Shadow Empress (Night Elves Trilogy Book 3) Page 13

  Before I had a chance to negotiate, Galin nodded his assent. “Deal.”

  Chapter 23

  Ali

  “Galin,” I hissed as I stumbled down the last few steps to the atrium. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  Only when his gaze swept over me did I remember I was still half naked. I wasn’t sure the valkyries would care either way.

  “You’ll fight with your dagger. You’ll win handily.”

  I glared at him. “No, I won’t. I can barely stand. I can’t believe you thought this was a good idea.”

  Galin’s eyes widened. “You still haven’t recovered?”

  I nodded hard.

  “Maybe we should try to escape?” he whispered. “I think I can cast a portal now. My voice is coming back.”

  I looked to the six massive valkyries watching us—and the one who stepped forward, ready to fight me with her dagger. “I nominate myself to fight the tiny elf.”

  Gondul was nearly as tall as Galin, her arms cut with muscle, shoulders broad. She was beautiful, but she also looked like she could crush my skull. And the cold fury in her eyes suggested that that was exactly what she was thinking about. If we fled, I was pretty sure she and the rest of the valkyries would hunt us to the ends of the earth.

  And worst of all, we wouldn’t be able to finish our quest.

  I shook my head. “No, we need to find Mimisbrunnr. I don’t think Gondul will accept anything but a fight at this point. You saw what she did to Hildr. The important thing is that Midgard and Vanaheim are not overrun by the draugr hordes.”

  “You think you can do it?” he asked.

  I took a shaky breath. “I’m going to give it my best shot.”

  His black eyes searched mine. “You will not die. I promise.”

  My fingers twitched, as cockiness started to bubble in my chest. “I know. I’m not going to let her kill me. Don’t worry about it.”

  Galin turned back to the valkyries. “Here are the rules. First one to draw the other’s blood three times wins. Does that seem fair?”

  “Yes.” Gondul’s eyes flicked to Skalei. “But no magic. Just blades.”

  While the rest of the valkyries backed up to give us room, I spoke to Gondul. “You’re wearing armor. I’ll just get dressed.”

  “No clothing.” Her voice boomed over the hall, and she started pulling off her armor. “If we are to see a scratch on the skin then we must fight in our underwear. You can stay as you are, princess.”

  Empress.

  I stared as she pulled off her dress, revealing a pair of underwear that looked like little shorts—but nothing on top. I supposed valkyries didn’t wear bras. A thick blonde braid fell over her heavily muscled shoulders.

  I held up my right hand, then called Skalei.

  Gondul’s eyebrows flicked up ever so slightly as the blade appeared in my grip.

  She smiled wickedly, blue eyes flashing, her teeth white as snow. Then, crouching down, she drew a long silver dagger from her boot. The thing was massive, practically a sword compared to Skalei.

  “Oi! She’s the size of a child,” cackled Hildr. “Gondul, don’t break the wee one.”

  “Are you ready?” asked Galin.

  Gondul nodded.

  “All right.” Galin’s voice was clearer now, and he raised his hands above his head. “In three, two, one.” A pause, then he dropped his hands. “Fight!”

  The valkyries began cheering as Gondul tossed her blonde braid over her shoulder and began to stalk towards me.

  “You ready to feel the steel of my blade, little one?”

  I backed away, testing my legs. They were definitely unsteady.

  “You can’t run from me, princess.”

  “I’m not a princess.”

  Gondul laughed, still moving towards me. “Whatever you are, you should brace yourself for pain.”

  She lunged fast, but I’d anticipated it and willed my legs into action. Somehow I managed to leap to the side while slashing up with Skalei. As Gondul passed, I felt the blade slice her skin.

  The valkyrie spun on her heels, blood dripping from her shoulder, eyes blazing with excitement. “Not bad, princess. The first hit.”

  Galin stepped forward. “We must check the wound.”

  Gondul slowed, then stopped as Galin and the valkyries crowded round. Panting, my hands on my knees, I watched them check the cut on her shoulder.

