Truth's Heart (The Valkyrie's Passion Book 3): A Valkyrie/Shifter Romance (2 page)

“It's the only way, Mother,” Baldur whispered, his body fading, growing insubstantial. “You'll see. The gods, the Valkyrie, they'll all fail to avenge father and me.”

“No, don't go.” Frigg lunged forward, reaching to touch her son, to once again hold him to her breast like she had when he was a child. His shade vanished. She stumbled through where he stood and fell to her hands and knees.

Her body shuddered as the tears fell, staining the aged, gray floor.

~   ~   ~

Raven

I leaned into the broad back of my lover, Einherjer, protector, and werewolf—Magnus. His Harley growled beneath us as we drove through the back roads of Northern California. My black hair whipped behind us as we rode. The scent of Magnus's musk, a manly mix of sweat and the leather of his biker vest, his cut, filled my nose. My arms were wrapped tight about his strong torso, gripping him.

It was our third day of riding since I killed Odin and we fled south from Washington State. The gods were hunting us. Hunting me.

There were times I believed I had shed every tear possible for Owen. That was how I liked to think of the one-eyed god. Not as Odin—the terrible god of battle and the dead, an ancient being worship with blood and sacrifice—but as Owen, the broken, Vietnam vet that came to the coffee house I used to work at. He was such a sweet, old man.

And I killed him.

Every time that thought struck my mind, it rattled through my head and echoed over and over. The heinous crime I committed; the tears came again. They poured down my cheeks. I would huddle in Magnus's arms or lean against his strong back, burying my face into the black leather of his cut, and cry.

I killed the chief god of the Aesir. I was tricked, manipulated, and duped by Loki into ramming my flaming sword right through Owen's chest. He had come to rescue me from the Thief. He cared for me. Yes, I was forced to serve him because the first Valkyrie, my ancient ancestor, had sworn to serve the one-eyed god in exchange for having her love restored to life. But that didn't mean he didn't care for me.

How could I repay such kindness with death?

Because I was a Valkyrie. I was a creature of death. When my parents named me Raven, it was appropriate. That was what I was, a carrion bird pecking over the corpses of my loved ones. I had gotten Magnus killed and returned him to life, chaining him to this destiny. To be hunted by the gods and killed with me.

My crime marked Magnus, too. He could abandon me. He could let me fend for myself while the gods hunted me down, but he loved me. He didn't even flinch when he realized the magnitude of my mistake and its implications.

I shuddered on the back of the bike, my sobs mixing with the thunder cracking in the distance. Another storm raced through the Cascade Mountains. The storms were very common in the last two days. Odin had fully manifested into Midgard, unveiling his godly presence, and it caused ramifications. A freak Hurricane formed out of nowhere on the east coast, devastating the major cities. Tornadoes swept across the Midwest. A freak blizzard plunged Seattle into winter despite summer having just started.

Gravel crunched beneath the motorcycle's wheels. We slowed to a stop. I lifted my tear-stained face from Magnus's back. He twisted around, his chiseled face framed by his wild, dirty-blond hair, his eyes, looking ice-blue in the gathering storm clouds, softened.

“We don't have to stop,” I whispered, wiping my eyes. My tears had dried. I had emptied my reserves. I couldn't grieve for Owen any longer today. There was just nothing left inside of me. Only emptiness.

“The storm looks bad,” Magnus answered. “The visibility ahead is gone. The rain's sweeping this way.”

The wind picked up, an icy chill blown off the peak of Mount Shasta before us. Or, Mount Shasta should be before us. Instead, a blanket of angry gray rushed across the sky with misty tendrils reaching down to the ground.

“Very heavy rain,” I whispered.

“Come on, there's a small shelter,” Magnus said, pointing to a wooden structure, open on one side, built next to a green porta potty.

The wind blew faster, a wall pressing on my face. I flinched against it. Rain drummed. It swept in a curtain behind the wind and washed over us in a second. I was soaked. I climbed off the back of the bike, hunching over as the pair of us dashed through the freak gale to cover. Trees groaned and swayed. Evergreen boughs tumbled down to crash on the ground.

“Wow,” I gasped, bursting into the shelter.

Water dripped down Magnus's body. His chest, bare beneath his leather vest, rose and fell, rivulets winding sinuous down to his rippling abs. Wet hair plastered about my neck and shoulders, and my white bra was visible through my soaked, gray shirt.

