Valkyrie's Harem (Academy of Immortals 1)

I take the lead, rushing down the hallway. At the top of the staircase a brilliant light flashes outside. I cover my eyes, the light so bright it burned my eyes. I open my mouth to speak and an aftershock rolls through the building, making the walls and floors shudder.

“What was that?” Miya asks a moment later.

I feel an unsteadiness in my bones. “Whatever it was, it can’t be good.”

Agis pushes past the two of us and he climbs to the bannister. The stairway is curved and over the edge you can see the floors below us. He doesn’t hesitate, slinging his legs over the side and dropping below. A short cut.

We follow. First Miya, his coat trailing behind him like a cape.

Then I go, falling fast, landing hard with a grunt as the impact shakes my skull.

We’re in the main hallway and when Miya and I head to the door, Agis pauses. A second vibration courses through the building, this one more like a roar. We stare at one another and I grip a dagger in my hand.

“The flash came from outside,” Miya says.

Agis frowns. “Someone needs to protect the door.”

“The locked door?” I ask, knowing it lies at the end of another staircase. “It’s useless without a key.”

“You don’t know that. I’ll stay back—you two go find Armin and Hildi.” He swallows. “Make sure she’s safe.”

It’s unspoken, but everyone here knows that other than the actual apocalypse, she’s our number one priority. I’m not sure when it happened, when she took all of us over, when she nested in our bones, but she did.

I clap Miya on the back, urging him to go, then nod to Agis. “Be careful, brother.”

“You, too.”

He runs down the hall.

And like that we’re split up, pulled in different directions, clueless and unprepared.

What a way to go into a fight.

39

Miya

Agis vanishes down the hallway, his footsteps a faint echo as he runs. I look at Marshal, who has more worry in his eyes than I’ve ever seen. Marshal isn’t a worrier. He’s a reveler. Something has him unsettled. I feel it, too.

“Come,” I say, striding toward the front doors. I unsheathe my sword, holding it in front of me. Outside it’s dark, just the flickering of oil lamps lighting the path. Up ahead is the sculpture, a heap lies at its base.

The moonlight casts catches a halo of blonde, along with a trail of blood.

“Hildi,” I say, pointing at the body.

Marshal is already running, his feet sliding when he reaches her. “Valkyrie. Wake up.”

I bend and lift her hand, checking the nasty cut. I then check her pulse. “She’s alive. The blood seems to come from this wound.”

Marshal brushes the hair off her forehead. Gently. I watch in confusion.

“Hildi, wake up.” His voice is tense. Strained. “Wake up.”

A soft sigh escapes her lips, followed by a moan of pain. He looks up at me, a mixture of panic and relief in his eyes.

“Marshal?” Her eyes flutter.

“Yes, yes, it’s me.” She grimaces and shifts. “Don’t move. You’re hurt.”