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WE LAY IN BED, side by side, staring at the ceiling as we caught our breath. Reyfyre covered his face and then ran his hands up into his hair. The wraith had given up control after his last orgasm. The smoke slipped back inside him, leaving only his tired blue eyes.
Eyes that I had grown to adore.
He finally turned his head toward me. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Ha.” I couldn’t help the outburst. I was Valkyrie. A little rough sex wasn’t going to harm me in the least. “You didn’t.” I met his gaze. “And I didn’t break you either.”
A genuine smile appeared, one that made his eyes sparkle and dimples appear in his cheeks. It was the kind of smile that I could stare at for an eternity.
“I’ve had a girlfriend or two in the past, but it never worked out. They left at the first sign of the wraith. And then I had to skip town before word spread.” His smile slipped, and he moved his gaze back to the ceiling. “You told Thor that I had your heart while you were under the truth serum.”
When his gaze landed back on me, I dipped my head once.
“Since when?”
That’s a good question. And one I’d been asking myself since the dress shop.
“I don’t know.” I chewed on my lower lip, trying to pinpoint just when my heart had gotten involved without my permission. “Things changed after the spiders. You relaxed a little and while you still pushed me to continue on our journey, it wasn’t the same as the driving asshole who punished me daily with his sword.” I allowed my eyes to close for a brief moment as I inspected my memories. “You let your walls down.”
“So, shelving the asshole did this.” He waved between us.
A crack of laughter exploded from my mouth, and a new thought possessed my mind. “You did all that shit after the coat closet on purpose, didn’t you?”
Reyfyre bunched his mouth into an amused pucker and his shoulders twitched in a shrug. “If you were hurt and confused, you’d be more likely to get away with lying because the other emotions would temper your natural reactions.”
“That was genius. But Thor propositioned me again, and he called me Kara as I was walking out. I corrected him by telling him my name is Karen. But the fact I turned may have planted a seed of doubt.”
“He let you go.” He rolled on his side, facing me. “We’ve both seen what he does to those he suspects. Or those who try to bypass the truth serum. If he suspected, he would have detained you.”
His gaze raked over my naked form. “Besides, you look drastically different than that drawing. Granted, you’re still as beautiful, but I am partial to the package before me, including the hair.” He lifted a piece of my hair and twirled it between his fingers before he dropped it and put his hand over mine.
“I’m getting used to it.” I reached out and ran my hand through his dark hair. The silky strands tickled my fingers. “Is this your natural color?”
“Yes. The only glamour I have is focused on my ears and it’s obviously not enough for either Thor or Odin to detect.”
I traced the curve of his ear, feeling what I couldn’t plainly see. His eyes slowly closed, as if I were lulling him into some hypnotic state. His lips parted and a long sigh dropped.
“Can we not talk about them anymore?” I just wanted to enjoy this after-sex bliss for a little while longer. It would end soon enough.
“We don’t have to talk at all.” His eyes crawled open and desire burned in them. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“I need sleep and I don’t think my body could survive another—” I glanced at the clock and calculated how long we had been going at it. “Three hours of screwing around, anyway.” I yawned and rolled closer, curling into the crook of his arm.
Reyfyre’s eyebrows arched, and he recoiled. “What are you doing?”
I couldn’t tell whether the edge in his voice was from fear or annoyance. “Going to sleep, why?”
He pushed me away. “I don’t cuddle.”
“Oh, but you spoon.” I lifted my head to send visual daggers at him.
He huffed. “That was out of necessity.”
His argument was valid, but it still didn’t help my wounded pride. “So, you’d screw around again but you won’t cuddle?” I clarified, just to be sure.
“Exactly. I need space when I sleep. I don’t like to feel restricted.”
I snorted at him. “We shared the same sleeping bag all the way across the continent.”
“You just made my point. I hated being cramped.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “And yet you snored like a bear. You are bizarre.” I rolled away from him, intent on trying to catch some sleep but the flare of irritation might not allow that to happen.
