Chapter 6
VALKYRIE QUEEN
This is certainly not the underground cairn I was just tumbling into.
I’m standing in the middle of the largest, whitest marble room I’ve ever seen.
It is easily five stories high and constructed entirely in glittering white marble.
Sunlight streams through various open-air vents on the ceiling.
Towering pillars create four giant doorways, two on each side of the rectangle-shaped room.
But “room” is too small a word to describe this place; it’s a palace.
Did I hit my head and die? Is this the afterlife?
My attention falls on the crowd gathered around me. I whirl around, my boots squeaking on the marble floor.
“What the hell just happened?” I shriek.
A beautiful woman with slate-blue eyes approaches me.
She’s dressed in the same costume dress I found in that box of my mom’s belongings, the pale blue color so light it’s almost white.
My brow furrows, and such a familiar feeling washes through me.
The dress is a mere sheath for her outrageously toned body.
Her bone structure is similar to my mother’s, but sharper and unlined with age.
Her golden skin is bathed in the spear of sunlight she’s standing in.
A gentle breeze ruffles her onyx hair, which rests just above her shoulders.
She takes another step towards me, her palms up, in a consoling gesture, as she reaches out to me.
“Hello.” I’m grateful she speaks English, but her accent hints at something foreign, northern. “My name is Odessa.” She places a hand on her chest. The many rings she’s wearing sparkle in the sunlight before she reaches for me again. “What is your name?”
A golden circlet rests above her brow and catches the light as she tilts her head. With a crown like that, she must be the one in charge.
“Am I dreaming? Is this like a coma dream, or did I die?” I ask, ignoring her question.
Odessa presses on. “Can you tell me your name, girl?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhale slowly while mentally checking my body; nothing feels broken.
Opening my eyes, I pat my head, checking for lumps, and rub my hands down my arms. My sweater is ripped open on my arm from the fence, but there’s nothing where there should be torn skin.
I cut my arm while running, so why isn’t there a mark?
It’s because I’m dead, right?
Putting that aside for the moment, I study my surroundings and notice that the woman in front of me, Odessa, has large, opalescent white wings peaking over her shoulders. Their ends barely hover above the ground.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I choke out again, “Is this the afterlife?”
Odessa gives me a sympathetic smile, the movement causing her slate-blue eyes to soften. “No, girl, this is Idirhalla. Can you please tell me your name so I might be able to give you some answers?”
The name Idirhalla tickles something in my memory.
“My name is Helena—Lena, my name is Lena,” I stutter.
A sting of pain has me glancing down to see the little crescent moons I managed to gouge into my palms. I felt pain, so this is real.
Realization flickers in Odessa’s eyes as I meet her stare, and she softly asks, “Is your mother called Bryn?”
Tears well up at the surge of emotion her name invokes and spill over, rolling down my cheeks. “That was my mom’s name,” I whisper, choking on the sorrow that bubbles up. “She died.”
Odessa covers her mouth with a delicate hand. “My sister.”
Sister?
“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong person; my mom didn’t have a sister.”
Odessa shakes her head and points to where my necklace hangs from my neck. “That was hers.”
My body trembles, and my mind struggles to make sense of her words.
Did she say my mom is her sister?
My silence stretches on, and the small group murmurs amongst themselves. Their faces blend together as my eyes spin around the room. Odessa looks at me expectantly; her face is kind. I force my eyes to focus solely on her.
Clearing my throat, I forge on. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on or where I am, but I need to go back. My friend is probably freaking out looking for me, and my Gran is sick, and she needs me. I need to get back, so can you send me back?”
Odessa studies my necklace briefly before looking me in the eye. “We can’t send you back.” Her expression is replaced with a teeth-bearing grimace.
My breathing quickens, the terror swelling, and I clutch my necklace to my chest. She responds to my rising panic and quickly says, “Well, we’re not sure.
” She waves a hand to include the people around her.
“The power, our magic, in this realm is fading.” I inhale sharply through my nose.
“We were hoping when we heard your mother’s charm.
” She points to my necklace. “That it was her coming back to save us.”
