Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Rissa
My entire life, I've been different. I've felt things I shouldn't. Heard things that weren't there. But those whispers never led me astray until my twenty-first birthday. The handsome stranger at the bar seemed innocent enough…until I woke up in his bed with no recollection of how I got there.
He says I'm not who I think I am, and that I'm in danger. The craziest part? The more time I spend with him, the more I want to believe it when he says he belongs to me. But my life isn't a fairytale, and places like Valhalla, mate bonds, and ancient Fae warriors don't exist…do they?
Dax
For millennia, I was oathbound to protect Valhalla, a warrior of Light sworn to defend her no matter the cost. Until the Forsaken destroyed every last Valkyrie within her borders.
My brothers and I have spent the last three hundred years in exile, trapped on earth and waiting for the five mortal women prophesized to restore honor to the Halls. But when Rissa calls my soul, everything changes.
My loyalty is no longer to Valhalla and the Fae but to the powerful woman caught in a prophecy she doesn't understand. I'll do whatever I have to do to keep her Light shining and protect our bond. Even if it means letting Valhalla fall forever.
Valkyrie Heart is the first book in the Valkyrie Bound series of interconnected romances. If you enjoy thrilling paranormal romance, fiercely protective Fae warriors, and strong, curvy heroines, you'll love the Valkyrie Bound series. Each book introduces a new couple and their bond. Each story ends in an HFN for the couple, but the overarching story continues through each book.
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"In a realm of shadows, five shall emerge, each carrying the sacred gifts bestowed by their foremothers. As they step into the light, the echoes of time will guide their way, revealing what once was lost. The Exiled, weary and burdened, shall embark on a perilous quest to restore honor for the Halls. Yet, a cautionary whisper resonates: tread carefully in the presence of the Forsaken. If the sisters falter, a torrent of great evil will engulf the realms, casting them into an eternal night."
-Prophecy of the Valkyrie
Glossary of Common Terms
Ja - Yes/Yeah
nei – no
lyststål – lightsword
Magn – Source of Fae power. Literally, power or force.
ást-meer - sweetheart
helvete - hell
skíta - shit
faen - fuck
ímun-laukr - sword
ljós - light
elskan-ljós - Beloved light
bittesmå ljós - tiny light
lyseste ljós - brightest
konung-ligr - royal
konunga-kyn - royal kin
helveteshundar- hellhounds
Prologue
Dax
Valhalla, 300 Years Ago
The stench of war lies heavy in the air, settling in the back of my throat. The sickly, sweet scents of blood and death mix with smoke and ash, threatening to choke every last remaining Light out of Valhalla. I grit my teeth against that grim reality and race around the edge of the Hall of Warriors, my lyststål blazing like a sun in my hands.
Shouts and the screams of the dying ring out around me. There are far fewer of them now than there were just an hour ago. And fewer still than there were yesterday and the day before that. None are women. Not any longer.
There's no denying the truth anymore.
The last of the Valkyrie have fallen.
An endless well of grief bubbles up from my soul, threatening to consume me. I slam a lid on it, reaching deep for anger instead. Ja. Anger. The furious churn of rage eating like acid through my stomach. It's what drives the Fae now. What fuels us.
Rage.
The Valkyrie have fallen. And Gods have mercy on the souls of the Forsaken who claimed their Light, for the Fae will have none for them.
"Dax! Til venstre! Til venstre!" Adriel's shouted warning reaches my ears just in time.
I feint to the right, my lyststål spinning in my hands.
It slices through the neck of an armored varulv, one of the shifters the Forsaken turned to the dark long ago, separating his head from his shoulders. His body drops, warm blood spraying across my face. Tendrils of smoke float from the wound my lyststål left, carried by the wind. I drag the back of my hand across my face, flinging off the foul blood of the soul-damned monster before turning to check on my brothers.
My breath catches in my throat.
Once, Valhalla was a place of beauty, a paradise. Now, it lies in ruin, destroyed by our Forsaken invaders and their monstrous army. The once radiant Hall of Warriors is a charred, twisted relic. Bodies litter the valley, turning the lush green fields red. The barracks have burnt to the ground, leaving nothing but smoking piles of ash.
There's nothing left to save.
We've failed.
Valhalla, like Álfheimr, lies in ruin.
A flash at the edge of the valley captures my attention. It's nothing more than a brief flicker, gone as soon as it appears. But I shift my gaze toward it on instinct. For a long moment, nothing moves. And then the same flicker reaches me. I release my hold on Magn, the source of Fae power, allowing my lyststål to dissolve in my hands. Without it blazing like a nimbus, I see what I didn't before.
Something unseen strikes against the portal, causing the bright surface to momentarily turn a sickly gray and let off a shower of sparks. It does it again, and then again.
Horror surges through me as realization dawns. The Forsaken are trying to bring it down!
Gods alive. If they destroy it, Valhalla won't just lie in ruin. It'll fall completely, cut off entirely from Asgard. There are no Valkyrie left alive to reopen it. Just like there are none left to usher the souls of the dead across the Veil.
Ragnarök claimed nearly every Valkyrie life, along with the souls of every warrior bonded to her, two thousand years ago. The Forsaken and their dark magic have claimed the rest.
But the Fae still stand. Some of us, at least. And so long as we stand, our oath remains unbroken. We're the guardians of Valhalla, the army of Light appointed by Odin himself to defend the Valkyrie, no matter what comes.
The portal cannot fall.
"Fae! Beskytt portalen!" I roar, leaping over the fallen varulv in a dead race across the valley toward the portal. I reach for Magn, my lyststål blazing back to life. "Beskytt portalen! They're trying to bring it down!"
Roars of fury echo from every corner of the valley as my brothers take up the cry. Within moments, Malachi, Adriel, and Damrion are at my side, racing across the valley with me. One Forsaken warrior after another falls to our blades, unable to stand against the Light. Varulv, Jötunn, and Forsaken alike taste death as we deal it to them, one by one.