Page 1 of The Last Valkyrie

Chapter 1

Ravinica

THE CHANGING OF THEseason from winter to spring brought more than crisp weather and new life to the Isle. It also brought the promise of war.

Vikingrune Academy returned to the surface, away from the stuffed tunnels and underground city that spider-webbed beneath the mountainside.

That was the good news. The bad news was the part about impending war. A lot had happened here since our excursion to Alfheim and Lady Elayina’s final farewell.

I had no doubt the dark elves we allowed to linger in Midgard while we rescued Elayina from her tree-cave had a hand in this, whateverthiswas.

Jotnar? Giants?Here?

The thought was unfathomable. It meant more portals had been opened from other realms. Everyone was getting in on the action—Dokkalfar, Ljosalfar, jotnar. Who was next? What other species wanted to come destroy the human realm of Midgard?

The jotnar were monsters of myth and legend. I never expected them to be real, even though my Realms & Races class with Hersir Thorvi Kardeen had told me all about them.

The term “jotun,” or plural “jotnar,” translated to “giant,” but the term was misleading, according to Thorvi. The translation from Old Norse was more akin to “enemy,” and not all of them were huge, towering monsters. Allegedly.

That information didn’t make me feel any better. Whatever was causing the frequent earthquakes around the Isle surely seemed enormous. I mean, you’d have to be to cause tremors across the vast island, no?

Gothi Sigmund told us during our debriefing that scouts had been sent throughout the Isle, and the location of the jotnar had been pinpointed. He would say no more about it until the upcoming academy-wide assembly he was holding tonight in Dorymir Hall.

It was the day after our return from Alfheim. My mates and I had gotten no respite from the turmoil encompassing our lives these days. I couldn’t stop biting my nails, pacing around the small longhouse I’d been given as my second-year dwelling, thinking about what this all meant.

As I paced around the main room, my five men sat around in various states: Sven Torfen perched against the front door frame. Grim Kollbjorn loomed near the back of the hovel with his arms crossed. Arne Gornhodr sat on the bed drumming his knees. Magnus Feldraug gazed listlessly at the ceiling from his back on the floor. Corym E’tar stared at me from a side wall.

The place was packed, stuffy, and I was losing my shit. All I wanted to do was return from Alfheim in peace, learn about my new dragonkin heritage and abilities, and fuck my mates until I couldn’t think straight. Was that so much to ask?

Alas, the fates had different plans for me, as always.

“We need to figure this out,” I said to the guys, tightening my fur coat around my body. I wasn’t even cold. I just needed something to do with my hands, so I ran them up and down the furry hems.

“Do we, silvermoon?” Magnus asked from the floor. When I gave him an incredulous look, he shrugged and made the dirt equivalent of a snow angel.

I tossed my arms up. “Of course we do!”

“I’m with the bloodrender, honestly,” Sven mumbled. “Why does it matter how the giants got here? They’re here. They need to be stopped before they stomp all over us. It’s that simple.”

“What about the dark elves?” I narrowed my gaze on the handsome wolf shifter. “Don’t you think the Dokkalfar played a part in this?”

At mention of the dark cousins to my light elf lover, Corym said, “They’re cunning,lunis’ai, but we won’t know more until Gothi Sigmund’s assembly. We must be patient.”

I stopped pacing, spun to face him, and shook my head. “No can do. I have too much on my mind.”

“Kelvar’s not saying shit either, eh Mag?” Arne asked.

Magnus shook his head from the floor. “Dad’s being a pain in the ass. Just when we need him most, he vanishes like . . . well, a whisper.”

Sven chuckled darkly. “That pain in the ass saved your life, ungrateful ass.”

I made a face. Hearing Magnus call the Whisperer ‘Dad’ made my stomach queasy. I flapped my hand at them before they could get started with their jawing. “The dark elves show up, wreak havoc, we leave, and then suddenly the jotnar are here once we return. You think that’s a coincidence?”

“Of course not,” Corym said. “They likely made a move. Maybe they led the jotnar here. Like I said—”

“We can’t know until Sigmund wants to tell us. Yeah, yeah, I know.” I stamped my foot, flaring my nostrils in frustration. Stuffing my hands in the pockets of my coat, I felt the folded letter scratch against my palm. “I hate being on the Gothi’s schedule.”

Behind me, Grim spoke in his deep, resonant voice. “Like you said, little sneak, you have too much on your mind. Perhaps you should be focusing on . . . the other thing?”

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