The Last Valkyrie Series Complete Boxed Set

by Karina Espinosa

  They burst out, flying from the Yggdrasil on their multiple-colored wings, but all in their golden armor. Spears and swords in hands, they yelled cries of war as they descended and struck the dead, shattering them in masses.

  Hildr came straight for me, screaming as she cut through the skeleton that was holding me up. I dropped down on the ground and gasped for air, clutching my neck.

  “Hildr,” I whispered as I sat on the ground while chaos ensued around us.

  She held out a hand for me and grinned. “Hello, sister. I heard you needed some help.”

  I grabbed her hand, and she pulled me up. We grabbed each other’s forearms and shook. “You heard me?” I had gone into Limbo and begged at their door for them to help. I didn’t think anyone was listening.

  “Yes, Hrefna, I heard you.” She smiled. “You look good.” She sized me up and down. Compared to the last time she saw me, I finally look like a valkyrie. “Now let’s save Midgard.”

  My shocked expression morphed into a massive grin, and I grabbed my sword that had fallen. We ran into battle and watched as more and more valkyries flew out of the Yggdrasil and our numbers quadrupled, giving us a fighting chance. Our swords pierced through the dead and hellhounds, and we maneuvered the battlefield together as if we hadn’t just spent the last century apart. I ducked, and she swung over me; we switched swords, and it became a playful game.

  Crimson hair swept passed me as it cut in front of me and crushed the skeleton coming for me with a spear. She turned around and smirked. “Missed me?” Kara said with all the cockiness I didn’t miss.

  “Kara,” I said with a little shock in my voice. She was the last person I expected to see here. When I went to Valhalla, she wanted nothing to do with this. She made that painfully clear.

  She stabbed her spear over my shoulder. “You didn’t think I’d miss out on all the fun, now did you?”

  “Actually, I did,” I said, surprised.

  She sighed. “I was overruled, Hrefna. You might have been gone for almost a century, but for some reason you still have so much sway. I don’t know how.” She didn’t sound bitter like normally, more resigned than anything else. Kara spun around, her leather skirt fluttering around her, and she slammed her spear into a group of the dead.

  Once we cut through most of them, I turned to Hildr. “There’s something I must do. Cover me?”

  She nodded.

  I looked past the madness near the Yggdrasil, and found Hel; she stood as if conducting an orchestra with Verdandi beside her. No one had approached her yet. I looked back and found Fen, who had found Will, and the both of them were working together. I felt some relief.

  Hildr, Kara, and I cut through the field, my focus now completely on Hel. My sisters were on either side of me, clearing the way, and just as we were getting close, my wings burst out and I took flight, jumping over the horde that was blocking Hel from everyone else.

  I landed right in front of her in a crouch, dirt flying around me, my sword sheathed in my back, and I pulled my daggers and slashed out, clipping her in the legs. Hel kicked me in the chest, pushing me back.

  “Is that all you got, Hrefna?” she goaded. “You think you’ll be the one to defeat me? You should have sent the god of thunder.” She laughed.

  I got up quickly and faced her. “It’s me you want, isn’t it? You think I can create new souls, right?”

  She smirked. “Fenrir is a smart wolf. But now I see a lot of valkyries, so you’re no longer the last.”

  “You’re right. You have your pick of the litter now. But you won’t be able to win this battle. Not today, Hel.” I charged for her, swinging my fists with my daggers in hand. She swerved right and left and ducked, spinning behind me. A sharp pain struck me in the ribs, and I stumbled to the side.

  “You’re no match for me, Hrefna,” she whispered in my ear. “I’m too fast and much stronger. And now, you’re disposable.”

  She turned me around, and before she could do anything, I stuck my hand in her chest and reached for her soul. She seized in my hand and tensed. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in a gasp. I dug my nails into her soul and squeezed. I could feel the burn in my fingertips, charring my skin. It radiated through my hand and up my arm, making me scream, but I held on tight.

  “Raven, don’t!” I heard Fen yell across the commotion. I tuned him out.

  My golden-brown eyes looked into Hel’s black pits, and I could see the end in her gaze. She shrieked, and her hand suddenly clamped onto my shoulder to keep herself up.

