Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“We can argue about what he can or can’t do later,” I say. “I’d like to know what they want from my mate.”
“Agreed,” Adriel growls.
"At the moment? The last remaining shards of the Bifrost." She hesitates for a second and then sighs. "But that’s not their end goal. They want my obedience.”
"What does that mean?" Adriel’s voice drops two octaves.
Abigail hesitates, glancing at everyone around the table—Tori and Reaper at the far end next to Stephan, Dax and Rissa with their arms looped together, Malachi with his brows still furrowed. She meets everyone’s gazes, forcing them to look at her—to see her.
“Aside from your Valkyries,” she says, her gaze flickering to Malachi and Stephan—the latter of who goes slack-jawed in response—“what I have to say can never leave this room. If it does, we’ll fall, and so will the nine realms. I’ve seen it.”
“You have our silence, Valkyrie,” Dax says without hesitation.
Everyone nods their agreement except Stephan, who still looks battle-shocked by Abigail’s revelations. But if there’s a warrior in this realm worthy of guarding a Valkyrie, it’s him. Their blood runs strong in his veins.
Reaper nudges him. He glances up and notices everyone watching him.
“Agreed,” he rasps. “They’ll have to kill me before I reveal a word, Valkyrie.”
Abigail exhales a breath, her hand fluttering in mine. "There are only two possible outcomes in this war. The paths we take and the decisions we make matter more than you know, but no matter our decisions, they will lead to one or the other. Either we destroy the Forsaken, or they destroy everything.”
This, we already know. Most of it, anyway. I suppose we all hoped that our choices would tip the scales, give us different paths to success. But the Norns weave where they will.
“You asked what they want,” she says, glancing at me. “They want my visions to guide them to success.”
A chill races down my spine, my heart pounding like a drum calling us to war. How many times have her visions guided us to success? How many times have they saved our lives? The thought of that power in their hands is terrifying.
"Are you saying they want to use your visions against us?" Malachi asks.
“No. I’m saying they want to use me against you,” she says, her voice so soft it barely carries. “If you know the future, you can change it. That’s why I guard it so carefully. There are things we can’t afford to change, things that will guarantee their success. And if they succeed, if I give them what they want, they’ll win. There will be no stopping them.” She swallows hard, trembling on my lap as her gaze flickers to Tori and Rissa. “There will be no stopping us.”
“Us?” Tori whispers.
Abigail grips my hand, clinging as if I’m a lifeline. She clings to Adriel the same way. “If I give them what they want, they gain a foothold on my soul. I fall to the Dark.” Her voice shakes. “And if I fall, I take the Valkyrie with me. They won’t destroy the realms. We’ll do it for them. That’s what I’ve seen. That’s how they win.”
Faen.
They aren’t after the portal, at least not entirely. They’re after the power of the Valkyrie...and they intend to use my mate to get it.
"Nei," I growl, fear and rage warring for dominion. "That will never happen."
"It could," Abigail says softly, turning to place her palm against my cheek. "I've seen it, Damrion. If I ever tell them what I’ve seen, even a piece of it, they win." Tears well in her eyes. “We’ll deliver every single soul right into their hands, and I’ll be the one who made it happen. I’ll kill us all.” She shivers, a tear sliding down her cheek. “That’s what they want from me. To claim my soul and turn me into a monster.”
Adriel has his arms around her in an instant, offering her his strength. "Nei, Valkyrie,” he breathes. “We will not allow that to happen. Your soul is safe with us." His voice is fierce, but I feel the fear he’s desperately trying to hide from her.
The same fear flows through me. Abigail, Rissa, and Tori are the three most powerful Valkyrie we’ve ever seen. We don’t yet know what the other two are capable of doing. But we do know that, together, they’re the most powerful weapon the realms have ever seen. In the hands of the Forsaken, that weapon would be catastrophic.
We wondered what task was before Abigail that required two warriors tied to her soul to guard it. Now, we know. If she falls, the entire fucking universe falls. She and her sisters will become the Dark’s own personal öndnýsa—Soulseekers. And instead of ferrying souls for the Light as Valkyrie have always done, they’ll ferry them straight to their destruction.