Truth's Heart (The Valkyrie's Passion Book 3): A Valkyrie/Shifter Romance (14 page)

“No one will protect you, wife,” Odin growled. His one eye fixed on her while his hand ran through his graying beard. “My Valkyrie have abandoned me. Brynhilda has made cause with Raven and together they killed their sister Lynette.”

“Brynhilda spits on your grave, too?” demanded Frigg. She forced herself to stand, ignoring the infirmities of age. “How?”

“Raven has poisoned their minds. She is a serpent that nested in our breast,” Odin growled. “I loved her as my own daughter, and she repaid that love with death.”

“Tyr will not bring justice. It is up to you, mother.”

“I am no warrior,” hissed Frigg. “That's why I sent my champions to avenge you.” Tears filled her eyes and ran down grooves age had carved into her once fair cheeks. “What can I do?”

“You need new champions, mother,” Baldur said, a beatific smile on his lips. She gazed at his perfection. Her handsome, beautiful boy.

“A beast needs to be unleashed. We cannot fight Raven on our own. We're only shades.”

Odin's words echoed through her hall. “What beast do you need me to unleash?”

“We need your seidr.” Baldur took a step closer. His eyes cast into hers. “We need your magic. None know the true depths of the seidr like you do. Only your knowledge will strike the Jormungandr's chains.”

“The Jormungandr,” gasped Frigg. She stared up at her dead son and husband in horror. “No. Not Loki's foul spawn.” The great, black serpent lay chained among the roots of the Yggdrasil.

“Mother, you swore to avenge me.” Baldur's beautiful face swam before her. She stared at him through blurry eyes. “You swore to do anything.”

“She will defeat us,” Odin said. “Our power is dwindling. We cannot overcome her might. No one will stop her from killing you.”

“At least my shade would be with you,” sobbed Frigg.

“And our murders would go unavenged, Mother.” Baldur's gentle hand touched her face, brushing away her tears. “Please, Mother. Please. We cannot rest so long as Raven lives.”

“It's the only way, wife. Use the seidr and release the worm. He shall devour Raven. His ravenous maw shall avenge us.”

Frigg's knees buckled. She lowered herself to the floor, her tears falling onto the planks. “Yes. Yes. I swore. Any cost. Any price. You will be avenged, my beautiful son.”

“Thank you, Mother.” His lips pressed on her forehead. Frigg squeezed her eyes shut, savoring his presence, and then he was gone.

Frigg stood and walked across her hall to the chest that contained her wand.

Chapter Seventeen

Raven

Dark clouds obscured the peak of Mount Rainier. Fierce winds slammed into the mountainside. The pine trees groaned and swayed. More than rain fell. Branches torn from the trees crashed across the ground. Lightning crackled. A tree burst in flames, the fire warring against the deluge. The Dodge minivan rocked as powerful gusts slammed against the body.

Sayyid took the turn up to Paradise.

I sat in the middle seat next to Magnus, my stomach twisting as the minivan bounced up the road, driving over fallen branches. A crash struck the roof. A thick branch slid off and fell to the ground beside the minivan.

We were close, only minutes from the root of the Yggdrasil that would take us to Asgard.

And we were arriving in a minivan.

To say I was shocked when I discovered that my 900-year-old sister and her hulking Einherjer drove a minivan would have been the understatement of the century. My jaw dropped at the sight of the pristine, cherry-red vehicle sitting in the parking lot of the Steward Mineral Springs. Magnus was equally stunned, glancing at Sayyid, who just shrugged.

“Great gas mileage,” he answered. “And roomy. Perfect for long drives across the country. Plenty of room to store supplies, and the seats disappear into the floor, so we can use the back as a bed when we need to.”

“It's a very safe vehicle,” added my sister.

“You grew up as a shieldmaiden who went pillaging with vikings and married a pirate,” I gasped.

“Longboats were not safe,” she laughed. “I would not recommend them.”

“But...” I spluttered. I glanced at Magnus. “We are never buying a minivan.”

I liked riding bitch behind my man on his motorcycle.

The drive to Washington, I was forced to admit, was pleasanter than the ride from Washington. The seat was comfy, and there were even a TV in the back. The van had WiFi. You could stream Netflix in it. I didn't tell Magnus that it was more comfortable than sitting on the back of his motorcycle all day.

But I thought it.

I still refused to ever own a minivan. I would never make my wolf give up his mount.

