“Where’d you go? You were only a boy.”
“I joined a band of mercenaries that I met in Edinburgh. We worked together for ten years, all over the world.”
“That’s how you made your money, Caro said.”
“It was lucrative. But some of the jobs were—” I felt him shake his head. “Not for me. So I joined the Protectorate. It’s more in line with what I want to do.”
“And you’ve been there ever since. Except for when you go fight in wars on behalf of those who need you. Like a deadly hobby.”
“Something like that, aye.”
“Why don’t you ever talk about it? You do amazing things and never say anything.”
“I just help out here and there. It’s nothing.”
I squeezed him again, liking his modesty.
“What about you?” he said. “Now that I’ve bared my soul, you can bare yours.”
“Nothing to bare.” Kinda a lie.
And he called me on it. “That’s not true. There’s sadness in your eyes when you think no one is looking.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I guess that makes sense.” I sighed. “I have two sisters. Ana and Rowan.”
“Where’s Rowan?”
I told him about how she’d gone missing five years ago, just disappearing into thin air after a job in Death Valley. My throat grew tight toward the end of the story, the pain always close to the surface.
“And you haven’t been able to find any trace of her?”
“No. It’s why we went into debt with Ricketts. Spent all our money hunting clues. But we turned up nothing. Just poof! Gone into thin air. She might be dead, but I doubt it. I’d feel it, you know?”
Fates, I hope I’d feel it.
He pulled me closer. “I know. And as soon as this is over, and your power is secure, we’ll look for her. I’ll help you.”
Tears smarted my eyes. “Thank you.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Of course.”
I snuggled into him, absorbing his warmth as thoughts of Rowan flashed in my mind’s eye. She was all I could see as I fell asleep, and I prayed to fate that maybe this time, with Cade’s help, we’d find her.
The next morning, a shrieking sound woke me.
I lurched up in bed, gasping. “What’s that?”
“Roosters.” Cade groaned. “Haven’t heard roosters in years.”
I blinked blearily, finally able to place the weird noise that I’d only ever heard on TV. I flopped back onto the mattress. “Man, that’s a pain.”
Cade chuckled, then rolled out of bed. I followed, excitement finally hitting me.
I was going to learn to anchor my powers. To keep my magic. The crazy haywire crap that had been going on was finally going to stop.
Quickly, I tugged on my clothes and boots, then turned to Cade. He was dressed, looking clean and rested and handsome. “Ready?”
“More importantly, are you?”
“Born ready. Let’s go.” I was excited to see the Valkyrie again. They were so damned cool.
We went out into the living space and found the fire stoked and a kettle of porridge hanging over it. I scarfed mine down, following it with water and wishing for coffee. Apparently the Valkyrie realm wasn’t perfect, but I was so excited that I didn’t need the caffeine. Sigrún had said that it would be a trial to anchor my magic, but I was ready.
The sun was peeking over the mountains by the time we made it outside. Sigrún waited for us, along with twelve other Valkyrie. They all looked at me with solemn eyes. Their magic radiated from them, strong and fierce. Battle magic. The women wore leather, but no chainmail or helmets. Their hair gleamed all shades, but it was their wings that caught my eye. White, silver, gold, red. They were amazing.
Nerves replaced some of my excitement, but I was still ready.
“Come with us,” Sigrún said.
We followed the contingent through the village and deeper into the valley. By the time we stopped at a crystalline pool, I was vibrating with excitement and nerves.
The Valkyrie turned to face me, standing in a semicircle between me and the pool.
Sigrún stepped forward. “You’ve been chosen as the Valkyrie of the DragonGods. As such, the Viking gods have each given you a bit of their power. But this does not come without a price. You must anchor those gifts within you, or they will devour each other.”
I nodded.
“We Valkyrie have the key to anchoring your power, but you must earn it.” She turned and pointed to the pool. “Enter the Well of Power and complete the test. Face your fears and unite the magic inside of you.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I wasn’t a great swimmer, and I had no idea what the test would be.
But I was no quitter.
I stepped forward. As I passed, Sigrún leaned in and whispered, “Your weakness is that you jump too quickly. Learn restraint. It will save that which you love most.”
Her words reminded me of what Jude had said. I nodded, then kept walking.
The water was cold and brisk. I could see straight through to the pale gray rocks on the bottom. I went farther, wondering what the hell was going to happen when I got deep enough that I couldn’t breathe.
When the water was up to my neck and no one spoke, I sucked in a breath and kept walking. This was crazy, but everything else had been pretty damned crazy as well. And I could swim to the surface if I didn’t like what I found underwater.
Right?
By the time the water closed over my head, I was vibrating with tension. My lungs burned. I opened my eyes, surprised to see that nothing was distorted or weird.
Something inside me compelled me to open my mouth and breathe, so I did.
Fresh air flowed into my lungs.
Weird.
I walked deeper into the water, feeling as if I were walking on dry land. Was it my gift over water that allowed this, or the Valkyrie’s trial magic?
In the distance, a short white pedestal protruded from the seafloor. I approached it, climbed on, and stood in the middle. I was still a bit confused about what the heck was going to happen, but it felt right.
The first monster appeared with a flash, leaping for me. My heart jumped into my throat, and a scream almost escaped me. A chain tugged it back, stopping it just before its teeth sank into my neck.
Panting, I studied it. The beast was skeletal and stank with evil, even through the water. It lunged and snarled, red eyes gleaming. The chain rattled, looking like it would break. Sweat broke out on my skin.
Then another beast appeared, and another.
All of them leapt for me.
All about to break their chains.
Ice chilled my veins. My muscles ached to jump into action.
This was the worst. The waiting was always the worst. They were chained, but the chains were snapping. One link had already broken on the first beast’s chain. It held together barely—one rattle and the chain would slip free of the broken link, and the monster would be upon me.
Sweat rolled down my spine—something that should be impossible underwater but wasn’t—as I drew in a ragged breath.
I called my sword from the ether, ready to dive off the pedestal. I couldn’t take this—couldn’t wait any longer.
Something gentle touched my arm. I jumped, about to lash out.