Valkyrie's Sacrifice (Academy of Immortals 3)

“No. I wanted to. I planned on it, but the passage was blocked.”

I’m not sure what to say. I’d spent so much time trying to figure out what happened, how Luke really felt, that this new information is unsettling. I go for the obvious. “So you’re a king now?”

“Apparently.”

“What’s that like?”

“Hot.” He laughs. “But I’m working on that.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You can work on that? Making Hell less hot?”

“I’m a Nephilim, no one knows what I can do.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I heard the Academy was reopening and that there was a new Headmistress. I knew I needed to check it—well, her—out.”

“You knew it was me.”

“I suspected. Rumors still reach us in the Lowerworld, and as the Academy is on neutral territory, it’s one of the places I can still visit.”

“I’m glad you came. I’ve been worried about you, and I wanted to thank you for, you know…” Killing your dad, not betraying us, blasting us back to our friends and family. “Doing the right thing.”

“I never wanted to betray you, Hildi. I was loyal from the beginning. My father…if he’d seen even a moment of weakness, he would have slaughtered us before we stepped in that courtroom.”

“I believe you.”

He rocks back on his heels, like he’s trying to hold himself back. I get it. I’m holding myself back, too.

“So, listen,” he says, eyes flicking to the statue, “as King I have the ability to force my minions to do a fair amount of my work in Hell. As you know, the circles kind of run themselves.”

I fight a smile. Gods I hate that place. “I remember.”

“So if you’re looking for another instructor, you know, maybe someone with expertise in espionage or spying, I may have some free time.”

“You want to be an instructor at the Academy?”

“What I want is to be back with you, with the Immortals.” He ventures a step forward. “I want to be a part of this—something good, and righteous. I dream about you every night. I think about you all day. The bond we created, it wasn’t severed when you left. I love you, Hildi Axel.”

His eyes flick over my shoulder. I tilt my head and see my allies—our allies. None look the slightest bit surprised to see Luke. I search their expressions for a sign of hesitation, for any resistance, but none comes. The coil in my belly tightens, linking us all together. What was real in Hell is real here.

“I love—” I don’t get the words out before he’s pulled me in a tight embrace, lips hot against my neck. He spins me around and again I see my men, my Legion, this time grinning bright.

In a lifetime made of one journey after the other, I can sense that this one is going to be one of the better ones. For once, I’m not alone. I have love, family, and a job. I have a home. I have a future. And if we can keep the gods appeased, I have faith it can last forever.