A Soul Like Glass (Kingdom of Betrayal #4)

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

I ’m surprised when the Valkyrie Queen’s wings droop and her hand rises urgently. “Wait,” she cries. “Please.”

She was moving toward us, and I thought it was because she intended to attack us, but now I’m not so certain.

“I misjudged this moment,” she says, her gaze passing from Erik, to me, to Galeia, then to Cailey. And finally to the dragon, who has risen even higher into the sky but continues to hover above us.

She swallows visibly. “I need to speak with Asha Silverspun.”

I’m conflicted. The longer we stay here, the greater the risk that a twitchy bowman will shoot an arrow at us. Or that the Valkyrie Queen is about to orchestrate some ploy to take Galeia from us.

I’m also very concerned about the dragon.

It’s showing signs of landing—or at least approaching the ground—and Galeia may not react well if it comes near her.

It coasts toward the rocky outcrop that now sits behind me, the same outcrop it shot up in front of when it knocked us into a spin.

There’s no sign of Blackbird, and I hope he’s staying low and isn’t hurt.

“It’s up to you,” Erik murmurs to me.

Cailey gives me a reassuring nod. “The Einherjar won’t make a move while I’m here,” she says as if she reads my fears. “Neither will the dragon.”

Turning to the Valkyrie Queen, I say, “I’ll speak with you.”

As I step to the side, I take out my hammer, making it clear I won’t hesitate to use it.

As my power spills around me, her eyes narrow at me.

I arch my eyebrows right back at her. “You carry your wings. I will carry my hammer.”

“Very well. Over here.” She gestures to a clear patch of grass not too far from Erik, who doesn’t take his eyes off me. Neither, for that matter, does Galeia, her little lips pursed into a snarl that’s clearly directed at the Queen.

Only now, I take in the pathway leading up to the wooden wall around the village. It’s lined with spikes, each one more gruesome than the next. I was lucky I didn’t fall on one.

“Speak,” I say to the Queen, keeping my distance from her.

She folds her hands in front of herself but doesn’t retract her wings. “My generals told me what your hammer did to their feathers and their armor. They also told me you tried to revive the Vandawolf and failed. Clearly, they were wrong about that.”

She stops speaking and peers at me as if I have some answer for her.

I don’t.

All I have are accusations. “You forced General Glass to give up her daughter.”

“We do not tolerate weakness,” she replies without a hint of regret.

“You mean you don’t tolerate empathy,” I say. “Or perhaps you fear divergence.”

“I fear extinction,” she says, her voice strained. “It begins with the kind of dark magic that has kept that creature alive.”

“You mean my magic,” I say, giving her a pointed stare. “Only when combined with Blacksmith magic can dark magic achieve such a thing.”

Her hands unfold, a potentially threatening move, but she proceeds to firmly cross her arms across her chest as if she were determined to chain her reactions.

I’m certain she rarely engages in an argument that she can’t win with a show of force.

The muscles in her jaw clench before she blows out a slow, firm exhale. “Every Valkyrie Queen passes on a warning to the next,” she says. “I don’t know when the warning started or if it holds any truth, but I can’t ignore it.”

I consider her warily, uncertain of her change of topic. “What is the warning?”

“When a star falls, it will be the end of the beginning.”

Cailey said something similar about beginnings and endings, but it didn’t make any more sense then than it does now.

My forehead creases. “What does that mean?”

“I didn’t understand it, either. Not until just now.” The Queen takes a deep breath. “I believe it’s a warning that the days when supernaturals can walk openly on this Earth will come to an end. One day, we will have to hide who and what we are.”

The gravity of her tone gives me pause. Just as she did moments ago, I look to the dragon perched majestically on the rocks, then to Cailey’s bright form, then to Galeia and Erik, taking in their wolfishness.

“My daughter is only a baby, and yet I fear for her future,” the Valkyrie Queen says softly. “Now that you also have a child, you too must surely fear what will come to pass.”

Well, at least she’s stopped calling Galeia a creature.

“I’ve lived with fear my whole life,” I say. “But why are you expressing your worries to me?”

“Because I need to know which side you will choose in the coming war: human or supernatural.”

Neither.

“I will not take part in any war.”

She arches her eyebrows at me. “Clearly, you don’t know what the Vandawolf came to ask us.”

I’m wary. “Enlighten me.”

“The human Queen wishes to form an alliance with the Einherjar. She wants them to fight for her against the fae. My mate, who is the chieftain of this clan, declined her request. I know where he stands. What I need to know… is what you will do.”

I consider her carefully. “Why me, in particular?”

The tension in her posture increases. “Because you have the power to force the Valkyries to follow you.”

Her focus falls to my hammer. “Until my generals told me what you did, I believed that there were only two kinds of supernaturals who posed any threat to the Valkyries. One kind are the Keres, but they are our allies and would never betray us. The other kind are the Furies, but they are built to exact justice, so if a Fury comes for a Valkyrie, well, that Valkyrie deserves to die. But Blacksmiths…” She gives a sharp exhale. “Even when Malak came to the north, I didn’t fear him. But you …”

Her voice is filled with dread as she steps toward me, closer than she should. “I fear what you will do to us.”

