Epilogue
Summer
VALHALLA
“ S ummer?” Velora calls my name, and I glance over my shoulder at her. “Are you coming to training today?”
I nod as I finish braiding my hair and stand up, grabbing my staff as I follow her out, her vibrant purple hair serving as a beacon.
I’ve gotten to know the streets of Valhalla a little in the three weeks I’ve been here, but I still have some issues finding the right training ground.
The Valkyries are fierce warriors, but luckily, they are sympathetic to females scorned by males, and they have definitely made me feel safe.
Valhalla was one of our first stops after leaving Avalon, and it was Mira who suggested it.
After I explained everything to Mira, she reached out to her Valkyrie friend, Nehmon, who let us stay with her while we sorted out another situation.
I believe that being in hiding from a male made them even more sympathetic to the cause.
Through her, I met Velli, and we bonded by getting drunk and exchanging dating horror stories.
Though I have yet to tell her about my latest one, in fact.
The only time I have let myself think about Stranger is when I’m training.
The Valkyries have fascinating battle runes that let them alter the appearance of their adversaries.
So when you fight, you can reach within yourself and tap into that true anger.
If you are able to harness it correctly, it is stronger than any magic.
Honestly, I am failing miserably at that. Every time I use my rune to make my dummy into the stranger, I black out with rage until I have to be physically restrained by multiple warriors, pulling me away from training, kicking and screaming.
I take a breath, and we fall into our meditation, which we do before every session.
Lena, the leader of the Valkyries, has taken it upon herself to monitor my progress.
She has ordered me to attend extra sessions of the mandatory meditations.
Not that they seem to help. I close my eyes and try to find the sprig of calm within myself, but like always, it’s completely absent, and I end up just sitting with my eyes closed for thirty minutes before I’m allowed to start.
In the absence of the halo, in the absence of having any reason to stay in the light, to stay good, the darkness roils like a hurricane inside me, desperate to be unleashed.
Unleashed at him.
With a sigh, I finally stand up and stretch before picking up my staff. Slowly I work through my movements. I hate the staff. I hate how long and heavy it is. It requires a different level of precision than my sai, and after every session, my shoulders ache from the weight.
“You still not allowed sharp things?” Velli asks, laughing softly.
“Nope,” I say, glancing at Lena, who is watching me carefully, but I hold back my glare, knowing it’ll just prolong this punishment.
Velli kicks her dummy in the chest, and it flies away from her. She holds her hand out and closes her fist before yanking her arm away, pulling the dummy back using her magic.
What has struck me the most about the Valkyries is that their training is combat-heavy, yet they always look so perfect. They’re never sweaty, and their hair is never out of place. They look like models who can fight.
Goals.
A few hours later, I wipe the sweat from my brow.
“Sum?” Alice’s voice fills my head.
“I’ll see you later,” I say to Velli before turning and following the footpath into the rainforest. “Alice.”
The rain starts to pour, and I’m instantly soaked by the warm water, but I don’t care. It’s washing away the sweat slicking my skin.
“Still okay?”
“Yeah, you?”
I arrive back at my hut before she replies, and I sink into the tub that is already full of steaming water. My muscles groan as they soak up the heat from the scalding water.
“I’m fine. Farrah and Uriel miss you.”
I exhale, looking at the halo and the shell bracelet that is still around my wrist, for some reason, and then I look at his black one. It sits on my bedside table, and my anger boils beneath my skin.
“Mira is in Hell? She get there okay?”
“Yeah, Rafe called last night,” Alice says, and I can hear the tension in her voice.
I exhale and relax back into the bath. The amulet takes so much energy to use, especially when we’re both calling from locked realms.
“Love you, Sum.”
“Love you too,” I say, before pulling off the amulet and throwing it on the bed. I summon his bracelet to me, brushing my fingers over the shells, tracing the sharp edges still dark with my dried blood. I dip it under the water, watching the blood wisp away as I wash it.
That is the last time I will ever bleed for you, Stranger. But you will bleed for me.