  “Please …,” she muttered. “I-It’s killing … you.”

  The singeing of my skin continued up my arm and over my shoulder to my chest. It was cracked and blackened, beyond third-degree burns. Her soul scorched through me, and it was nothing I’d ever felt before. Usually a soul was a rush, but this was pure agony.

  “I-I d-don’t care,” I gritted. “I-I’ll see you in hell.” I squeezed tighter, yelling as I did so. The burns raced across my neck and face, and I crushed her soul in my hand. I let her go, and with mouth agape and eyes wide, Hel collapsed to the ground in a heap.

  I wavered unsteadily on my feet, my hands held out and my whole body charred. My head flopped to the side, and my dull eyes looked over at the field. Fenrir was being held back by Thor. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, but I could no longer hear anything. Most of the fighting had ceased; the dead had fallen once Hel was in my grasp. Hildr and Kara only watched me, their faces neutral, just like a valkyrie should look. Lilja was holding onto Will who was in a state of shock but alive nonetheless, and in that moment, it brought me so much happiness that I cracked a smile. The only one missing was Charlie. Oh, Charlie. I didn’t protect her like I should have, but my sisters were here. They’d take her soul to Valhalla. She’d be at peace. Charlie deserved that much.

  My knees buckled, and I dropped. The darkness was coming; I could feel it. My head swiveled back around, and I found my gaze locking with Verdandi who had come forward.

  “It’s okay, Hrefna. You can rest now,” she said. “You’ve done what you were meant to do.”

  I chuckled, but it came out like a cough. “You … were always … one step ahead.”

  She gave me a sad smile. “Would you have become the human’s champion if I told you it would be your death that saved them all?”

  “Maybe,” I gasped.

  She shook her head. “No, you wouldn’t.” Verdandi came closer and, in an unexpected move, placed her hand on my charred cheek. “Stop fighting it, Hrefna. You’re free. It’s time for you to enter the gates of Valhalla.”

  A stray tear slid out of my eye. “I’ve … lived many lifetimes. And I’m not ready.”

  I turned again and saw Fen running toward me. He’d shifted back to normal, and I could see the distress all over his face—the fear. He knew I was dying; he just didn’t want to believe.

  Fen fell to his knees beside me, and his hands hovered around me, not knowing what to do, whether to touch me or not.

  “Fen,” I murmured.

  “Dammit, Raven,” he cried. “I told you not to do it. You promised me!”

  “I love you,” I said and closed my eyes, letting the darkness pull me under.

  20

  Fen

  “William!” I called out as I ripped the skull off a skeleton and ran over to the human who was trying to fight off two of the dead on his own. I grabbed one of them from behind and tossed them over my shoulder and then tore the spine off the other, making it collapse into a sack of bones on the ground.

  “Thank God you’re here,” Will breathed. “My damn gun is useless, and I’m not really versed with this knife.” He held it up.

  I grunted. “It’s a dagger, not a kitchen knife. Heads up!” I pushed him down and clawed the dead that was going to get him from behind, my claws tearing through bone. Will popped back up, and I saw how overwhelmed he was. “Stick with me,” I told him, and we maneuvered the sea of dead. I found Thor in the center, wielding Mjöl
nir, lightning striking it as he held it up in the sky before slamming it into a group of hellhounds.

  The valkyries from Valhalla had joined the fight, and we had the upper hand, giving Will and me the opportunity to move around.

  “Fenrir,” Thor said as he wiped sweat and dirt from his forehead. “You’re still alive.”

  “Much to your despair,” I said sarcastically.

  He threw his hammer over my head, and I barely ducked out of the way.

  “Lilja said the valkyries have taken down the giants. They’re tracking down the hellhounds loose in the forest, but it seems we now have help.”

  I grinned. “Raven must be ecstatic.” A whoosh blew past me, and Mjölnir flew right back into Thor’s hand. My nostrils flared. That was a little too close for comfort.

  “Where is she?” Will asked as he started to scan the area. “Behind you!”

