Page 34 of Valkyrie Song

Mostly, I share Stephan, the fierce, fearsome, beautiful human warrior willing to die for me and Valhalla, the one who tied his soul to mine, confident that my sisters and I would win this war. Dozens of memories of him pour out of me—him stalking me through the woods. His smile and laughter. The quite wisdom he always imparts and the way he teaches me what it means to be brave and lead. The way he loves me without reservation, giving every piece of himself to me. He holds nothing back.

That's what the Light loses if we fail—Stephan and his courage. Stephan and his heart. And he isn't the only one. Every ounce of Light shining in warriors just like him—those worthy of calling this place home—will be extinguished forever.

For the first time in weeks, the Bifröst responds. A mournful note brush against the edges of my mind as the surface flickers rapidly in a prism of dazzling color. I'm not entirely sure exactly what happens or how. But I feel it…reaching out to me, whispering without words. Probing my mind.

It delves deep, pillaging through my memories of Stephan, pulling every single one to the surface. And in a blink, it wreststhem away, leaving me reeling in darkness. Pain stabs deep into my heart, as if my soul is being ripped apart.

I cry out, stumbling to my knees as the bond between Stephan and I stretches thin, to the point of breaking.

"No, please," I sob. "Please!"

The surface of the Portal blazes bright as the sun, a rainbow of color radiating out. But the pain…stops. The bond between me and Stephan flares back to life. I feel him surging into my mind in a hot rush.

I fall forward, catching myself on my hands and knees, gasping for breath. "Please," I whisper. "Help us."

The surface of the Bifröst dims, the hum fading to silence.

"Kara!" Rissa cries, rushing forward. She lands on her knees beside me with Marion, Abigail, and Tori right behind her.

I sob as they wrap their arms around me, clinging to me.

"What just happened?" Abigail whispers.

But I don't have an answer for her. At least, not one I'm willing to voice. Because if that's my answer—if losing Stephan is how we win…then perhaps I was never meant to be a Valkyrie at all because that's a price I can't pay.

I won't pay it.

By the time Stephan and the warriors get back to the village, it's well after dark, and I'm a bundle of raw nerves. My mind is restless. I feel unsteady and unmoored in a way I haven't in a long time, like I'm adrift in a world with no anchor.

Stephan finds me in my room, pacing. Waiting for him.

As soon as the door closes behind him, I'm in his arms, sobbing his name. He lifts me against his chest, his lips coming down on mine in a savage, sustaining kiss, as if he's trying to reassure himself that I'm still here, too.

"Princess," he breathes, his hand twisted up in my hair to hold me to him. "For a minute today, a piece of my soul died, and I wanted to die with it."

"Stephan." Tears roll down my cheeks. I press myself closer to him, trying to embed myself in his skin. "It was the Bifröst. I…I don't know what happened."

"Tell me," he murmurs, carrying me to the bed. He lays us down facing one another, his arms still around me, our faces inches apart. Like this, it's as if he's the only thing that exists in my world. The only thing I see. "What happened, Valkyrie?"

"I don't…" I shake my head slightly, still not entirely sure. "I don't know," I whisper. "I showed the Bifröst what would be lost if we failed and asked it how to stop that from happening. And then it just…" I exhale a shuddering breath. "It's like it tried to rip you away from me."

"It punished you?" His eyes narrow, the question coming in a predatory growl.

"No." I quickly shake my head. "It wasn't like that. It felt almost…sad?" I huff out a breath. "I don't know how to explain it, really. But I don't think it was trying to punish me. Just…show me what's going to happen?" My bottom lip quivers.

Stephan is quiet for a moment, his gaze running across my face. "Nothing is going to take me from you, Kara. If that's what you think the Portal tried to show you, you're wrong."

He's wrong though. I felt it, and so did he. And I'm terrified that what happened today was the Bifröst's way of showing me that we're the reason it's not responding. I bonded with a human, someone alive. Someone who never should have been letinto Valhalla as is. And now…now what? I have to let him go in order to balance the scales? To restore order?

Defiance wells up from the depths of my soul. I know Stephan feels it because his brows furrow, concern flickering across his face. But I can't tell him my fears. I don't want to speak them into existence. I don't want to discuss them at all. I just want to forget—pretend today never happened and that the path before us didn't just become mired in shadows threatening to overwhelm me.

"Kiss me," I plead, twisting my hands up in his shirt. "Please, Stephan. I'm so cold. Kiss me and let me burn."

"Nei," he growls, pressing against my shoulder to force me onto my back. He rises up over me on his knees, his eyes twin pools of gray flame. "We burn together, Valkyrie."

"Ja," I breathe, reaching for him. "Together."

His lips come down on mine in a savage, adoring kiss that sets me ablaze. His hands run over me, seeking out every dip and curve as he quickly strips me, throwing my clothing off the side of the bed. By the time I'm naked, I'm already quivering in his arms, a bundle of competing desire and raw need.

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