“Thanks, Mom,” I mumbled under a hushed breath. “It’s a wonder I didn’t drown.”
When no retort came from the empty bedroom, I sighed and shuffled to the long dresser and rummaged through the drawers. I found various sized clothes and pajamas ready for guests. Grabbing the fluffiest pink sleepwear I could find, my heart pinged knowing it was something Sam would’ve hated. Marshmallow pajamas, she would have called them.
After putting on the outfit that felt appropriately like a cloud, I began brushing the knots out of my damp hair. A tap at the door sent me jolting out of my pensive thoughts.
“Come in,” I said, expecting Jules. Without Sam, Jules was all I had when it came to girl-talk. Maybe she’d know how to unwind the truth from the lies Freya tried to force on me.
To my surprise, chestnut eyes peered around the doorway. “I just—oh…” Will paused when he saw my brush poised through damp hair. I blushed, sure that I looked ridiculous in my puffy pajamas, but his eyes didn’t laugh. Instead his gaze went to the open folds of the loose buttons underneath my locket. “We can, uh,” he rubbed the back of his reddening neck, “sorry. I meant to catch you before you got ready for bed. I guess I took too long.”
When he moved to leave, I curled my fingers into the sheets. “Wait,” I said. “You’re already here. What’s on your mind?”
He smiled and came inside, closing the door behind him. A fresh blush crept over my face. I hadn’t intended to invite him in, but the connection between my mouth and the logical part of my brain didn’t seem to be working.
His smile faded when he spotted the charred marks that streaked across the otherwise pristine porcelain tub. I hadn’t even realized that my mother’s visit had left its mark across my room like a scar.
Instead of joining me on the edge of the bed, Will sank down into the Victorian style sofa that sat adjacent to the dresser. “What happened?” he asked.
I mindlessly resumed brushing my hair, wincing when the prongs caught another tangle. The vortex that’d ripped my soul out of my body had done horrors to my hair. “Just my mother reminding me that my love is lethal,” I said flatly.
His chestnut eyes found mine, as if daring me to deny my feelings for him. “Just because her love is lethal doesn’t mean yours has to be too.” He clenched a fist on his knee. “Her burdens are not yours.”
I stared at him. It was as if he knew exactly the right things to say. My mother had just ripped me into another world to remind me how I’d inherited everything terrible that weighed on her shoulders. “It doesn’t feel that way,” I said, curling my legs under me. I couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran up my spine. “What if she’s right? Look what happened to Sam.” My gaze found his. “Look what happened to you.”
He blurred to my side, using supernatural speed that frightened me. He’d grown so much in the past couple of weeks, transitioning from a mortal boy that loved swim meets to one of Odin’s Valiant. He wrapped his fingers through mine and rubbed my knuckles with his thumb. “What happened to me is not your fault. My curse began long before you were ever in the picture. And Sam?” His free hand grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. Tears streamed down my cheeks and he wiped them away. “Sam made her choice. Her sacrifice was of her own doing. She wanted to give you something she’d never had herself: a chance to be happy.”
We hadn’t talked about Sam before. Just hearing her name spread fresh daggers through my heart. I’d been so busy blaming myself for her death that I hadn’t stopped to consider that she’d made the conscious choice to attack Will. Perhaps she’d just been trying to do the right thing, but whether she’d intended it or not, she’d saved my life.
When I searched Will’s eyes that glittered with Immortal energy, I realized the other favor she’d done for me. If Will had killed me, he’d never have forgiven himself.
As if sensing my heart breaking, he leaned in and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. It felt so right, the way his lips formed to my curves. His touch wasn’t like Tyler’s. It didn’t hold secrets underneath the surface or the sense of restraint that would tear anyone else apart. Will’s love was open and honest. When he pulled away and he cupped my face, I saw a future in his eyes with so many possibilities. I didn’t stop to wonder if it was my Frigg powers that searched his future, or my own imagination. I succumbed to the possibilities, either real or imaginary, and fitted myself to the curve of his neck.
