by Raye Wagner
She closed her eyes, his words spread like honey, soothing the ragged edges of pain deep in her soul.
“Please,” he whispered. “Please may I kiss you?”
Ari ran her hands up over his shoulders, into his dark hair, and pulled him to her.
His lips were soft, the kiss a tender brush.
But she wanted more.
She pulled him closer, and the kiss deepened. When he opened his mouth, she brushed her tongue against his, and the passion they’d held at bay ignited, roaring to life. Ari wanted to drown in it.
They kissed and touched, soft caresses of tenderness and reassurances, and when Chase pulled back, his hair disheveled and his lips swollen, he smiled.
“I love you, Ari.”
Her heart felt as though it would burst with happiness. She traced his lip, and he caught her finger between his teeth. She laughed, pulling it out of his mouth.
“I love you, too.” She sealed her words with a kiss.
Chapter 8
“Twenty-seven of them?” Aricela asked, bowing her head. Twenty-seven people that were going to die, and she was supposed to lead them all to Valhalla? What was Odin thinking? That was an entire team. Gods. An entire team.
Larissa brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “You won’t have to worry about the bus driver, and there is another Valkyrie that will help. No one is expecting you to get all twenty-seven by yourself.”
Aricela had felt on top of the world thirty minutes ago when she and Chase had kissed goodbye. She’d completely forgotten why she was in Kayville. She’d forgotten all about her past in Xtepal. She’d forgotten her pain, her doubt, and her shame. She’d forgotten she was anything more than a girl who’d fallen in love with a boy who loved her back.
And then she’d crashed back into the real world when she’d parked her bike next to Larissa’s red coupe. Dread slowed her movements, made her drag her feet as she climbed the steps back to her apartment and what she knew awaited her there.
“How soon?” She choked on the words.
“Next week. I’ve been trying to get to you for a couple of weeks, but you’ve been totally blocked and no one could find you.” Larissa frowned, her gaze narrowing as she studied Aricela. “What happened to you? You look different. Your aura is . . .” Her eyes widened. “You fell in love? Here?”
Ari blushed.
Larissa’s features blossomed into a grin. “Is it really love or just a fling for fun?”
Ari couldn’t imagine a fling for fun. She’d never understood how that was even possible. How could you be intimate and share with someone if you didn’t really care?
Her thoughts must’ve flashed across her features, and the Idun-Valkyrie sobered. “Is he your mate?”
The word had been nonsense a month ago. A mockery and a possibility that was available to others but something she would never have. Now, the word settled deep into her soul, and the truth of it resonated with meaning. Chase was her soul mate. It seemed fitting, a beautiful gift she’d stumbled across as if redemption for her former life were possible.
She smiled, letting the love she felt for him radiate through her, and nodded. “I think so.”
Larissa sighed. “I’m glad. Be careful how much you reveal and when. You don’t want to attract the wrath of the Norns.”
Ari had completely forgotten about their visit, and she vowed she would do whatever it took to collect the souls so that she could remain a Valkyrie. She would not lose Chase.
“And you may need to focus on that love during this collection. It will not be easy.”
Ari took a deep breath. She could do that. She would do it. “Do you have the names?”
Larissa sat cross-legged on the floor and patted the space next to her. “You never furnish your apartments. Next time will you get a couch or something?”
It had never mattered to Ari. Furnishings were a waste of time and money. She wasn’t in one place long enough for it to matter, and she didn’t really need anything. Even the carpet was more comfortable than the ground she’d slept on for months.
Ari settled next to her mentor. She needed to get the names so she could do whatever was necessary to build trust. She would lead these souls to Valhalla. She would be successful, and the Council would leave her alone—the Norns would, too.
She was so focused on her determination Larissa’s next whispered words didn’t immediately register. Ari frowned, certain she hadn’t heard that correctly. There was no way the universe would be so cruel. There was no way the Norns would do that. It would be easier to rip out her own heart . . .
