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Valkyrie Blade (Valkyrie Bound #4) Chapter Ten 79%
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Chapter Ten

Marion

I rush through the portal, familiarity and shock driving me like a whiplash against my skin. I know this place. I've seen it in my dreams. The wood is faded now, the grass around the cabin growing wild…but those curtains…those steps.

"Papa," I whisper, stumbling to a stop.

"Marion!" Abigail grabs my hand.

I whip my head in her direction, stunned to find her beside me. "I…" My eyes grow wide as the portal behind us winks out of existence.

No. Oh no.

Abigail sees it too and cries out softly, dismay carved into her delicate features.

Did I just trap us here?

I gulp at the thought, my heart pounding like a drum. Why did the portal send us here to begin with? It was supposed to open on Rhistel and the Fae warriors with him, not here.

"I don't understand," I whisper, turning to stare at the cabin. "Why did it…?"

Did I open it here instead? We were supposed to be thinking about Rhistel and the warriors. But at the last second, I thought about my parents. Wondered if they knew we'd be able to do something like this.

Gods. Am I the one who opened the portal here instead of where we needed it?

"Where are we?" Abigail asks quietly.

I lick my lips. "I think I lived here with my father when I was a little girl."

Abigail slips her hand into mine, squeezing as we stare at the cabin. For long moments, we just stand there, staring.

"Should we go in?" she finally whispers.

I jerk my head in a nod, not sure what else to do. The sun is already sinking toward the horizon. Unless Rissa and Tori figure out how to open the portal again, we're going to be stranded here until daylight. I'd much rather spend it with walls around us than outside, vulnerable and exposed to anything that crosses our path.

We carefully make our way toward the cabin, our feet silent in the grass. Neither of us says anything, both too anxious to speak, I think. The bottom step groans faintly beneath our combined weight before settling.

We tiptoe up the remaining steps, placing our feet carefully. It doesn't look like anyone has been here in years. Everything is dusty and overgrown.

Did my father ever come back after the Forsaken attacked that night?

I hesitate for a moment before slowly reaching for the door handle. It turns beneath my palm, the door creaking open.

"Marion." Abigail clamps a hand down on my arm, swaying on her feet. "I don't…" She presses her other hand to her forehead, her brows crinkling. "Something feels different."

"Different?" I whip my head around, looking for any hint that the Forsaken are here. I find nothing but waving grass and rustling leaves. "Are you having a vision?"

"I don't…" She frowns, swaying again. "I don't know. It feels like I should remember something, but…" She trails off again, her eyes faraway. "There's something about this place. I don't know what it is. I can't…" Her eyes fly open wide, a startled cry rushing from her lips suddenly.

I nearly lose my balance as she drags me forward over the threshold.

"Hello?" she calls, her voice ringing through the house. "Hello? Are you here? We won't hurt you. I'm Abigail. I'm…I think we were sent to find you."

I stare at her, not sure what's happening, but the triumphant look on her face, as if she's just solved some puzzle, has my nerves settling. Slightly. I glance around, my throat aching with familiarity. I have been here before. My toybox is still in the corner of the room, covered with a fine layer of dust. Papa's pipe rests on the table, twenty years of dust making a thick layer around the rim.

It's almost like I smell him here.

My eyes drift close on a deep inhale, and memories wash over me in a warm flood.

"Papa! Papa!" I cry, scurrying into the room with my hair damp, a stuffed bear clutched beneath my arm.

Papa looks up from his chair beside the fire, a grin stretching across his face as he puffs on his pipe. "Come, ást-meer. Let Papa tell you a story before bed."

"About the Fae?" I ask, eagerly clamoring onto his lap.

"Ja, princess. Of course it's about the Fae."

"Hello?" Abigail calls again, jolting me back into the present.

My eyes flutter open, and I exhale a shaking breath. Gods. I really did live here.

A soft shuffling sound comes from the bedroom, and Abigail grabs my arm, excitement firing in her eyes.