  I spun around and tackled the skeleton that was coming for me. More had started to filter in, and our conversation was cut short. I ripped its arms off and let it waddle on the floor. When I stood, two more were coming for me, but they were smarter, dodging my claws when I swiped for them. I was spinning around them, trying to catch a limb, when suddenly they just dropped to the ground. And they weren’t the only ones. All of the dead dropped. I turned around to search for Will, and he was just as perplexed as I was.

  Thor was on the ground wrestling a hellhound, too busy to notice, but mostly everyone was looking around the clearing to see the mass army of the dead no longer … well, alive. That could only mean one thing—Hel.

  My gaze traveled to the Yggdrasil tree that was still trembling and cracking, a clear sign Limbo was being torn down, and that’s when I saw it. My worst nightmare. Raven stood there with her hand deep in my sister’s chest, clutching her soul. They stared each other down, saying something I couldn’t hear, even with my sensitive hearing, over the surrounding commotion.

  “Raven, don’t!” I screamed and started to run. “Hrefna!” I cried out as I saw her arm burn and blacken. She was dying. No. No, I had to stop her. She promised me.

  Thick arms wrapped around me, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Let me go, you son of a bitch!”

  “I can’t,” Thor’s voice was commanding as his grip on me tightened. “I promised her.”

  “She promised me! She promised me!” I cried as I flailed in his arms, trying to get out of his hold. “Raven! Raven! Don’t do this! You don’t have to do this! Hrefna!” I couldn’t stop the anguish in my voice as I screamed incoherently.

  The clearing was deadly quiet beside my shouting as everyone watched as my sister’s body dropped to the ground, her black eyes wide open but empty, her dark hair scattered all around and her limbs a mangled mess. Then there was Raven. Her olive skin was now a burnt crisp all over, blackened and in some places burned all the way to the muscle. She stood stock-still, her hand held out as if she couldn’t move. Her hand held out as if she’d just grabbed a soul.

  Raven’s head flopped to the side, and she looked to the center of the clearing where I was located, where most of us were. She glanced around, and then the corner of her mouth lifted, and I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not. Her skin was too charred.

  Verdandi approached her, and I struggled to get out of Thor’s grasp. I couldn’t just stand idly by. I had to get to her.

  “Let me go, Thor. Now,” I demanded with a growl.

  “There’s nothing you can do for her,” he said.

  “The hell I can’t. She needs me. Raven is not dying—not today.” My gaze focused on the Norn who had her hand on Raven’s cheek. “There’s always a way.”

  “No, there’s not, Fenrir.” Thor spun me around to look at him, gripping me by my shoulders. “What you’re thinking, unthink it. Bringing others back from the dead has consequences. Horrible ones. Don’t do that to her for selfish reasons.”

  “That’s why I have to get to her before she dies!” I nearly shouted. “There’s always a way, Thor.” I brushed him off me and turned around, making a mad dash for the Yggdrasil.

  I fell to my knees beside her, my hands itching to hold her, but not wanting to hurt her.

  “Fen,” she murmured.

  “Dammit, Raven,” I cried. “I told you not to do it. You promised me!”

  Her bottom lip trembled a little, and then she swallowed loudly before saying, “I love you.” Then she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and collapsed. I caught her just in time before her head hit the ground.

  “Raven! No! Stay with me, Raven. Stay with me.” I cradled her in my arms as tears started to run down my face. This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have been the one to sacrifice everything. For what? For humans? They didn’t deserve her. I peered up at the Norn and tightened my jaw. “Do something, Norn!”

  “There is nothing I can do, Fenrir,” Verdandi stated plainly. “I’m not in my own body. I’m very limited in my powers. This is beyond me.”

  My throat closed up, and it burned. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I just wanted to scream. This couldn’t be happening. Raven couldn’t be dead.

  Two valkyries in golden armor, one blonde that looked familiar and another redhead, walked up to us, and it fueled my anger.

  “Let us take her to Valhalla,” the blonde said. “She will finally be at peace.”

  I scoffed and held Raven even tighter. “Take her to Valhalla? Where you exiled her from? Where she can find peace? Are you kidding? This has to be a sick joke, because she’s not going anywhere!” I shouted, bringing her to my chest, hoping for a heartbeat.

