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"I'm still not entirely sure," Rissa says with a rueful laugh. "But I always reach for the Light when I feel something strongly. It seems brightest during those moments."
Tori's gaze flickers to me. "That's how I healed you," she whispers. "I knew you were going to die, and I didn't want to lose you. I saw the Light and I just grabbed it, desperate to keep you here."
My heart pulses in my chest as she stares up at me with those sapphire eyes. The fact that she feels so strongly for me already steals my breath. She used her power for the first time—to save me. I've never felt more unworthy. I've never adored her more.
"Healed you?" Dax asks, sharing a look with Adriel.
Helvete. Malachi and I never told them that Tori healed me. With everything going on, there wasn't time.
"I got bitten by a varulv. She healed the bite."
Dead silence echoes through the van, shock stamped across my brothers' faces. Abigail doesn't share their surprise. She seems content, as if she already knew this would happen. Perhaps she did. The little Seer sees far more than she says at times, keeping some visions close to her chest, perhaps out of fear that sharing what she knows would change the outcome.
"That's a useful Gift," Adriel mutters, settling back against the seat with a grunt. "The Gods-forsaken varulv have always been a pain in our asses."
Dax snorts a quiet agreement.
"Dax tends to be my key too," Rissa says to Tori, returning to the conversation at hand. "When he's in danger, I reach for the Light on instinct. Maybe that's how it is for you, too."
Tori flicks a shy glance up at me, her eyes fathomless pools that make my soul sing with desire. Gods, how I ache for this Valkyrie.
"Maybe," she whispers.
I reach for her, cupping her face in my palm. My thumb brushes her full bottom lip, my eyes tangling with hers. "I will gladly be your key," I murmur, my voice a heated purr. "Whatever you require of your mate, I will happily deliver, little Valkyrie."
"Shameless Fae," Dax mutters from the opposite side of Rissa, choking on a laugh.
I lift my gaze to his grinning. "Ja, shameless Fae, indeed."
He returns my grin, chuckling as Tori buries her face in my shoulder as if to hide the way it burns. Gods. She's so shy and sweet. And so powerful. When the Norns spun her out, they were not playing. They made a Valkyrie destined to own every inch of me—mind, heart, body, and soul.
She's already well on her way, claiming and consuming entire tracts of my being. Despite the danger we face, despite the fucked-up madness of the last thirty-six hours, I've never been happier. That's her doing. She opened her soul to me and stole my heart right out of my chest.
It belongs to her now. No matter what happens, my heart is hers.
Chapter Seven
Tori
Icome awake with a gasp, my heart pounding as I struggle to sit upright. The room around me isn't familiar. Nothing is. The walls are painted in dark, muted shades. The bed beneath me is soft and comfortable but unfamiliar. So are the simple furnishings scattered around the room. The only source of light is a dim lamp in the corner, casting shadows across the unfamiliar space.
"Easy, little Valkyrie," Reaper rumbles from beside me. "Easy. I'm here."
"Reaper." I exhale a relieved sigh at the sound of his voice, anxiety loosening its chokehold on me. "Where are we?"
The bed shifts as he reaches for me, one strong arm curving around my waist. "Seattle. You fell asleep on the drive, solsken," he murmurs, pulling me back against the hard wall of his chest. "This is one of our safehouses."
Seattle. My soul quivers at the thought of being back here.
Reaper must feel my fear because he wraps his big body around mine, his lips brushing the back of my neck.
My stomach bottoms out, my womb clenching.
"Reaper," I whisper, licking my lips. "You're in bed with me."
"Ja," he practically purrs, his tone rife with masculine satisfaction. "This is our bed, hjartað mitt. I won't ask for anything you don't wish to give me, but I'm a selfish mate. I couldn't resist holding you while you slept."
Anything I don't want to give him? I'd give him every piece of me and not regret a single moment of it. This world may be new and strange, but there's one thing I'm not confused about at all. Him. I know exactly how I feel about him.
