Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
"Valkyrie," I breathe, stunned. She's been here all this time? God, of course she has. My gaze flickers to Kenton. "The Forsaken sent Abigail the visions, didn't they?"
He says nothing.
"Who am I going to tell, Kenton? By this time tomorrow, I'll be dead," I say, laughing without mirth.
"We aren't going to hurt you," he says. "As soon as they make the trade, you'll be free to leave."
I laugh again. "They aren't making the trade. They will never make that trade. If you know anything about the Fae, you know that."
"Sit down." He points to a chair in the small kitchen.
I scowl daggers at him as I slowly cross to it and sink down.
He makes quick work of tying me to it.
"Her visions are her own," he says as he works. "But they've found ways to exploit them. If they want her to see a Valkyrie in a church, they simply send the Forsaken to the churches. She sees a Valkyrie tied up and Forsaken all over the churches, and her mind confuses the two."
I grunt as he jerks the ropes tight enough to cut off circulation before loosening them slightly. I don't want to believe his answer, but I think he's telling the truth. Which means the vision she had of a Valkyrie dying wasn't sent by the Forsaken. It's possible she saw my death and just didn't understand that the Valkyrie she was me.
A fresh wave of hopelessness crashes through me. I bow my head to hide the tears welling in my eyes.
Kenton finishes tying me to the chair in silence. "I'll check on you later. Don't do anything foolish. There are dozens of Forsaken right outside the door, and hundreds of varulv."
"You aren't going to drug me?" I ask when he strides toward the door.
His derisive laugh makes my blood boil. "Why? It's not like you even know how to reach your Light, let alone use it. You aren't a threat."
He's right. I'm not a threat, but I should be.
I spend hours trying to figure out how to reach my Light, simply to prove Kenton wrong. But nothing I try works. I'm as useless here as I was in Seattle.
It's maddening to be constantly at odds with my own abilities. Reaper's life depends on me figuring out how to save myself, but I can't even do that.
The thought of losing Reaper only fuels my determination as I hurl myself into the well again and again, refusing to give up. I can't give up. This isn't just about me—it's life or death for him. I won't let him die.
Kenton comes back to check on me once, offering to take me to the bathroom. I glare at him so viciously that he chuckles, holding up his hands.
"Suit yourself, Valkyrie," he says, making his way to the Valkyrie on the bed. She's barely even moved since I got here. But he blows that damn powder in her face anyway, keeping her drugged into submission.
Even from across the room, I smell the sickly-sweet scent and my stomach turns. "What is that?" I ask.
"Henbane. It's harmless."
I snort. Even I know that henbane isn't harmless. Too much of it can be fatal.
"Does…does Reaper know where I am?" I ask, halting Kenton on his way to the door once again.
He looks at me over his shoulder. "He knows. He's known for a few hours now."
I bow my head, a tremor quaking through me. Reaper. Poor Reaper. He's probably beside himself, going mad with worry. Why didn't he tell me that he'd die if anything happened to me?
He did, a little voice whispers.
Maybe it's right.
He didn't say the words, but he told me. Every time he touched me, every time he kissed me, every time he held me…he told me. The truth was right there, singing in his soul. He needed me to survive. He needs me to survive.
I throw myself into the well again.
An hour later, I've exhausted myself, bashing myself against the impenetrable walls of the well holding my power. I can't fight them open. Even if I had one thousand years, I couldn't.
I quit trying. I stop fighting. And I surrender.
To the Light. To love. To my fate.
And for the first time since I healed Reaper, I see it. The flickering Light of my power. I feel it, beating like a second heartbeat inside of me.
A tear slips down my cheek. Finally. After weeks of trying, I finally found it, not by fighting it, not by trying to command it, but by surrendering to it.
I have no idea how to use it. Rissa never got that far in her lessons because we never got this far. I don't even know how to reach for it, at least not on purpose. But I try anyway. It slips away like water in a sieve.
I bite my tongue, trying not to sob.