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“I’m Leo—that’s Alexandros and Crixus.” He tilted his head toward the other men, then extended his arm to loop around Logan. “Welcome, brother. Defiant soldiers make better Einherjar. Ales said you defied your commanders, and helped him. I know how hard it can be to see beyond what you think you know. Thank you, brother.”
“They’re a little too pretty for my taste,” the man called Crixus muttered under his breath.
“I voted to kill him.” Ales shrugged.
I glanced at Ales. How much had he seen in my mind when he had connected to me? The thought of him traipsing through my thoughts was abhorrent. It went beyond invading personal space.
Even when pulling away from my light, the human part of me thought he was beautiful. His hair was black as midnight and went in a single braid past his shoulders. He looked like a gladiator from another world.
These men were too much. It was all so overwhelming. Just their presence alone seeped power, and I wanted to connect to it.
I wanted to bond with these warriors.
I peered around the boat. Each man had various scars covering their limbs. They appeared to have spent a decent amount of time around sharp objects. Cri had a lighter shade of tan skin. He was the one who had lifted me into the boat, seeming to share Ales’ personality. Both were so somber. Now, they both frowned toward me and Logan.
“If I’m a Valkyrie, then who are you people?” It was a general question asked to the entire group. I was willing to accept answers from anyone who could give me a direction to the truth.
“That’s a great question,” Logan said, looking to Ales.
I flicked my gaze to Danny and Logan. “So you don’t know them, either? But then who the hell are you and your brother?” I groaned, too confused, too exhausted to play with any more puzzles.
Everyone looked to Ales, even Danny, who was now sitting against the bench instead of supine.
Leo laughed. “You didn’t tell her?”
Ales said, “There were bigger concerns at the time.” Ales looked to the men before he faced me. “The closest translation in your language to Einherjaris ‘those who fight alone.’We are warriors who serve at the pleasure of Valkyries. Chosen by the Fates, but given immortality by the hands of the Valkyrie.” He paused, staring at me, poised to jump in front of me as if to make sure I wasn’t going fling myself off the boat into the ocean below.
The words serve and pleasure coming from his lips conjured images of a lot more than fighting.
My mind eventually caught up to the rest of the story—I had made Logan and Danny immortal. That’s why it took so much energy. My light, the Valkyrie, enjoyed doing it very much. How could it not? The euphoria bordered on mind-splitting pain, but it was still pretty amazing.
The women, they weren’t voices in my head. They were the Fates. The melody of their voices was as pure as the light inside me. Knowing I was not going insane should’ve been a relief, but I was still cursed. Now it just had a name: Valkyrie.
“Like it or not, you are all now part of a war that has been raging for thousands of years, across many worlds. These worlds are very much like your own,” Ales said without breaking my stare.
I sank to my knees on deck of the boat. Maybe Danny had the right idea to remain seated for this conversation.
I believed Ales. I had seen the creature myself. It held rage so pure it hurt to stare at. A war against them would be devastating, not just to me, but to earth, to everything.
I turned my stare to Ales. Ales’ eyes weren’t human. I had never seen anyone with eyes like that—liquid silver flowing like a river of steel. “What do you mean, part of a war?” I said.
Logan joined his brother on the bench seat.
Ales watched us carefully and said, “It’s a war to end all wars. It is different from your mortal wars. We call it the War of Fate. And we are its soldiers.”
“Why me? What did I do to become like this? I’m not a soldier.”
“It is said the Urðr, the first sister of Fate, twines a female warrior like you with the aether of the fifth element. But only when awoken can you embrace your light, the Valkyrie, and decide if a soldier lives or dies. Valkyries fight for the living. You fight for the living.”
The ache in my head returned with a vengeance.
The Fates damned me to this. I was the best they could choose? The entire universe, and I was it? I think they screwed up a little bit. I had failed so many people already.
“The creatures. They are still coming for innocent men. I didn’t stop them all,” I said.
Ales’ lips turned into up into a grin. “I know. I destroyed the Raiders that came through the aether to your world. You weakened them by slaying one of their commanders a few days ago.”
Logan said, “We’re hunting the same thing?”
