I didn’t see a single demon anywhere in the depths of the icy chasm, but there were hundreds or possibly thousands more Draugar down there. They shuffled around like zombies, and the stench was almost overwhelming as it wafted up to slap me in the face.

  “Ugh,” I groaned and tilted my head away to get a breath of fresher air.

  Then I angled one of my wings around to cover my face with the leathery membrane, and I leaned forward once more for another look.

  There were narrow ledges that led down into the chasm on both the near and far sides. They were broken up in several places, and the gaps were wide enough that I guessed I’d have to jump far to make it across them.

  I focused my vision more to get a better feel for how many Draugar were gathered within the chasm, and that’s when I saw something horrifying. I could only assume this was what had caused such fear in the hearts of the dark elves.

  A massive creature that was easily thirty feet across the shoulders and three times that in height.

  It had an enormous bald head and hardly any neck to speak of. Its shoulders sloped forward like a caveman, and its skin was a pale shade of blue that reminded me of a hyperthermic corpse. It stomped out of the shadows and along the bottom of the chasm with thunderous footsteps.

  Then two more of the horrifyingly gigantic creatures lurched out of the shadows of the chasm and into view.

  I had a feeling I knew exactly what the enormous beasts were, and the word nearly caught in my throat as I looked at the shockingly large creatures. They were so massive they would have towered over the Demon Lord and the trolls even if they were stacked together.

  “Frost giants,” I muttered.

  Chapter 12

  There was no doubt in my mind that I was staring down at the enormous beasts Elora had told me about. Their skin was deathly pale, and they were much larger than I’d imagined they would be.

  Every crack, crevice, ridge, and cliff was smothered in thick layers of ice, and a glacial river ran through the length of the chasm for as far as I could see in either direction. This place was like the exact opposite of the chasm north of Freesia’s village, and as I studied the terrain, another freezing blast of cold air burst up from the western tail.

  “Fuck, that’s cold,” I muttered as I willed my thick gray fur to spread up over the top half of my body.

  I wasn’t going down into the chasm right now, so there wasn’t much need for my armored scales, and the fur coat was much more useful.

  I watched the lumbering frost giants for a few more minutes until one got a little too close to another. The two huge beasts roared at one another with belligerent rage, and the second one shoved the first away from it with so much force that the frost giant slammed into the chasm wall.

  The force of the impact could be felt all the way up to where I stood, and the tremors shook into my legs and up my spine. The icy ground beneath my wolf paws began to crack a little more, and a huge chunk of the cliff face split off and tumbled down into the chasm.

  I launched myself back to avoid falling straight into the chasm itself, and to make sure I wasn’t spotted by the horrific creatures below. There was no reason to think they knew anything about me or my abilities yet, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

  I rolled back up to my feet, and I brushed the snow from my fur. Then I started heading back south toward the dark elves’ village

  It took me longer to get back to the dark elves’ village than I expected, and I realized I’d followed the lone Draugr longer than I’d thought. By the time I walked back through the copse of pine trees that ran along the northern edge of the village, the stench of the Draugar’s rotting flesh was nearly gone. The air was filled with the stench of burning flesh and bones now, and I wasn’t sure if it was worse or better. At least I knew it would be gone soon.

  I eased my body out of my dragon-wolf form, and as I returned to my natural human state, I sheathed my sword and dagger on my belt and walked between the stone houses.

  Most of the villagers were gathered around the large fire pit in the middle of the village, and my warriors and lovers were helping to burn the last bits of Draugar.

  “Levi,” Elora murmured with love in her voice, and she dropped a half-rotten leg into the flames.

  “Welcome back,” Ayen said with a friendly smile.

  “Thank the gods,” Freesia sighed, and she walked over to wrap herself in my arms.

  “I’m alright,” I assured her, and I kissed the top of her bright red curls before I pulled Elora into our embrace. “Is everybody good here?”