  “Gods in Hel, Gondul,” swore Hildr, looking extremely put out. “You’ve got to win this. I haven’t had a chance with a bloke in ages, you know.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” hissed Gondul. “Of course I’ve got this.”

  Galin and the valkyries stepped back.

  “Then the score is settled: one to zero. The Empress leads,” Galin declared.

  I gripped Skalei, trying not to get too complacent. I still had to cut the massive valkyrie two more times, and it wasn’t going to get any easier. In the next round, Gondul would be more cautious, more cunning, and I was at a serious disadvantage with my tired legs.

  We squared off again, twenty feet apart. Gondul held her dagger tightly in her right hand, her legs slightly apart, her ice-blue eyes fiercely focused on me.

  Galin stood between us. “Round two, in three, two, one”—a millisecond pause—“fight!”

  Gondul lunged. I’d expected her to be more careful this time, to force me to attack. Instead, the powerful woman barreled towards me like a wrecking ball.

  I braced myself, gripping Skalei. Was she going to do the same thing again? She’d already seen what happened with this approach. All I had to do was leap out of the way, and slash with my blade.

  As she moved closer, I dodged to the left, away from her blade hand. I slashed with Skalei—but this was not the same attack.

  She swung at my head with her free hand. I tried to duck, but the valkyrie was experienced, and her fist slammed into my temple with a crunch. Stars filled my vision, and my legs gave out.

  I hadn’t even hit the floor when Gondul’s dagger plunged into my chest. Ice-cold steel pierced my heart, a blow so hard it sent me slamming into the marble. Gondul followed, leaping on me. Straddling me, she tore out the blade and raised it victoriously above her head, shrieking like a banshee. A numbing chill had filled my core, and along with it—panic.

  This had been her plan all along. She never intended on using her blade to scratch or mark me. She’d gone straight for the kill.

  I coughed, spitting up hot blood. The panic started to leave me.

  I’d always assumed that death would be painful. That I’d writhe and moan, fight till the very end. But all I felt was cold spreading through me, ice in my veins. The marble was cool against my back, the sounds of the valkyries soft and distant. My vision flickered as if I were about to fall asleep.

  But I didn’t entirely welcome the end. No, a dull fury was coursing through me. There was so much I’d left unfinished. The draugr horde still threatened my people; Barthol remained trapped in Hel. Even Galin deserved a better fate. I looked to him, a blurry form above me. Regret ripped me open. He was no longer my mate—but the thought of leaving him was agony.

  He was talking to me, but the words were lost to me now.

  I shut my eyes. A true warrior dies in battle.

  Chapter 24

  Ali

  My heart twitched. Lurched hard in my chest. Beat once, twice, a third time. My lungs convulsed. I coughed hot blood onto the marble.

  “What is going on? Am I dead?” I managed to croak before spitting up more blood.

  Gondul flashed me a smug grin. “Before Ragnarok, the greatest warriors lived here. We’d fight all day, then drink and fuck all night. In Valhalla you cannot die. Here, you are like us.”

  Of course, she is right. That was why Galin had said I wouldn’t die. He meant it literally.

  Galin reached down and helped me to my feet. I leaned against him, clutching my chest. My skin burned where Gondul’s dagger had penetrated it.

  �
��Hurts though, doesn’t it. Never gets easier.” She passed me her drinking horn. “Apart from the fear. That goes away. Mead helps.”

  I waved it away, wanting to stay alert. “No thank you.”

  Gondul smiled. “You may be tiny, but you’re not stupid. Smart to keep your wits about you. Ready for the third round?”

  I definitely was not ready. My legs were jelly, my chest throbbed, my mouth still tasted of blood. But I didn’t get the sense the valkyries would let me wait around till I felt up to it.

  I nodded to Galin. “Any time.”

  Tentatively, he stepped away from me, then quickly counted down.

  This time Gondul didn’t charge.

  “Your turn princess,” she said quietly, her blue eyes flashing. Goading me.

  “I am not a princess.”

  I stalked forward, or at least I tried to; my legs were still unsteady.

  “Gondul!” shouted Hildr. “The little bird’s got a lame wing. Put her out of her misery.”