I fell asleep in Will’s arms, just like I’d done so many times before when he’d ascended as one of the Immortal. Our relationship had evolved into one of trust and security. A guilty part of me wanted to tell him about Tyler, but with everything going on, I knew Will was too fragile to handle the conflicting emotions of my heart. I couldn’t even untangle them myself—just like the knots in my hair. When I woke up, I snagged my fingers through the strands and sighed. It was the perfect analogy for my life. No matter how much I tried, my problems tangled up into knots that were impossible to be undone.
I’d woken up a few times in the night, especially when Will’s warmth had disappeared when he’d retreated to his own room early in the morning. It would have been for the best that no one knew he’d spent the night with me—if Will had made any effort at stealth. The entire suite no doubt heard him stomping to his room. I’d rolled my eyes, knowing he was no fool. He wanted Tyler to know that we’d been together. Of course, Tyler would get the completely wrong impression.
After attempting to tame my unruly hair, I found an outfit suitable for a teenager. The tight fitting jeans and comfortable tee made me feel normal, at least on the surface. The girl looking back at me in the full-length mirror could have passed for happy—had it not been for the humming locket around my neck that betrayed a glimmer of Immortal power. I wrapped my fingers around its warmth, wondering why I couldn’t bring myself to part from it. Just to run a test, I reached to the back of my neck to search for the clasp, but found that there wasn’t one. If I wanted to take my necklace off, I’d have to break the chain. It was too small to loop over my head. When I gave the locket the lightest of tugs, fear coiled around my heart.
“Stop being ridiculous,” I chided myself. It was just a necklace.
I had bigger things to worry about. Sounds came from outside my room and voices carried through the walls. When I ventured out and found the kitchen, I wasn’t sure what I expected. Jules laughed, squeezing orange juice into glasses while Tyler cooked bacon and eggs. The delicious smells made my empty stomach twist. I hadn’t had a proper meal in ages and Dalia’s restaurant hadn’t quite panned out for me.
I eased into a seat at the table and accepted a frothy glass of juice from Jules. My heart pinched, knowing that Sam would have loved this.
By the time Tyler pushed a plate under my nose and said I looked sickly so I had better eat something, Will wandered in and yawned. “Something smells delicious,” he said and smiled. “Valiant powers include cooking? No one told me.” He gave me a wink as he grabbed himself a plate.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “When you’ve been around humans as long as I have, you pick up a thing or two.” He yanked the plate away and handed Will a spatula. “Here. You could use some practice.”
I expected Will to take offense, but he flashed Tyler a handsome smile and walked over to the stove where a skillet of bubbling eggs waited. Tyler had apparently sabotaged the breakfast, putting the heat on high and soon the entire thing was burned. I guessed that he’d relied too much on his mother and Jules and now it was coming back to bite him.
“Guess your Valiant powers haven’t kicked in,” Tyler said with a smirk.
Will frowned and dumped the contents of the skillets onto his plate. “I burn it, I eat it,” he said.
“You’re such a martyr,” Tyler complained and snatched away the plate, tossing the contents into the trash. “You can’t take a joke, man.”
Rolling my fingers around a warm cup of tea that Jules had given me, I zoned out, finding myself enjoying the banter between friends. I di
dn’t know if Will and Tyler could be counted as friends, but as Tyler went on to explain the finer points of culinary arts and Will listened, I wondered if I wasn’t in the picture, how close they might become.
Jules soon piped in, explaining that she felt nuts and berries were the best breakfast, but she wouldn’t turn down hospitality and a crunchy piece of bacon.
It was only when Tyler started prodding about last night’s events did I break out in a sweat. “So,” he said, facing Will, “did you two learn anything out there?” He was talking about the gardens, but his eyes simmered with jealousy. He knew that Will had spent the night in my room.
Will bypassed the tension with a shrug. “Since Jules was with me, the Huldra seemed up to talking, but they were stressed. Kept going on about missing persons in Central Park and some kind of special, blue-colored tree sap everywhere.” He pointed a fork at Tyler. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about blue tree sap, would you?”
Tyler pushed his plate away, even though there were a couple of pieces of bacon left. He frowned, his appetite seemingly lost. “I only know of one kind of sap that the Huldra would care about. Yggdrasil’s.”
