11. Reaper
11
Reaper
“ I already told you… No.”
Heidi pouts like only a teenager can when they’re denied something they really want. It’s the twins’ thirteenth birthday, and both of them asked for time in the fighting ring. I’m all for it as they need to learn how to defend themselves in Valhalla, but Kyra isn’t having it.
“But, Mom,” Heidi complains. “You learned how to fight before you became a Valkyrie. Why is it okay for you and not me?”
“Because I’m your mother,” Kyra says. “And you and Hunter are still children.”
“Uh, babe,” I insert. “I hate to break it to you, but they’re gonna have to learn some time.”
Kyra’s golden eyes burn bright. “And they will when they’re old enough.”
Lifting my hands in mock surrender, I grin. “They just want a chance to do what all the other kids are doing,” I remind her, referring to Viking and Makayla’s son and Inferno and Emmy’s two daughters.
One good thing Odin has done over the years, aside from making sure me and my brothers found love, is make it possible for children to be conceived in Valhalla. Being dead always meant that new life couldn’t be created, but that’s a thing of the past.
“But I only have to worry about my kids, no one else's.”
“Our kids,” I correct.
Kyra smiles sweetly, resting her hand on my chest. “Yes, Reaper, our kids.”
“Should I keep going?”
Annoyance washes over me at Skuld’s interruption. I whirl around, but she’s nowhere to be found.
“Wake up!” my Valkyrie shouts.
I bolt upright, the last vestiges of my dream fading. Skuld stands at the foot of my bed, and I glare at her.
“Hello, Reaper,” she says.
“What in the Fire Pits was that?” I demand, kicking free of the blanket and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten what a dream is.”
“Warriors don’t dream,” I remind her.
“You’re right, they don’t,” she agrees. “Unless, of course, their Valkyrie intervenes.”
I stare at her incredulously. How dare she manipulate me like that. Skuld scowls as she crosses her arms over her chest.
“How dare I?”
“Dammit, get outta my head.”
“If I could, I would.”
“Right,” I mutter. “Does Odin know you’re here?” Her shoulders stiffen, and that’s all the answer I need. “Why are you here?”
“Because I thought you needed a little reminder.”
“A reminder of what?”
“Of the good that love can bring,” she says simply as if that explains everything.
“And a dream was supposed to do that? One where Kyra and I are arguing no less.”
“A simple lovers quarrel.”
“And a glimpse into a life that’s impossible,” I snap.
“Afterlife,” she corrects.
“Exactly!”
Skuld sighs and moves to sit next to me on the mattress. “Have I ever steered you in the wrong direction?”
“Well, no.”
“And have I ever shown you anything in that dense head of yours that has been a lie?”
I swallow that growl that threatens. “No.”
“Then what makes you think I’d start now?”
Throwing my hands up, I stand and begin to pace. “I don’t know, Skuld. None of this makes sense.”
“And you’re making a very simple thing extremely complicated,” she counters.
“How the fuck would you know?” I argue. “You’ve never had a family and lost them.”
Her expression falls, and her shoulders slump. “I know more than you think, Reaper. Or were you under the impression that Valkyries didn’t have a life before their afterlife in Valhalla?”
“Shit, Skuld. I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Of course, you didn’t know because you never bothered to ask.”
I stop in front of her and level my gaze on hers. “I’m asking now.”
“I was blessed to have love twice. My human husband survived an attack on our village that I did not. And as a Valkyrie, I fell for a Warrior. It was forbidden, and when Odin found out, he damned my Warrior to the Fire Pits.”
Anger rolls through me on her behalf. If I didn’t hate our god before, I would now. “Yet you still serve him.”
“I do. It’s been many years since he issued that order, and he’s making up for it.”
“How?” I ask, genuinely curious.
If I were in her shoes, I don’t think I could ever forgive him for what he did.
“With you, Reaper. Aside from my loves, you’re the only person, dead or alive, that I’ve allowed myself to care about. And he’s making it up by trying to give you happiness.”
Not what I was expecting.
“Oh.”
“So, you see, if you deny yourself this opportunity, you’re not only hurting yourself, you’ll be condemning me as well.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… Warriors, as well as Valhalla Rising MC brothers, are loyal. We’re loyal to our brothers, our god, and our Valkyries. But that loyalty only carries a man so far.
“Skuld, I don’t know if I?—”
“All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind and heart.”
I chuckle, but there’s no humor in it. “I’m dead, Skuld. I don’t have a heart.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. But all I can promise is that I’ll try.”
“That’s all I want.”
Skuld begins to shimmer, and I know my time with her is coming to an end.
“Wait!” I call, and she hesitates. “Can I ask you something?”
The shimmer disappears, and she nods. “Anything.”
“Did you have kids in your human life?”
Her eyes widen. “I… Uh… No. But I was with child when I died,” she admits, settling her hand on her stomach. As she begins to shimmer again, she says, “Now, there’s some things waiting for you and the others outside. I suggest you all get a move on and head to the diner.”
I glance at the window and note that it’s still dark outside. Next, I look at my cell to check the time. It’s four in the morning. Why would we go to the diner now?
After changing into jeans and a hoodie, I make my way outside, and shock courses through me at what I see.
Skuld was right… We need to get moving.