I blushed, dropping the swords from above my head. “Whatever you say, boss.”
3
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I face-planted in the dirt. For the seventh time.
It was 5:07 a.m.
The sun was barely over the horizon, not even close to breaking through to the valley floor where we were currently situated, and it was already sauna hot.
Rae paced by me, her face devoid of any expression. “Get up,” she ordered. “Go again.”
Trying to salvage any dignity that was still creeping around inside my bruised and battered body, I scampered up, brushing myself off, trying to be inconspicuous. Fighting with dirt in my eye wasn’t an option, so it had to be done.
The two wooden swords I’d been sparring with had each been tossed in different directions and, with my head down, I went to retrieve them.
To my utter humiliation, my shiny new weapons had been sidelined until I could “control myself” better. It had been mortifying to sheathe them and put them away.
Since then, I’d tried to keep a low profile.
If I hadn’t face-planted so many times, I might’ve succeeded. As it stood, every Valkyrie in attendance had noticed my non-heroic antics as I plowed face first into the red dirt again and again.
Shieldmaidens didn’t fall down.
I was a joke.
Anya, my sparring partner, glared at me, her arms crossed tightly against her unmarred breastplate, waiting impatiently for me to get organized. After she’d knocked me down the first few times, she’d appeared triumphant.
Now she just looked bored.
I was wasting her time—time she could’ve been using to better her own skills. She was a tall beauty, with long blonde hair plaited closely to the sides of her head, the rest hanging freely down her back. She also had a pair of dazzling blue eyes, which were laser-focused on me, more than a little perturbed.
“Let’s go,” Anya sniffed, her voice carrying what I’d come to refer to as an Asgardian accent. To my ears it sounded like a mix between an Irish brogue and a hint of Australian. Ingrid had told me Old English—meaning very Old English—was a direct derivative of the Asgardian language. But it didn’t sound like today’s British accents. “Go get your swords ,” she ordered. “I don’t have all day.”
She did have all day, as there was nothing else on the docket except training, which Valkyries took seriously. It was their religion, but that was beside the point. I picked up the wooden stand-ins, wishing for a blissful moment that it was a pickax, which would be better than a pair of toy swords, and paced back to where she stood, trying to summon some much-needed dignity. Anya was positioned in the middle of a small circle rimmed with green paint. I raised my faux weapons, arms braced, as Rae had instructed. Anya’s weapon was a double-sided battle ax. The curved blades were almost as intimidating as she was.
Almost .
There were jeers from the sidelines. I tried to ignore them. The Park held only so many sparring areas, so Valkyries rotated in and out. As we readied to spar, I forced my mind to stay on task. No shieldmaiden had come out and directly opposed me being here, but there had been a pall of uncertainty from most in attendance.
I wasn’t part of the pack, and at the rate I was going, I might never be.
As the heckling continued, Fen growled from just outside the boundary of the Park. He wasn’t allowed inside, but he’d come as close as he could to support me. The sound was so low, I wasn’t sure anyone else had heard it.
The jeers stopped instantly.
I hid a grin. Anya hadn’t let on she’d heard Fen, but her slight eye movement gave her away. The Valkyries weren’t afraid of Fen, per se. They were proud warriors and strong, capable fighters. It was more that they knew he could create mass destruction very quickly, and he was inside their lair. A predator in their safe space. It made them wary.
It was one thing to go into battle ready to fight. It was yet another to have Loki’s son turn into a massive wolf and tear apart the stronghold while they slept.
In the month we’d been here, Ingrid never let on there was a problem, but I’d heard her in animated discussions with other Valkyries when she hadn’t realized I was near. She always fervently defended him, saying she’d vouch for all of us any day of the week, but that didn’t make them any less uneasy. The only reason he had even been allow inside was that he’d saved my life.
Three times.
Valkyries lived by a code of honor. They paid their debts. It was their way.
