Page 24 of Valkyrie Song

"You aren't responsible for what happened to them, Kara."

"It feels like I am." I swallow hard, my throat burning. "I killed Rider."

"No. You saved him from a life in shackles, one chained to the Dark and the Forsaken and their evil. He didn't willingly hand his soul to the Dark for them to twist and use. It was stolen from him. You stole it back, ensured they couldn't force him to do evil, monstrous things. That isn't killing, princess. That's mercy."

It's hard to doubt the conviction ringing in his voice. He's so confident, so assured, as if he knows this for fact. But part of me feels guilty anyway. Ing brought Rider to me for help. He didn't get that.

Stephan cocks his head to the side and then holds his hand out toward me. "Come here."

"I'm right in front of you."

"I know, but I want you right here, princess. Come."

I huff like I'm annoyed, but I'm not. Truthfully, I want to be closer to him too. Now that he's talking to me, I always want to be closer. Avoiding him for the past couple of days has been so freaking hard. I actually…missed him.

I shuffle toward him, which makes him grin.

"I like when you obey me, Kara."

"Don't get used to it." I scowl at him. "It won't happen often."

"Oh, I'm well aware." His grin grows as he snags my arm, reeling me in until I'm practically crushed against his chest, his lips inches from mine. "Why do you think I like it so fucking much? It's a rarity. When you listen, it's because you want to listen."

"Or maybe I just don't want to argue."

"Nah, that's not it. You love defying me." He tucks strands of hair behind my ear, his callused fingers trailing along my cheek. "In fact, I think you live for it, don't you?"

"No."

"Little liar. You weren't made to obey, Kara. You know you weren't." His hand slides down the side of my face and then around my throat. I like the feel of it there. It's…sustaining, grounding. And somehow, it manages to set me on fire at the same time. Or maybe that's the fact that I feel energy humming everywhere we're pressed together. I feel him in a way I've never felt anyone, like he's a piece of me, some vital part that exists outside my body.

Is that what the matebond is? Is this how it feels? I don't know, but it's terrifying and not nearly terrifying enough at the same time. I want this man, perhaps more than I want anything. He looks at me and my freaking soul sings with longing.

But am I just setting myself up for heartbreak here?

"You obey me because you know you can trust me with your safety. With your life." His lips brush mine, his hand a gentle vise around my throat. "With your heart."

"Stephan," I whisper, my heart pounding like a drum. "This is a bad…"

His lips on mine silence me. "We aren't going backward, Valkyrie," he growls softly. "You already let me in when you let me kiss you earlier. You can't take it back now."

Is that what I want? To take it back? To undo it?

The answer wells up from my soul.

No. Gods no. I want…him. And I don't want to face losing him.

I think I was falling for him before he ever stepped from the shadows. Now that he has, now that the bond has started growing between us, I'm in a freefall. I don't know which way isup or down or where I'm going to land. I just know I want him there when I do.

"The Forsaken took everything from me, Stephan. They killed my family right in front of me. My mom, my little sister. My grandmother. Tell me that they're not going to take you the same way," I plead quietly. "Promise that I'm not going to lose you."

"The Norns didn't put my soul in your keeping just to rip it away from you," he says, grabbing my hand. He places it against his heart, his eyes locked on my face. I feel the steady pounding against my palm and find strength there. I find safety there, too. This man is my shelter. "This is yours, Valkyrie. No matter what comes for us or how it ends, I will always be yours."

I whimper softly, the last of my resistance falling away. How can it stand in the face of such gravelly spoken devotion? Of such utter capitulation? He isn't fighting this. He isn't resisting. He's just…willingly handing over his whole heart and soul to me, as if he knows they're mine to keep.

That's how much he believes in me—in us.

How can I do anything other than offer him the same faith in return? The same hope? I can't.

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