by S. T. Bende
My wings fluttered at that thought, the movement catching Britney’s attention. “So, the rumors are true. You do have wings.” Her gaze zeroed in on the grey sword at the tip, then shifted to the matching one on Viggo’s wing. “What are those marks?” she asked.
Crêpes. “Uh, freckles?”
“No, they’re not.” Britney stepped closer. “Holy Helheim, those are mate marks. You’re mated? The Norns chose you to be with him . . . forever?”
Signy’s hand flew to her mouth. “Of course.”
“Mate marks are myths . . . I mean . . .” My mouth ran dry.
“They’re not myths,” Signy said softly.
Skit.
Dread washed over me as Viggo’s torso stiffened by my side. Without turning my head, I shifted my eyes and caught his ramrod-straight back, taut shoulders, and firmly clenched fists. He’d locked down, his shallow breath and clenched jaw communicating this was not good news. Whether he didn’t want to be mated to me, or didn’t like being the last to know, I couldn’t determine. Either way, my brain whirred with tension—if we really were fated to spend a lifetime together, this wasn’t a great way to start. But my thoughts couldn’t bridge the road to my mouth. Instead, they spun aimlessly inside my head, a racetrack of regret. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at the waterfall. I’m sorry Bitch-Face had to out me for you to know. I’m sorry you got a mate with zero idea how to do any of this. I’m just . . . sorry.
Britney’s jaw unhinged. Signy’s eyes softened as she studied me with compassion. Even Elin looked up from where she was doubled over to shoot me a sorry, girl, glance. But through it all Viggo stayed silent.
I wanted to turn and ask him to say something, anything, but we had a homicidal Huldra and a deranged uncle to evade. Priorities.
“Well then, fine.” I exhaled loudly. “If mate marks aren’t myths then we’re destined to spend eternity together. Whatever. Now get inside the school or you will die!”
But Britney stood frozen to the ground, unable—or unwilling—to move. My eyes darted to the tree where Elin still clutched her stomach. Finna hadn’t yet arrived, and we needed to get that crystal to its home now. We could come back for Britney later. Or better yet, send the warriors for her. The academy-bound unit should be arriving any minute.
“Elin needs to find Finna and deliver the package,” I called out. “Signy, take care of Britney. Viggo, help me fly Elin into campus.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at Viggo’s nod. He was still on my team, in this mission, at least. While Signy attempted to herd an unwilling Britney toward campus, Viggo and I raced to Elin’s side. We each lifted an elbow. Our wings flapped, and we rose just high enough to clear the courtyard wall. Poor Elin went limp in our arms, miserable but resigned. We’d nearly cleared the wall when a flash of red light blasted across the sky. It knocked Elin from my grasp, sending her soaring forward into the courtyard. She tumbled across the grass as Viggo and I launched in the opposite direction. My back hit the dirt with a painful thud, and I ignored the crack of my ribs as I struggled to get my bearings. Viggo lay splayed out on his backside a few feet away from me, and Britney no longer stood on the dirt—now she lay motionless in a clearing several yards away. Her face was ghastly pale as her eyes rolled closed. It was impossible to detect any motion in her chest, but her preternatural stillness didn’t offer much hope.
Oh, gods.
I exhaled mightily at the sight of Signy unfurling from her defensive ball. She was near enough to Britney that I had no doubt she’d launched herself at the girl in an effort to shield her from the blast. But while my aunt looked merely shaken, Britney was . . .
I couldn’t think about it now.
“We all need to get inside!” Signy pushed herself up and hurried to Britney’s side, scooping the limp girl in her arms before stumbling toward the school. “You two take care of each other. Move. Now!”
“What was that?” Viggo yelled as the reverberations echoed across the forest.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s our backup,” I cried back. “Elin, get the crystal to the tree. Something’s attacking the school!”
As if to prove my point, a second flash burst across the forest, illuminating the feathery tips of the evergreens with its stark, red beam.
“Hurry!” I cried.
“I’m on it.” Elin’s weak voice contrasted her steady footsteps. The slamming of a door let me know she’d reached the school, and I hoped she found Finna before whatever had caused the flashes descended on Alfheim Academy.