But without Ingrid defending us, we would’ve been ejected on the second day. It helped that my aunt was one of the oldest Valkyries and one of the strongest. When she sparred, it was always against Rae. They were evenly matched, and the bouts were fierce. The other shieldmaidens might disagree with Ingrid’s choice to harbor me and my friends, but they weren’t going to push her.
Hands reached around my waist, startling me, clasping my arms and shifting them upward. “You have to place them here”—Rae lifted one of my hands up and pushed the other arm down—“and here. If you do not, you leave yourself open. Your breastplate will only aid you so much. If the dark elves attack with magic, which is likely, you must protect your most vital areas. Your swords will deflect their magic. It’s a perk most of us don’t have.” Her voice was firm, but not unkind. I had no idea if she just tolerated me or was trying to be nice in her own way, since her nice was about as warm as a punch to the gut. “Learn to use the assets you have.” She stepped back.
Anya gave me a look that simultaneously said you’re such a child and your ass is grass . Or, in this case, your face is awaiting red dirt .
“Begin,” Rae’s voice commanded. Normally, the entire Park was busy with activity, Valkyries sparring with one another. But not now.
All eyes were on me, waiting to see if I would go down again.
I wasn’t planning on providing their entertainment for the eighth time, so when Anya moved to strike, I decided to duck and spin. I kept my wooden swords strategically positioned out in front to keep her battle ax from slicing me in two.
Surprisingly, the moved confused Anya for a sweet—although too brief—moment. I received a grunt of approval from Rae.
Now we were getting somewhere.
Anticipating her next move by taking small cues from her feet and eyes, I feigned to the right. Anya snorted her frustration as I ducked her blow again. “Why are you running like a coward?” she raged, stalking forward. “You must fight me!”
“Nobody said I had to engage in combat,” I countered, dropping my swords to my sides. “This doesn’t end until one of us face-plants, and I have news for you, it’s not going to be me this time.”
“You don’t run away in battle,” she scoffed. “When the dark elves swarm, you fight. You’re a Valkyrie.” Her eyes narrowed. “But then again, maybe you’re not.” She smiled and swung the handle of her weapon down, whizzing through the air a hairsbreadth from my cheek.
I leaped to the side at the last moment, swinging my right arm around as hard as I could, my silly wooden sword slamming into her back. It barely jolted her, but I would take it.
First contact!
How’s that for not being a Valkyrie, you blonde, smug-faced bully?
I danced away before she could retaliate, panting hard with the supreme effort it had taken me to finesse the maneuver. I’d forced my body to move faster than I had before, and now I was a sweaty mess, perspiration streaming down both sides of my face. The New Mexico heat, paired with my new nifty leather pants, wasn’t making things any easier. Sweat pooled in places I hadn’t known existed. I was going to have to air these puppies out when we were finished. But it didn’t matter.
I’d dodged the shieldmaiden!
If a look could’ve dropped me in my tracks, Anya’s contained enough explosive fury to blow me sky high.
“You must fight! Not run around in circles—”
“No, she doesn’t,” Rae s
tated calmly, preempting her diatribe as she moved inside the circle, hands on her hips. “The object for her is to stay alive. That’s the first thing a young Valkyrie learns, or have you forgotten that, Anya?”
Anya’s face turned purple. She wasn’t embarrassed about being reprimanded, she was stone-cold furious. “Yes, that’s something a child learns,” Anya spat, lifting her battle ax and pointing it directly at me. “She is no child.”
“She had no prior training when she was struck,” Rae argued. “Which is why she must work harder than any of us. We had the luxury of learning passed down by our mothers, who were shieldmaidens before us. It’s a privilege to be blessed by Odin’s light. One that you do not disdain.” Rae’s voice took on a hard edge. “Odin not only struck Phoebe, but she is his daughter . She was sent to live in the human realm to survive. You do him, and us, a disservice by not teaching her what your mother passed down to you.”
I glanced around. Rae’s little talk had morphed into a full-on speech for all the Valkyries in attendance.