  “We are quite well,” Nae answered. “I must say, I am impressed by your strength.”

  “And your magic,” the black-skinned elf who’d used the magical shadow blade added. “My name is Ivaran.”

  “It’s nice to officially meet you, Ivaran,” I said, and I reached out to shake the elf’s hand.

  Ivaran furrowed his eyebrows with confusion before he stuck his hand out in a matching gesture, but he didn’t take my hand at all. He just held it out for a moment and then let it fall back to his side.

  I stifled a laugh at the awkward exchange and figured the dark elves didn’t know what a handshake was. Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I’d shaken hands with anybody on my first greeting of them. Maybe handshakes were a purely Earth tradition.

  “Your shifting magic is very strong,” Ivaran said, and his red eyes flashed with intrigue. “What is your talisman?”

  “I, uh,” I hesitated for a moment. “I don’t use a talisman.”

  “No talisman?” The black-skinned elf looked very confused at that. “Where does your power come from, then?”

  “Inside me?” I shrugged. “I’m not really sure how it works, honestly. It’s just something I discovered I could do when I arrived here on Asgard. Actually, I was curious if you and your people could teach me more about how magic in this world works.”

  “We only know how to use the magic of our people,” Lyrie said. “The magic of Jord is not something we have gained the ability to use.”

  “Who’s Jord?” I asked.

  “She was the mother goddess,” Nae explained. “She fell along with the other Aesir and Vanir, but she was the embodiment of the world’s magic.”

  “Oh, okay.” I nodded. “We had something kind of like that back on Midgard, we called it Mother Earth or Gaia.”

  “Yes, I have heard the legend of the Mother Gaia,” Nae said. “They are similar to one another. Jord’s magic is in the very ground, trees, and life of nature. It lived on even when she perished in Ragnarok.”

  “So there’s magic in nature, too?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Lyrie confirmed. “It comes from the ground itself. This valley is a point of high magical energy. This is why our ancestors settled here eons ago.”

  “Are there points of higher magical energy in other places, too?” I wondered, and I thought back to how strong my magic had felt in the depths of the chasm.

  “There are,” Ivaran said with a nod.

  “The chasm radiates with magical energy,” Nae said, and her metallic wings bristled like the hackles on a scared cat.

  “That makes perfect sense,” I breathed. “When I was deep in the other chasm that’s a lot further northeast of here, I could feel, like, a surge of strength.”

  “Yes, your magic will be much stronger when you are that deep inside the ground,” Lyrie said with a thoughtful nod.

  “That must have been something to behold,” Nae mused with admiration. “Your shifting magic is already impressive.”

  “Levi is incredible,” Elora said, and she smiled at me with all the love in her heart.

  “As are you,” Nae chuckled. “Elora, you are as powerful as the stories led me to believe.”

  “Stories?” Freesia asked, and her eyebrows raised with immediate interest. “What stories?”

  “Oh, there were many stories of the half-dark, half-light elf Valkyrie.” Nae grinned. “Your reputation precedes you, Elora. You were spoken of with much admiration among the sisters I fought alongside. It was impressive enough by itself that you overcame the biases of your heritage to become a true Valkyrie, but that battle at Solheimr…”

  “You heard about that?” Elora blushed a pretty shade of lavender.

  “Of course,” Nae chuckled. “Your valiant efforts on that battlefield were a favorite story of my sisters. We knew you had earned your wings after that heroic day.”

  “What happened?” I grinned, and my heart warmed at being able to hear about my beautiful warrior’s prowess in battle from a near-total stranger.

  “It was nothing,” Elora tried to brush away the story with a wave of her hand.

  “Lies,” Nae laughed. “The story goes that the battle was turning in the favor of the enemy when the half-dark, half-light elf warrior came out upon her gleaming white horse, her spear held aloft…”

  Nae took a fierce pose and mimicked raising a spear high into the air above her head.