“What’s that?” I asked. The term tickled something in the back of my mind. It was important… the world would stop turning without it kind of important.
He gave me a handsome smile that broke the tension of the room. “Yggdrasil’s sap is what you and I are made of.” He allowed the faintest light of his Immortal body to shine through. “Instead of flesh and blood, we’re made up of the raw power of souls.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. My biggest fear was that I didn’t have a soul. “You’re telling me that we’re multiple souls put together?”
He tilted his head. “Sort of. It’s complicated.” I didn’t know if he read my mind, or my horror painted across my face. “You’re still you, Aerie. Nothing can change that.”
Will cleared his throat. “But I killed Sam.” Saying it aloud made him flinch, but he continued, “How could I kill an Immortal?”
“You didn’t kill her,” Tyler stated. “Not in the mortal sense of the word. When Sam took a Valiant’s blade through the chest, she was sucked dry of Yggdrasil’s sap. She’s not dead—she’s simply… less.”
I shivered, but kept my eyes locked on Tyler. I didn’t want to glance at Will and let him know that it still bothered me that he’d been the one to take Sam’s life. No matter where she was or what she’d become, she was gone now in the sense of who she’d been. No matter what Tyler said, I knew the truth. She was dead and I’d never see her again.
Will leaned against the wall, seeming content not to share the table with us. I didn’t like that he kept us at a distance, as if we were Immortals and he wasn’t. When I met his chestnut eyes, it was as if last night hadn’t happened at all. He broke my gaze and faced Tyler. “If the Yggdrasil sap is made up of souls, and people are going missing, then that means an Immortal is taking them.” When Jules squeaked with protest, he added, “I don’t believe it’s one of the Huldra. They were too upset by it to be my first suspect.”
“Do you think it’s your mother?” Tyler asked as he crossed his arms.
Will nodded. “It lines up. If people have been going missing for the past couple of weeks, then that’d be around the time she ascended and allied with Baldr. She’s up to something.” His gaze darkened. “She’s my mother. I need to stop her.”
Unable to take it anymore, I got up from my chair and walked to him. I rested a hand on his muscled arm that tensed under my touch. “She’s your responsibility just as much as my mother is mine,” I reminded him. “Her burdens are not your own,” I said, echoing his own advice.
Will frowned. “This isn’t the same. Your mother’s grievance is inaction, but mine—” He shot a pointed finger to the window. “She’s out there taking people.” He shuddered. “I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s doing to them.”
With a sigh, I turned to Tyler. “What about Dalia? Will she help us?” New York was her territory and if what I remembered about Heimdall was true, she would have already seen who’d been taken and who’d done the taking.
Tyler shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose.” He frowned. “She’ll probably want something in return, though.”
I nodded. I never expected to get anything for free. “We’ll find out what she wants, and then we can either decide to accept her help or not.”
Tyler rolled his shoulders back, as if preparing for a particularly difficult exercise. “You don’t know my mother very well. We do this, we go to her, then she’s got us by the balls either way.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be such a jock.” He’d spent way too much time at that high school.
After breakfast, we did the dishes and headed out as a group. Jules bounced ahead, trailing her fingers across the leaves. Her touch left a trail of glitter of green power across nature. Whispers echoed, the Huldra recognizing Jules as one of their own.
No one else seemed to notice, but underneath those indecipherable whispers echoed another voice, one that trembled with pain. I recognized it because it rang so familiar to my own feelings. I felt so locked up. No matter what I did, my memories were hidden from me. My true self was trapped in a place I couldn’t reach.
Will walked at my side, comfortable with our proximity. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed Tyler, who promptly gave me a wink. I faced forward as a blush enflamed my face.
Both of them felt right. Tyler made life exciting. Will made life meaningful. I could see myself with either one of them, and that’s what was so frustrating. If only I had access to my memories, I’d know what to do next. I made a fist, convinced that I’d been on the verge of figuring out these very emotions before Freya had made me start over with a clean slate. Perhaps she feared what would happen if a Valkyrie truly gave in to love… and maybe I should too.
