Page 36 of Valkyrie Song

"He's not wrong," I murmur to Dax and Damrion.

"About his chafing balls?" Dax asks, deadpan.

Damrion snorts, stepping over a fallen log.

"Nei." My lips twitch. "About the Valkyrie. We need them." Because the Valkyrie are back at the village and can't be left unprotected, there are only a finite number of warriors we can afford to pull from their guard. It's slowed progress to a crawl. Even with the wolves and ravens helping us, there's too much of Valhalla to cover. And we've covered less than half of it.

We might as well be chasing our tails. By the time we clear one section, the varulv have moved to another. They stay ahead of us for the most part. We've killed less than thirty in the last week. Thirty out of Gods only know how many. One hundred? Two?

The Valkyrie could kill dozen in seconds. They could sweep them from Valhalla in a matter of hours. But we don't risk it because we need them at the Bifröst, guarding it. The force on the other side is far greater than the one here. If they break through, we need the Valkyrie to hold the line.

But Malachi is right. We need them here, too.

"Ja," Damrion says wearily. "We need them."

"Ja," Dax agrees softly.

But none of us suggest asking them to come. We can't. They already have too much on their plates, and it's wearing them down. Ever since the Bifröst responded to Kara, they've been trying like hell to figure out the message it delivered.

Her eyes grow a little bleaker every day, as if she's losing hope that it means anything other than what she fears. Her thoughts grow a little more desperate. I don't think she's the only one. Judging by the way the Fae watch her sisters, worry carving grooves around their eyes, they're as mired in dark thoughts as my Valkyrie.

Abigail barely sleeps. When she does, she wakes screaming. Dark shadows rim her eyes. Damrion and Adriel watch her like hawks, as if afraid she might shatter at any moment. Being away from her is hell for Damrion. He doesn't say it, but he doesn't have to say it. The truth is written in his eyes for all to see.

The Forsaken haven't made a move against us in weeks, and they're winning. We reclaimed Valhalla, and it might as well be a tomb for all the good it's done us.

Kara is terrified the only way forward is with our bond severed. She hasn't said it, but she doesn't need to say it. I hear it in her thoughts. I see it in her eyes. I don't believe it for a minute. The Norns wouldn't have put us together only to demand this of her—of us. Fate is a bitch of a mistress, but it isn't that cruel.

Whatever the Bifröst intended to show her, it wasn't that. But there's no convincing her of that. She refuses to discuss it. As soon as I attempt to broach the subject, she finds a way to distract me with her hands on my body or her Light spilling through me. My Valkyrie doesn't play fair.

But we do need to discuss it, because pieces are beginning to align in my mind. There are entire sections missing, things beyond my understanding. But…I understand enough. I've been a soldier my entire life. Duty and sacrifice are what I know. They're all I've ever known. And in this fight, in this war, my duty is to my Valkyrie.

If my sacrifice is what saves her, there is no question. It must be done.

"Can I ask you a ques–" I inhale a sharp gasp as a dagger of fear lances through me, cutting deep. It's so powerful, it's as if Kara is standing right beside me, screaming in terror.

For a brief moment, I see what she does. Dozens of varulv, slipping out of the shadows of the forest toward the Bifröst. Toward the Valkyrie and Fae. And hundreds more pouring through the Portal behind them, boxing them in.

Gods. No.

"Faen!" Dax growls beside me, jerking as if struck with a blade. And I know that he knows too. He's seen enough though Rissa's eyes to know our mates are under attack—and we're still two miles away.

Damrion growls low in his throat, a menacing sound of rage and retribution.

Overhead, the ravens scream a warning, but it comes too late.

"Marion!" Malachi bellows, launching himself over a log. He hits the ground running on the other side.

"The village is under attack!" Damrion roars, racing after him. "BeskyttValkyrie!BeskyttValkyrie!"

Gods, protect her. Protect my Valkyrie.

A savage growl rips through me, terror firing through every nerve ending. I launch myself after Damrion, my heart pounding with fear for Kara.

Ing runs with me, the rest of the wolves spread out behind him.

"Kara needs us," I growl to him. "The varulv are attacking."

He throws his head back, a howl ripping from his muzzle as he calls the few remainingvargúlfrto war. They howl in response, racing at his heels to meet the varulv and protect our Valkyrie.

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