The television turned on, and I sent a stern look in his direction. But the way his face blanched had me sitting up and focusing on the screen.
Reyfyre turned up the volume and ran a hand through his hair. My picture, along with two other women, one of whom resembled my former self, filled the screen, along with a demand for information. The screen split, showing each of us at the fountain and the amount of truth serum in the cups we drank. The announcer notified the public that the amount was not acceptable to the rulers and that all three women needed to turn themselves in for further scrutiny by order of Odin.
“Fat fucking chance,” Reyfyre muttered.
A camera shot of the auditorium where the ball had been showed at least a dozen people on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs. Thor stepped into the picture with a sword and a smile that chilled me to the core.
“Just to be clear, if the three women we are looking for do not show up, every single guest who remains”—the camera panned to show a larger group beyond the twelve people behind Thor—“will end up like this.” He turned and the sword whistled through the air.
At first nothing happened, and then the head of the man directly behind Thor wobbled off, sending a geyser of blood onto the floor.
“You have an hour before another innocent dies.”
Thor’s stare in the camera sent a rash of chills through me as the crowd screamed their shock in the background.
The camera cut to our pictures again in the background of a very shaken newscaster.
Reyfyre shut off the television.
“I have to go. I can’t let those people die.” I moved to get out of bed. I could not stay in the safety of this apartment. Not when innocent lives were hanging in the balance.
Reyfyre’s hand clasped my wrist in an uncompromising hold and his jaw tightened. “That is what they are betting on. That is what they’ve done for every ball across the city. You know the outcome.”
“No. Tonight, I kill that bastard before he can kill the other women.” I twisted my arm out of his grip and headed toward the door, where my discarded dress still lay in a bunch.
By the time I pulled the fabric over my head, Reyfyre in all his glory stood between me and the door. He spread his fingers out toward me, trying to stop me from leaving.
“Kara, do not fall for their tricks.” Unease wrinkled the corners of his eyes. “I do not wish to see your execution on television.”
I stared into his frantic eyes. I had never seen Reyfyre unhinged before. Anxious or annoyed, yes, but not like this. The edges of his eyes bled black smoke, as if his emotional turmoil was unleashing his wraith again.
I smoothed my dress and straightened my back. “I will not be the only one who returns. I will protect myself, even under the influence of a truth serum. And then figure out how to get one of the guard’s swords and end this.”
His hands fell to his sides. “You know what happens. You’ve seen it at least a dozen times. The truth serum does not matter. Thor has decided that the three of you will be his personal entertainment for the night.” He ran his hand down his face. “If he chooses you first, he will know. You won’t die like the others, Kara.” His eyes pleaded with me. “Stay until we can have a better plan in place.”
I bit my lower lip as conflicting emotions battered my insides. A large part of me wanted to fall back in that bed and forget this realm. But my values at the core of my soul would not allow me to sit this one out. “I am a protector of the people, Rey. It’s what got me into trouble to begin with, but I cannot ignore this. Innocents will die.” I pointed to the television. “I cannot live with being the reason for that type of carnage.”
His lids dropped closed, draping his cheek with dark lashes. He banged the back of his head against the door a few times before his eyes cracked open. “And if I force you to stay?” Tendrils of black smoke reached for me.
“I will never forgive you.” The words slipped out before I could catch them, but I knew as much as it hurt him, it was the truth.
He squeezed his eyes tight and fisted his hands. The smoke stopped traveling toward me, but it encompassed him completely. To the point he became all wraith—a still black form blocking my exit.
“If you go, I will not be here to see if you get back or not.” Pain laced the words dropping all around me, as if he filled the room with his essence. “I cannot see another person who I love be torn apart by those monsters.” He moved by me so fast that the breeze he created nearly knocked me into the wall.
I turned and scanned the apartment. If he was there, he had cloaked himself well enough for me not to pick him up. My heart thundered in a way that made my chest hurt. “Where can I find you?”
