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My lungs seized.Move, Astrid. Move!I needed to stop this. I needed to save her.
I lifted a shaky hand and willed—begged—my magic to listen to me. Power welled up, and a single black tendril lashed out from my fingers and struck the wolf shifter across the eyes like a whip. He yelped and shook his head, giving Angel enough time to recover and bolt for the underside of his abdomen. She latched on and shook with all her might against the wolf.Lower, Angel. Aim for the dick. Fight dirty.
My father always told me to fight like my life depended on it, no matter how dirty you had to get in order to win. And fuck if this situation didn’t fit that exact need.
Heavy footsteps alerted my senses. A chill shuddered down my spine, surging a new wave of panic through me. I scrambled back, my brain screaming at me that this shifter had an ally.
Tyr burst out of the forest. I froze, watching him throw his axe at the shifter, smacking the wolf in the head. The shifter snarled and thrashed. Without hesitation, Tyr charged the shifter, barreling into him and smashing his fist into his muzzle.
A hand clamped down on my arm. I let out a startled shriek, reflexively ripping away from my assailant, my fight instinct kicking in, but not my magic.
“It’s me, Astrid,” Diego said, his voice rushed. “Get up. We need to run.”
Run?I blinked dazedly at him. What was he doing here? My heart rate kicked up when the wolf shifter snarled. What was Diego doing here?
He wrapped his other arm around my waist and tried to haul me up. “C’mon, get up. Get up.”
I tried to get my body in gear, but something wasn’t working.What the fuck is wrong with me?I wasn’t like this. I didn’t freeze when I was afraid. I pretended I was stronger than I was and kept going. It was like I didn’t know who I was anymore.
The wolf snarled, and Angel let out a bone-chillingyip. I jerked my attention from Diego just as she landed several yards away from the shifter. When she didn’t move, dread settled deep in my stomach.No. No. No.Relief washed over me when Angel finally lifted her head. She eased herself onto her feet, shaking it off.
Tyr kept the shifter occupied, allowing her to recover, and to my dismay, she went after the wolf again. This wasn’t like her. She never acted this way.
Aya warned me Angel would change as she became a full familiar, but she wasn’t yet. She should still be my silly goofball of a dog.She’s a shepherd, Astrid. She will protect you, and as a half-familiar, she’ll protect you at any cost.
My gut twisted at the thought. Here my dog was, taking on a beast four times her size, and Tyr, fighting the beast that had killed me so many times before, at a disadvantage with one less hand because of me. And what was I doing? Standing here, paralyzed with fear, like the pathetic excuse of a Valkyrie I was.
I gasped when the wolf slammed the side of his head into Tyr, sending him flying into the lake. Without missing a beat, he turned and lunged for Diego and me.
Time slowed. The sound of my pounding heart filled my ears as my body seized up. Diego shoved me and I crashed to the ground. My eyes widened when he jumped in front of me, using himself as a shield.No!
My head pulsed and then pain split through it, fracturing my vision until I was no longer at a lake, but in a timber home. A beautifully stunning, but also scary redhead woman in a dress similar to what I wore at the festival sat in front of me.
I sighed. “Mother, this isn’t working. Why are we even trying this?”
She chuckled. “Why? Because you have to learn your magic.”
“I’m already using that to heal,” I said. “That has come naturally to me. Why don’t we merely focus on that? I know I used other magic when it first manifested, but I’m not grasping its concept to use again.”
“This magic within you, Sunshine, comes in two parts. You must learn to harness both. You cannot properly understand your magic, and use it as intended, unless you do.”
My shoulders drooped, and my gaze fell away.
“What is it, Astrid? What is truly bothering you?”
“Everyone knows I’m a healer. Jarl Rune saw me once perform the healing magic and now everyone knows. They only see me as a future healer. They’ve forgotten about the other magic I can harness.”
My eyes lifted to meet hers. “I’m not you, Mother. I’ll never be feared like you are. So, what is the point of trying to harness a magic that I’m struggling to grasp?”
She cupped my cheek. “Feared and respected are two very different things.”
This was a memory, but the way she gazed at me, it was as if she could see the past me, and the present. “There will come a day when you surpass even me, Sunshine. You will be even more fierce than I could ever dream of. Your magic will know no bounds. Others will respect you for everything you can do. One day, you will see this. And when that day comes, it’ll be when you find a reason to be that woman. It will be the day you find something, or somethings, worthy to protect. This I believe, because I believe in you.”
The warm home rapidly faded away, and my sight of the lake flashed back—just as the wolf shifter’s teeth clamped down on Diego’s blocking arm.
“No!” I screamed. My hands flew out, power drawing up at my command. Golden light sprang from the ground like spikes, spearing the wolf. A black spike mixed within the gold pierced the shifter’s eye. Blood sprayed everywhere as he threw Diego to the side and reared back, howling in agony and rage.
I sprung up, the weight of my wings manifesting on my back and propelling me forward. My axe summoning in one hand, and my sword in the other, I launched at the shifter, my fear forgotten, replaced with steely determination. “You will not harm them, you filthy mongrel!”