I force myself to inhale slowly, trying to master my panic, and observe the surrounding people; they’re a mix of stoic-faced men with eye-boggling muscles dressed in linen or leather outfits.
The few women who are gathered are a variety of shapes and sizes and are stunningly gorgeous.
Two men shift slightly on either side of Odessa, looking much younger than the other gathered men.
But out of the two, only the red-haired man I am comfortable looking at. His face is kinder than Odessa’s, and raven-black wings rise behind his shoulders.
My knees begin to wobble as her words catch up to me.
Meeting Odessa’s eyes, I say, “I’m sorry, did you just say magic? Where am I? And how do you know my mother?”
My pulse is still racing, and now my stomach twists into knots. I’m going to be sick; my mouth fills with saliva, and I swallow hard. My face turns a sickly green shade.
Odessa reaches one hand out to me while pointing the other one at the doorway behind her. “Why don’t we step outside for some fresh air, and I can show you?”
My mother’s eyes peer at me from Odessa’s face, urging me to take her hand. She places my hand in the crook of her elbow and pats it. “I guess if your mother is my sister, that makes me your aunt.”
Her smile is comforting, but I don’t return it. The nausea is steadily building, and my legs continue trembling. Odessa feels my shaky movements and gently strokes my hand as she leads me through a giant doorway that opens to a sprawling terrace. She spreads her arm out as soon as we step outside.
“This is Idirhalla, which translates to the Between Hall.” She gestures behind her to the colossal room we left. “And that is the Great Hall, your mother’s former palace.”
My breath catches as I take in the world around us.
From the vantage point of the terrace, I can see far into the distance. Below lies a small city on what appears to be an island, encircled by towering mountains that slice through the surrounding ocean. A glittering river winds its way through the middle of the city.
My chest aches.
I recognize this place. Even without seeing every detail, I know that the river that winds through the city is crossed by four arched bridges, that the same city boasts colorful buildings, and that there are farms way up in the mountains.
Because this is the land my parents told me stories of when I was a child.
I close my eyes, remembering their stories about the waterfalls that cascade down from several mountains and how they create dazzling rainbows. I open my eyes and look at the mountains. My thoughts are confirmed when I see the rainbows glowing in the sunlight.
Odessa’s last few words echo in my mind, and I whip my head to her.
“Did you say my mother’s former palace?”
The pieces finally click together.
The costumes, the stories, the lectures, and the strange otherworldliness.
My mother was from here. My heart cracks with the revelation.
Odessa addresses the people who have gathered by the doorway. “I need a moment alone with Helena.” She then turns her attention to the blonde-headed man standing in front of the others. “Julius, can you begin the council meeting? I will be there as soon as I get her settled.”
Julius had been the other man flanking her in the throne room. His height overshadows the men next to him; he’s slimmer, though, a swimmer’s physique compared to most of the men’s brute muscles.
As he nods to Odessa, I study his features. Short, sun-kissed blonde hair and dark golden eyes, the color almost black except for their strange glint in the sun, make him fairly attractive, but a slight sneer spoils his good qualities.
“Of course, my dear,” he murmurs.
His voice makes me want to recoil, but he throws me a small smile before herding the remaining audience with him.
Odessa waits until the footsteps have faded before she speaks.
“Your mother was Queen Bryn.”
Her words halt my breathing altogether. My mother was a queen here.
I blink hard, trying to wake myself up, but it’s futile. This is all real.
“I have heard of this place, but only through the stories my parents told me as a child.”
She leads me farther out onto the terrace, and I can see that part of it overlooks a small garden, with vibrant colors contrasting against the terrace’s white stone.
To the left of the garden is a cobblestone walkway that leads down to some long wooden buildings and spacious, flat grounds.
But beyond the garden is a breathtaking view of the city that stretches out before us.
We take a seat on a cool marble bench, and Odessa sighs.
“Well, I’m glad they mentioned this place to you, but I’m sorry you didn’t know the truth before you arrived.” I press my lips into a thin line as I nod. “I assume you don’t know really anything about Idirhalla, though, do you?”
It’s hard to peel my eyes away from the city as I take in the buildings separated by roads and trees.