No answer. “Reyfyre?” Silence. “You wouldn’t let those people die,” I whispered and turned away. I stepped out of the apartment on bare feet without so much as my pocketbook. If Thor and Odin did catch me, they’d have nothing to lead them back to Reyfyre.
My throat tightened and tears threatened, and I picked up the pace until I was in an all-out run with my dress billowing behind me. My vision blurred and my chest hitched. I didn’t stop, because if I did, I would turn back. Back to Reyfyre and a future of self-loathing that would eventually tear us apart.
I barreled into the conference center ballroom with the grace and stealth of a bull in a china shop. Heat painted my cheeks, sliding down to my jaw as I skidded to a stop. Reyfyre’s words kept looping in my head, crushing my heart. I slowed as my hitching breath made everyone turn my way.
I wasn’t the only one who came back, but I was the last one.
Thor was poised with his blade against another innocent’s throat, ready to decapitate him.
A guard grabbed my arm and forced a full glass of the chocolate truth serum down my throat, making sure I swallowed every drop. Then he threw me forward. I stumbled, landing on my hands and knees. Tears still streaked my face, and they wouldn’t stop running like faucets.
Thor handed the sword off to a guard and strode across the floor. As he closed the distance, his gait slowed.
My reaction was definitely appropriate based on the other televised balls. However, this one felt different. They hadn’t killed the attendees. Only those they deemed suspect. My mind raced over the little I had witnessed via the television screen. I stayed where I was and covered my face, trying to get control.
Thor’s soft touch on the crown of my head almost blasted the fury through this devastation. “You took your sweet time, Karen.” There was nothing friendly in his voice.
“Ray and I argued. He is threatened by you. He’s seen the footage of the other balls.” My voice hitched with each syllable. I wiped my face and glanced to my side.
Thor crouched down close to me. “I told you I could make you forget him.” He tucked a hair behind my ear. “Is your name really Karen?”
I met his gaze, trying not to glare. “Yes.” It was on my license. It was the name my paychecks came in with; it was on the lease to the apartment. At the thought of the apartment, the tears threatened again.
“Why are you crying?”
“Because Ray doesn’t want me to die tonight.” It was the truth without any hidden innuendo to it. “And neither do I. But you’re Thor.” I waved my hand at him. “And we’ve both seen the televised balls.” I covered my face again. None of the words burned. I didn’t even wince once. I sniffled. “No matter how hot you are and whatever pleasure you may give, it still means my death. But I couldn’t watch another person die instead.” I realized I was prattling on. “I’m sorry for babbling, Your Highness.”
He ran his hand down my back, as if checking for wings. “Are you the traitorous Valkyrie?”
My throat tightened at the familiarity of his hand, and I stared at him over my fingertips. “No.” It came out with a whine, as if I couldn’t believe he would ask me that. Besides, I was not a traitor. I protected the innocent. That was why I was here and not on the run again.
He smirked and helped me to my feet. “Let me rephrase that. Are you a Valkyrie?”
Without the word traitorous, I wasn’t sure I could pull off the lie. “Why are you asking me that? I already told you I wasn’t.” I nearly gagged out the last sentence. I sniffled and grabbed a napkin off the nearest table to blow my nose.
Thor’s smug smirk fell into confusion as I cleared the snot from my nose in the discarded rag. It was very unladylike, and quite gross if you asked me, but it sidetracked the questioning enough to save my ass. I put the cloth napkin back on the table and turned back to him.
“May I please go back home now? I have to try to salvage my relationship.” I pointed toward the door, knowing it was a long shot. None of the other women had ever asked to leave. They all cried as they kneeled, waiting for their turn at being pleasured before dying. It was quite pitiful.
He shook his head. “No one is leaving until I can make a determination on who is being truthful and who isn’t.”
Same operating procedure as the last dozen balls that had been aired. It was his twisted game, and I openly glared at him. The other two women were on their knees, staring at the floor as if too stunned to speak.
He grabbed my upper arm and led me to a spot near them and pointed to the ground.