“The team will have two away games next week. I don’t know which one it will be, but you can follow the bus and collect when it happens.”
Matches. They weren’t called games. They were matches. Ari thought of her teammates, and her eyes filled with tears. “I won’t do it.”
“What?” Larissa grimaced. “What do you mean? What’s the problem?”
Ari stood. She became the anger and betrayal that pulsed through her. “How could they? How could you? Did you know? Did you watch knowing this would happen?”
She needed to strike, scream, release the rage, but there was nothing but the Idun-Valkyrie across from her. Ari stood and pointed at Larissa. “I hate you. I hate this. I would rather go to Hel.” She thought of the Norns, raised her face to the ceiling, and screamed at them, “I would rather go back to the Narcos!”
Tears streamed down her face, and her mind raced with how she could possibly stop it. How could she change the fate of the team? She thought of Nysse without her brother. Or Mrs. Cipriano . . . And all the other mothers who would be robbed of their sons. How could a town recover from that kind of pain and loss? How could she let it happen?
“If you don’t collect them, someone else will, Aricela. You can’t stop it.”
But she would try. She had to try.
“Get out,” she snapped, glaring at Larissa. “And don’t come back. You saved me, but this is worse than death. You want me to stand by and watch as the people I love die, so I can reap their souls. It’s wrong.”
“What is wrong with you? Don’t you get it? If you don’t reap them, you will spend the rest of eternity as a servant in Hel. These are humans. They will die. You can’t stop it. That is the cycle of life. And you will still see them. Souls are eternal, Aricela; you know this. You know all of this. What is the problem?” Shock slapped across Larissa’s features, followed quickly by pity. “Oh, Hel. Is he on the soccer team?”
Ari crumpled to the floor and covered her face with her hands as she sobbed.
“I’m sorry, Aricela.”
She could feel Larissa next to her, could feel the other Immortal reaching out to comfort her. But Ari didn’t want her pity. Between her fingers, she whispered, “Please leave.”
Larissa sighed. “If you want me to come help, you know I will. I know you don’t want to hear it, but don’t do anything stupid. Their fate is already set. If you try to mess with it, the Norns will punish you.”
Fire flashed through Ari, and she snapped. “You think I care if I’m punished? You think anything could be worse than this?”
Larissa’s eyes filled with tears, and her perfect pink lips tipped down in a sad smile. “Oh Ari, there is always something worse. And—” Her voice caught. She cleared her throat, and then continued, “You won’t be able to save them. If they are marked for death, they will die.”
The thoughts of tracing protection runes over each of her teammates crashed. She’d already known it couldn’t be done, one of the many things she’d been taught. The sting of futility, of complete powerlessness to stop the course set by the Norns made her wish she’d died all those years ago.
“I understand. It’s hard, but—”
Ari shook her head. The other woman might be a thousand years old, but that didn’t mean she knew this pain. It didn’t mean she understood.
“Please,” Ari begged. “Please leave.”
When Larissa had
offered immortality, all Aricela could think was how she would get vengeance on the Narcos, and she’d agreed.
It was only after Aricela was Immortal that Larissa had explained all the rules, and the wrath of the Norns was not something Aricela wanted to risk. Larissa had made a compelling case for becoming a Valkyrie. The opportunity to be something bigger than herself, something better than the evil that had destroyed her life, and it sounded so good. But it seemed a cruel joke now. And the wrath of the Norns?
She already knew the pain the Narcos would inflict. So her decisions weren’t made lightly. But she’d take the pain herself if it meant sparing pain to those she loved.
The best way to get a soul to come with you to Valhalla was to build a connection with the person when they were alive. And even though she’d tried in the past, Aricela couldn’t fake a connection. And now she had the connection she would need, and she couldn’t find a way to not ache with what was going to happen.
Chapter 9
“Come on,” Nysse said with a laugh. “You haven’t been over in days. Mom is making mole sauce to celebrate your birthday.”
