Chapter Six

We"re nearly to the Hall of Warriors when a loud rumble echoes through Eitr, as if the very mountain itself is coming down around us.

"Helvete," Malachi breathes, his eyes wide with shock as he stares at the walls in the distance. "They"re bringing them down."

My heart slams against my ribcage, my arm tightening protectively around the precious little Valkyrie at my side. I hold her close, my body pressed tightly to hers as I follow my brother"s gaze. Sure enough, the massive wooden wall closest to our position is caving, entire sections crumbling with a roar.

Skita.

For the first time in three hundred years, the protective walls of Eitr are failing, brought down by whatever dark magic the Forsaken have unleashed upon them.

"We have to get the Valkyrie out of here now," I growl, terrified of anything happening to Tori. I just found her. She"s my mate, my reason for existence, and I won"t allow anything to happen to her.

The very idea of the Forsaken getting their hands on her fills me with a blinding rage. I"ll destroy the nine realms myself before I let that happen. To Helheim with fate and prophecy and her destiny. She"s mine, and nothing will take her from me now.

"Ja." Malachi picks up his pace, jogging toward the safety of the Hall of Warriors.

We"re nearly to the steps when a blinding blast of pure Light erupts from within, blowing the doors of the building open and rolling over us in a scorching wave. It rips through me, viciously plunging deep into my soul. With ruthless, brutal efficiency, it measures the worth of my soul, leaving no corner untouched.

Tori cries out beside me as the Light does the same to her, brutally invading every cell and leaving her shaking uncontrollably. But the cry barely leaves her lips before the Light moves on, satisfied that we"re not the dark threat it seeks.

My mate stumbles into me, shuddering. "What was that?" she cries.

"That was Rissa," I breathe, lifting her gently from her feet as I race into the Hall with Malachi at my side.

The Hall is in chaos, warriors and the Blooded alike tending to the injured. A ring of warriors surrounds Rissa and Abigail, standing two deep. But even the bright Lights of their lystst?l pales in comparison to the blazing Light pouring from the Valkyrie. She"s lit up like the Sun, ropes of Light flowing out of her.

She isn"t alone. Beside her, Abigail blazes too, her hand clasped with Rissa"s. They"re linked, their power feeding off one another and amplifying the Light pouring from Rissa.

I"ve only ever seen them like this one other time—when Abigail was in the throes of a painful vision. We didn"t see her Light then, only the pain of the vision. But it"s impossible to miss it now. She glows like a sun, as bright as Rissa.

Ah, Gods. It"s been right in front of us, staring us in the face this whole time. The mischievous little Seer is no mere Blooded, but a Valkyrie in her own right. How did we miss it? Why didn"t we see it?

We didn"t want to see it. She"s already given so much. We didn"t want to believe she"d be asked to give more.

"What"s happening?" Tori asks, her voice shaking with fear. My poor, brave little Valkyrie. This whole world must be so overwhelming to her. She was plucked from her bed and thrust into the middle of war with no time to prepare, yet she"s faced it bravely. Far more bravely than most.

I"m in awe of her and her quiet strength. Nei. I"m obsessed with her and her quiet strength. I"ve never felt anything like the fierce desire coursing through me for this petite little Valkyrie. Every moment in her presence, it beats at me, demanding release. When we finally give in, Gods have mercy, I might not survive it.

I can"t fucking wait.

"They"re killing the Forsaken," Malachi answers. "Rissa is seeking them out one by one and destroying them with her Light."

"It isn"t enough."

Malachi flicks his gaze in my direction, his eyes troubled. He shares my fear. Even if Rissa destroys every Forsaken in Eitr, it won"t matter. The walls are crumbling. This place will be overrun in a matter of hours, if it takes that long for the soul-damned bastards to rally. Gods only know how many more of them are spread across the mountain, waiting to attack.

They want Abigail fiercely.

"We need to warn Damrion."

We stride forward in unison, the floorboards of the Hall rattling beneath our boots as we search for him. Neither of us has to ask where he is; we both know. He"s at Abigail"s side, just like Adriel is.

The Fae surrounding them shift slightly to let us through before closing ranks again, prepared to die where they stand to protect the Valkyrie if necessary. They don"t fear death. They don"t chafe at protecting these women. War is in our blood; we were born for it. We pledged our souls to the protection of Valhalla and the Valkyrie. Valhalla may no longer stand, but so long as a single Valkyrie draws breath, we keep our oath. It keeps us united, giving us strength in this foreign land.

For three hundred years, cut off from everything familiar, we"ve remained dedicated. Most would have lost hope. They would have abandoned their oaths and turned their back on the prophecy. Not the Fae. Never the Fae. We do not surrender.

"Damrion," I call when we reach him.

Our leader"s attention is fully focused on the tiny red-headed Seer standing beside him as if he intends to hold her together simply with the force of his devotion to her. It"s stamped across his face, written for the world to see. Adriel"s expression is an exact match, reverence etched across every harsh line of his face.

Damrion slowly turns to look at me, his eyes two fierce golden points.

"They"re bringing down the walls. We have to get the Valkyrie out of here before it"s too late."

"Helvete," he snarls. "They walls are failing?"

"Ja," Malachi confirms. "It won"t be long until the west wall is completely down."