  “She died a warrior, so she will be where she belongs,” the redhead said stoically. “Now give her to us.”

  My canines released, and my face morphed into half wolf as I let out a deep growl. The valkyries drew their weapons, and Will ran up to stand beside me, his gun aimed at them. Not much that would do.

  “Might I give a suggestion?” someone yelled from the crowd. We all froze for a moment before looking around to see where it came from. “Yoo-hoo! Over here! I’m the one impaled in a tree!”

  I looked over to find my father stuck to a tree with a sword. His sword if I was seeing this correctly.

  “What the bloody hell do you want, Loki?” the redhead demanded, placing a hand on her hip.

  Loki sighed dramatically. “Everyone is fighting over the noble Hrefna. What a sacrifice that was, wasn’t it?” He looked up at the sky. “I wonder if she knew what would happen if you killed a god—or partial god, in my daughter’s case. It was a painful and gruesome death, all that anguish for some measly humans. Just like her father that Hrefna.” Loki looked down at the crowd. “Just like Odin the All-Father, god of the ravens, procurer of knowledge and wisdom, I mean the bastard gave up his eye for it.” He chuckled.

  “Your point?” I deadpanned.

  Loki rolled his eyes. “You’re daft. I want a deal first. Set me free and let me go without trouble, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Fenrir,” Thor said, palming his hammer. “He’s playing a trick on you. His specialty.”

  “No trick, son. Just honest truth.”

  I stared at my father and then looked down at Raven in my arms. If he had information that could help her, I had to take the chance, but then I’d be letting him loose. After everything he’d done. Thor would never forgive me, he’d never trust me, but …

  “Deal,” I said, looking up at Loki. “What do you know?”

  “Dammit, Fenrir!” Thor yelled, and thunder boomed in the sky.

  A sly grin slipped across Loki’s face. “Release me first.”

  I looked up at Will and nodded for him to do so. Will walked over to the tree and pulled out the sword that had Loki pinned. It must have struck a nerve if he couldn’t get himself out.

  Loki stretched for a bit, rubbing his abdomen where the sword had been and then strolled over to me as if he had all the time in the world. He squatted down to be at eye level with me and then tucked a str
and of hair behind Raven’s ear.

  “Find Odin. He can bring her back.” Loki stood and adjusted his shirt.

  “That’s it?” I said incredulously.

  Loki huffed. “That’s more than enough. Odin will have all your answers.” He walked around me and went up to Verdandi. “Mind letting me through?” He motioned toward the Yggdrasil, and she placed a hand on the tree. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right on through and disappeared.

  “You see, Fenrir! Everything is a trick!” Thor yelled, and the others around him started to murmur.

  I ignored him and peered down at Raven. Odin was the answer, but he wouldn’t in a million years help her. He’d leave her to die. It was what he’d always wanted. Loki thought we didn’t know where Odin was; he thought he was giving me a dead end. Little did he know it was very much possible. If I could convince him. One thing was for sure, Odin would want his freedom, and I had to be willing to give it to him.

  “Norn.” I looked up at Verdandi, and she smiled.

  “I know what you want, Fenrir. She is gone, so I cannot see her future, but we can try.” She stepped closer to me. “What are you willing to sacrifice?”

  My gaze dropped to Ravens. “I’ll do anything for her.”

  “Very well.” Verdandi nodded. “Let’s go.”

  I stood up, cradling Raven in my arms when her sisters came up to stop me.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” The redhead held up a hand.

  The blonde looked between us and said, “I think it’s best if we talk about this for a moment.”

  “No talking needs to be done,” I said before I yelled to the crowd. “I’m taking her to Odin!”

  The murmurs grew louder, and Thor hurried over to me with Lilja and Will following behind him.

  “You’re upset, Fenrir. Right now is not the time to be making rash decisions,” Thor said as he looked down at Raven’s dead body in my arms.

  “I agree,” Will said, placing a tender hand on her head. “You know he won’t help.”

  “He will. I’ll give him whatever he wants,” I muttered and turned to the Norn. “I’m ready.”