“Move it, Aura. Viggo, help her up. I’ll come back for you once I get Britney inside—hopefully she can be revived.” Signy’s voice filled me with relief. She was beyond the wall, and out of the blast zone. Thank the gods.
With tremendous effort, I dug my fingertips into the dirt and rolled onto my stomach. My torso trembled, registering the plummeting temperature as an icy frost settled across the ground. Viggo clamored to his feet, hurrying to help me up while I gawked at the whitening forest floor. Once again, my partner was a step ahead of me. But this time I was grateful.
“Aura,” he muttered.
“Huh?” I wiped my frosty fingertips on my pants.
“Look.”
I followed his sightline to the edge of the trees, where the air split to reveal a black opening. Large hands settled on either side, pulling it apart from within. A tall, thin man with greasy black hair stepped through the hole. A thick emerald cloak billowed behind his pale form, and once he cleared the opening he held out a hand to help someone else cross the barrier. A manicured hand emerged, followed by the now-bloodied form of a lithe, elegant woman.
The Huldra was back. Which meant the man with her must be . . . oh, no.
“Dragen,” Viggo’s chest rumbled at my back.
“Viggo.” My uncle tilted his head. “I thought I’d find you here.”
My knees buckled. “You know each other?”
Dragen’s eyes moved from my head down to my boots and back up before settling on Viggo’s hand, still resting on my waist. His nostrils flared, and a cruel smile stretched across his face. “Viggo and I go way back. Don’t we, son?”
Chapter 21
I WHIRLED OUT OF Viggo’s grip to gape at him. “My uncle is your dad?” I was mated to my cousin? Ew!
“No!” Viggo sounded horrified. “But . . . Dragen is your uncle?”
I nodded.
“He’s Ondyr’s father. We aren’t related. I’m trying to help Ondyr get away from him,” Viggo explained.
My brain whirred. Viggo’s dark elf best friend was my cousin? That meant I had at least one living blood relative who was neither a despot nor sociopath.
Little victories.
“I’ll make this simple, Aura.” Dragen held out his hand. “Come with me, and I won’t kill Viggo.”
“And I’ll make it even simpler,” I countered. “Go back to Svartalfheim, and our warriors won’t kill you.”
“Your warriors are dead. I slaughtered the group near the ocean, then picked off another half dozen when I opened that portal.” Dragen pointed one long finger at the black orb. “Nobody is coming to save you.”
“Then I’ll kill you myself,” I vowed.
Dragen twisted his wrist and pulled his fingertips to his palms. He wrenched me away from Viggo without ever touching me. My heart constricted, an unseen force clamping down on my chest. But the tension released when Dragen slammed me to the dirt with a painful thud. I scrambled to my feet, intending to run. But with a flick of his hand, Dragen lifted Viggo off the ground. My partner’s hands flew to his throat, clawing at the invisible vise as his face pinked. Whatever Dragen had done to my heart was happening to Viggo’s neck. His skin shifted from pink to red to crimson. He couldn’t breathe!
“If you run, he dies.” Dragen made a fist, and twenty feet away, Viggo choked out a garbled gasp.
“You can have Svartalfheim—I don’t want your stupid senate seat,” I cried. “Just leave this realm alone!
”
The Huldra glowered as Dragen tightened his fist. Viggo’s face turned a putrid shade of purple. “You will guide the realms to peace or war, either as princess of Alfheim or heir of Svartalfheim. And since I can’t have you taking my job . . .”
With a twist of his wrist, Dragen flung Viggo to the ground. My heart leapt into my throat as he crumbled into a heap. Stillness crept over his body like a blanket, immobility smothering him until even his wings were unfazed by the light breeze. My pulse quickened, then slowed to a near-standstill as shock sucker-punched me in the gut. A weight settled atop my chest, almost as if I was the one struggling to breathe; trying to stay in my body long enough for someone, anyone, to jolt me back to consciousness . . . or to life. Agony ripped through me as I bit back a cry. Was Viggo . . . I couldn’t bring myself to even think the word. My partner was the toughest Verge student I knew. He’d survived being hunted in Svartalfheim. He would survive this.
Wouldn’t he?
I wanted to run to Viggo; to take him far from that monster; to get him the healing he desperately needed. But my legs refused to comply. Dragen’s hold had me on lockdown.
