Chapter 38 - Danica
Danica
Vidar strikes with blinding speed. I lean back Matrix-style, watching the blade pass inches from my face in slow motion. Angel fire erupts from my palms as I flip backward, using the momentum to launch a counter-attack. The flames pass harmlessly through the champion's shadowy form.
"Too slow, Lightborn," he mocks, splitting into three identical forms.
"Oh, that's just bullshit," I mutter, channeling the Aquanite's power. Ice crystals form in the air as I weave between the blades, each movement precise and fluid. I create a shield of frozen light just as two swords converge on my position.
Vidar's sword whistles through the air, missing my throat by millimeters as I duck and roll. My shoulder slams into the icy ground, sending jolts of pain up my arm.
"Getting tired yet, Void-face?" I taunt, pushing myself up. Blood trickles down my temple where I hit my head on the ice. "Because I could do this all day."
"Dani." Rhyland's voice carries that edge of barely controlled fury. "Stop provoking it."
The champion moves like a liquid shadow, his form rippling between solid and void. My light passes straight through it while Rhyland's telekinetic assault seems to hit something tangible. But nothing slows it down.
"Provoke it?" I dodge another swing. "I'm just making conversation—shit!"
Pain explodes across my back as the champion's fist connects, sending me flying into one of the frozen waterfalls. Ice shards tear through my shirt, biting into flesh. I hit the ground hard, tasting blood.
Rhyland's roar of rage echoes off the crystalline walls. The air vibrates with his power as he hurls a barrage of ice shards at the creature. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"
Rhyland's power tears chunks from the walls, hurling them with devastating force. The projectiles shatter against two shadow forms but connect solidly with the third. The impact sends the champion reeling—until it's severed arm reforms from pure darkness.
"Rhyland, watch out!"
My warning comes too late. A blade of pure shadow catches Rhyland in the chest, launching him across the chamber. He slams into the frozen wall with a sickening crack, ice shards raining down around his crumpled form.
"No!" Terror and rage explode through me. Time stops completely as I channel both light and ice. Angel fire wraps around my arms like burning wings while frost spreads from my feet in deadly patterns.
The champion laughs—until I phase through its next attack like a ghost, my body moving faster than thought. My fist, wrapped in burning light and crackling ice, connects with its shadowy face. The impact sends shock waves through the chamber.
"Impressive," he hisses, staggering back.
I press the advantage, moving like water between its strikes. Each dodge flows into a counter-attack, light, and ice working in perfect harmony. Vidar's forms try to surround me, but I'm everywhere and nowhere, leaving trails of frozen fire in my wake.
"Your predecessors all thought themselves worthy," the creature growls. "Their frozen forms now decorate my halls. Shall I tell you how each one failed?"
"How about," I grit through clenched teeth, "you tell us how to shut you the fuck up instead?"
A groan from Rhyland splits my concentration. The champion's blade slices across my back, burning cold. I stumble, and another cut opens along my ribs. Blood freezes on my skin instantly.
"Your love makes you weak," Vidar taunts, his forms converging. "Like all who came before."
"No." I rise slowly, power building around me like a storm. "That's where you're wrong, asshole. My love makes me stronger."
The Aquanite stone sings in my crown as I reach out to every frozen surface in the chamber. Angel fire erupts from my hands, but I don't try to pierce the champion's darkness this time. Instead, I create a cage of pure light, trapping it in place.
"What is this?" he snarls, shadows writhing against the barrier.
"This?" Ice crystals form in the air, each one blazing with inner fire. "This is me being done with your shit."
"Nice try," he gasps as its darkness begins to fragment. "You cannot..."
The champion's laugh suddenly turns triumphant. A wave of pure darkness explodes, shattering my light cage like glass. The force slams into me like a freight train, sending me flying across the chamber. I hit the ice wall hard enough to crack it, stars exploding behind my eyes.
"Foolish child," the champion's voice drips with contempt. "Did you think your parlor tricks could defeat me alone?"
I try to push myself up, but my limbs won't cooperate. Blood trickles from my lips, every breath sending daggers through my ribs. The cuts on my body burn with an otherworldly cold, spreading numbness through my veins.
"Dani!" Rhyland's roar echoes off the walls. Through blurry vision, I see him charge the champion, his power manifesting like a storm.