“Everything's getting wet,” I groaned, looking at the saddlebags hanging on the side of Magnus's bike. “There's no way the rain's not getting in.” 

The rain hammered. The road we drove on turned into a river a brown water. The puddles crept into our shelter. I sat down on a bench. Magnus's arm pulled around me, drawing me close as we stared out at the torrent.

I wasn't cold. I was a Valkyrie, and fires burned hot inside of me. I could walk naked through a blizzard and not even feel it. The water soaking on me steamed as my heat slowly dried my clothing. Magnus just had to endure the wet.

But he didn't complain. Wolves never did.

“There is beauty in the wild,” Magnus whispered, his hand stroking my shoulder. “Untamed nature unleashed, drowning the world with her fury, yet even in the wildest torrent, the rhythm of rain adds its primal beat, and...”

“And what?” I asked.

“I'm not sure,” Magnus answered. “The sweep of water splashes and plays, rejoicing in nature's deluge as it races down man-made path, a new river born, delighting in its play.”

“Are you making this one up as you go?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “It's pretty terrible.”

I shook my head. “No. I think it's wonderful. I don't understand how you can find any joy in this, but I'm glad you can.”

“Is there no joy left in your heart, Raven? Does not the majesty of nature unveiled before us stir anything inside of you?”

“No. it's just rain.” Was there something wrong with me? I stared out at the rain, trying to see the beauty Magnus spoke so eloquently of. I only saw muddy water rushing down the road and heard the pounding of rain drops slamming into the wooden roof over our head. “It's hard. We're being hunted. I can't stop thinking that any moment one of the gods are going to find us. Thor or...one of the other gods.”

“Tyr, Freyr, Thor, and Hother. Not many male gods left. Maybe Frigg and Nanna will come after us.”

“And Gerd?” I shuddered. Freyr and Gerd, or Freddy and Gerdie as I knew them, had run the Boar Coffee House and Cafe in Seattle. I had worked for them for months without knowing their secret. Freddy was a Norse god and brother-in-law to Odin while Gerdie was a giantess.

“Maybe.” Magnus's arm tightened about my shoulders.

“Are we going to have to flee for our entire lives? Will this be it? Centuries of riding on your motorcycle, trying to elude the gods?”

Magnus turned and looked at me. His blue eyes grew serious. “No. We won't run forever.”

“Because we'll be dead,” I whispered.

His hand tightened on my arm. His face hardened. A snarl escaped his lips. “Because we will kill Loki and prove that he killed Odin.”

“I killed Odin. I thrust the Sun's Tear through his chest.”

“Because Loki tricked you.” The anger growled in his voice. The wolf howled in his eyes, eager to come out and rampage. “Loki threw you through a wall. Your head was rattled. You just watched Loki pretend to be Odin and try to kill us. Of course you stabbed your spear through the real Odin's chest when he arrived. Anyone would have in your place.”

“Would anyone have been tricked by Loki?”

Magnus pulled me onto his lap. I rested my head on his chest. He was so warm. His heart thudded beneath my cheek. His arms were strong around my body. His lips kissed my forehead as I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Loki is
the
trickster,” Magnus whispered. “Everyone is fooled by him. He knows exactly how to act, how to manipulate, and how to appear to make you vulnerable to his tricks.” 

“I...I was attracted to him. I...I couldn't help but trust him. He seemed so hurt, so broken. I wanted to fix him.”

“I know,” Magnus answered. “He became exactly what he needed to be to use you.”

“I...I almost...” My body shook. “I almost gave in to him. And he told me he was a liar, a trickster, a thief, a murder, a cheat. He told me up front. I knew he was untrustworthy, and yet...I was such an idiot. How could I be so stupid?”

“No one is stupid for being tricked once. You are only culpable if you let yourself be tricked again, if you fall for his lies and let him manipulate you all over again. I knew he was up to something, I just assumed it was trying to seduce you.

“He tricked me, too.”

I blinked back my tears and looked up at him. The wind howled louder outside, but the beating of my heart drowned it out. “He...tricked you?”

“I let my anger cloud my thoughts. I didn't think what else Loki could have been up to. I couldn't. Not after seeing him kiss you. Then when he came to Haleigh's before we attacked the Blood Eagles, he kept needling me, keeping my anger sharp, keeping me from pondering other ideas. Like when the fake Odin attacked us, he used a sword. Not a spear. Not Gungnir, his famous lance. But a sword. But I was angry. Too angry to think.” His arms tightened on me. “Don't you see? You are not to blame. This lays all on Loki.”

