Read Valkyrie's Kiss for Free Online

Gustel , you know what Valhalla has
become. I don't want to send him there. He's young. He deserves a full life. He
deserves what we can't have."
    "Is that what this is about? You pining away again to be mortal?"
    The question stopped me. The truth was, I didn't know. I'd lost my
drive in the past few decades, lost my taste for my job. It happened with the
old-timers often enough. But we both knew I was too young to be having such
feelings.
    "I don't think that's it. I think it's him."
    "If you mark him, you could claim him for a mate," Gustel said in a quiet voice.
    "If the Progeny
Rules didn't exist, maybe."
    "But they do exist."
    "So it's not an option."
    "Maybe you'll have a girl."
    "Maybe I won ’ t. I'm not ready to make
those choices, Gustel . That much I think you can
understand."
    My sister tilted her head as if considering, then gave me a hard
punch in the shoulder. "Agreed."
    We could say no more, but the air between us was pregnant with
unsaid things. Odin has big ears and a wide net. And even if Odin couldn't
hear, neither one of us wanted to say it out loud, what it meant to choose a
mate.
    “So what are you going to do?”
    I turned my back to Jess and whispered the words. “I
could go see Skuld .”
    “ Are
you crazy? ” Gustel said, her voice rising
sharply. “ You can't do that."
    "It's
the only solution I can think of, Gustel ."
    "But
you ’ ve never strayed from the battlefield, Sabrina. It ’ s dangerous. Besides, how would you even find her?"
    "Who's Skuld ?" Jess asked, moving toward us.
    "She's
a witch," I said, "a very powerful witch."
    "Uh,
no offense, but I don't think I want to meet any more witches today."
    "We
are not witches," Gustel said. "Try to keep
up, mortal. Anyway, you ’ ll never find her. And you don ’ t
know what it ’ s like out there. Things have changed. ”
    “ It
just so happens," I said, glancing at Jess, "that Skuld is at Hohensalzburg ."
    "You're
kidding."
    " Hohen what? ” Jess asked.
    "Don't
interrupt," Gustel said, keeping her eyes on me.
"He'll have to help you, of course."
    "No."
    "You
know he will, so stop being coy."
    "But..."
    "Sabrina,
you can't hear what she has to say. You know that."
    "Uh,
Sabrina..." Jess said.
    "My God," Gustel said, rolling her eyes at me, "how many
times do I have to tell you do not interrupt?"
    "I
just thought you might want to know there's a convoy coming," Jess said,
pointing a finger toward the horizon.
    "Dammit."
A line of vehicles was speeding our way, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.
    "What?
What's wrong?"
    "It's
Death," I said, handing Jess his pack. "We have to go. Now!"
    "You'll
have to camouflage yourself," Gustel said.
"But be careful out there, okay? There are dangerous immortals in the
world of men. Stay sharp. Stay alert. Now go. I'll be the decoy."
    " Gustel , no."
    "I'm
faster than anybody, you know that. It's what these wings were built for."
    "But..."
    "It'll
be fun. Now go. We don't have time to argue."
    I had a
sudden desire to hug my sister, but she put me off.
    "Go,
Sabrina. You don't want to lose your delicious boy toy, do you?"
    "Hey,
I'm nobody's boy toy," Jess said, indignant.
    "Do
you ever stop talking?" Gustel said,
exasperated.
    The cloud
was getting closer. I could smell It now. Death was in
the air.
    "You
can go stay at The Nest until you ’ re
ready to face Skuld ."
    "Do
you think the enchantments still hold?"
    "Of
course they do. Why wouldn't they?"
    The
enchantments surrounding our ancestral home had been in place for over a
thousand years.
    "And
Sabrina," Gustel said, grasping my shoulders. "Be
kind to Skuld . No matter what she does. You do not want to make an enemy of her."
    "Oh,
by the gods..." I said, feeling a wave of panic wash over me.
    "There's
no need to panic, Sabrina. Worst case scenario, you mark him, and you're
done."
    She held my
gaze. We both knew that there was a great deal of danger. There was Skuld for one. And Death had Its own allies. "What's done is done, Sabrina. The