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I watch as she shoves the phone into her pocket. "You aren't going to tell him."
"We don't have any evidence. Just a feeling. Would you condemn him based on a feeling?"
I hesitate, the same way I've hesitated for the last four days. Everything in me says that something is off with him. He watches too closely. And even if he was looking for Damrion, there was no reason for him to go into Abigail's room.
The Fae have enough on their plates right now…but we can't afford a misstep, either.
Would I condemn him based on a feeling? I don't think we have a choice. The mission isn't just about finding the Valkyrie. It's about keeping the ones here safe, too.
"Yes," I whisper. "I would. To save you and Abigail and the Fae, I would."
Rissa's silent for a moment and then she nods. "Then we tell them."
Relief courses through me, vast and bright. For the first time in days, this burden isn't mine to carry. It's ours. And suddenly, it doesn't feel nearly as heavy.
I follow Rissa into the kitchen, stumbling to a stop when I see Adriel and Abigail locked in an embrace. Her head rests against his chest, his hand sliding through her hair. For the first time since I met him, he looks peaceful. It's beautiful to see.
As soon as Abigail sees us standing there, she pulls herself out of his arms, her cheeks pink. She won't meet our gazes, instead looking at the floor.
Does she feel like she did something wrong?
I think it kills her a little that the men she loves fight over her when she'd give every piece of herself to both of them if they could only learn to get along. But they can't, so she can't. So they remain in limbo, snatching these little moments.
It's not enough for any of them.
"What's wrong?" Adriel growls, reading us like a book.
Rissa and I share a look.
"Tori thinks—we think—Kenton is up to something," Rissa says. "We don't trust him."
"Why?" Adriel asks, his expression flat. That one black eye scours through me, searching deep.
"I can read people," I admit on a whisper. "I don't know if it's a Valkyrie instinct or something else, but I can look at someone and know on sight if they can be trusted or not. I look at him, and I see the shadow on his heart. He's full of Darkness like the Forsaken, only it's not as all-consuming."
"Skita," Adriel growls, shoving a hand through his dark hair. "You feel the same?"
Rissa nods. "He doesn't belong here, Adriel. He's dangerous."
Adriel shifts his gaze in Abigail's direction. "And you, bittesmå ljós? Do you feel it? You've known him longest."
Abigail bites her lip, hesitating. And then she nods reluctantly. "I've never liked him, Adriel. Tori is right. He's full of Darkness."
Adriel nods, his expression troubled as he looks back at me. "That's your Valkyrie instinct," he says. "Heed it, always. The Valkyrie were called by Odin himself to ferry souls into the afterlife. You know their worth on instinct. It's what you were born to do. If your gut tells you someone is full of Darkness, believe it."
Adriel, always guarded and closed off, has endorsed my instinct. His words echo around the room, each of us digesting the truth.
My breath hitches, a lump in my throat. I don't know how to respond so I merely nod, overwhelmed by the confirmation that I've been using this Gift my entire life. I thought I stumbled into this world just weeks ago, but it's been part of my life all this time.
Rissa grips my hand as if sensing the turmoil waging through me. Abigail slips her arm through mine as if she senses it too. The bond between us is growing rapidly. We're no longer three strangers thrown together by fate. Somehow, we're becoming sisters.
"I'll deal with Kenton," Adriel says, eyeing the three of us.
"How?" Abigail asks.
Adriel merely looks at her, a deadly gleam in his eye.
She gulps, her face paling.