"Please," she calls, tiptoeing toward the open door. "We won't hurt you. I think we're your sisters."

My eyes fly open wide, realization crashing through me. Kara! She thinks Kara is hiding here. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?

"Kara? My name is Marion," I call, my voice soft. "I lived here with my father, Simek, when I was little."

Another shuffling sound comes from the bedroom and then a soft voice calls out, "You knew Simek?"

Abigail exhales a relieved breath.

"Yes," I confirm. "Um, he was my father. M-my clothes are probably still in the closet in there."

Abigail and I both jolt in surprise when Kara steps into the doorway suddenly, her arms wrapped around her curvy body. She's maybe Abigail's age, with dark, glossy hair and hazel eyes.

"Kara," Abigail whispers.

Kara stares at her, caution written all over her face. "You know my name."

"My parents told me," I explain quickly. "They said that you were one of us."

"You mean a Valkyrie," she whispers.

I nod, swallowing hard.

Kara exhales a shuddering breath, staring at us. "Rand said you'd come." She licks her lips. "I just…I was beginning to believe she was wrong."

"You knew my mother?"

Kara nods. "She brought me here weeks ago. Told me to stay hidden. That someone special would be coming for me." Her gaze drifts across us. "She said I could trust you."

"You can," Abigail promises quickly. "The Forsaken have been hunting us, too. The Fae have kept us safe."

Kara's brows crinkle. "Where are Rand and Simek?"

Pain and guilt whisper through me, stealing my breath. "Gone," I choke out. "Died p-protecting me."

Sorrow floats through Kara's eyes before she reaches out, grasping my hand. Her eyes meet mine, full of compassion and understanding. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "If you were their daughter, they don't regret it. Rand told me…you were the best thing they ever did."

Tears well in my eyes. I choke them back, swallowing hard. "T-thank you."

Kara nods.

"You've been here for weeks?"

We turn to look at Abigail.

"Yes." Kara nods again. "The Forsaken attacked me at school one night. I was walking across campus and they just came out of nowhere. I thought they were going to kill me, but Rand and Simek saved me. They got me out of there, told me I should come here, and wait." She hunches her shoulders. "I was beginning to think no one was ever going to come."

"Dammit," Abigail growls, her eyes flashing with fury. "They did it again!"

"Did what?" Kara asks.

"Messed with my visions." Abigail paces in a frustrated circle, muttering her under breath. "I knew this place was familiar, but they overrode the vision, replaced it with what they wanted me to see. Instead of seeing you here, I saw you with them. I saw them…" She trails off abruptly, her gaze flickering toward Kara.

"Saw them what?"

"Killing a Valkyrie," Abigail whispers.

Kara's face drains of color. Abigail quickly grabs her hands, squeezing. "It was a false vision, Kara. They sent it to keep us from finding you. I think…well, I think they were trying to buy themselves time to find you before we did. So long as we were looking for you with them, we'd never look anywhere else."

Kara nods uncertainly, licking her lips. "Do they mess with these visions often?"

"More often than I'd prefer," Abigail mutters, a black scowl crossing her face. "They're determined to drive me mad."

"That's not true."

Abigail arches a brow at me. "It feels that way."

"They don't want you mad. They want you on their side," I say. It's nothing but the truth. The Forsaken are soulless, without mercy or compassion. "They use you, manipulate your visions simply because they can. Because they need what you know and the only way they'll ever get it is by breaking you."

But Abigail isn't easily broken. So they do this instead—send her false visions, hide the truth…whatever they can to ensure that, if her visions aren't in their control, they aren't reliable for our side, either.

"They're monsters, but they're monsters on the verge of losing," I remind Abigail. "Because despite their interference, despite their sheer numbers, and the depths they'll sink to win, we're still here. Kara is standing in front of us. The fifth Valkyrie has been found."