  Elora blushed furiously at my side, and even her metallic wings curled in against her back as Freesia’s green eyes lit up with excitement.

  “What did she do next?” Freesia asked.

  “It is said that the Valkyrie faced down the enemy single-handedly.” Nae smirked, and she mimed the actions of the story. “That the silver-haired warrior threw her spear and took out the enemy commander with a single blow. After her perfect strike, the enemy ranks fled in terror, and the day was saved.”

  “Wow,” I murmured, and I affectionately wrapped my hand around the back of Elora’s neck. “I mean, I knew you were a badass, but damn.”

  “I did not win that battle alone,” Elora insisted.

  “Was that the day you earned your wings?” Lyrie asked, and there was a new childlike wonder in her black eyes.

  “No,” Elora answered in a quiet voice. “The world was torn apart in Ragnarok before I was able to earn my wings.”

  “Then how do you have them now?” Nae wondered, and she tilted her head to the side with confusion. “If you did not receive them before?”

  “Our blacksmith forged them for Lady Elora,” one of my dwarven companions answered. “Hezzig was one of Odin’s finest smiths, and his talents have not waned over the years.”

  “Hezzig?” Nae gasped. “He still lives?”

  “You know him?” I asked with utter shock.

  “Not personally.” Nae shook her head. “But the stories of the dwarf master’s work are as legendary as Elora’s prowess in battle.”

  “Whoa,” I breathed, and I couldn’t fight the grin that filled my face as I imagined what Hezzig would say to know his skills were so well known.

  Then again, perhaps he already knew.

  “It is quite sad you had to wait for your wings,” Nae said. “But I am pleased to see you have them now.”

  “Yeah, I wish she wore them more often,” I said offhandedly, and I gazed at my beautiful warrior. “But I guess you’re still getting used to them.”

  “Whatever do you mean by that?” Nae narrowed her eyes as she glanced between Elora and me. “You do not wear them always?”

  “Do you wear yours all the time?” I asked.

  “I take them off to sleep,” Nae said and straightened her shoulders. “Our wings are the greatest honor we can receive, so we Valkyries are proud to become one with our hard-earned wings. In sleep is the only time a sister should part with them. You honor this, yes?”

  The Valkyrie looked to Elora expectantly, and I’d never seen my elf flush such a vibrant shade of purple.

  “No,” Elora mumbled like a little kid who’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “I do not wear them all the time.”

  “Why not, sister?” Nae asked, and she sounded genuinely shocked and confused by this information.

  I was also pretty confused because I’d assumed wearing her wings was like me wearing my armor or my sword. But now Nae was making it sound as if a Valkyrie’s wings were more like a physical part of her body. The scarred Valkyrie was reacting as if Elora said she walked around without one of her arms attached.

  “My dear, Elora,” Nae said, and her tone became affectionate like a loving great-aunt. “You have earned those wings over and over again, and yet I can see the hesitancy in your beautiful eyes. The world is much changed from the time I earned my wings, but the honor of them has not. I have known you only a short time, but I can see that you are worthy of this honor. The fact that you survived Ragnarok and all the time since is proof enough of your worthiness. I want you to promise me, now, you will wear your wings proudly as it was intended.”

  Nae took Elora’s hands between hers, and she looked at my silver-haired warrior with motherly love in her black eyes.

  My Valkyrie lover nodded shyly as she glanced at me from the corner of her eyes.

  “And you,” Nae added in a much harsher but still loving tone as she looked over at me. “You should do more to uplift your Valkyrie. You are very lucky to have such a powerful and strong woman at your side.”

  “Levi assures us all the time of how strong we are,” Freesia spoke up. “He is a constant source of inspiration and support.”

  “Ah, so it is true,” Nae murmured with a knowing smirk on her scarred face. “I suspected you had relations with both of these lovely women.”

  “We are very lucky to have Levi’s love,” Elora said with deep love and affection in her voice.

