He laughs.
It’s the worst sound I’ve ever heard. Cold and hollow and ancient.
“This is aboutcorrection. About restoring what should never have been sealed. About freeing what your ancestors trapped out of fear and ignorance.”
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my teeth.
“The God of Chaos,” I whisper.
“The Guardian of the Threshold.” Alekir’s voice turns reverent. “The Keeper of the Path. The one who was meant to guide souls between worlds — until the Valkyries decided they knew better. Until they sealed him away and claimed his purpose as their own.”
I feel the others shifting behind me. Processing. Trying to understand.
But I can’t look away from him. Can’t break whatever hold his attention has on me.
“You think I care about preserving this realm?” He sounds almost amused. “Absentia was never supposed to exist. The Valkyries built a bridge between life and death and called themselves gods for walking it.”
His voice goes cold. Ancient. Bitter.
“I’m going to burn that bridge. Free the God they imprisoned. Let Chaos do what Chaos does — consume everything your ancestors stole from the natural order.”
“By killing everyone I love,” I snap. “By corrupting the bonds. By breaking—”
“By using the tools available to me.” His voice goes sharp. “The corruption was necessary. The bonds had to be… guided. Shaped. Made ready for alignment.”
He gestures at the six men behind me.
“Six bloodlines. Light. Shadow. Chaos. Elemental. Berserker. Shifter.” His pale hand moves through the air like he’s conducting an orchestra. “All connected to you. All bound by magic older than memory. Allperfectlypositioned to open the Gate.”
The Gate pulses behind him. Brighter now. Hungrier.
“You think you chose them,” Alekir says softly. “You think the bonds were accidents of fate and feeling. You think your love isreal.”
“It is real.”
“It isengineered.” He takes another step closer. “Every connection. Every kiss. Every moment of passion and protection and desperate clinging need — all of it built on a foundation I laid centuries ago.”
I feel the others react through the bonds — denial, fury, hurt.
“You’re lying,” Finn says. His voice is sharp, but I hear the tremor underneath.
Alekir finally looks away from me.
“Am I?” He turns to face them — my men, my bonds, myfamily. “Ask the Dragon how it felt when the bonds first stirred. Ask the Shadow Prince why his magic recognized her before his mind did. Ask the Chaos Boy why he’s been drawn to her since before they ever met.”
Silence.
Heavy. Horrible.
“The corruption didn’t create the bonds,” Alekir continues. “It shaped them. Ensured they would form in the correct order. Ensured the alignment would be… compatible.”
He turns back to me.
“You are the Key, little Valkyrie. You have always been the Key. And now…”
He gestures at the Gate.
“It is time to fulfill your purpose.”
