Epilogue
REAPER
Six and a half years later…
“ 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.”
Heidi and Hunter arrived in Valhalla exactly three days after Kyra did. They died at the ripe old age of ninety-four and only six days apart. Odin held Hunter in a state of limbo at the transition house with Ms. Steinbeck until he and Heidi could come together. At Kyra’s request, he wiped their memories so that there wouldn’t be too much confusion.
When they arrived, it took some time to adjust, but Krya and I explained to them that it was the grandest adventure of their life, and that did the trick. As they get older, we give them more and more details. Just enough to satisfy their curiosity and never more than they can handle.
“Speaking of our kids,” I say. “Where’s Polly?”
As soon as Odin changed things, Kyra and I began trying for a baby. Our little girl, Polly, is now three, and the light of our afterlives.
“She’s with Makayla and Viking. Juno wanted to have a sleepover.”
Juno is Viking’s youngest, and she’s also three.
“Dad, can’t you talk some sense into Mom?” Hunter asks. “She’s being unreasonable.”
“Oh, Fire Pits, no,” I say with a chuckle. “You’re not getting me in trouble. I tried, and you know as well as I do, when Mom says ‘no’, she means ‘no.”
“Ugh, fine.” He looks at his twin. “Let’s go, Heidi. Maybe Skuld can find us something fun to do.”
The two of them walk away to find my Valkyrie. Well, she’s their Valkyrie as well, and a valued member of our family.
“You know what this means?” Kyra says, sliding her hands over my shoulders.
“What?”
“We’ll have our quarters to ourselves for a while.”
“Yes. Yes, we do.”
I lift her off her feet and toss her over my shoulder to carry her home. Kyra laughs, and it’s a sound I will never tire of hearing.
“What are you gonna do to me, Reaper?” she asks, her voice sultry.
“Wicked, wicked things. You better hope Odin and Skuld aren’t listening in.”