Although every muscle argued with me not to fall to my knees, I did without hesitation. I would have never knelt for Thor back on Asgard. I had knelt for Odin, though, and that little sign of respect still burned.
Thor pulled out a chair with no arms and set it down in front of us. He straddled it and unbuckled his pants before settling down on the seat. “Who wants to go first?” He glanced at the three of us as he pulled his cock free of the fabric.
Not one of us moved. The hush that fell over the room sent a shiver down my spine. I had seen this time and time again. It was his sick idea of driving out the non-humans in hiding. But in all the cases I’d witnessed, the women were only mere humans, and they died a slow, painful death when his jizz tore through their bodies like steel bullets.
“Do you not want me?” he asked the first woman.
She stuttered and stumbled over her words. “Are the rumors true?” she finally asked while her entire form trembled.
I guessed she must live under a rock. Anyone who watched the balls knew the rumors were true.
He grinned. “That my orgasms kill humans?”
She gulped and nodded. “D-d-do they?”
He leaned forward with that arrogant smile of his. “Yes. This is how we test for other if the truth serum doesn’t work.” He stared at her. “Are you human?”
“Y-y-yes,” she stuttered.
“I do not believe you.” He nodded to the guards, and they rolled a table with chains next to where Thor sat. “If you’re not willing to ride me, you’ll be chained, and I’ll take you however I deem fit.”
The first woman climbed to her feet and inched toward the door as everyone focused on the spectacle of the table. Her face pinched into a mask of horror and panic. The same emotions reflected in the second woman on her knees.
Anger blew through my body, tinting my vision red. “You are going to kill all of us just because...” I couldn’t finish the statement, but it was enough to pull Thor’s attention to me.
He grinned in a sick way that made me recoil. “I’ll get to release this pent-up sexual energy, and if that means a few die for my pleasure...so be it.” He snapped his fingers, and the guards caught the first woman before she could flee. “And if they survive, then they will carry my heir.”
I slowly climbed to my feet and turned toward the makeshift dais where Odin sat, as if bored of this. “And you allow this to happen?” I waved at the spectacle.
“It is a valid way to flush out enemies of the state.”
“What of your people? Don’t they have a suitable surrogate for him?” I waved toward Thor again.
“We are all that is left of my people,” Odin snarled. “So no, this is how we find a surrogate.” He pointed to the woman being restrained on the table.
“No.” I turned toward Thor. “Just. No.” I raised my hands in a boxing stance. “If you can beat me in a fair fight...” I gulped and shook myself. “Then maybe I will let you have your way with me. But only if you let everyone go.”
Thor’s mouth popped open into a small O, and his eyelids fluttered with disbelief. “Are you challenging me?”
I licked my lips and nodded even as Reyfyre’s face flashed before my eyes. “I, um. Yes.” I stumbled. “I am a black belt,” I added and flipped my hair behind my shoulder before straightening my back. Reyfyre had taught me a lot of earthly defense arts, to the point he said I was better than most of the black belts who had taught him. “In exchange for their safety.” I twirled my finger at the rest of the people in the room.
I was willing to take a beating to make sure these people were safe from harm.
“Why?”
“Because they are my people. And they do not deserve to be played with in this manner.” I remained in my ready stance. “Someone needs to take a stand against this tyranny.”
His eyes narrowed and he stood, tucking himself back into his pants. “I don’t think you understand, little girl. I am a god.” Thunder rolled through the ballroom. “I take whatever the hell I please.”
“Then do so without your guards and without the threat of death.” I lifted my chin. “Start acting like a goddamned god and let these prisoners go,” I demanded. “Using them is beneath you.” I spit the words out, letting some of my venom bleed into my voice. Playing on Thor’s vanities had always been an easy mark. And this time, he bristled and glanced at his father.
Odin stared at me with a crease between his eyes. Finally, he gave a sharp nod. “But not the television crew.” He pointed at the man holding the live camera. “Or the other two women. Their fates were sealed along with yours the minute you disobeyed and did not initially drink the serum.”
Fuck.
If glares could kill, Odin would be dead ten times over.