As she continued, Rae scanned the faces of her shieldmaidens. “It is our duty to help Phoebe grow into the warrior she is meant to be. If not for Odin, then do it for Leela.” Murmurs erupted at the mention of my mother’s name. “How quickly we forget our devotion to our missing sister. We love Leela. We fight for Leela. This is Leela’s child.” She glanced at me, her voice tough as nails. “Anya, you’re dismissed.” She didn’t even pretend to look to see if Anya followed her command. “Billie, are you up for the task?”
A Valkyrie with curly brown hair, a warm smile, and shining gray eyes came forward. She’d always been cordial when we passed each other, though we’d never spoken more than a few words.
“I am,” she stated, her voice clear. Her weapon was a spiked club. She twirled it absentmindedly as she entered the circle. Her breastplate was dented in a few places and was worn to a dull sheen. Her vanity meter was in the low single digits, which I appreciated.
Anya left without so much as a backward glance.
Good riddance! Go find someone else to antagonize.
Billie turned to face me, squaring up to spar. I brought my arms around in what I thought was the right pose. She shook her head good-naturedly. “No, you need to have them here.” She reached out to lift one of my arms up slightly. “The reason is you must protect your heart. It’s the first place any worthy adversary will strike, including myself. My club, if I aim it accurately, can puncture armor. One spike to a vital organ, and you can die. Older Valkyries can regenerate a serious injury, because with each year of immortality we grow stronger, but young Valkyries must be close to Yggdrasil for healing. We are immortal, but not immune to death. There is a difference between the two.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Ingrid had told me the same—that we wouldn’t die of old age, but we could be killed in a number of ways. “Honestly, I thought I had it, but holding my hands out this far is a little awkward.”
“It is,” she agreed. “But you get used to it.” Her voice had a sweet, slow cadence. She raised her spiked club, and I eyed the sharp points. They were at least four inches long and covered the entire end of the orb. I knew Billie wouldn’t intentionally hurt me, but if I wasn’t careful, I could find myself in some moderate-to-severe pain.
Rae said, “Begin.” To the other Valkyries who were looking on with some interest to see what Billie would achieve in besting me, she ordered, “Back to work! Let’s go. Daylight is waning.” They dispersed immediately, but I knew they’d have one eye on me no matter what.
In besting Anya, I had managed to raise my game, and I planned to keep it that way.
* * *
I fell into bed groaning. “I hurt all over.” Fen stood over me, grinning, his arms braced over his head, his chest bare. “You can laugh all you want, but you know what I need? Solay .” His expression turned to musing. “Yes, you heard that right. I’d pay some serious cash to plunge into those stinky, healing waters right about now.” I groaned as I rubbed a tender spot on my thigh. The sacred waters in Muspelheim had healed me, not once, but twice when I’d first met Fen. The smell was atrocious—rotten, foul garbage mixed with incredibly stinky eggs, and all I could think about was cannonballing into the pool right now.
Fen chuckled as he perched on the edge of the bed, taking one of my legs into his lap. “You worked harder than I’ve ever seen you. You should be proud of yourself, Valkyrie.” He rubbed my calf muscle deliciously, earning a solid groan and a good ten-second murmur of ecstasy.
“Yeah,” I said, weaseling my other leg onto his lap. The man was huge, so he had plenty of room. I wiggled my body closer and sighed. “But I still feel like a child. Maybe Anya was right. All Valkyries have a gigantic advantage. They started training much earlier than I did, like day one of their lives. I’m beginning to think I’ll never catch up.” His warm palm slid up my leg, and I gasped as his energy raced into my soreness, my body gobbling it up.
He was a demigod whose body held energy.
Valkyries fed on energy.
How lucky was I?
I couldn’t even think about it without curling my aching toes. Yes, it was that good.
We were bunked down for the night in our small sleeping space, a room carved out of the sandstone mesa. It held a mattress, a small dresser, and nothing else. It was cozy and perfect. We had one fairly large window, cut right into the rock, no glass. Moonlight filtered through the opening. It was a beautiful, starry night and had the bonus of a small breeze.