  Gondul grunted, her eyes narrowing predatorily. She began to circle me, passing her dagger back and forth between her hands, showing off.

  I moved with her, keeping distance. Waiting.

  “You can’t run from me,” growled Gondul.

  I needed her to strike first. My only chance was to counterattack.

  What had Hildr said? Bird’s got a lame wing. I remembered how Swegde had once pointed out a little bird in the grasslands. “That’s a killdeer,” he explained. “They lay their eggs in the grass. No nest. But if you get too close, they pretend to be hurt. The predator chases them and they lead them away from their babies.”

  I could use that—feign a worse injury and lure Gondul in close enough to strike.

  Clutching my heart, I staggered. I pretended to trip over the stones. Gondul stepped forward, gripping her knife tightly.

  As I pretended to fall, I hurled Skalei. The blade glinted in the firelight.

  I’d aimed for Gondul’s throat, but at the last moment she tried to twist out of the way, and the blade hit her in the ribs, between her breasts. She fell back, eyes bulging as she clutched her chest, Skalei’s hilt protruding through her fingertips.

  “Nearly ruined your tits!” Hildr called out.

  Gondul’s face contorted, and she ripped out Skalei, hurling it across the room. It lodged in the marble ten feet above my head.

  “That’s two marks for Ali, one for Gondul,” said Galin.

  The huge valkyrie glared at me, blood pouring down her chest. She looked furious now, her grip so tight on her dagger the blade shook. She didn’t like to lose.

  I opened my mouth to call for my blade, but Gondul cut me off as she bellowed, “No magic.”

  She didn’t wait for Galin to count off the round. She just charged. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she barreled towards me like an enraged rhinoceros, her dagger held straight out. I tried to dodge, but my legs still felt like lead. My heart beat like a war drum, adrenalin sparking through my nerves.

  In my mind’s eye, I saw what came next. Gondul stabbing as I flailed, her dagger on an unerring path to my heart, the searing pain as the blade severed my aorta.

  Gondul was almost upon me, her dagger slicing downward like a viper’s tooth. But I wasn’t about to let myself be stabbed in the chest again. I threw up my right arm. Gondul’s blade plunged through my forearm, as her momentum carried her into me. She drove me back, my arm above my head.

  I lost my footing then, instinctively grabbing the only thing I could reach—Gondul’s wrist. The mighty valkyrie’s inertia continued to carry me backward, until we fell with a crash. I hit the marble hard, and Gondul fell on top of me. Blinding pain lanced through my arm, and I screamed as the valkyrie’s dagger wrenched awkwardly, digging into my bone.

  I expected Gondul to rear back, to howl in victory, but instead the beast of a woman lay on top of me like a blanket of muscle. I tried to move, but the valkyrie wouldn’t budge.

  “Let me up,” I gasped. “You won that round.”

  Gondul didn’t move. Blood dripped down my arm, and I struggled to breathe.

  “Gondul, stop playing around!” shouted Hildr. “She’s a princess, not a mattress.”

  Only then did the massive valkyrie’s body shift, rolling off me at last. I gasped as pain radiated down my arm. Even without looking, I knew that Gondul’s dagger was still embedded in it.

  Then a shadow passed over me, and I saw Galin’s black eyes looking down. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Dagger’s still in my arm, right?”

  With a grimace, Galin nodded. Behind him I saw the valkyries peer at me.

  Hildr’s eyebrows flicked up, and her eyes flashed with excitement. “Girls, Gondul got her in the forearm, it’s two to two! One final round to decide it!” She wiggled her hips. “And then the fun begins.”

  It was as I’d expected. One last fight. Everything on the line. I needed to get up and somehow collect my blade, lodged several feet above my head. Gods, this isn’t good.

  But Galin didn’t seem worried. “Hildr, I believe you’re mistaken.” He pointed to Gondul. The valkyrie lay on the floor, flat on her back, her eyes unfocused. My blood stained the skin of her chest. Galin pointed to her neck.

  I sucked in a short breath. Along the side of her throat, a deep wound was bleeding. Simultaneously, the other valkyries and I realized its significance. When Gondul slammed me to the floor, her own blade, lodged as it was in my arm, had sliced open her throat. She hadn’t been lying on top of me as some sort of act of dominance. She’d been dead.