Abigail's eyes widen as the weight of realization hits her. "If we have her, they don't. They never did. Unless they drew blood the night they attacked her family, they're still one Valkyrie short of the full five they need to gain control of the portal!"

"Exactly," I whisper, hopeful for the first time since this entire nightmare started. "But we aren't. We have everything we need. We can reopen the portal to Valhalla."

Kara glances between us, her brows crinkled. "I clearly need to catch up," she mutters. "Because I only understood about half of that."

Abigail laughs quietly, looping her arm through our sister's. "We'll catch you up," she promises. "Just as soon as we figure out how we're getting back to Eitr."

We troop outside to where the portal spit us out, looking for a way back, but don't find one. If there's a way to reopen it from this side, we don't know it.

"Maybe we just should just call our Light and hope for the best," Abigail finally suggests. "If Tori and Rissa are doing the same on their side, maybe it'll make a difference."

I glance at the sun sinking beneath the horizon and nod. Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quickly. Because if it doesn't work, we're stuck here until morning.

Abigail looks at Kara. "Do you know how to…" She trails off, smiling as a golden glow envelopes Kara. "Guess you do."

"I know how," Kara whispers, her gaze flickering in my direction almost guiltily. "I've been doing it most of my life by accident, but Rand taught me how to do it on purpose."

I'm not upset. If this is my mother's gift to us, I'm grateful. We need all the help we can get.

Abigail and I both reach for our Light. The field around us glows white as it fills us, brighter than the sun sinking into its cradle. We stare at the spot where the portal spit us out, but nothing happens.

"Uh, now what?" Kara asks.

"Think about our sisters," Abigail suggests. "Imagine a hole in reality, leading us to them."

Kara's lips purse as she concentrates.

I close my eyes, trying to imagine the portal opening. I think about Rissa and Tori on the other side, waiting for us. But mostly, I think about Malachi and how worried he must be right now. He's probably losing his mind, desperate to find me.

My heart aches at the thought of him afraid for me, worried he's lost me. I can't ever let that happen. Not to him…not when it means he'll die too. He hasn't told me that part yet. I worked it out for myself after Adriel said a Fae doesn't survive the death of his Valkyrie. If I die, Malachi dies too.

I can't—won't—allow that to happen. No matter what truths I have to face, no matter what Darkness I have to fight, I'll do it. Whatever it takes to keep him breathing.

A blood-curdling howl rips through the air, and my eyes fly open. My veins freeze, my soul shriveling.

"No," Abigail gasps beside me, horror in her voice as she sees the same thing I do.

Dozens of thick shadows slip from beneath the trees, one right after another. Varulv .

"W-what are those?" Kara asks, her voice shaking.

"Varulv," Abigail whispers. "They were shapeshifters once, half man, half wolf. Now, they're something else altogether. Soulless. Twisted." She shivers. "Their bite is deadly."

"We should run," Kara says.

"We can't outrun them." I've seen how fast they move. We'll never make it back to the cabin before they're on top of us. We'll be lucky if we make it even half the distance. "All we can do is fight."

"She's right," Abigail agrees, slipping her arm through mine. I feel her Light bleeding into mine, amplifying mine. "Link arms with us, Kara. We'll be okay."

Kara exhales a shaking breath, grasping Abigail's other arm. As soon as they touch, her power surges into me, hot and wild. I draw as much as I can, pulling it into me until my skin feels like it's going to crack and split from the weight of the energy humming through my veins.

It's not even half of what I held when the Fae were under attack yesterday. But it's as if whatever stores I had have been depleted. Trying to hold it is like trying to hold electricity with my bare hands. It fights me, burning like a brand.

I gasp, fighting desperately not to lose control of it, trying not to draw more. What I've pulled has to be enough or I'll burn out. I already feel the Light plucking at the very fabric of my being as if it's melting through me, trying to unmake me at my foundations.

Gods. Please, let it be enough.

