Page 36 of Valkyrie Restored

“Elin!”I sat up in bed with a gasp as my hands searched the cold, empty space beside me. Fuck. Where was she?

A mumbled response to my shout came from Arran before he turned onto his other side. He didn’t appear to feel the same sense of panic I did. Was it all a dream? I could have sworn I felt her fear. In fact, my heart continued to pound as I sat in bed and tried to make sense of what I felt. It was all jumbled inside me. Fear, sadness, excitement, happiness, sexual satisfaction, it all swirled and twirled within me. I understood some of them—possibly all of them, considering the speed of my heartbeats.

I was bonded. Fully fate mated to Arran and Elin as Arran had suggested. She’d been the lynchpin, the one that brought us together, that made the jagged pieces fit. They were my life now. And I couldn’t have been happier. But it still didn’t explain all those feelings. My dreams—or what I remembered of them—had been filled with scenes of our future life, the one I hoped we’d have. So why the fear?

Only a few days ago, Arran had said that he could feel some of Elin’s emotions. He thought it was related to their soft bond and would intensify after they mated in the way according to Kelpies and the Spirits of the Elk dogs. If it was true, then if something was wrong with Elin, Arran should have been up with me instead of sleeping soundly. Yet even with that knowledge, the sense of unease continued to plague me like a soft hum or a low-level electrical current. I crawled out of the bed, wanting to check the bathroom for her. When I found it empty, my concern grew. Where could she be?

From the bathroom, I wandered out into the house. Often when she woke at night from a dream, I’d find her in her living room in front of the windows or out on the porch. If she’d had a dream here, she’d probably have fallen back into her normal routine and sought out windows to look outside. And with the northern lights on display, she could have easily lost track of time watching them.

She wasn’t in the living room and none of the throw blankets or pillows looked disturbed. From where I stood, I could hear Arran’s soft snores, but nothing else that signified a human presence. I glanced around to see if I missed any signs of her having been there and noticed the front door wasn’t latched fully. Inside the mudroom, I discovered her boots and coat missing, increasing the worry. Would she really have gone outside? The patio was covered which would have kept her safe, but to go out at night, alone, and without training on how to deal with polar bears would not have been a good idea. Something both Arran and I forgot to tell her.

I yanked open the door prepared to see her. It was crazy. She’d only been out of my arms for a short time, but I already missed her as if it had been years. We’d have to spend time this week discussing the housing situation because I didn’t want to spend another night without her.

Yet when I stepped outside, my heart sank. She wasn’t there.

A loud roar split the night. My chest squeezed so tight that I didn’t know if my heart or lungs had room to move. The force of the pain, of the fear that shot through me, dropped me to my knees.

Elin.

She was in trouble. I didn’t even need the roar from the polar bear to confirm it. I scanned the area in the direction of the roar but didn’t see a bear. Shit. Had she gone into the water and the bear went after her?

Loud sounds came from the house. Arran screamed my name.

“I’m on the porch, heading to the water,” I called over my shoulder as I took off at a full sprint. The sounds of Arran following me spurned me to run faster. We were running out of time. Even if the bear left her alone, she’d never survive in the cold water for long.

How had I ever thought that the fear and worry I’d felt earlier wasn’t from her? How could I have doubted that we’d be able to feel each other? Our souls were one. And if anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself for not believing.

I murmured the words to a spell to break up the ice at the shore so I could dive in. Swimming in my horse form would be considerably faster than racing over the ice, looking for where she went in. And from the faded, cold feeling that emanated from my chest, I knew I didn’t have much time to rescue her.

I dove into the water and changed forms. I could feel her in the distance. As if my body was pulled to hers by a cable that reeled me in, I swam towards her with more speed than I’d ever had before. Arran followed, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t. I needed to save her. The only good thing about what I was feeling was the lack of a bear. I could only sense a couple of polar bears at the very edge of my abilities, making me wonder where the roar had come from. Had Elin been the recipient of another attack from one of the gods? Despite all the research myself and Arran did, we couldn’t find out any information about why she’d attracted the attention of one of them.

A blur of white sped past me. Holy shit. Where did Arran get that speed? Could the changes I thought I felt within me and the obvious change in Arran be a consequence of our joining? But when I saw Elin struggling to move as the water continued to drag her down, I pushed all questions from my head except for her and my need to get to her.

As if she could feel me, her face turned towards me. Her eyes stared at me, conveying all her love, her sadness, her regret. No! She couldn’t die. I wouldn’t allow it. She had to live.

But before either Arran or myself could reach her, the life left her eyes, leaving me cold. A large hole opened in my chest. A hole the shape of Elin. I wanted to die, to give up my life force to be with her. Weren’t we supposed to die together? Arran’s tortured gaze met mine, adding to my distress.

It couldn’t be. We couldn’t have lost her already.

A flash of light lit up the water. Not just any light, but one so bright that I felt like it burned my retinas, forcing my eyes shut. It scrambled my senses. I couldn’t feel Elin or Arran. Had we all died? No. That couldn’t be true. I couldn’t be dead. I could still feel the water around me. Feel the way it flowed through my mane and tail.

Slowly my senses came back online. I could feel Arran. Feel his shock and confusion at what we’d just experienced.

And then I felt another presence.

I felt her… but it was different. Stronger. Magical.

The body shot upwards towards the sky with the force of an explosion. I followed, curious as to what happened to Elin, to my love.

My head broke through the water at the same time as Arran. We glanced at each other before searching for Elin, but she wasn’t in the water. The light, now dimmer, competed with the northern lights, drawing our attention.

And there she was, hovering in the air.

My mouth dropped open.

Holy shit.

25

---