  Gondul’s eyes snapped open. “What’s going on?”

  There was a long pause as the valkyries simply glared at her. At last Hildr spoke. “You ruined our chances of getting laid, you stupid cow.”

  “What?” said Gondul, in complete disbelief.

  “You fell on your own blade.” Hildr held up three fingers, then two. “Three marks for her, only two for you.”

  “Gods damned!” shouted Gondul, slamming her fist against the floor. “Gods damned. That tiny thing?”

  The valkyries stood with eyes downcast, obviously disappointed. Hildr looked like she might cry. I couldn’t say I felt very sorry for them.

  “Give me your hand,” said Galin. I thought he was going to help me up, but instead he yanked out Gondul’s dagger.

  I clenched my jaw as pain shot up my arm like a lightning bolt. And yet, with the magic of Valhalla, I could already feel it healing.

  Galin pulled me up properly and I glared at him. “Next time, let’s find a solution that doesn’t involve me getting stabbed.”

  He pinned me with his gaze. “I knew you would win. Now, we still have business with the valkyries. Gondul has a promise to keep.”

  Chapter 25

  Ali

  Galin turned back to Gondul and the valkyries. “Tell us how to get to Mimisbrunnr.”

  Gondul laughed. “I don’t know where the Hel that place is.”

  Dark shadows swirled around Galin. He seemed to grow larger, air darkening around him, and a chill rippled over me. Gondul might be scary, but Galin was scarier. “You gave your word.”

  “I told you I’d help you find it.”

  “All right,” said Galin slowly, “then help us.”

  I dressed again, in clothes that were still damp, and waited for Gondul and Galin outside the room I would have liked to curl up in for a nap. My body felt shattered, but it looked like we were moving again. Even if the pillows were more inviting than anything.

  Gondul arrived, wearing her clothes and armor again. There was a bit of blood in her hair, but otherwise she looked completely healed. I leaned against the doorway, trying to ignore the pain in my body.

  “Why is it that I’m so tired and Galin’s throat is still injured?” I asked. “And yet I’ve recovered from being stabbed in the heart?”

  Gondul shrugged. “Only injuries sustained in Valhalla heal. If you hurt yourself outside these walls, the magic doesn’t help
. I hope you’re up for climbing stairs.”

  Not really. I plastered a smile on my face.

  Gondul turned away and started up. I tightened my fists as I followed.

  But as soon as her back was turned, I leaned on Galin. My legs shuddered as we climbed, my arm wrapped around his bare waist. We didn’t speak—Galin still hoarse, and me too tired.

  “Where are you taking us?” asked Galin.

  “You’ll see,” Gondul called out. “Where is your sense of adventure?”

  Flight after flight, ascending toward the skies.

  We’d been climbing for what seemed like hours—though it might have been thirty minutes—when Gondul turned off one of the landings. We followed her down a long hallway. Torches lit sleek ivory marble. At the end of the hall, we reached a set of dark mahogany doors carved with ravens. A shiver ran over me, the feeling of a long-dormant power rippling over the stone.

  Gondul turned to us. “These were once Odin’s quarters.” Then, she opened the doors.

  I gasped. Inside was a breathtaking apartment. A row of windows along one wall revealed a panoramic view of Asgard. The city was a shattered ruin, but even so it was spectacular—shimmering stone in silver light spread out before us.

  Paintings on the walls depicted greats scenes of battle, boats sailing across the sea—and ravens, everywhere. Here, in a god’s quarters, I felt like I was trespassing.

  Gondul waltzed in as if she owned the place, sauntering over to a side room.

  With Galin’s help, I followed. An enormous bed stood in the middle of the room, draped with fur blankets.

  I glanced at Galin. What did he think about exploring a god’s personal chambers? The expression of near horror on his face succinctly answered the question.

  Gondul dropped to the floor and began rummaging under the bed. I couldn’t imagine what she could be looking for, until she pulled out a small alligator skin case.

  “This should answer your questions.” She placed it onto the bed.