The hall was filling quickly, and Ari wondered where Chase and Kai were. Normally, they beat Nysse to her locker, but the cute girl had shown up alone this morning, holding a cup of hot chocolate for Ari.
Ari quirked her head at her friend. “It’s not my birthday.”
But as soon as she’d denied it, she mentally checked the date. Awe filled her, and she stared at Nysse in wonder. “I didn’t tell you my birthday.”
Nysse giggled. “You told Chase. He asked Mom to make you something special.”
Chase. Ari had decided to avoid him after Larissa’s visit, but her determination had evaporated as soon as she’d seen him the next day at school. Instead, she greedily took every second he would give, all the while, guilt frayed her heart. And now this. He was too good, and she knew why he’d be welcomed in Valhalla. He was everything a good warrior would be and then some.
“Okay,” Ari agreed, pushing her thoughts away. “What time?”
Nysse smiled with triumph. “After practice. But go home and take a shower before you come over. Otherwise the boys won’t, and they really stink after practice.”
“What?” Kai frowned at his sister. “I don’t stink.”
Chase chuckled as he circled his arm around Ari’s waist. Pulling her close, he kissed the top of her head. Then he nodded at Nysse, and with a grin, he said to Kai, “Yeah, you really do.”
A few hours later, anxiety coursed through Ari as she pulled on her jeans. She’d agreed to dinner at the Cipriano’s, but now she was having second thoughts. Mrs. Cipriano was not a normal human, and if she was good at reading auras, she’d be able to see there was something, or several somethings, up with Ari’s. For sure there would be her love for Chase, but that didn’t worry Ari. She didn’t know how to not feel dread every time she looked at Kai. And Chase . . .
~~~
“That was amazing,” Chase said with a smile at Mrs. Cipriano. “Thanks, Momma Bree.”
The food was delicious, even better than her abuela had made, but Ari’s stomach churned, and all the runes she knew weren’t enough. “Yes, thank you.”
Mrs. Cipriano shooed them outside. “Go enjoy the night. Happy birthday, Ari.”
The four teens lay on the grass. The early September weather was still more summer than typical Oregon rainy fall. The night was clear, the stars bright in the sky with the sliver of new moon.
Nysse let out a long sigh. “I wish it was your birthday every day, Ari. Mom never makes mole.”
Chase’s deep chuckle rumbled in the air and through Ari, who was lying next to him. “She makes it whenever someone asks her to.”
“Right, well, I feel guilty asking her because it takes so long.”
Kai snorted. “Yours is just as good. You could make it, and then we could have it every day.”
Ari closed her eyes and pretended this moment would last forever. She wished there was a way to take a snapshot of the feelings coursing through her so when life got tough, she could go back to this.
“What about you, Ari?” Nysse asked.
Ari opened her eyes and turned toward her friend.
Nysse’s dark eyes were wide with curiosity, and a smile played over her lips. In another life, Nysse could’ve been Ari’s cousin or even her sister. After next week, she would never see Ari again. Would it be wrong for Ari to come back and see her? She already knew the answer, and moreover, after next week, Nysse wouldn’t want to see her again if she knew what Aricela’s role would be.
“What is your most favorite birthday memory?” Nysse asked.
Ari realized she’d missed the question the first time, and she wondered if she’d missed Chase’s answer. She was determined to be present for the rest of the evening. “Today. This one, right now. I was trying to commit it to memory so I would never forget it. If I live to be a thousand, I don’t ever want to forget tonight.”
Chase squeezed her hand.
“Aww, Ari-girl,” Kai said as he reached over Chase to poke her. “That’s so nice. I hope you live to be a thousand.”
Nysse snuggled closer to Ari and patted her arm. “What about you, Chase, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
Ah. Ari had played this game a long time ago with Jude and Xavier. Before the Narcos had destroyed them all.
“If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, how would you spend your last night?”
Chase exhaled, a long slow breath, and his grip on Ari’s hand tightened. “With the people I love.”