Damrion doesn"t even hesitate to make a decision. "Dax!" he shouts. "She must finish this quickly. The walls won"t hold much longer."

Dax meets his gaze, surprise flaring in his green eyes. He nods quickly before turning back to his mate. "Rissa, lyseste ljós, you must hurry," he says, urgency in his voice. "We don"t have long. Hurry, lyseste ljós."

He doesn"t touch her, though. Adriel and Damrion are careful not to touch Abigail as they stand at her side, too. I think they still remember the way the girls screamed as if their souls were being shredded the first time they linked. Dax certainly remembers how Rissa felt in those moments. Their souls are linked. He felt what she did.

"Whose idea was this?" Malachi asks Damrion as the Light around the two Valkyrie flares brighter.

"Theirs," Damrion mutters, his frustration obvious. "We couldn"t stop them."

I chuckle at his dark tone. It"s been three hundred years since we last served the Valkyrie, but women have not changed that much. "Nei, brother. We never could stop a Valkyrie when she wanted to do something."

"We were lucky they didn"t skin us alive for even trying," Malachi adds with a grin.

"Truth."

Tori elbows me in the side. I glance down at her to find her little nose in the air, a haughty look on her face. She knows we tease, and she"s not amused.

Gods, she"s beautiful when she"s annoyed.

Nei, she"s beautiful every moment.

Yet again, awe courses through me. She saved me. Healed me. From a bite that no Valkyrie has ever been able to heal. I knew she was powerful. From the moment she opened her soul to me when I first placed my hand on her in that bathtub, I felt her Light flickering like a thousand suns.

But she is far more powerful than I imagined. She"s radiant, a dazzling star standing in the face of the Dark. And somehow, inexplicably, she finds me worthy.

Suddenly, a shout goes up outside. "They"re retreating! The Forsaken are retreating!"

A murmur of relief rolls across the Hall. Thank the Gods. The bastards are fleeing from the Light like the cockroaches they are.

The echoes of battle fade in the distance as the Light around Rissa and Abigail winks out. The Hall settles into calm stillness.

"Dax," Rissa sighs, her voice weak. "It"s done." She sways on her feet.

Her mate steps forward, dragging her into the safety of his arms even as Damrion and Adriel crowd around Abigail, offering her their strength.

"Ja," Dax whispers. "It"s done, elskan-ljós."

An hour later, the first vehicles roll out, four Fae warriors riding with twelve of the Blooded in every van, with the injured scattered between. We send them in small convoys, four at a time.

Our convoy is the second to leave, though Damrion and Malachi stay behind to ensure everyone else gets out safely. Tori, Rissa, and Abigail ride in the van with me, Dax, Adriel, Garrison, and Stephan. Daric, Taeral and Keryth, three of the strongest Fae warriors, also ride with us to ensure the Valkyrie have ample protection.

No one speaks for a long time as we race through the inky pre-dawn light. Tori rests her head against my shoulder, her hand wrapped in mine. I run my fingers through her hair, simply to remind her that I"m here. Or perhaps to remind myself that she"s here. I don"t know, but I can"t stop touching her. She"s soft and warm and mine.

"What is that?" she eventually murmurs, looking at the tiny bottle in Rissa"s hands. A thin sliver of Light floats within it, twisted around itself as if to form a knot.

Rissa freezes and then exhales a slow breath, glancing at my Valkyrie. "I think it"s my father"s soul," she whispers. "The Forsaken killed him."

Tori slips her free hand across the small space between her and Rissa and gently squeezes her arm. "I"m sorry."

"We weren"t close."

"That doesn"t mean it doesn"t hurt," Abigail says.

Rissa turns to look at the Seer, surprise flickering in her gaze.

I sit quietly, trying not to disturb their moment. Dax and Adriel do the same, allowing the three Valkyrie to bond without us interrupting. They need this moment.

My brothers and I have fought side by side since the day we entered Valhalla. We"ve had millennia to grow accustomed to one another. Tori, Abigail, and Rissa don"t have that kind of time. The bonds of sisterhood they must forge will save all worlds, and they have far too little time to forge them.

"You"re allowed to love someone who hurt you," Tori whispers to Rissa, her voice soft. "You"re allowed to forgive them too if that"s what you want to do."

Rissa licks her lips, nodding. "Maybe," she whispers. "Maybe." She falls silent for a moment. "I haven"t decided."

"But you kept his soul," Abigail says. "Why?"

Rissa"s brows furrow, unease dancing through her eyes. "I was going to release it in Eitr. At least, that was the plan." She peeks over at Tori, her gaze assessing. "Did you hear the Forsaken say anything about needing a sacrifice to open the portal?"

Tori"s brows furrow as she considers the question, searching her fragmented memory. After a moment, she reluctantly shakes her head. "I don"t remember much about the portal. Only that I heard the word. I can"t remember anything specific. It"s possible they said a lot about a sacrifice, but if they did, I don"t remember it. They kept me drugged with that powder. Entire sections of my memory are missing."

This time, Rissa reaches out, offering comfort to my Valkyrie. "I killed them, you know," she says. "Most of the ones who hurt you paid for it. They died screaming."

"Good," Tori whispers vehemently. "I hope it hurt like hell."

"It did."

Tori eyes Rissa for a moment, licking her lips. "H-how do you do it? How do you use your power?"

"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.