Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
These are their people, and Tori refuses to lose a single one to the Dark.
But fate demands a sacrifice. And destiny requires the impossible. Even if the price is life.
A pang goes through me. Of regret. Of guilt. Of pure determination.
"Forgive me, Valkyrie," I whisper, hauling myself to my feet. I spin around, searching for the nearest varulv.
The gray and white beast is massive, with blood still dripping down his muzzle. In another life, we might have been friends, united by the incredible Valkyrie who walks between worlds—the dainty little princess who rules my world. But that was before he fell to the Dark.
I drop my ímun-laukr to the ground, charging toward him.
"Stephan!" Kara screams, though if I hear her voice echoing around me or down the bond she forged between our souls, I don't know.
Forgive me, princess.
I plow into the varulv.
His fangs rip into my shoulder, driving me to my knees. The pain is intense and immediate, like razor blades searing through my veins. It hurts. Gods, it hurts like hell.
"Stephan!" Kara screams from behind me, pure terror in her voice.
A concussive blast of Light knocks me off my feet. My face lands in the mud and muck. My ears ring. I lay there, momentarily stunned, as the varulv poison burns its way through me.
"Stephan!" Kara cries, dropping to her knees beside me.
"Hang on, Stephan," Tori says, sinking to hers on my other side.
"Nei!" I choke out, fighting for every ounce of strength. It takes every ounce of strength I have to roll over. But Gods, it's worth it to see Kara's beautiful face again. Even with terror in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. "You can't Heal me."
"We can," Kara sobs. "Tori can."
"Nei. I have to die so you can part the Veil. It's the only way. You need a soul to ferry across."
Tori's face fall, her hands falling to her sides.
Kara sobs, shaking her head. "No, Stephan, no. I can't lose you. You promised."
"Ja," I whisper, pain burning through me in a tidal wave. "I did promise. My soul is bound to yours. It will always be bound to yours. But I have to die." I cough, my lungs on fire. "It's the only way to open the Portal."
No matter what else they've tried, it hasn't worked. And it was never going to work. That's what the Bifröst tried to show her—we both know it is.
For the first time in memory, every soul inside Valhalla is alive. But only the dead can cross beyond the Veil. That's why the Valkyrie always bound themselves to dead warriors. Because there was no other choice. A bond doesn't form between unequal halves. It forms between a Valkyrie and the one warrior able to grant her passage beyond the Veil.
That's the secret they always guarded so closely. And that's why the Valkyrie were never able to bond a Fae until these five. The Fae are immortal. They don't die.
The Valkyrie were never meant to be Gods. And Odin ensured it. He made them fallible, ensured too much power never rested with them alone. To do what they were called to do, they needed a warrior, someone beyond corruption to guard their soul and help them find their way through the Veil.
Rissa, Marion, Abigail, and Tori bonded Fae because they need Fae strength to guard them. Tori guards the Bifröst now. Marion is the greatest weapon we have. Abigail Sees more than anyone ever has. And Rissa leads them, she is their guardian, their general. But Kara walks between worlds, connected to life in a way none of the others are. Her destiny was always this—always me.
And mine…well, mine will be her in this life and whatever comes next. For eternity if we're fortunate enough to find it. But she has to let me go or it ends here and now.
"You have to let me go, Kara," I whisper. "Trust me, princess. Please."
She sobs, clinging to my hand. Her tears wet my cheeks as she falls forward across my chest, pressing her lips to mine. Her body shakes with the force of her sobs, with the force of her grief. "I love you, Stephan. More than I've ever loved anyone."
Gods, I've never loved anyone but her. And I never will.
I close my eyes, breathing her in…and I let go.
Chapter Ten
Kara
Iknow the moment Stephan stops breathing. It's as if part of my soul dies. I feel it shearing away, the bond between us fading rapidly. And nothing has ever hurt more—not the loss of my family. Not the terror of what's still to come. Nothing.
I scream, rage and defiance pouring from me in a fiery blaze of Light. It blasts outward like a bomb detonating, ripping through the varulv still alive, flinging warriors off their feet. The ravens winging overhead plummet toward the ground.