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“I can’t hide anymore.” Astrid lifted her gaze to hold mine. “And I won’t wait around for the wolf to come at me again. I will be prepared this time, and I will get him first. I don’t want to kill someone. The idea of killing someone doesn’t sit well with me, even if my first life thinks it’s okay. But if the choice is my life or theirs, I’m choosing mine.”
I worked my jaw, my desires to be supportive and protective of her at war. This confidence and determination was something I always admired from her. But it now put her in danger, too. “You’re mortal, Astrid. If he gets you again…”
“Yeah, about that.”
Everyone turned to Kirby. She’d been fairly quiet this whole time, watching Astrid with only a few comments here and there.
“This is going to sound crazy, so much I’m having a hard time believing it myself, but destiny is a fucking annoying bitch and I really shouldn’t be surprised. Astrid, do you remember telling us about a vision your mother Randi had about Valkyries?”
Astrid thought for a moment. “Yes. It was a strange vision about women in unusual clothes becoming Valkyries.”
Her back straightened. “Strange clothes, as in our modern clothing?”
Kirby nodded. “Yeah, apparently that vision was true, and it was about me. And, ironically, you’re one of the Valkyrie souls I’ve been searching for.”
Silence.
Dead silence.
Until I broke it. “What do you mean by Valkyrie soul?”
Kirby crossed her arms. “It’s exactly as it sounds. Her soul resonates with what it means to be a Valkyrie.”
“What it means to be Valkyrie,” Astrid mumbled.
“Ironic wording, I know,” Kirby said, making Astrid laugh. I was clearly missing something. “Until these last recent years, I was the last one. I—”
Astrid gasped, her eyes going wide. “The last one? But there were so many back then. What happened?”
Kirby shrugged. “They died somehow.”
“We believe a number of them volunteered to be sacrificed in a ritual Odin was conducting before we killed him,” Aya said. “The rest… well, they followed the tides of battle. And unfortunately, after mortals began to fear supernatural creatures, they became targets as much as everyone else.”
Witch hunt suddenly had an all-too-real meaning, and I didn’t like it.
“So, you said you were the last until recently,” I said. “What changed?”
“I found out I’m destined to bring them back, though not in the form of revival.” Kirby rested her hands on her hips. “Like some gods and immortals can sense the dormant power of a potential soul, I can specifically feel a soul’s Valkyrie potential. It calls out to me, though some calls are stronger than others.”
She leveled her gaze on Astrid. “Your soul’s call was the weakest; I suspect because of how much Aya was protecting you this whole time.”
She shot the goddess a displeased glare, and Aya responded with a shrug. “You understand I had my reasons for keeping her a secret and staying out of events because of it. Don’t get on me now about it.”
“You could have at least used better excuses than the half-assed ones you gave.”
“Can we stay focused?” I said. I didn’t know the situation between them, but I didn’t think it was relevant right now.
Kirby nodded. “What little pull I did feel, was so recognizably you, Astrid, I thought I was going crazy. I died before you and Tyr ever got together, let alone you becoming immortal. The idea that you were alive… just didn’t make sense.”
“What effect does this soul have on me?” Astrid asked.
“Your soul is a bit more active than the others I’ve found. I suspect this may be due to your reincarnation. As a result, you already feel its pull.” Kirby ran her fingers through her hair. “A battle is a battle to a Valkyrie, regardless of how it comes to form. As a therapist, you guide souls through their own personal battles.”
“What about the souls I fail?”
Kirby shook her head. “You can’t see it that way with our power. It’s not that you failed or succeeded. It’s that your inner Valkyrie chose who was ready and who wasn’t. It may not sound fair, but our power doesn’t consider fairness. It doesn’t pick sides.”
Astrid frowned, but nodded. “And what makes it so important for me to know I have one?”
