honey.”
Myst gave me a long look while the others talked and shared their thoughts on the matter. Calmly and casually, I stepped away from my mom and dad, wishing to get closer to the Valkyrie again. It felt like a good moment, since Regine was busy butting heads with Haldor, Phoenix, and the Soul Crusher over ways of getting out of here.
“How are you holding up?” Myst asked, keeping her voice low.
I noticed my mom briefly watching us before shifting her attention back to Regine and the others’ discussion. “I’m just glad we’re all here, believe it or not. While I’d prefer to be back in The Shade, we’re stronger together. It doesn’t really matter where you put us.”
“I can see that,” Myst replied. “You look happier.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it turned out this way for you and Regine. I can’t imagine.”
“It’s fine. I’ll move on. I’m an agent of Purgatory,” she said, visibly struggling to keep a straight face as she spoke. This whole incident had impacted her on a deep level, and Myst had trouble acknowledging that. Hrista had hurt her beyond repair, and I didn’t like how it felt to see her suffering.
Sure, she was a Valkyrie, a beacon of light and glory… but it turned out she had vulnerabilities, too. I took her hand in mine and squeezed gently. I didn’t say a word, letting her look at me in silence as she tried to understand the significance of my gesture. It took her mind off Hrista for a moment. It was the best I could do, and it was better than nothing.
Hrista’s machinations had thrown us into the same simmering pot. It didn’t mean we couldn’t make the most of it and emerge victorious. I had no intention of letting Hrista win this fight. Neither did Myst. She responded to my hand squeeze with a soft smile. “You’re right,” she muttered. “We are stronger together.”
It felt like an important truth in the face of this insanity. We were on the same page. It mattered.
Astra
There was so much to think about, so much to understand about what had happened and about what we could do to make it better. Hrista had really pulled one over on us, and she’d gotten away with it. Meanwhile, we were stuck here, unable to go anywhere, our entire world in peril because of a rogue Valkyrie and an army of deadly clones.
I had found comfort in seeing my dad and the rest of the Shadians again. Draven and Serena had been given a semblance of peace too. The world made some sense once more.
I stepped away from the Great Dome and gave myself a few minutes of peace and quiet. The enemy was gone, but the troubles had only just begun. For the first time, I had the clarity and the state of mind to truly observe my surroundings. Yes, this was a slightly altered copy of our island, but it was beautiful in its own way despite sucking the energy out of us and reducing supernaturals to a human twenty-four-hour day cycle.
The air was fresh. The redwoods were sullen giants with lush and heavy canopies. As strange and as unexpected as it was, there was life in this world: the ill-colored greenery, the insects and the birds, the deer, and every other creature that still inhabited the island. “It kind of grows on you after a while, doesn’t it?” Brandon’s voice behind me nearly made me jump.
“Oh. It’s you,” I mumbled, turning to face him.
He was tall and a few inches too close to me. Something warm began to unfurl in the pit of my stomach. “I see the color has returned to your cheeks,” Brandon said. “I take it the family reunion made you happy.”
“Our fight is just getting started,” I replied, trying to focus on the complicated journey still ahead of us, but he took another step and brought his hand up, knuckles gently brushing my cheek.
“Put that out of your head, if only for a minute,” he said, a smile stretching his lips. Wisps of darkness danced off his broad shoulders. The black of his hair was almost hypnotizing. Would a minute do any harm?
A minute spent solely in Brandon’s company didn’t sound like the worst of ideas. He’d proven himself to us. He’d fought for us. He’d gotten himself and his Aesir in trouble for us. For me… He’d mentioned his soft spot for pink-haired girls. My cheeks burned from the memory.
Brandon wasn’t