Suddenly, what he said to me at the gate takes on a whole new meaning. He spoke of me coming for revenge, and he commanded his son not to join my father in death before he could.
“Why didn’tyouraise me?” I ask, a snarl in my throat. “If she was your wife.”
“Because there was too much anger in my heart,” he says. “Bjarne was right to keep you away from me.”
“And Thoren?” I ask. “My brother?”
“He was Bjarne’s son.”
“Erik will do the cutting.”
My father never stopped me from throwing myself into battle, but he always kept Thoren safe. Always, he would say to Thoren,“Stay back, shoot from a distance, let Erik do the cutting.”
Maybe, one day, if I live long enough, I will come to terms with his reasons. After all, he couldn’t stop me from charging into danger. But right now, all I feel is anger that he used me as a shield for his own flesh and blood.
Why wouldn’t he?
Finally, I have a reason for my greater aggression, my larger physique, and the fact that I dealt out death to an entirepopulation of Blacksmiths, covering myself in blood and gore, and somehow, I survived it.
War is in my blood.
My chest hurts.
When I glance down, blood seeps through my tunic. The wound must have opened up again.
My voice is hollow as I rise to my feet. “I have your answer. I will tell the human Queen that there will be no alliance.”
I make it to the door, where I retrieve my sword before I turn back to ask, “Do I have your assurance that I will be allowed to leave without incident?”
The chieftain gives me a firm nod. “You have my permission to kill any fool who tries to stop you.”
But that’s not all I need. I came here to protect Asha from the bloodshed these clans could bring into her life, and I won’t leave until I’m certain I’ve done everything I can. “Do I also have your assurance that no Einherjar will come after me seeking glory?”
This time, the chieftain defers to the Valkyrie Queen, who considers me with more empathy than I was expecting, her lips pursed gently and her eyes soft. “I will make it known that any willful fight with you will not be counted in the Hall of Warriors,” she says. “Go in peace, Vandawolf.”
I pause at the door. “You could consider Amalia. For your daughter’s name.”
The Queen’s forehead puckers. “It sounds pretty, but it meanswork. Toil. Why would you suggest it?”
“Because that is what a leader does,” I reply, reaching for the door.
I haven’t made it another step before the Queen suddenly tenses, her focus snapping to the left. “Wait!”
The chieftain responds immediately to her alarm. “What do you sense?”
“A power,” she whispers, her eyes growing wide. “It’s coming this way. And fast.” She spins back to the chieftain, her eyes glowing silver. “Prepare your warriors. Darkness comes.”
Part Four
The Choice at the End of the Beginning
ASHA SILVERSPUN
Chapter 31
ASHA SILVERSPUN
Iwake to the scent of ash and flames, a shout on my lips.