The varulv charge forward, racing across the meadow toward us. I don't waste energy picking them off. I let them come. They can crash against the wall of our Light, burn themselves to ash. And then we'll pick off the rest.

The half dozen in the front hit our Light like a rising tide, plowing into it with vicious snarls. Those snarls turn to screams that echo through the valley as they ignite in a fiery blaze.

The next wave hits too quickly to slow themselves. Just like their friends, they catch fire, burning with screams of pain.

I sway on my feet, fighting desperately to hold on as Light surges through me, humming like an electric current.

"Hold on, Marion!" Abigail cries. "Please, hold on."

I scream as the immensity of the Light scalds me, driving me to my knees in the grass. It's too much, too hot, too wild. My skin feels like it's going to split at the seams, my bones turning to molten lava.

"Marion!" Abigail cries out, her grip on my arm tightening desperately. "Please, hold on! Just a little longer!"

But I barely hear her over the roaring in my ears, the pounding of my heart. The Light is a living thing inside me, writhing and coiling like a snake. It wants release, wants to pour out of me in a blinding flash and incinerate everything in its path.

I grit my teeth until my jaw aches, fighting for control with everything I have. I think of Malachi, of his strong arms around me, of his weight on top of me. I cling to the connection between us, using it like an anchor.

But it's too much. Dear gods, it's too much.

Another wave of varulv burst into flame before me, their howls of pain mingling with the roaring in my ears. And still, more come, and endless tide pouring out of the woods as if they were just waiting for us to show our faces.

I can't do this.

Gods, I can't.

The Light is going to rip me to shreds, burn me from the inside out until there's nothing left but a husk.

Malachi. Please!

His Light blazes into my soul in a fierce rush, anchoring me, pulling me back from the brink. I gasp as it surges into me like a healing wind, my own Light surging in response. I release my hold on it, letting it go before it burns me out, taking Malachi with it.

It pours out of me like boiling water, a single hot blast ripping across the field. Varulv light up and die where they stand, their screams cut short. Those further out keep coming as our Light winks out around us, leaving us gasping.

"Marion!" Abigail cries, dropping to her knees beside me, reaching for me.

"The varulv," I gasp. "Run."

"No. We're not leaving you. Kara, what are you…? Kara!" Abigail screams.

I lift my head, watching in horror as Kara strides toward the monsters charging out of the woods, her hands lifted.

"Stop!" she shouts.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the portal blaze to life, but my attention is focused on Kara and the varulv. Incredibly, unexpectedly, as soon as she shouts…they stop running. They stop howling. They simply stop. Right where they are.

"Marion!" Malachi roars, the Fae flooding into the valley as the portal yawns open.

Within seconds, we're surrounded by a wall of blazing swords as Malachi, Adriel, and Damrion fall to their knees beside me and Abigail.

"Marion," Malachi breathes, dragging me into his arms. "Gods, Marion."

"Kara," I gasp. "Help Kara."

Malachi lifts his head, looking at the woman holding back an army of darkness with nothing more than a single command. Adriel and Damrion's gaze follow his.

"Sweet merciful…" Adriel's single black eye widens in shock.

"Go," Kara commands, pointing back toward the woods. "Go now."

One by one, the varulv turn, slinking back toward the woods.

"She saved us," I whisper. "I tried to hold them off, but I couldn't hold the Light. But she…she told them to stop, and they did."

"She can communicate with them," Adriel breathes.

Malachi nods, shock painted across his face. "No Valkyrie has communicated across species in millennia. None has ever been able to communicate with the varulv."

"A Valkyrie who can command the varulv," Adriel murmurs. "One who can heal what none ever could. One who Sees more clearly than any ever has. One connected to the dead." His gaze flickers in my direction. "And one who can hold the Light of the sun."

"The Gods didn't just send five Valkyrie to stand against the Dark," Damrion says, looking stricken. "They sent the five most powerful Valkyrie to ever exist."

"Ja," Adriel and Malachi respond.

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