“Like now?” Kai said. “You’d want to spend it with us, right?”
Chase chuckled again. The sound was warmth and light and love. “Yeah, I’d spend some of it with you.”
Nysse snorted. “He meant Ari, Kai.”
Ari swallowed the lump at the back of her throat, but it wouldn’t go away. Her eyes burned, and she closed them, willing the tears not to fall.
“Me, too. I’d want to spend it with you guys. At least until I found my soul mate. Then I’d want to spend it with him.” Nysse kept talking, filling the space like she always did, and then asked, “What about you, Kai? What would you do with your last night?”
He sighed, a heavy release of air weighted with more than just the molecules around them. “Since Ari won’t have me—”
Chase jerked, and Kai sucked in a breath.
“I was kidding, man. I wouldn’t have her now, anyway. Anyone can see she loves you.” The silence only lasted a second before Kai broke it. “I want that someday, too. Like Mom and Dad. Or that couple that owns the mirror shop. I want to find someone that loves me like that. Like I complete them. So, if I only get one more night before I die, I would want to at least meet her.”
The air was filled with the chill of premonition, and Ari shivered.
Nysse took a deep breath and asked her next question. “If you could come back, would you? If you could become Immortal would you want that?”
It was as if she’d read Ari’s mind, and Ari held her breath.
“Do I get to keep my soul mate?” Kai asked. “Because if I come back and then she dies, forget it.”
This time Ari couldn’t keep the tears from falling. It felt like an anvil had settled on her chest, but they were oblivious to the weight and significance of their conversation, and Ari waited in stunned silence as they talked.
“Chase?”
He caressed her hand with his thumb, sending tendrils of warmth and love up her arm. But it wasn’t enough to dam the horrible anguish bleeding out of her heart.
“If you would’ve asked me a month ago, I would’ve wanted to be released from this world. Now, there are possibilities I really want to explore. But . . .” He sighed as if the decision was real and not just a children’s game. “It’s not natural. If the Fates had marked me for death, I would go. Regardless of what I wanted.”
Regardless of what he wanted. His words cut like a knife.
/>
“What’s up with the twenty questions, Nysse?” Kai asked. “Do you see something?”
Realization startled her, and Ari turned to her friend.
Nysse was staring at Ari with wide eyes. The Mortal girl didn’t say anything to the Valkyrie, but her eyes were full of meaning. Instead, she said to her brother, “No. No premonitions. I was just curious.”
But the lie was contradicted by the weight of her stare. And in that moment, Ari knew she’d been foolishly naïve once again. If Bree Cipriano was a Witch, and she certainly was, it would stand to reason her daughter was one, too. And the girl had more power than Ari had given her credit for.
Ari jumped up, wrenching her hand free from Chase. “I have to go.”
Chase rose, concern lining his face. “What’s the matter?”
Panic made her heart race, her pulse pounding in a way reminiscent of being Mortal. She struggled to come up with something, anything, to say.
“Your mom won’t be mad, will she?” Nysse asked. She raised her eyebrows, telling Ari to take the out she was offering.
It made no sense. If Nysse knew, why was she still being nice to Ari?
“Right,” Ari said. “My mom . . .” But she couldn’t finish the lie.
Nysse linked her arm with Ari’s and said, “I’ll walk you out.”
Ari ducked her head, unable to even look at Chase. She was the worst kind of liar, stealing scraps of his life, and he’d hate her if he knew.
When they’d crossed through the house, Nysse gathered the presents they’d bought for Ari. She handed the gifts to Ari and then opened the front door.
“He won’t hate you,” Nysse whispered.
“What do you know?” When there was no response, Ari looked up at her friend. She’d always thought she’d chosen to accept Nysse’s friendship, but maybe there had been some forethought on Nysse’s side, too.
Nysse’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I can’t see the future. I’m not that good, but I get inklings of what could be.” She sniffed and wiped a tear that had escaped. “I know there are more lives—more souls on the line than just one.”
