Page 27 of Before the Bond Breaks
As much as I want to go in, I still wasn’t at full strength. “We rest today. No one moves until the surveillance says it’s clean. We lost Jessica because we rushed. That doesn’t happen again.”
A hush swallowed the room. Even the shifters looked away, jaws clenched.
Sybil raised her gaze, gentle but clear. “What about Jessica’s body?”
I forced the words through the ache in my throat. “We will hold her burial ritual tonight. At the Steele Clan compound. The ritual starts at sundown—we’ll do it right.”
Turk cleared his throat, voice stripped bare. “We’ll make sure security is tight. No one gets near the grounds unless they’re on your list.”
Nicky gave a quick, approving nod. “Jess deserves the best. She always gave it.”
Winter’s fingers never stopped moving, but her eyes glistened with something raw. “I’ll reach out to the clans and make sure everything is ready.”
For a few seconds, I couldn’t force an answer past the lump in my windpipe. Then I looked up, chin high. “Thank you. All of you.”
I swept my gaze over the screens. Winter had already laid out digital dossiers for every team member: timetables, mission maps, comm protocols, emergency backup plans. The rail station flickered in a constant loop. Notes on eitrborn movement, Balder’s escape routes, and the vault security measures layered the displays like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
I catalogued every detail, every risk. Jessica died putting the pieces together—we weren’t going to let her sacrifice slip through our fingers.
“We will meet back here at sunrise tomorrow,” I said, standing.
The meeting melted into personal goodbyes, people breaking off into quiet pairs or small groups. Candra and Jenson stayed together, planning the details of the breach. Larc and Nicky swapped gallows humor by the wall, but the undertone was fierce—protective in a way only true warriors achieved. Sybil linked arms with Rina and Kyley, the three of them already coordinating food and comfort for the ritual. Shaw exchanged a look with Talon, mutual understanding in the set of their jaws.
Quil caught my hand as I passed. “You good?”
I squeezed his fingers once, hard. “I will be.”
He let me go without comment, eyes hooded.
Talon waited at the door. When I reached him, he pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead. “Let’s stop at my house and finish what we started this morning.”
My body hummed with anticipation. “Lead the way.”
16
TALON
The airin the courtyard at the Steele Clan compound held the chill of autumn. The sun had just begun setting, casting an orange and pink glow across the sky. In the center of the courtyard was a pyre where we’d burn Jessica’s body, returning her vessel to the elements. Surrounding the pyre were ancient stones with runic spells etched into them.
Maze stood at my side with her chin raised, but there was a hint of tears in her eyes. She was trying to be strong for her sisters. Leaning into her, I linked our fingers together and kissed the top of her head. “Ready?”
She nodded, and together we stepped out of the community center, where Maze and her sisters had spent most of the afternoon preparing Jessica’s body for the burial ritual. They dressed her in the traditional Valkyrie armor and braided her hair. Her helmet, shield, and sword will be placed on the pyre with her.
The Valen sisters followed Maze and I, carrying Jessica’s body. My inner circle fell into step behind the Valkyries. The rest of ourclans had gathered around the edges of the courtyard, forming a circle for the ritual.
Maze and I led our procession to the center of the courtyard. We stopped outside the stone circle. We let go of each other’s hands and took our spots on either side of the makeshift path leading to the pyre.
The Valen sisters moved forward and placed Jessica’s body on the pyre before stepping back to take their places behind the knee-high stones. All the Valkyries wore their armor underneath black robes. My inner circle moved in quiet pairs along the perimeter to stand behind the Valen sisters, shoulders squared, faces grim, every sense tuned to the possibility of attack even now.
The pyre had been stacked by hand. My inner circle and I had helped Maze and her sisters lay wood in the old way, each log set with a knot of blue cord and a slip of paper inked with runes with messages for Jessica in her new life.
Freya lingered a step behind our group, her black hair loose. The goddess would not be leading today’s ritual. She left that up to Maze.
Maze stood beside me, her fingers brushing my sleeve once, then gone. She set her jaw and signaled to Winter and Quil. They stepped forward, hands raised, magic swirling between their palms in cool, silver ribbons. Winter’s focus was absolute as she layered protective wards around the circle. Quil poured raw power to shore up the seams, sealing us tight from any who might wish to spy or sabotage the passage.
The ritual started with the bowl of ash. Winter conjured it from nothing—a deep dish of iron, etched with the story of our lost.She filled it with the first of the pyre’s sacred ash, scooped from the heart of the blaze. The bowl glowed faint blue under her touch.
She offered the bowl to Maze, head bowed for the barest instant. Maze took it, her hands steady, and spoke the first of the Old Norse invocations. The words rang sharp against the stone.