Oh, gods.
There was little left but fear—icy, suffocating fear—as Dragen turned his attention to the Huldra. “Hand over the Sterkvart,” he commanded. “Then, the girl is yours.”
The Huldra let out a high-pitched shriek, jabbing her hands at me.
“You don’t have it?” Dragen’s eyes went cold. “Where is it?”
The Huldra shrieked again, her wild hair whipping around her head.
“Find the crystal,” Dragen ordered. “Or you won’t live long enough to regret your failure.”
The Huldra whirled in a circle, her icy eyes ablaze as she looked from the forest to the school. When she zeroed in on the ivy-covered courtyard door, her blood-red lips pulled back in a cruel smile.
She knew.
Panic gripped my gut. The Huldra would destroy not only the school, but every last one of the students inside. “Elin! She’s coming!”
The Huldra’s smile widened and she turned toward the courtyard. The fear thrumming through my veins picked up speed. She was halfway across the clearing when Signy burst through the door, Finna on her heels. Relief mixed with terror at the sight of the fiercest fighter I knew . . . who also happened to be the being I cared about more than any other. I couldn’t lose Signy. It simply wasn’t an option.
“Go back inside!” I yelled.
But Signy marched steadfastly forward. “Not on your life. Finna, stay behind me.”
“Right.” Finna’s eyes widened as she took in Viggo’s still form on the ground, Dragen holding me at his side, and the Huldra bearing down on her. She stepped closer to Signy. “Elin’s in place with Jande. What do I do?”
“Make sure all available Elementär are getting that crystal back into the tree,” Signy ordered. “Then confirm the queen is on her way and the rest of the students are on lockdown in their common rooms. Nobody is to come out until I give the green light. Go!”
Finna turned on one heel and hurried back toward campus. But before she’d made it five steps, Dragen’s invisible tether wrenched her from the gate. While my roommate hovered in the air, my uncle’s hold on me weakened. It was the opening I needed, but . . .
How was I supposed to help my friends if Dragen kept controlling us all with some invisible energy weapon?
Energy weapon. The words tickled a memory. Professor Asling had said that true warriors fought energy by shielding themselves—and others. That was it! That was how I could help my friends. Only . . .
The flash of excitement snuffed out fast. Professor Asling had also said that shielding took years to master . . . and I had seconds, at most.
But I had to try.
I shoved my panic deep in my chest as Dragen slowly drew Finna toward him. With a breath, I focused in on the space around me and willed it to expand. Nothing. In desperation I copied a move I’d seen Professor Asling do, and pressed my palms away from my body. My fingers recoiled in shock as light tingles zapped my hands.
Is that . . . did I just . . . whoa.
For the first time I recognized the tangible buzz of my own energy. It was light, and fizzy, and filled with tiny, powerful charges.
And I was ready to kill with it.
My hands pushed outward against Dragen’s hold. The invisible cords that had bound us fell away, freeing me from their control. My heart pounded as I raced to Viggo’s side, fell to my knees and cradled his head in my lap. His chest rose infinitesimally, a movement not nearly deep enough to sustain life.
“Breathe,” I urged him. “Please.”
Viggo’s chest expanded again, slightly fuller this time.
“Please!”
With a deep shudder, he drew a singular breath. His eyes fluttered weakly as he drew another. Then another. Finally, he blinked in confusion, teetering at the edge of consciousness.
“Signy, call for more warriors!” I begged.
“I can’t. There’s a dark blockade around the school.” Signy raised a hand and sent a beam of light at Finna. It wrapped around her, pulling her from Dragen’s hold.
“No,” Dragen growled. He wrenched his hand, making Finna jerk helplessly in the air.
“Aura!” Signy called. “Widen your shield to include Viggo. Once he’s strong enough to fight we can take these monsters down together.”
“Aura doesn’t know how to use her powers?” Dragen chuckled.
“Do it,” Signy urged.
Dragen turned a hand toward me and I felt the pressure breach my invisible armor. Tension circled my heart, drawing inward with a decisive tug. But I refused to be crushed. I raised my hands to Dragen and pushed back, sending a surge of light straight for his head. He stumbled backward, releasing Finna as he struggled to catch his balance.