  “I’m the lucky one,” I countered with a grin.

  “Interesting,” Nae mused.

  “What is?” I asked.

  “I have known only gods to win the love of more than one woman on Asgard,” the older elf said. “And here you are with two beautiful women devoted to you.”

  “Three,” Freesia giggled, and a bright pink blush spread under her freckles. “Shalanna could not come with us on this journey.”

  “Three?” Nae repeated with surprise. “Goodness. I hope you have earned their love, Levi.”

  “I try to every day,” I assured her.

  There was something commanding about the old elf, and I wanted to make her proud like I might have with my favorite high school teacher. He’d always believed in me, and I’d worked to graduate partly just to make him proud of me.

  “Good, as you should.” Nae nodded like she was satisfied with that answer, and then she gestured around. “We will be having dinner soon if you would all care to join us? We have gotten a bit off-topic, and I would like to hear about what happened with the final Draugr.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course,” I assured her. “Can we help prepare the food?”

  “If you wish,” Nae said, and she looked at Lyrie. “Lyrie, will you show them all how they may be of help?”

  “Certainly,” Lyrie said, and she looked at my male companions. “Follow me, if you please.”

  “Ayen, you stay with us,” I murmured.

  “Excellent,” my big blond friend said. “I was worried I would miss the discussion of your journey north.”

  “Nope,” I chuckled.

  The final bits and pieces of the Draugar had burned down to ash by now, so when we gathered around the fire, we were surrounded by just the pleasant scent of burning pine wood. Freesia and Elora sat on either side of me, and Ayen took the seat on Elora’s other side. Lyrie and Ivaran flanked Nae on either side, and Kine and a few others settled onto stone blocks as well.

  “How far did you track the Draugr?” Nae asked once we were all seated.

  “All the way to the chasm,” I said without delay. “It reached the chasm before I caught up with it, and there were thousands more down in the depths.”

  “Ah, good,” Nae said. “I had hoped you would make it that far. I am confident the freezing air is coming from the depths of the chasm. What else did you see?”

  “Besides the massive Draugr population?” I frowned. “Frost giants.”

  Freesia gasped audibly and clasped both of her hands over her face.

  “I feared that might be so,” Nae muttered and nodded slowly. “Could you tell how many there were?”

  “I saw at least three,” I said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more, though. That’s pretty much their ideal habitat, right?”

  “What is?” Lyrie asked.

  “The cold?” I clarified.

  “The cold comes from them,” Nae said in a tone of authority. “Their very breath freezes anything it comes into contact with.”

  “What?” My eyes grew wide with shock.

  “It is true,” Elora agreed. “My Valkyrie sisters and I were sent to deal with a frost giant once. The beast breathed on a flock of sheep, and it froze all of them to death in an instant.”

  “Whoa, that’s wild,” I breathed.

  “Were they trying to rise to escape from the chasm?” Nae asked me.

  “It didn’t look like they were actively trying to get out,” I said.

  Lyrie and several of my companions returned from wherever they’d gone with several platters of uncooked food. The white-haired beauty started to direct them around the firepit, and I was pleased to see my people being helpful.

  “I would be shocked if they were intending to remain where they are,” Elora said.

  “Yes.” Nae nodded in agreement. “I doubt they will leave us be. The Draugar have been attacking the village in increasing numbers, and I see no reason to believe they will suddenly stop.”

  “So the biggest issues are the Draugar and the frost giants?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Ivaran confirmed.

  “If the frost giants were not so near,” Nae said in a tone that sounded like she was thinking it through out loud. “Then the ice would likely recede, and then we would be able to grow our crops once more…”

  “So what else do you know about the frost giants?” I asked, and I began to mentally plan to kill as many of the enormous beasts as I could manage.

  “Not much,” Elora sighed. “They are very strong and very powerful. They have the ice breath, but no other extra abilities as far as I am aware… Nae?”

 

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