“We drank it, just not the entire cup. Sometimes chocolate disagrees with me, and I didn’t want to spend the evening in the bathroom,” I snapped. “And for having gastric issues, you’re sentencing me to death?” I tightened my jaw and closed my mouth before I told him to fuck off.
The guards escorted the crowd out the ballroom door. When the last one left, the doors closed behind them.
I inhaled through my nose and when they returned, I added, “The guards cannot intervene.”
I knew that was pushing my luck, but if they were here, I might be subdued before I could get the other two out of the building. “And no magic. That’s cheating.” I pointed at Thor. “This will be a fair fight, understand?”
He laughed, so sure of himself. “For every punch you land, I will let someone go free.”
“Thor.” Odin’s reprimand came through in his voice, but the deal was already out there and televised live to the masses.
Arrogant asshole. But I nodded. “That works.”
“And for every punch I land, you’ll suck my cock dry,” he said with a smile. “Before I fuck you over that table.” He pointed at the table still holding one of the women.
“I sure hope you’ll unlock her first.” I batted my eyes.
He snorted a laugh as he stepped closer. He did not wait for me to engage. He swung his fist. I bent back, using gravity to pull my hands to the ground behind me. I flipped over, catching him under the chin with my foot and snapping his head back before I bounced to my feet. Thankfully, my dress hardly moved.
“I’m also a little bit of a gymnast.” It was my turn to smirk.
Thor rubbed his chin as he stared at me.
“I believe that is one point for Karen.” I held up my finger, digging the cockiness in my voice.
Thor shook off the hit. “It doesn’t count. That wasn’t a punch.”
I growled my disdain.
He moved and jabbed to the side at the same time as I tried to spin away. His fist caught my cheek, sending flares of light across my eyes. I flew to the ground as a buzz filled my head.
“I am going to so enjoy those pouty lips around my cock.”
I shook the stars from my brain and stood, a little warier than before. But this time I didn’t wait for him to make a move: I charged and at the last minute, bent back out of the trajectory of his punch and dropped to my knees, sliding under his wide-set thighs. I punched straight up with a tribal cry.
I think I lifted him off the ground with the power of my junk punch. I slid beyond his reach and spun to my feet.
His wheezing breath filled the room, and I landed a kidney punch, driving him all the way to his knees.
He spun, leading with his elbow, catching me in the ribs. The crack of bone echoed in my head and my chest tightened as if a rope had been banded across it. I hit a table on my landing, banging my head enough to warble my vision.
Thor towered over me and held up three fingers.
I raised two. “The elbow doesn’t count, just like my foot doesn’t.” I kicked out, aiming for his dick, but he punched my ankle aside, pulling a cry from my lips as fire engulfed it.
“Three.” He reached for his belt.
“None of it counts unless you honor my deal.” I rolled off the table and hopped away from his immediate grasp. My ankle was raw and sang a wailing scream every time I put my full weight on it.
“Let the girls go,” he said.
I moved farther away until my heels hit wood. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girls who had been pictured next to me on the television escorted out of the building.
The only possible innocent in the room was now the cameraman. He aired this crap willingly, almost salaciously, so I wasn’t concerned they’d decapitate him.
Thor advanced, and I went to slide toward the door, but a hand gripped the back of my neck, holding me in place in a punishing grip. Something solid hit the back of my knees and I fell to the floor. I reached to grab the hand still clasping the back of my neck, but metal clasped around my wrist.
Terror washed through me as the binding locked both my hands behind my back. I was helpless without my hands.
“You promised no guards would intervene,” I challenged Thor.
“It is not a guard,” Odin’s voice whispered in my ear.
Damn it. I should have clarified no one was to intervene. Semantics just screwed me. But Thor approaching wasn’t the worst situation I could be in. I’d have to do what I swore I never would. His hands unthreaded his belt as he stepped closer. With the leather folded in half, he struck out, slapping my cheek with it.