Chasing Darkness
“Absolutely not,” Tyler bit off. “What kind of monster are you?” He gave her a low growl before continuing. “We’re not just asking for help, you know. This shit is going down in your territory. If you don’t stop this, then guess who benefits.”
“Oh please,” Dalia said. “Baldr doesn’t scare me.”
“No, Dalia. Nothing scares you.” He growled again. “You see everything, yet you haven’t even begun to see what I have.”
Unfazed by her son’s emotional response, Dalia twirled a miniature telescope across her fingers. She caught me watching and flashed a wide smile, her teeth startling me with their gaudy gold.
“That is the price, darling,” she said, tilting her head to her son. She pointed the telescope at Jules. “The only reason I’m not able to protect all of those with Scandinavian ties is because I don’t have enough Huldra to keep them safe.” She sighed. “Central Park is the one beacon of life in this city filled with the color of nature.” She tapped her telescope on the table. “And my only way to fuel the Bifrost.”
My eyes went wide at that admission. I couldn’t imagine the power it took to fuel the sole link to Asgard and the rest of the universe. “You killed those people?” I shrieked.
Dalia barked a laugh. “Sweetheart, no. I make deals. I observe. I trade.” She tapped her telescope again. “I don’t kill and neither do I approve the intruder who uses the kindred souls that are drawn into my domain. We can only feed off souls which have been attuned to us.”
By now, Jules had nearly crawled into Tyler’s lap like a frightened puppy. Keeping up the metaphor, she whimpered at the prospect of being one of Dalia’s Huldra.
Tyler wrapped his arm protectively around Jules. The motion wasn’t sensual, simply one of his nature as a member of the Valiant who was a part of the never-ending quest to protect the innocent. Tyler might not have been made a Valiant in the best of circumstances, but I knew deep down that it was a good fit for him. He protected things he believed to be wholesome and inherently “good.” Jules was one of those things.
“Your price is too high,” he said
with finality as he gave Jules a comforting squeeze. “I will not play your games.”
Dalia sighed, shrugging and twirling her chair back to her collection of telescopes. “A pity. Although, I can’t say I’m surprised. We rarely come to a good bargain, you and I.” She peered at him over her shoulder, her eyes smiling with pride. “You are my son, after all. You’ll only take the best of deals.”
“Were all your Huldra part of a deal?” I asked. There’d been so many Huldra in those woods.
She shrugged as she turned back to her work. “It’s hard to say.” She plucked out one of the broken telescopes from the pile. She tinkered with it until a lens popped free and she carefully held it up to the light. “Drat,” she cursed. “Scratched.” She tossed the damaged lens into a bin and it clattered with a collection of other discarded pieces.
“Why do you need more?” I pressed even though Tyler was shaking his head in warning. I glanced at Will, who nodded instead. As usual, Tyler and Will were on the opposite side of things. I chose to listen to my instincts. Dalia had information I needed.
Dalia hunched as she continued to tinker. I wondered if she wasn’t going to respond until finally she popped out another lens, examined it, then tossed it. “You ask for my help in tracking down an imposter. The only way I can do that is with more Huldra, you see.”
I tilted my head, getting a better view of the telescope she had in pieces on her desk. The minuscule parts glimmered under her lamp. “What do Huldra have to do with the culprit?”
She waved to the expanse of the room and her chair rotated with her movements. “This is the Bifrost. My forest is what feeds its power, and unfortunately, it’s also what feeds Baldr.” Her chair stopped so that she faced me, the full impact of her eerie gaze slamming into mine. “He’s been taking his time leeching it from me, but now he’s getting greedy. He wants to pluck off the Immortals one by one, fine by me.” Her eyes glowed with internal power. It wasn’t like Tyler’s, a gold that burned with the sun. Heimdall’s power glittered like the edges of the cosmos where time dropped off an invisible cliff and only a terrifying void remained. “The fact that he’s trying to take the very power that fuels the Bifrost tells me he’s coming after me, next. He wants me weak before he makes his strike.”
Valkyrie Rebellion: Valkyrie Allegiance Book 2 Page 8
