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I nodded. “That’s why I think the Raiders haven’t attacked yet. When I hold the light deep inside me, it seems they can’t sense me either.”
“It could be an advantage. No other Valkyrie can shield themselves like this,” Ales said.
He was handling this better than I anticipated. I thought he would demand the Valkyrie reign supreme, to hell with Charlie.
“Yes, but it comes with consequences, as you’ve seen. I make the Valkyrie weaker by just existing. She is the warrior you were searching for, not Charlie. I know that.”
Don’t back down now. Tell him!
“When the Raiders come, I promised to give the Valkyrie full control. I know you need Her to win the war.”
Ales paused his pacing and turned to me. “You would give yourself willingly to the aether completely for a war you didn’t know existed until a few days ago?”
I hadn’t thought about it like that, but it was the promise I made. My life was nothing compared to those the Valkyrie could save.
“Yes. I was supposed to already, wasn’t I? I mean, when the Fates deemed me a Valkyrie, I was supposed to die three years ago. I just got a few extra on accident.”
“When the Valkyrie is awoken, the mortal doesn’t have a choice. You do now. It is very different to choose to die.”
“Well, the decision is made. At the end of the week, or sooner, if the Raiders come,” I said.
The more we talked about it, the harder it would be to give myself over.
Ales’ face tightened as his eyes swirled like molten silver. “Know that I would never ask this from you—to give your mortal life.”
“You don’t have to ask, Ales.”
He was a better man than I gave him credit for. He wasn’t just a ruthless warrior without sympathy. My Valkyrie quaked underneath the surface, restless for him. Maybe my inner Valkyrie wasn’t completely unmerciful either.
He nodded. “Despite being part mortal, you must practice manipulating your element using the aether. It is taxing even for a full Valkyrie, but it can be key to winning a battle. You are the weapon, elskan mín. Remember that always,” Ales declared, looking down at my hands.
“That’s why you brought me here, to a different island?”
“Yes. The aether is energy. It cannot be destroyed. Even when you extinguish a portal, it’s only transferred, melded, from one form to the next. It’s never truly gone. That energy can alter an element, your element, as you wish. Your element is water. I didn’t want you to accidentally drown Eir. Here should be safe enough to practice.”
The water from the stream. I had stopped the flow with my mind, with the aether. I had lost time, almost an hour when Logan found me again.
“Does energy affect time? Can I manipulate time as well?”
“Not that I have seen. But if the Valkyrie controlled you, then it might have felt like seconds for you but in reality, it was more time for Her. Time might pass differently for the mortal if She is in control, fully.”
I had so much to learn about the warrior and Her abilities.
I gnawed my bottom lip. “When we were in the tunnel, Itook something from you. And again, on the boat.”
Ales tilted his lips into a wicked grin. “You can’t take something when it is offered freely.”
It was even more intimate to know he’d offered a part of himself up like that.
“What am I taking from you when I do that? Is it the warrior’s strength?” I took a step closer to the rocks, running my hands along the smooth, lavender-streaked stone.
If I was hurting them, taking their souls, then I wasn’t any better than the Keres.
“Yes. It’s different from the aether. It is part of our soul that determines if we are capable of becoming an Einherjar. It’s what makes us different from any man. That is why it’s important to have a legion bound to you. Einherjar can give their strength, their warrior’s soul. Once a warrior is bound to you, it offers you protection, aid you will desperately need.”
Binding seemed very permanent, in a ball and chain, never get free sort of way. But I couldn’t deny connecting to Ales was tempting.
“Does it always feel so exciting?” I mumbled, avoiding Ales’ gaze.