Hot agony blared through the cheek his fist hadn’t connected with, and if Odin wasn’t still holding the back of my neck, I would have sprawled on the floor from the force of it.
He snapped his fingers and the doors to the ballroom opened. A battalion of guards corralled the guests along with the other two women back into the ballroom.
“You fucking liar,” I snarled at Thor, even though speaking hurt my bruised face. I struggled against the bonds.
“This is what happens when you challenge your rulers,” Odin announced loud enough for the entire room to hear and then he crouched down next to me. “These manacles are charmed, just like the ones in the cave.” Odin’s whisper sent goose flesh all over me. “You remember the cave, right, Kara?”
I gulped. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.” My voice shook as the lie made my mouth sour.
Thor’s eyes narrowed as he stalked forward. “Don’t you?”
He looked more like a predator cornering his prey than I cared to see, and my heart thundered in my chest.
“After I lost the only woman I ever cared for due to this curse, I went to the cave to retrieve the only being left on this godforsaken planet who wouldn’t die from having sexual relations with me. Imagine my surprise to find the cave empty.”
“Aww. My heart breaks for you,” I sneered, without an ounce of compassion. “And now you just kill whomever you please to satisfy your fucking libido? That’s just pathetic.” If I could only manifest daggers with a look... But all my snarling did was make the bastard more cocky.
Thor grinned and unzipped his pants. “I’ve got three blow jobs coming.”
Fury raged through me, burning away the terror like pouring a fire accelerant on an already out-of-control forest blaze. “You reneged on your end of the deal, so if you put that thing in my mouth, I will bite it off.” I glared up at him, and the entire room gasped.
Thor snapped his fingers, and a guard dragged a man to Thor’s side, keeping a sharp sword at his throat. “Then I will start killing these people until you comply.” He waved toward the huddled and terrified crowd and then glanced at the guard before bringing his glare back to me.
“It’s time to pay up.” He stepped close enough to rub the tip of his hard length on my lips. He took a handful of my hair and yanked back. “And if your teeth so much as scrape my shaft, I will make sure they pay dearly. Now open your fucking mouth and suck, you traitorous bitch.”
“Do not touch her.”
The words echoed around us, and my heart squeezed. Reyfyre’s growling command froze Thor in place, and I turned my gaze to the entry. Reyfyre was equipped to the hilt—blades on his belt and swords in his hands.
His rage pounded through the room like a tribal beat just before a wave of magic plowed over us all.
My restraints blew off my wrists, freeing me from Odin’s hold. Although, Thor still held a handful of my hair. I junk punched him again because there was no way I wasn’t fighting now that Reyfyre was here. Thor dropped to his knees, wheezing from the hit. His grip on my hair faltered, and I spun away.
Odin raised his staff, meaning to cut down Reyfyre. I kicked, hitting the rod dead center. It snapped in two, and Odin screamed as if I had chopped him in two instead. He collapsed over the staff, blubbering like a demented fool.
Then I bolted toward Reyfyre, but a hand caught my foot, tripping me.
“Hold her!” Thor’s growl raged. “I want her to see me beat the living shit out of another lover of hers before I kill him.”
My chest squeezed enough that my shattered rib felt like a hundred knives digging into my soul. I couldn’t watch another who I cared about cut down. I would not survive it.
Hands gripped my arms and yanked me into a kneeling position. Thor stepped near me and placed the sharp edge of his sword on my throat before swiveling his gaze to Reyfyre.
“Drop your weapons,” Thor ordered. “Or I’ll run my blade through her throat.”
“You’re going to do that anyway,” Reyfyre snarled.
“No. But I am going to chain her back up, but this time in my bedroom so I can fuck her any time I please.”
Reyfyre measured his reaction, but the flick of his eyes in my direction was enough. “So, you’re bluffing?” He raised a condescending eyebrow.
Thor moved the blade and slashed my cheek. “She doesn’t have to look like much. She just has to spread her legs and bear my children.”
Reyfyre’s eyes widened.
