“My daughter is only a baby, and yet I fear for her future,” the Valkyrie Queen says softly. “Now that you also have a child, you too must surely fear what will come to pass.”
Well, at least she’s stopped calling Galeia a creature.
“I’ve lived with fear my whole life,” I say. “But why are you expressing your worries to me?”
“Because I need to know which side you will choose in the coming war: human or supernatural.”
Neither.
“I will not take part in any war.”
She arches her eyebrows at me. “Clearly, you don’t know what the Vandawolf came to ask us.”
I’m wary. “Enlighten me.”
“The human Queen wishes to form an alliance with the Einherjar. She wants them to fight for her against the fae. My mate, who is the chieftain of this clan, declined her request. I know wherehestands. What I need to know… is what you will do.”
I consider her carefully. “Why me, in particular?”
The tension in her posture increases. “Because you have the power to force the Valkyries to follow you.”
Her focus falls to my hammer. “Until my generals told me what you did, I believed that there were only two kinds of supernaturals who posed any threat to the Valkyries. One kind are the Keres, but they are our allies and would never betray us. The other kind are the Furies, but they are built to exact justice, so if a Fury comes for a Valkyrie, well, that Valkyriedeservesto die. But Blacksmiths…” She gives a sharp exhale. “Even when Malak came to the north, I didn’t fear him. Butyou…”
Her voice is filled with dread as she steps toward me, closer than she should. “I fear what you will do to us.”
I’m astounded that she would admit this to me. “What do you want from me?”
“I need to know: Will you force us into this fight?”
Once again, I find my focus on Erik. He came here to ask for the Einherjar’s support, but his reasons for doing so can’t be simple. I can’t assume he has pledged his support to the human Queen.
Although… anything could have happened in the last day.
After all, here I am with a child I didn’t know existed.
All I can tell the Queen is what I know to be true.
“War won’t solve this.” I turn my attention back to her. “I’ve been pulled into the heart of the darkness in the east. The blight is spreading. Even if I believe that the fae are the aggressors in this situation, darkness is the real enemy, not the fae.”
The Valkyrie gives me a suddenly wry look, one eyebrow arching a little. “Have you met Queen Karasi?”
I let out a laugh. “Oh, there’s no doubt she’s a shrewd leader.”
“Shrewdis a generous description,” the Valkyrie Queen replies before her smile fades. “Her people are suffering. Mine will, too, if the blight reaches us. I’m not a fool, Asha. We will soon have to fight for our homes.”
“It’s the darkness that has to be stopped,” I say.
But she shakes her head at me. “You can’t use magic to stop a darkness that feeds on the life force of dead magical beings. Even humans, who all have a small amount of magic in their bodies, can feed it. The more magic you pour into the blight, the darker it grows.” She gives a frustrated sigh. “It is self-sustaining.”
“Then there’s no hope,” I say, but my words are a challenge, not resignation. “We should all simply give up, walk into it, and let it be.”
She narrows her eyes at me.
I stare back at her.
“Oh, I think we might have been friends,” she says, her voice quiet.
“Perhaps we still can be.”
