Valkyrie's Sacrifice (Academy of Immortals 3)

“Then what are you talking about? Because you’re talking in riddles.” Marshal rolls his eyes, typically impatient.

“When the door closes, a window opens,” I say, paraphrasing Christensen. “This whole time the answer has been with us.”

“Riddles,” Marshal repeats. “Speak clearly.”

I sigh, forcing my brain and mouth on the same speed. “Hildi must find another person to bond to—to fill the gap that Miya left. It’s the only way.”

Armin frowns. “Another—”

“Immortal,” I add. I run my hand through my hair, a little annoyed I didn’t see this sooner, but the gods reveal things in their own time. “One that is already loyal to our cause.”

“Luke,” Marshal says, eyes brightening. “The Nephilim is part of this.”

“Part of her,” Armin adds. “Really, all of us.”

As soon as the words are spoken, they seem right, like a missing piece of a puzzle clicking into place.

It’s obvious what needs to be done for us to move forward, but will Hildi agree?

30

Luke

I stand in Hildi’s small cabin, shoulders slightly hunched due to my height and the low ceiling. Her eyes are wide, cheeks flushed, and from the rumpled bed, it’s obvious that I wo

ke her. What’s less obvious is why I’m here.

“I’m not sure why I’m here,” I admit. “One minute I was patrolling on the deck, wondering how we’re going to get out of this mess, and the next I’m knocking on your door.” I feel the urge to look away from the intensity of her eyes but force myself to hold them. “You were asleep. I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t,” I reply. “A dream woke me up…or I think it was a dream.”

His eyebrow raises. “You think?”

“Sometimes, since I arrived at the Academy, I’ve found it difficult to always be certain.” I stare at the man in front of me. “This one was different.”

“How so?”

“It was about you.”

That comes as a surprise, yet…something drew me to her room. A feeling? A desire? No, it couldn’t be desire. I’d held back on that for some time now. I’d kept myself firmly in check. Hildi Axel, Valkyrie, and leader of this mission, is not mine to have.

“I-I…” I’m not okay with her scrutiny. It’s okay for me to know how I feel about her, but for her to know…that’s a different story. Her blue eyes burn into me and I cup the back of my neck. “I should go. I’m supposed to be on patrol.”

“Why are you here, Luke?” she asks, taking a step forward. The strings tying her vest together are loose and her leather pants hang low on her hips. “Why did you come to my cabin.”

“I don’t know,” I reply, swallowing thickly.

She reaches out and grabs a fistful of my shirt. “I think you do.”

She’s close. I can smell her scent, I can see the fullness of her lips, the swell of her breasts under the tight vest. The front of my pants tighten and my heart hammers in my chest. I can see that we can do this—I can have her if I want—and the gods know that I do.

But that’s the problem. The gods. The rulers of this game. My father.

But I shake my head and take a step back, peeling her fingers out of my shirt. “This isn’t real,” I tell her, making some distance. “It’s one of my father’s tricks. Sowing discord and confusion, distracting us from our task at hand. He sent you a dream, and he sent me down here. We’re still in the circle, we can’t trust that anything is real.”

She blinks, forehead creased. “What? No.”

“Yes, I…this is not right.” I glance over my shoulder, back down the hall. “If the guys find me in here, I’m a dead man, Hildi. There are lines that can’t be crossed, and my father knows that. He wants us at each other’s throats. He wants the Immortals caught up in the anger that runs through this place and me caught up…caught up in you. I can’t let that happen.”