze has me looking away, to the ravens carved into the axe’s hilt. “It was lodged in the trunk of a tree. No other warrior or Valkyrie had pulled it out.”
“One who is worthy will pull it,” she murmurs. “I’m well aware of its legend. Even tried to pull it myself once.”
“That’s what they say. I pulled it in a moment of need,” I murmur. “Odessa and Julius were trying to murder me. My powers had manifested, and I had become a threat to their plans.”
Her face twists in shock as her mouth pops open. “Your aunt would never.”
Chuckling, I toy with the laces on my boots. “I would hope not, but I’ve never even met her.”
She leans back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. “Odessa and Bryn were some of the fiercest Valkyries I have ever known. Their bond was as strong as mine with my twin.” Her words are heavy, emotion settling in her gaze. “And I’m sure they both loved you more than life itself.”
The space between my ribs burns with her words. “Odessa knows about me?”
Freya scoffs, her head tilting back. “It wouldn’t matter if she didn’t. You’re the last remaining piece of her sister. She would have waged wars across the realms for her and, by extension, you.”
Her words settle around me, like a comforting embrace. Freya goes back to her book, letting me have a moment, and I ease back down, pulling my book to me.
I may not have Gran or my mom, but I have an aunt. An aunt who remains kidnapped by our enemies. And I need to get her back.
The words blur together on the page and I squint to see them clearly.
My Gran is gone. My parents are gone. Elowen is gone. I bite the inside of my cheek to feel physical pain rather than the crippling emotional turmoil that rages through me. I need to hold it together just a while longer.
Breathing through my nose, I focus on my surroundings. Luna sits rigidly at the carved table we brought in opposite Freya. She absentmindedly skims her fingertips across the words carved onto the table as she studies the book in front of her.
Mina is sprawled across the couch next to me. Her foot dangling over the arm. She sighs deeply and flips a page. Freyacontinues to study the book of prophecies on the table before her. But every so often, I feel her eyes on me.
“It’s not much to go on,” she says to herself, shutting the book and sliding it away from her.
“Did you expect there to be?” Luna asks, resting her chin on her palm. “It’s obvious they mean to lead the realms into war. What information should we be looking for?”
Freya shrugs, flipping her long white braid behind her. “Anything about where they’re keeping them or where they mean to start the first battle…”