I’m astounded that she would admit this to me. “What do you want from me?”

“I need to know: Will you force us into this fight?”

Once again, I find my focus on Erik. He came here to ask for the Einherjar’s support, but his reasons for doing so can’t be simple. I can’t assume he has pledged his support to the human Queen.

Although… anything could have happened in the last day.

After all, here I am with a child I didn’t know existed.

All I can tell the Queen is what I know to be true.

“War won’t solve this.” I turn my attention back to her. “I’ve been pulled into the heart of the darkness in the east. The blight is spreading. Even if I believe that the fae are the aggressors in this situation, darkness is the real enemy, not the fae.”

The Valkyrie gives me a suddenly wry look, one eyebrow arching a little. “Have you met Queen Karasi?”

I let out a laugh. “Oh, there’s no doubt she’s a shrewd leader.”

“ Shrewd is a generous description,” the Valkyrie Queen replies before her smile fades. “Her people are suffering. Mine will, too, if the blight reaches us. I’m not a fool, Asha. We will soon have to fight for our homes.”

“It’s the darkness that has to be stopped,” I say.

But she shakes her head at me. “You can’t use magic to stop a darkness that feeds on the life force of dead magical beings. Even humans, who all have a small amount of magic in their bodies, can feed it. The more magic you pour into the blight, the darker it grows.” She gives a frustrated sigh. “It is self-sustaining.”

“Then there’s no hope,” I say, but my words are a challenge, not resignation. “We should all simply give up, walk into it, and let it be.”

She narrows her eyes at me.

I stare back at her.

“Oh, I think we might have been friends,” she says, her voice quiet.

“Perhaps we still can be.”

She gives me a nod, but she waits, and I know she needs more. She needs to know if I’ll force her to take action she doesn’t want to take.

“I will not force you into this war,” I say, but I hold up my hand. “But I want something in return.”

“What is it?”

“Leave us be. All of us.”

Her focus is suddenly on Galeia, but I’m not finished.

“And tell General Glass that her daughter will be loved.”

The Valkyrie Queen’s eyes are now narrow, silver slits.

There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s struggling with my demands, and I’m really not sure what she’ll choose.

“Or we can fight,” I say calmly. “And I will win. After which, I’ll force the Valkyries and the Einherjar to fight on the side of the humans.”

The Queen eyes me with such resentment that I’m surprised by her response.

“We would most certainly have been friends,” she says. “I agree to your terms.”

Without another word, she sweeps her wings back, rises into the air, and lifts her voice to a commanding shout. “Fall back! Let them leave.”

The warriors on the wall immediately lower their weapons.

Now that I’m holding my hammer, I can make out their features. One of them, an older man, catches my attention. He has the brightest blue eyes, glowing sapphire in a way that makes me suspect he is somehow in constant contact with his deep light.

He gives the Valkyrie Queen a firm, supportive nod, which draws a soft smile to her face before she soars back to him.

Within moments, she has disappeared into the village, and only a few warriors patrol the wall.

A hush falls around me, broken only by Galeia’s soft snarls, but she sounds less fearful now.

I find myself taking a deep breath.

Across the way, Erik’s expression is no less fierce, but there’s something in his eyes, something lost…

I hurry toward him, reaching him as fast as I can, wrapping my arms around him and Galeia, my power glowing around all of us. “Erik?—”

Cailey’s voice interrupts me. “We don’t have time for reunions. We must move.” She’s already spinning to the dragon, addressing him as if she has authority over him. “Vargo Vanem, you will carry Erik, Asha, and Galeia. I will ride the wolf-bird. We will go west. To my home. You know the way.”

The dragon inclines his head, an unexpected show of reverence. “Yes, Caoilainn Liadan. As you request, it will be done.”

Blackbird appears at that moment, sweeping toward Cailey. She launches herself into the air and onto his back in one seamless move as he soars past her. “Hurry!”

I take Erik’s hand, meeting his eyes. I suddenly can’t find words. Some of the ferocity in his expression fades. I press my cheek to his, and that’s all we have time for.

The dragon soars from the rock to the flat plain beside us, sending a gust of wind around us that nearly knocks me off my feet. I quickly put my hammer away and reach for Galeia, but her arms only tighten around Erik’s neck.

“Okay?” I ask him, and it feels like I’m asking for far more than that he carries her on the journey.

I’m asking him to protect her. To accept my choice to bring her with me. To support me in trying to help her. All without knowing anything about who she is and why she’s here with me.

He nods. “I’ll look after her.”

Within minutes, we’re seated in the saddle on Vargo’s back, Erik holding Galeia in front while I sit behind him. This way, I can lean forward and tell him everything.

Then we’re rising into the night, and once again, I cling to the hope that wherever Cailey’s taking us, it won’t be into danger.