“I have no doubt you will catch up,” Fen stated confidently as his hand edged higher. “You will make up for the time lost with skill.”
“How can you be so sure?” I rearranged my legs, lifting the neglected one as an offering. His thigh muscles were as big as tree trunks, and just as firm. They flexed under me as he grabbed on and began to massage.
Holy…yes . I closed my eyes. Heaven wouldn’t be any sweeter.
“Because you are a child of both a Valkyrie and a god. A very powerful god.”
“There must be other Valkyries with gods for fathers,” I said. “I can’t be the only one. You said Asgard is full of gods.” He moved down to my feet, and I real-live whimpered.
“I’ve been listening and watching,” he told me. “The only other with a god for a father is Ragnhild. He was not a powerful god, from what I’ve gathered, but a god nonetheless. That is why she is the leader. A god and a Valkyrie make a powerful match. It is undeniable. You will overcome your late training and rise in the ranks, there is no doubt.”
It was hard to internalize what Fen was saying when I was trying not to lose consciousness from the foot rub, which was lulling me into a sleep state faster than any medication. I yawned, my eyes firmly shut. “Why aren’t there more god-Valkyrie matchups?” My speech was slurred, verging on wistful-drunk.
Fen chuckled. “Because gods prefer to couple with gods. Sleep now, shieldmaiden.” He gently removed my legs from his lap and tugged the sheet over my shoulders.
“Remind me,” I mumbled as I turned on my side, Fen crawling in behind me, settling his brawny arms around my waist. “I have to call my parents tomorrow. It’s time for my weekly check-in.”
Frank and Janette Meadows, my adopted parents, who lived in rural Wisconsin, had alerted the police when I disappeared from New York. When we’d found out there had been a missing-persons report filed, I’d gotten a hold of them. I’d been forced to make up a fantastical story about jetting off at the last minute on an unexpected trip with my best friend, Sam. They’d bought it, because, honestly, nothing else made any sense, and they had been beyond relieved, and weepy, that I was okay, not to mention still alive and breathing.
Now I called them regularly with updates on my travels, or they would worry. They were wonderful parents who loved me, and it wasn’t fair to disappoint them or make them overly anxious. We’d all agreed it was better for them to think I was fine, than to believe I was in danger.
“I will.” Fen k
issed my shoulder as I snuggled my back into his warm chest, feeling content, if still achy. “Rest now, Valkyrie. Tomorrow is a new day.”
4
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“W e’re having so much fun! It’s been the trip of a lifetime, really,” I said in a mock gushy tone. “Sam is beside herself with the food. South America has such a diverse palate with so much to choose from.” Sam socked me in the arm, shaking her head like I was nuts. “It’s been amazing.” I shrugged at her, inventing stuff as I went.
She made a face, and I mouthed, Not helpful. Lying was hard.
“That’s so wonderful, Phoebe. Dad and I are so happy for you,” my mom said on the other end, genuine love and affection in her voice. I had the cell phone on speaker so Sam could hear the conversation. “It’s amazing you found a friend in New York who has so many wonderful connections. Is the area you’re staying in safe? We worry about you traveling around in all these exotic places.”
“Yes, Mom. It’s perfectly safe. In fact, it’s completely secure. There’s no way to get in without passing through a large gate.” I glanced out over the horizon. It stretched out in front of us as far as the eye could see. Not a soul for miles. Sam and I sat on a mesa next to a massive cell tower that had been rigged for this very purpose.
It was the first true thing I’d told my mom since I got on the phone. The stronghold was more than secure—it was completely cloaked. Finding it meant you were a very powerful immortal.
“When do you think you’ll be back in the States, sweet pea?” my dad asked, his voice a mixture of serious and good-natured. He ran a hardware store in our small town and specialized in easy rapport with his customers.
Freed: (Phoebe Meadows Book 2) Page 3