Page 69 of Valkyrie Confused

When? Before Kato Trikala, I hadn’t seen Pan in agesbecauseI chose Odin over him.

“The damage was already done.” Is Odin reading my mind? “The wound he opened in our connection festered, even though the two of you were apart.”

I hate the intrusion. I should push back against it. My thoughts are mine.

But when I don’t push, the pain subsides. I mean, it’s always there, but like fire that burns long enough, Odin’s psychic torture has charred my nerve endings enough to numb the pain.

Besides, it’s childish to hide from the one who made me. The one who knows me better than anyone else.

“Pan has lied to you. Made you believe I had nefarious purposes,” Odin goes on. “When all the while, he was the one working on turning you into something other than what you are.”

“He lovedme.” The past tense hurts more than Odin’s fiery hand did.

He does accept me. There. Present tense.

Well, not exactly. He’s called me an asshole more than once.

Does he love me?

Has he ever?

“How could he, when he refused to see who you are? When he wouldn’t embrace your true nature? The killer in you?”

Pan has always made me feel insufficient. Not good enough. He acts like I owe him.

And his nagging… Constantly asking why I wouldn’t turn my back to Odin. Why I had to be so loyal. Why I wasn’t questioning my maker.

That’s what I came here to do.

It was obviously the right choice, because my eyes are open now.

I know the truth.

Pan has been playing me all along.

ButIwalked away.Icame back.Ikissed him.Iinvited Scarlett to join us.

“Shows you how deep his deception has taken root, that he convinced you you were running things.” Odin flattens his second palm on my forehead. This is ice, soothing the burn and numbing my instincts. “Good thing you finally realized the truth,” he says. “Now, you can silence him forever.”

He pushes me back, and fresh pain slices through me. It’s not from the impact when I hit the ground; it’s from the ripping sensation in my ribcage, like a bunch of cords snap when he no longer touches me.

Or is this my heart, being torn out of my chest?

I don’t have time to ponder it, because Pan and Scarlett materialize a fewfaðmraway. They have their backs to me, and huge red wings hang from Scarlett’s shoulders.

She’s ascended. Without Odin’s help. He’ll be livid.

An echo of sweet satisfaction melts on my tongue before it turns bitter. How dared she?

“This is your chance,” Odin says in my head, as all light is snuffed out. “End him. His whore, too. She’s no longer one of mine.” He’s nowhere to be seen, though I smell him nearby.

He’ll find me after I’ve completed my mission.

I roll over and let my beast fill me. It tears my clothes to shreds, as it stretches my skin and bones, the pain spurring me on and revitalizing me. I thrive on pain. I am an animal, out for blood.

TWENTY-TWO

PAN

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