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Ales tentatively reached for my hand as I stood in the center of the village, wondering if I would ever feel complete again. With Logan and Ales in my mind, I was the best version of myself, but they wouldn’t understand that.
Both of his hands surrounded my palms. His touch made the aether charge down my arms. It must’ve been painful for him, but he didn’t pull back.
I gazed up at his silver eyes as they churned with trepidation. His face was frighteningly cautious when he motioned for me to come with him. I had never seen him waver like this before.
“I want to show you something.”Ales led me away from the village.
He ushered me down a long, narrow path to an ivory stucco home. It stood alone, overlooking the ocean. It was a small, singular stucco building that felt very private, being away from the village, tucked back near the cliff’s edge.
Ales opened the door and tilted his head for me to enter behind him. The home smelled of citrus and mint with wooden notes. It had one door off to the side. The light wooden floors and white walls made the house feel airy and light. A dark stone fireplace warmed the home, with an array of white and sapphire candles resting on the stone. This was Ales’. His place of solace, when he wasn’t searching every aether for a Valkyrie who had awoken.
I let my hand rest against the dark stone of the fireplace. It was the one dark piece in the home. I knew Ales had brought the stones here himself to remind him of the island he now called home. Through his connection, he had shown me this place. Each one was purposely selected and fit into place. He had taken care making this home.
Even the calming floors were sanded so smooth and polished with an oil to make them appear like glass.
There was a large window framed in the same wood, overlooking the cliff side. It revealed stunning vistas of the deep, cobalt blue ocean. I could stand here all night, watching the moonlight reflect off the water.
Ales disappeared into the bedroom, then met me by the window, clutching something behind his back. “I requested Talon create this before I came to you last night. He finished it this morning.”
Ales handed me a small leather case.
Carefully, I unlatched the top, revealing two raven-black pieces of armor neatly folded onto each other. The pants were laced flawlessly up the side. The top was the same material—soft as butter—lacing up the sides, proudly displaying a gold emblem stamped on the chest.
I traced the marking with my finger.
I knew this one well.
It was the elemental symbol for water. The armor was everything I didn’t know I wanted.
“Black is the armor Cri and I traditionally wear into battle.” Ales hesitated, then shrugged. “If you don’t like it, Talon can make something better.”
“No, it’s perfect,” I whispered as I ran my finger over the leather laces. I folded the armor neatly back into its case.
The taste of citrus and mint caressed the edges of my mind. It was subtle as it feathered over my tongue. “What’s wrong, elskan mín?”
At least he wasn’t afraid to go into my mind, but he had seemed withdrawn and strange when we walked back to the village. Did he think I did something wrong with Lana?
Before the Raiders attacked, he had left me with Logan. He had asked Logan to protect me at the cave. He had practically thrown me at him. Was that what he had expected me to do—to go with Logan?
So many things had changed since last night. We were different now. I had performed acts no Valkyrie should be able to do. And it terrified me.
“I don’t know,” I said out loud, too nervous to let him into my head.
What if he thought differently of me after today? We turned an ocean into aether. If that hadn’t been enough, I had created a Valkyrie. It all enough to scare any person away for the next century. Then Logan had saved me. When Ales had fed the aether too high Logan calmed me, directing the aether back into water. Did that insult Ales?
Did Ales know he was different from the other Einherjar, that he was special… to me? Did he know he was the key to creating aether?
Last night he seemed to enjoy himself, but he didn’t even kiss me like I wanted. The thoughts he had shown me through the connection had been beyond provocative. They had been excruciatingly sensitive. He had shown me so much about him. Maybe he regretted doing that.
Leo had said Valkyries weren’t very modest. It seemed that Einherjar were just as sexually open as a person could be, if Cri was any example.
Oh, no…
Maybe Ales had only been with me yesterday to blend the parts of me. He didn’t want me like I imagined.
But last night, in Ales’ mind, I saw images of how he wanted me. He had shown me the mark of his people, and done the same to me.
Ales’ unrelenting gaze hadn’t strayed from my face. He seemed so tense, like a bow strung too tight. “Let me in. I want to see,” he whispered as he stepped closer to my body. He didn’t expand on his words.