"Rhy, wait—"
Vidar dissolves into shadow, reforming behind him with his sword raised.
Time slows as I push myself up, ribs screaming in protest. The Aquanite sings to me again, urging me to action. I reach out, commanding the ice beneath the champion's feet to spike upward. Vidar leaps away, but his movement gives Rhyland time to spin clear.
"Would you stop trying to be the hero?" I wheeze, stumbling to his side. "We need a plan."
"The plan is keeping you alive," he growls, eyes blazing.
The champions laughter fills the chamber. "Your light cannot pierce my shadow, Lightborn," it taunts, "And your strength cannot grasp what isn't solid, Son of Nyx."
Wait. Wait. Wait. The way it shifts between solid and shadow... the way it only becomes tangible at certain moments...
"Rhyland," I gasp, clutching my bleeding leg. "It's quantum."
"What?"
"Like Schrodinger's cat—it exists in multiple states simultaneously." My scientist's brain kicks into overdrive. "It's only solid when observed when light hits it. But your power affects it when it's in shadow form."
Understanding dawns in his eyes. "So we need to—"
"Hit it in both states at once." I push myself up, ignoring the stabbing pain. "Think you can time it, right?"
His arm tightens around my waist. "Just tell me when."
The champion charges, his blade leaving trails of darkness through the air. Time warps around us as I gather my power, angel fire blazing in one hand while the Aquanite stone pulses in my crown.
"Now!"
My light erupts just as Rhyland's power strikes.
The Einherjar tries to shift forms, but it's caught between states—my radiance forcing it's shadows solid, while Rhyland's telekinesis tears at its now solid form.
Ice crystals form in the air, infused with burning light, piercing through both aspects of its being.
Vidar screams, a sound of agony and revelation. Its form begins to dissolve, not into shadow this time but into pure energy—its essence.
"The jar!" I fumble for Baldr's container with blood-slicked hands. "Help me—"
Rhyland's power joins mine as we guide the swirling essence into the jar. As I seal the lid, it pulses with captured energy.
His essence swirls like a liquid shadow. Storm-grey light seeps between my fingers, casting strange patterns across the frozen chamber walls. The cold glass vibrates with power, a reminder of how close we came to joining those frozen warriors in their icy tombs.
"One down," I whisper, watching dark energy writhe within its prison. The essence seems to reach toward me, testing its boundaries before coiling back on itself like a wounded serpent.
My legs give out, the adrenaline crash hitting hard. Rhyland catches me, his face tight with rage and concern.
"That was reckless," he growls, already examining my wounds.
"Says the guy who lost his cool and nearly got skewered." I wince as he probes my ribs. "Besides, I totally solved the quantum physics puzzle. You're welcome."
"Angel." His voice drops lower, dangerous. "You're bleeding from at least four places."
"They're just flesh wounds," I joke, but it becomes more of a groan. "Besides, Viking's dig scars, right?"
"Not funny," he grumbles, but his hands are already gentle as they examine my injuries. "You could have been killed."
"Please," I scoff, wincing as he finds a particularly tender spot. "Death would have to get through you first, and we both know you're way too much of a stubborn ass to let that happen."
A deep grumble vibrates through his chest, his blue eyes darkening to midnight. Without hesitation, Rhyland brings his wrist to his mouth, fangs piercing flesh. Blood wells from the wound—the second time today, he's opened his veins for me.
His hand tangles in my hair, tilting my head back as he presses his bleeding wrist to my lips. "Drink." The command leaves no room for argument.
I meet his gaze, taking in the shadows under his eyes, the strain etched into his features.
His own wounds from the battle have barely started healing, yet here he is, offering more of himself.
The Atherite stone healing power works too slowly for his liking—it always has.
The sight of my blood, my pain, drives him to this every time.
His blood hits my tongue, hot and electric.
The effect is immediate—a rush of power that makes my nerve endings sing.
I feel my torn flesh knitting together, the deep gash in my thigh sealing itself with a strange tingling sensation.
My ribs snap back into place with an audible pop that would make me flinch if the pleasure of his blood wasn't overwhelming everything else.
His taste—ocean, thunder, and raw power—floods my senses as my body heals. Each pull draws a low rumble from his chest, his fingers tightening in my hair. Even weakened from battle, his blood carries enough strength to remake me, to erase every mark the Einherjar left on my flesh.