I gagged on the fiery pain, but shook my head. If Reyfyre put his weapons down, Thor would kill him. I could not allow that, even if it meant Thor permanently disfigured me.
Movement behind Reyfyre pulled my gaze away from his.
Reyfyre reacted, spinning with swords slashing. The guards who had almost been upon him died swiftly. Reyfyre twirled back in our direction with blood splattered on his cheek and the white shirt.
“Now I’m pissed. You’ve ruined my new tuxedo shirt.” His sharp gaze locked on Thor’s. “Stop your guards from attacking and swear on your mother’s grave that this will be hand-to-hand combat only between the two of us, and I will gladly put away my weapons and school your self-righteous ass. But if you draw another drop of blood from Kara, I will castrate you and then force you to choke on your own dick.”
Gasps echoed around the room.
“Don’t.” I couldn’t help the warning, but Reyfyre didn’t even glance my way. His gaze was locked in challenge with Thor.
Thor’s sword dropped to the ground, and he moved toward Reyfyre. Thunder rumbled overhead. “I swear on my mother’s grave.” He fisted his hands.
“What do you swear on your mother’s grave?” Reyfyre was fae. He knew how to manipulate oaths or how to omit critical pieces to leave a loophole.
“That my guards will not intervene and that this will be hand-to-hand combat between the two of us.” The words hissed through his clenched teeth. “But no magic.”
“You can’t invoke magic either.” Reyfyre pointed a sword at Thor.
“I will not invoke magic.”
Reyfyre pushed the swords and knives attached to his body to the ether, but before he navigated the few steps to the ballroom floor, he waved in my direction. The guards holding me dropped to the floor, stone dead. “Anyone but me touches her, and they die.” He grinned at Thor and set his feet. “That includes you.” He cocked his finger at Thor.
I climbed to my feet, shaking my head. “Please, Rey,” I whispered just as desperately as he had before I left the apartment. I couldn’t watch another man I loved get beat to shit and then get slaughtered. It would break me.
Reyfyre’s grin widened. “And that spell that I just cast does not die with me.”
“You son of a bitch!” Thor bellowed his anger and charged.
He used brute strength to intimidate, and I waited for the impact. But Reyfyre casually evaded him and swept Thor’s feet from under him.
Thor sprawled out on the floor, crashing into tables as he slid.
Reyfyre caught my gaze and winked.
Thor charged at his back, but Reyfyre spun and parried, knocking Thor’s punch to the side before he stepped in and used his inertia to land a blow to Thor’s chest, knocking him into a group of people who couldn’t scramble away fast enough.
Thor shook his head as if dazed and then he growled and launched directly at Reyfyre. At the last minute, Reyfyre sidestepped, but Thor corrected himself and tackled Reyfyre.
“Rey!” I yelled as his head banged the hard floor.
Thor’s hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing as he pounded Reyfyre’s head on the floor. Protective black tendrils shot out of Reyfyre, launching Thor across the room. He turned onto his hands and knees, coughing.
I rushed to his side but when he looked beyond me, his eyes widened, and he knocked me to the ground. Air grazed my hair, and I turned, hopping to my feet.
Reyfyre climbed to his feet next to me.
Thor swung his hammer, making it whistle in the air. “A wraith, Kara?”
Reyfyre dropped all glamour, revealing his true form, and he glowed with power. His pointed ears poked through his hair. “And fae,” he said with a raspy voice. Thor had done damage to his voice box with that choke hold.
Thor released the hammer and Reyfyre dove to the ground, trying to take me with him, but I spun out of his grip and shot my hand out with my fingers splayed. Thor’s hammer hit my palm square. Pain radiated up my arm from the impact, but Mjölnir recognized my righteous nature, and did not shatter my bones the way I’d seen it do to countless enemies over the centuries.
Reyfyre stared up at me from the floor with an open mouth, mimicking both Thor and his father.
I had no idea how Thor still wielded this weapon. But I guessed even the magical elements could be duped when there wasn’t anyone else to stand in to protect the people.
“Give me my hammer,” Thor commanded with his hand out, trying to call it back.