We didn't actually watch Netflix. My sister and her Einherjer entertained us with stories of their centuries of fighting. They had been across the world. They had fought monsters I had never even heard of. And it was romantic the way they would describe standing back-to-back, facing down their enemies, only able to rely on each other.

It was my future with Magnus. If we managed to stop Loki.

The farther north we drove, the worse the weather became. By the time we entered Washington State, the storms were constant. We had to detour flooding, avoid storm debris, and navigate through miles of stalled traffic. The trip should have taken a day with us constantly driving and relieving each other every few hours.

It took us three.

But now we were here. I glanced up at the dark clouds swirling over head. Snow fell higher up despite it being summer. Other parts of the state were already inundated with snow. Seattle was buried under it. The world of Utgard spilled over into Midgard.

Killing Loki would do more than avenge Odin, Thor, Lynette, Baldur, the Black Wolves MC, and the countless others he killed. It would stop the world from ending. Brynhilda was tied into the Valkyrie network—they had their own Facebook group. My cousins, nieces, and aunts were fighting across the world, driving back incursions of monsters pouring out of Utgard, Jotunheim, and Nifelheim.

The minivan rounded a corner. A bedraggled field of flowers spread out before us. I had been to Paradise a few times. It was normally so gorgeous the way the wildflowers stretched out towards the steeper slope of Mount Rainier. It was a place of peace.

And the storm warred against it.

Sayyid pulled the minivan into an empty parking space at the end of the road. “We walk from here.”

“I expect Loki will have it guarded,” Magnus growled as he threw up the side door and stepped out into the deluge.

“Good,” Brynhilda grinned, twisting the scar on her cheek. “I'm itching to kill something.”

I was itching to end this.

The moment I stepped outside, I was soaked through. The rain flew sideways, stinging against any exposed skin. I would be freezing, but I had a Valkyrie's fire burning in my system. I summoned my sword and armor, the driving rain pinging off the silver metal.

“I'm ringing like a bell,” I complained.

Brynhilda, winged helmet framing her face, nodded. “This is nothing. When you're sailing in a storm at the prow of a longship, the freezing waves splashing over the side, your hair frosted with ice, while the storm drives sleet into your face. That is a bad day.”

Magnus donned the wolf cloak and gripped Heimdall's ax. He strode beside me, his eyes scanning for any danger. Sayyid became a massive werebear, his coat a golden brown, his steps thudding as he prowled beside my sister. We marched across the wildflowers, stepping on the poor, bedraggled things.

Magnus snarled and pointed with a clawed hand. “There.”

I glanced over at the where he pointed. The driving rain cut visibility down to only hundreds of yards, maybe the length of a football field, but I could make out the gray root of the Yggdrasil rising above the meadow.

“Is someone standing beside the pool?” I asked.

“Tyr,” groaned Brynhilda. “Loki left a guard.”

Another god that would try to kill me.

“It's good,” Sayyid growled. “Tyr seeks justice. He's not after vengeance. He doesn't let his passions rule his heart. We can deal with him. Convince him of your innocence, Raven.”

“He always keeps his words,” added Magnus. “That's how he lost his hand.”

“How'd he do that?”

“He stuck it in Fenrir's mouth,” Brynhilda answered. “It was the only way the wolf would agree to be chained. Tyr promised the wolf he could maim him if the other gods tricked Fenrir and would not release him if the wolf failed to break free.”

“I take it Fenrir failed?”

Brynhilda nodded. “And Tyr kept his word. He let Fenrir bite his hand off.”

I let out an impressed whistle.

Tyr resolved out of the deluge. He was a tall man, standing straight-back against the deluge assaulting him. He stared at us as the rain pelted his face. He never flinched once. I'm not even sure he blinked. His left hand rested on the hilt of a sword hanging from his right side. A smooth stump capped his right arm.

“Raven, daughter of Sigrid and Ragnar, you stand accused of deicide and oath breaking,” Tyr's voice boomed over the howling wind. “What is your defense?”

“I was tricked by Loki,” I answered, my voice clear. “He masqueraded in the guise of Odin and attacked me and my Einherjer. He threatened to kill the man I love. I thought I had no choice but to kill Odin to defend me and my lover.”

“She speaks true,” Brynhilda declared. “She carries Gungnir. Look at her sword. The slain reside in it.”

Tyr's gray eyes flicked to my sword then back to my face. “Two Valkyrie left to find justice. What happened to your sister, Lynette.”