It was so sweet of him. His words almost convinced me. But I knew the truth. I wanted to kill Odin before Loki tricked me. I wanted to free Magnus and myself so we could live our lives without his interference. I was already considering how I could do it.

Loki just gave me what I wanted.

The emptiness swelled inside of me. It threatened to drag me down into an abyss. I threw my arms around Magnus's neck. I didn't want to fall into it. I pressed myself tighter against Magnus, clinging to him. He was so warm, so alive, so different than the cold ashes that filled me.

I pressed my lips against his.

Chapter Two

Magnus

Raven's sudden kiss surprised me. Her lips sealed tight against my mouth. Her blue eyes squeezed shut as she moaned into my lips. I groaned back into the kiss, my body absorbing the warmth of her flesh and the soft feel of her breasts on my chest, only covered by her wet t-shirt and bra.

She was a passionate woman. A warrior. Fearless, amazing, willing to throw herself into danger. She didn't need to be coddled and shielded. She was a woman with the strength to fight at your side, to put her back against mine and face down whatever may come.

My hand stroked down her back, her long, black hair still damp from the rain. I reached the jeans hugging her ass and squeezed, bringing a moan from her lips. I pulled her tight against me. She undulated, grinding on my swelling girth.

We hadn't made love since Haleigh's guest room. The last few days had been flight and grief.

It was so hard to watch Raven's fires die beneath her guilt. She had grown almost listless, her shoulders sagging from her one mistake. I hoped I had reached through to her. Mistakes happened. Tragedy occurred. That was life.

True strength was the ability to carry on despite it. To learn and grow and become a better person. I hoped the kiss meant Raven was rising out of the muck and taking flight again. The drumming rain matched the beating of my heart as I loved my Valkyrie.

“Magnus,” she moaned, breaking the kiss. “I need it. Fire. Warmth. Give it to me.”

“Yes,” I growled as she leaned in and captured my lips in a kiss.

Raven's right hand slipped down my shoulder to my chest. Her fingernails scratched at my skin as she squeezed over my heart. I groaned, the pain adding a splash of excitement to her kiss. Her tongue fenced with mine as she ground herself harder on my fully erect cock.

She broke the kiss, her lips wet, her eyes shining. She had all the beauty of a Nordic shieldmaiden. Strong cheekbones, lush lips, ice-blue eyes. Her black hair made her pale skin almost glow while spots of color blossomed in her cheeks.

Raven let out a purring moan as she leaned in and nipped at my neck. “You're so warm, Magnus. My big wolf.”

Her hands slid down my chest to my stomach while my hands slid up her hips. I found the hem of her t-shirt. She didn't fight as I ripped it off of her and tossed it on the bench beside us. Her hands went instantly to my stomach, her fingers caressing my abs as she worked lower.

To my belt.

Raven had a hungry grin as she slipped off my lap to the concrete floor of the shelter. Behind her, nature's fury raged, as beautiful and passionate as my Valkyrie. The water splashed and rippled as it rolled down the mountainside to the road, dragging debris with it.

My belt came undone. My zipper rasped. Raven's warm hand thrust into my boxers and grasped me. I groaned as I throbbed in her hand. She stroked me as she drew me out. She breathed in, her breasts rising in her white bra, before she leaned in and swirled her tongue around the tip of my cock.

“Raven,” I groaned, my right hand combing through her silky hair, her tresses sliding between my fingers as her tongue circled and traced the frenulum and crown of my dick.

“Mmm,” she purred before sucking the entire tip into her mouth. She sucked hard, aggressive.

My left hand gripped the edge of the wooden bench as my hips rose. I growled as she sucked. There was a hungry need filling Raven. Her eyes flashed up at me, blue and dark as she worked her mouth up and down my shaft. She moaned, the pleasure humming around my sensitive crown.

My balls already boiled. Her aggressiveness made my cock twitch. The ache spread up to the tip as she sucked harder. She bobbed up and down, her cheeks hollowing. I growled again. I couldn't last long. Not after going two days without sex.

“Slow down,” I growled. “It's not a marathon.”

She only sucked harder.

I groaned as the pressure built in my balls. Her hot, wet mouth was too much to handle. She was hungry. My hand tightened in her black tresses. Her soft hand fondled my balls, massaging them, eager for what they held.