His snarl is full of fury. “Asha is not darkness.”
“Of course, she isn’t,” the Valkyrie snaps. “I speak of the creature in her arms.”
Creature?
A rush of disappointment fills me.
How naïve I was to think that the Valkyries would protect Galeia—or at least helpmeto helpher. My impression from my interaction with General Glass was that she believed her daughter had died. I should have realized from the depth of her grief that, even if she thought Galeia was alive, she had no hope of seeing her child again. Her people would not allow it.
Erik takes slow steps back and toward my right, taking a careful but quick path to stand at my side instead of in front of me.
We are most powerful fighting side by side.
I’m certain the Valkyrie will realize it, and we will back away now.
But my hope of a quick retreat shatters at the look on his face.
Since I made him whole, I haven’t seen a glimpse of the beast that he was turned into. Not once.
Now, there is nothing of peace or calm in his expression.
Only a seething fury.
Oh, Erik, what has happened since we were separated?
“You told me to go in peace,” he growls at the Valkyrie, low and dangerous, and despite his talk of peace, he draws his sword as if he wants a fight. “Do you plan to make an enemy of me, after all?”
“You forget I am the Valkyrie Queen!” she snaps. “That creature has Valkyrie blood. Blood that has been corrupted by dark magic. She is my concern, not yours. She’s certainly not worth dying over.”
“Child,” I grind out, wishing I could reach for my hammer right now, but I’d risk dropping Galeia. “She is achild, not a creature.”
“She is Darkness,” the Valkyrie Queen snarls, taking a step toward us, her eyes glowing more silver with every passing second.
All she has to do is lay hands on me—or Erik, for that matter—and she can deal out death in an instant.
I brace for her attack, knowing that I can fight her if I can reach for my hammer, strategizing how I can possibly do so, but at that moment, Cailey steps forward.
She is a picture of serenity, a calm force that contrasts sharply with Erik’s fury, as she takes up position a step ahead of me and to my left.
Pure-white light sparks around her hands as she raises one hand toward the warriors on the wall and the other toward the Valkyrie Queen.
The Queen’s forehead creases, and she takes a step back. “What areyou?”
“Something that should worry you,” Cailey replies. “I saw what you did on the battlefield in the abyss. I saw what you sacrificed to defeat the primordial deity. I know the future you fought for. A future for your newborn daughter. So believe me when I tell you: This child”—she inclines her head at Galeia—“must live.”
The Queen’s eyes are wide. “You saw the battle in the…?”
“I did.”
“Then you’re?—”
“I am.”
The Valkyrie Queen takes another step back, her face suddenly ashen. “Then it will soon be the end of the beginning.”
She stumbles a little as she turns in the direction of the village as if she’s seeking something back there. Her silver wings sweep around her body as she turns, providing a protective shield while her attention is diverted. Cailey mentioned something about a newborn daughter. Perhaps the Valkyrie’s child is back in the village—I’m not sure—but it’s clear that what Cailey said has startled her.
Erik doesn’t waste his chance to step to my side.
