AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Malachi," I cry, wrapping my arms around myself.
The giant, friendly Fae roars and plows into the nearest varulv, knocking the animal off its feet. They go rolling, knocking several others aside.
I scramble into the truck, sobbing the whole time. My gaze falls on the walkie talkie. I grab it, hitting the button to talk. "Hello? Hello? Damrion? We need help! We're under attack!"
I release the button, waiting for a response.
None comes.
I try again. "If anyone can hear me, we need help. There are dozens of varulv. We can't fight them. We can't…" I sob into the radio. "Please, help us."
Still, no one answers. God, is anyone else even still alive to hear my call? Or are we entirely on our own out here? I don't know. But I can't let Dax die. I can't let his brothers die. This isn't what I was born to do…to die crying in a truck while the man who owns my soul gets torn apart by demon wolves.
For the second time in my life, I intentionally reach for the power Dax is so sure I wield. Not the little bits I've grasped for my entire life. Not strength to get me through a dark moment or courage to face what's in front of me. But the Light of the Valkyrie, the same power my ancestors wielded. They touched souls with that power, united realms, and when they needed to do it, they struck down their enemies with fierce blasts of Light none could withstand. That's what I reach for now.
I fling every door in my soul open to it, allowing it to flood through every cell of my body. I feed my emotions into it—my fear for Dax, my absolute terror that I'm going to fail at this task that's been set before me, the grief I felt standing in the Fae Hall of Warriors, and the fierce, radiant devotion growing in my heart for the Fae whose soul is somehow, in some way, bound to mine.
Light fills me, crackling like electricity. I feel it surging through every fiber of my being, hotter than the sun, more powerful than anything I've ever felt. I climb from the truck, and the world quakes at my feet.
Ice turns to steam beneath my boots. The air steams around me. I march forward, straight toward the varulv surrounding the three Fae warriors.
Dax senses me coming. He feels me as if I'm standing beside him, just as I feel him. Pride rolls from him. And fear. Even now, he worries for me. He's afraid for me.
The varulv closest to me steps too close to the Light surrounding me and goes up in flames exactly like the Forsaken did at the bar. His screams rend the air, far too human. He falls into another varulv, and it ignites too. I keep moving forward, walking right through the center of them. One by one, they ignite. One by one, they die.
Those further out begin to panic. They break ranks, no longer concerned with the warriors or what they came here to do. All they want to do now is survive. They turn to flee into the woods.
I refuse to let them. They aren't of this world, and they aren't of the Light. They were made of darkness to do dark deeds. They cannot be allowed to run free in this world. They're a danger to everyone and everything in it.
I spread my arms wide. Ropes of Light shoot out like bolts of lightning. They spread like spiderwebs across the forest floor. Every varulv they touch ignites in a burst of flame, its shadow burning away. I strike again and again, reaching deeper into the forest with every blast of Light.
"Enough, Valkyrie," Dax growls, grasping my shoulders. "Enough!"
"I have to stop them. All of them."
"Nei." He shakes me so hard he rattles my skull. "Stop before you burn yourself out. Stop!"
The fear in his voice slices through me like a blade, cutting deep. I've never heard his voice tremble like that before. I've never heard it shake. But it shakes now, as if he's terrified.
I release the Light pouring through me all at once…which is apparently the wrong thing to do. It flows back into the well so quickly it's like opening the door on an airplane in midair. Everything gets stuck in a vacuum, the air leaving my lungs in a rush.
I stumble as the world goes dark around the edges, my legs threatening to collapse.
Dax curses, scooping me into his arms before I hit the ground. "Rissa, Valkyrie," he whispers, pressing his face to my throat. "Lyseste ljós. Du er min verden."
"You're going to have to teach me your language, Dax. I don't understand you," I mumble, my eyes falling closed.
I don't hear his response. For a long time, I don't hear anything at all.
Chapter Nine
Dax
"How is she?" Damrionasks.
"Sleeping." I don't take my gaze from my Valkyrie as my oldest friend enters the nondescript room, pulling the door closed behind him. Unlike Eitr, our safehouse in the city isn't a place of beauty. It's a converted warehouse overlooking the Sound. The back butts up against a sheer cliff, making an attack from behind impossible. A massive chain-linkfence surrounds the rest. No one knows that the pallets of wood scattered around the lower floor are just a front to hide the true purpose of this place. "Malachi told you what happened?"
"Reaper did." He watches her intently. "You should know…she didn't just kill thevarulvin the forest. She killed those in the valley too."
