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Before I could yank away from him again, Ales threw his arms around me and plunged us both into the water below. He held his arms tightly around me, wrapping his legs over mine, pulling me down into the depths.
It was the same magnetic force I was drawn toward on the surface, or when near Ales, only a hundred times more. It tugged us both deeper, down to the darkness below.
This is wrong.
I can’t breathe.
It was too overwhelming. The Valkyrie surged forth, unbridled. Charlie was slipping further away, underneath the power of the light. It craved Ales, the aether, too much to hold back any longer.
I was sinking, losing myself to Her strength.
I pleaded with the Valkyrie. You can have him. I will go to Ales, if give me a little while longer with Charlie. I promise. I will do everything you want, if you give Charlie more time to be human.
And then the Valkyrie broke free.
The darkness rippled with streaks of lightning. The light sparked beneath us—cutting and diverging into the water—snapping with life.
My body went still. My thoughts were lost in the streaks of light.
A nudge stroked against the back of my mind, almost a caress against my unconscious.
“Let me into your mind, elskan mín. Let me show you where we are going.”
I could taste the hint of citrus and nectar in my mind. “Ales?”
“Let me in,elskan mín, let me guide you.”
My body melted into Ales. My mind bloomed open for him. I had never shared my intimate thoughts with someone else intentionally. How much of my mind would he see if I let him in? Would see that the Valkyrie was hiding Charlie? Would he see I wanted Logan?
The streaks of molten light came closer. The sparks and lines cut through the darkness, soothing me. I tried to let myself go. I exhaled the last bit of the air in my lungs when Ales and I were struck by the light.
It was painful as much as it was shocking. It was energy—sweet and hot, pouring into me. I let it fill my mind, my body, my soul.
Stunning auras whirled across my eyes—the deepest shades of purple, the brightest metallic greens, the hottest flames of red, the sweetest honeyed golds. The glorious color spectrum went beyond my perception of colors and flavors. Each color had a magnificent taste and sound. The pleasure of each color was better than the next. They felt like pure bliss. It was beyond what a mortal could experience. It was me seeing and feeling through the Valkyrie, and it was better than anything on earth.
The colors faded. The sweet taste turned to saltwater, and I inhaled, then started choking. Ocean water filled my mouth. My vision was blurred by water. I started to kick myself to the surface, but Ales squeezed his arms around me once.
My lungs burned. I needed air. I wanted to cough so badly, but I knew Ales and the Valkyrie wouldn’t free me unless I did it. I reigned in my fear, and gave Charlie over to the Valkyrie even more.
I closed my eyes and pushed past the pain in my body. I pulled myself into the memory of the colors and the tastes of the power, and the Valkyrie sought what was Hers.
We both did. In a way we were both present, experiencing the aether together.
I wanted it. I needed it.
It was mine.
My mind gripped it, leaping onto it, pulling it into me with so much hunger, I surprised myself.
It was like welcoming an old friend. I consumed the aether, bringing it into my soul, with all that I was. It called to me, like I called it. Like to like. We become connected, sealed, bonded. We became one. The aether joined my light, my Valkyrie, and Charlie disappeared beneath the power.