“Finna, go!” Signy ordered. Finna scrambled to her feet and bolted through the ivy-covered gate while my aunt sent a white beam at Dragen. The dark elf fell to his knees, momentarily debilitated.
Come on, Signy. Don’t stop.
The Huldra’s shriek echoed off the trees in a bloodcurdling wail. I tore my gaze away from Signy just as a grey blur leapt from the foliage and flattened the Huldra to the ground. I scanned the area to assess our next threat, but relief coursed through me at the sight of familiar yellow eyes set in a cherubic, furry face.
“Bob!” He’d survived. But the next second, the Huldra wrenched him off her back and flung him into the trunk of a nearby tree with a horrifying crack. “Bob?”
I wanted to rush to his side; to help the friend who’d protected me without my ever knowing how or why. But Dragen was on his feet, shoulders squared, and I knew that there would be no second chance. That this time, my uncle planned to kill me himself.
Unfortunately for Dragen, I didn’t plan to die.
“Shield up, Aura!” Signy called.
Right.
My mind stilled as I sucked in dust, damp air, and the tang of evergreens. I pulled my hands to my chest, drawing everything inward, then pushed out, expanding my blockade so it protected Viggo, too. Then I angled my hands to the dirt, tucking the invisible protection into the ground. And I waited.
This had better work.
Dragen closed his fingers in a white-knuckled fist. Pressure bumped at the edge of my armor, but it didn’t break through—thank the gods. Dragen furrowed his brow, trying again. And again. Over his shoulder, Signy drove the Huldra back with beam after beam. And in my lap, Viggo stirred gently.
“Wake up.” I shook Viggo lightly. “We have to fight.”
Uncomprehending emerald eyes shifted from left to right. “Where are we?”
“We’re outside school,” I recapped. “Dragen tried to kill you, the Huldra wants to kill Signy, and if we don’t get that crystal locked into the tree yesterday, they’re going to suck my soul then kill us all. So, now would be a great time to get up.”
My plea worked. Viggo sat upright with a jo
lt, his eyes moving quickly between Dragen, the Huldra, Signy, and Bob.
“We’re going to need weapons,” he surmised. “They’re too strong for us physically, and that Huldra is definitely a better energy warrior than you are. No offense.”
“None taken.”
Just then, a winged figure swooped overhead. Two sharp objects dropped beside me, landing with a clang to glint in the late-afternoon sun. I looked up to find a hawk flapping back toward the school.
“What the Helheim?” Viggo studied the freshly deposited blades before leaping to his feet. “They’re the swords from the marks on our wings. Did the Hábrók hawk bring them?”
Did it? How did it know we . . .
I shook my head. “Fight now. Ask questions later.”
Viggo held out a hand to pull me up. We each grabbed a sword, and I tried really hard not to freak out when the blades lit up to exchange a glowy, energetic high five. What. The. Actual. Helheim?
With a shudder, I turned to face Dragen. His face reddened as he raised one hand, then the other. Each assault bounced right off my shield. Relief coursed through me, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before he switched to a physical offense. And even Professor Asling had said an energetic blocker could only do so much against a physical attack. It wouldn’t be long before Dragen figured that out . . . if he didn’t know already.
“We need to move in on him,” I panted. “I can’t hold him off much longer.”
“You’re doing this?” Viggo asked.
I nodded.
“Nice.” Viggo twirled his sword in a figure eight. “But I can’t let you do all the work. Beta attack?”
“Lead the way.”
Viggo sprinted to the left. I gripped my sword in both hands and moved to the right. My armor dipped as I shifted positions, and I swore. Holding a shield while mounting a physical attack was pretty much impossible—no wonder Verge and Empati had different combat jobs. But so long as Dragen continued to come at us, the block was a necessary defense. The minute he shifted to tangible offense, I could adjust my focus.
I hoped.
“Now!” Viggo shouted. He swung his sword overhead before angling it down at Dragen. My uncle raised his palm to me, but the parry bounced off my stretched-thin shield. Dragen dove on the ground, rolling out of the way as Viggo’s sword landed right where Dragen’s head had been. Viggo’s communicator beeped loudly, but whatever message Wynter needed to convey would have to wait. Dragen demanded our full attention.