“She was killed by Loki and replaced,” Brynhilda answered. “On the honor of my fire and sword, I witnessed the truth and heard Loki's own confession of his villainy. I stand with my younger sister and seek entrance to Asgard to deliver justice upon the miscreant. Stand aside, Tyr, and allow true justice to shine bright.”

“And if I do not step aside?” Tyr's voice was calm. His hand tightened on his sword. “Will you use violence to seek your goals?”

“No.” I stepped forward, my sword low. “I would use reason to show you the truth.” My finger brushed the ring. It didn't twitch or pulse. This wasn't Loki pretending to be Tyr. “If you are truly the god of justice, then you would want to do the same.”

Tyr inclined his head.

I stopped before him, just out of his sword's reach.

“Muninn and Huginn witnessed your deed,” Tyr stated. “They testified that you callously thrust your sword into Odin's heart.”

“A Valkyrie's sword could never kill Odin,” Brynhilda objected.

“I used the Sun's Tear, turned by Loki into a lance,” I answered. “Muninn is not remembering what happened correctly.”

“Muninn can only remember events correctly.”

“And if Loki, a man who can make every witness to Fenrir's rampage in Seattle see a tornado, how hard would it be to conjure an image to fool the ravens?” Magnus asked. “Unless you think a Valkyrie's sword could kill Odin.”

Tyr furrowed his brow. “No. You are correct. An Aesir requires a more powerful weapon, something forged by dwarves or gods. Not the fire of a Valkyrie's soul made manifest. Unless that sword had been...augmented.”

“Are you accusing me of having Gungnir before Odin died?” I asked. “How would I have done that? Magnus and I fought Loki pretending to be Odin. I had the Sun's Tear. I was thrown through a wall. My head rang. The real Odin approached me to...” My voice cracked. I took a deep breath. “To aid me. But all I could hear in my mind was Loki-Odin's words demanding that I had to kill Magnus to restore Sol to life. I couldn't do that. I had to defend my Einherjer, so I thrust. It was only after I stabbed him did I realize how thoroughly I had been deceived by Loki.”

I swallowed.

“I did kill Odin, but I believed it was in self-defense. If you think Justice demands my death for my mistake then,” I took a deep breath, “help me bring justice to Loki first. After that, I'll submit to your justice.”

“Raven,” snarled Magnus.

“I killed him, Magnus.” Tears ran down my cheeks. “I deserve to pay for that crime.”

“How do you have Gungnir?” Tyr asked, his eyes boring into mine.

“He gave it to me.”

“And your Einherjer is your only witness?”

I nodded.

“I must know your heart. If you truly wish to find justice, then open yourself to me. Let me experience your truth, and then I will make my decision.”

I let my sword vanish. “Do it.”

“Raven, don't do this,” snarled Magnus.

“I won't have another innocent man's blood on my hands.” A tear ran down my cheek. “Please, Magnus. I need this.”

“Then you agree?” Tyr asked, stepping closer, his hand still on his sword. He was within reach. He could draw the blade and kill me.

“Yes. Do it.” I closed my eyes, tensing my body.

Tyr didn't draw his sword and kill me. He kissed me.

I stood frozen as his lips pressed on mine. Magnus howled in rage behind me. The kiss wasn't a lover's kiss. It was both remote, without passion, and yet was the most intimate kiss I had ever experienced. Tyr was...delving into me. He peered into my heart as he kissed me. He explored my memories, my feelings, he seized my guilt with both hands and let it flow over him.

As he kissed me, I realized how open he was too an attack. I could summon my sword and it would plunge through his chest before he could stop me. He trusted me to submit to his judgment and not to try to kill him.

“Let her go,” howled Magnus. “Now.”

Tyr broke the kiss.

I stood stunned, staring at him, my body trembling. I shuddered, my thoughts violated by his presence. I spat, wanting to be rid of the taste of his lips on mine. My stomach twisted. Magnus lunged forward, but I caught him.

“No. I'm fine.”

Tyr took two steps back. “Valkyrie Raven, I judge you innocent of Odin's murder. You did act in self-defense. You were deceived. The onus lies on Loki. I swore I would deliver Justice to Odin's murder, and I shall. The way to Asgard lies open, Valkyrie. Shall you walk it with me and see the villain receive what he deserves?”

“Why did you do that?” I asked. “You left yourself open. I could have killed you.”