I flipped Mjölnir, catching the handle before I caressed the metal. Its sigils glowed, and I looked beyond the hammer at Thor. “I don’t think she belongs to you anymore. You are no longer worthy of her.”
I jumped in the air, closing my eyes as I felt her power fill me, and then I aimed the hammer at the floor, willing it not to harm the innocent and to strip those unworthy of their immortality. Lightning splintered across the room and when Mjölnir hit the marble floor, it snaked out, lifting Thor and Odin into the air.
The crowd gasped and then the lightning zapped out of existence, leaving a faint ozone smell. Both Odin and Thor crashed to the ground with as much of a bang as the hammer hitting the floor.
Thor rolled and groaned as he glared at me.
Reyfyre hopped to his feet and gave me a curious side-eye that encompassed more of me than just my face and body. I waved the hammer away like I had seen Thor do hundreds of times and was startled when it actually disappeared. I guess she was mine now, and I would only wield her to protect the people. I also did not want Thor to get hold of her again, even though I was reasonably sure the hammer wouldn’t allow him to hold it. Not with his blackened heart. But I didn’t want to tempt fate.
“Don’t just stand there like a bunch of idiots. Kill them,” Thor yelled.
Reyfyre pulled his weapons from wherever he stowed them and handed me my sword as we moved back-to-back.
“Be mindful of the innocents.” His whisper caressed my ear. “And you might want to pull your wings in, so they don’t get chopped.”
His words made me glance over my shoulder. Iridescent wings fluttered and I heeded his warning, snapping them back inside. Although the excitement of having them back buzzed through my muscles, energizing me.
The legion of guards surrounded us, their knives and swords at the ready. I centered my mind like Reyfyre taught me, and when they lunged as one unit, we parried and slashed and twirled away from their blades. My movement flowed as if all my injuries had healed.
I caught sight of Reyfyre, and his fluidity was beautiful. He had grace and power all rolled up into this vicious form that I adored.
Watching him take down guard after guard reminded me of fighting the wraiths on Asgard. I refocused on the renewed effort of the guards surrounding me. I relied on the balls of my feet, almost like a ballerina, twirling and striking until none of our enemies were left breathing.
Blood painted the floor and us. My beautiful dress was officially ruined. I pointed my dripping sword at Thor and crossed the room. My bare feet squished in puddles of warm blood, turning my stomach.
I swallowed bile and took a breath. The stench of iron in the air did nothing to help my roiling abdomen, but I couldn’t lose it here. I needed to project as much power and grace as possible to win over every viewer watching us.
“You have ruled long enough. Now it’s time for the people to rule once again.” I snapped my wings out to punctuate my statement as I stopped next to the woman he had strapped to the table earlier.
“They are mortal now,” I said to her and offered her the sword. “Justice is in your hands.”
The sword wavered in her grip, and her wide eyes stared at it and then at Thor. The one who would have killed her had I not intervened. The blade steadied and anger finally overrode the fear pulsing from her.
“Do with them as you wish,” I said to the crowd and waved at Thor and Odin.
A few of the guests dropped to a knee, muttering, “Goddess,” with such reverie that I bristled.
“I am not a goddess. Please do not bow to me. I am Valkyrie. I am the one who will rain righteousness on those who wish to harm the people of this realm. My people.” I scanned every face in the room. “So, make sure you put someone in power who is just and honest. Otherwise, I will come back and wreak havoc on you.” My gaze moved to the rolling camera, and I gave the audience a curt nod before I turned and marched to where Reyfyre stood.
Reyfyre kept his eyes on me, and I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers through his, and led him out of the destruction around us. In the lobby, I caught my reflection in the elevator doors and halted. My wings were as magnificent as my hair. Both matched the colors of the Bifrost and I smiled, despite the blood streaks on my dress.
I flexed my back and they stretched, and then I snapped them away.
“Oh, I want to play with those,” Reyfyre said, pulling me out of the building just as the night sky opened up, drenching us.