Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Another tendril of dark magic snakes toward me. I heft my lyststål, severing it with a glancing blow. I roar in fury, pissed beyond measure. My mate needs me, and instead, I'm here, dealing with these bastards.
Enough is enough.
I charge into battle, flinging Forsaken left and right. My lyststål never stops spinning. Malachi and I tear through them, viciously decimating their numbers. All around us, our brothers do the same, emptying the old church in a matter of minutes.
When the killing is done, silence reigns.
"Find the Valkyrie," I growl. "Something is wrong with my mate."
Dax hears me and immediately reaches for his phone. Half the warriors take off running, searching the church for the Valkyrie we came to find.
Damrion strides toward me. "What's wrong with Tori?"
"I don't know. She's in pain." I pace across the cracked tiles, seething. "It feels as if she's slipping away from me." She's still alive. I feel her heart beating. But emotionally, she's fading. I don't understand it. I don't like it."
Damrion and Adriel share a look.
"Helvete," Dax snarls, his phone clutched at his ear. He whips his head in my direction, his green eyes locked on my face. "Rissa can't find her, Reaper. They've been looking for her for an hour. She went upstairs and never came back down. They've looked everywhere."
"She has to be there somewhere."
"I said the same thing about Kenton," Adriel mutters.
I spin on him, snarling. "What did you say?"
"I said that I said the same thing about Kenton." His one black eye glints dangerously. "No one ever saw him leave, either. He was upstairs, and then he was just gone."
Cold dread slithers through my veins.
"Do you think…?"
"Ja," Adriel says quietly when Malachi trails off, refusing to finish the question. "I do think. They've opened a portal."
Ah, Gods.
This time, the pain I feel isn't Tori's. It's mine, hitting me like a bomb blast. It drops me to my knees, threatening to rip my fucking heart out of my chest.
Chapter Fourteen
Tori
Kenton takes me through the portal to Eitr. We're only inside for moments, but it feels like eternity as shards of ice grow in my veins. Lights flicker around us, confusing and distorted. Shadows slither, grasping toward us like veins. This isn't the portal Reaper told me so much about. This one has been twisted by evil. I feel it all around me.
So has Eitr. The mountain village is overrun by Forsaken and the varulv. They're everywhere, turning the home of the Fae into a stronghold of evil.
I hear Kenton and the Forsaken discussing what to do with me, but I don't care. I just float, lost in a sea of agony. It's not fair. How could fate bind my soul to Reaper's only to allow these monsters to use it against us now? If I die, he dies. And if I survive, it's only because the Fae turned Abigail over.
That is no choice. It's torment. For every single one of the Fae. They can no more make that choice than they can deny the goodness in their souls. They were born to defend the Valkyrie, not barter and exchange them. Damrion can't be asked to choose between the Seer he loves and one of his oldest friends and his mate. It's wrong.
But evil doesn't care. That's why it's evil. It's thoughtless, emotionless, soulless destruction. It thrives on pain and misery. Watching the struggles of its victims makes it stronger.
I don't struggle. I keep my head held high, refusing to shed a tear or say a word. I squirmed and begged enough when they pushed my head beneath the water over and over again in my bathroom prison, just to see how far they push me before I broke. I will never beg for my life again. Not from these monsters.
They decide to tie me up in one of the cabins close to the Hall of Warriors. Kenton is the one who takes me. The Forsaken can't seem to be bothered. Or perhaps, they fear getting too close now that they know that I know who and what I am.
Kenton doesn't say anything until we step inside the cabin and the door closes behind us. The cabin is a single room with a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom all sharing the same cozy space.
The kitchen is small but tidy, with a few dishes and utensils scattered on the counter. The table has only two chairs. A worn couch and a coffee table create a simple and comfortable seating area. A large bed takes up most of the space.
My eyes immediately land on the woman handcuffed to it. She's a few years older than I am, her face framed by a halo of wild, fiery red hair. Her freckled skin is pale and bruised. Even unconscious, pain etches grooves between her brows.