Page 127 of The Last Valkyrie

It stood stoic, unmoving. Nothing more than a spectator—perhaps not even a living entity, but a gargoyle subterfuge cast by my father.

“Strike him down, dammit. I have things to do!” Salos yelled, spit dripping from his mouth.

My brow furrowed and I glanced over, keeping my sword and shield up.

The shadow took shape as I squinted. It had been hard to make out its individual features because there was a gigantic shield in front of him, making him seem wider and inhuman.

Thane Canute took a step toward me.

Dammit. Not both of them . . .

The Huscarl lord’s single eye trained on me. It flitted over to Salos.

“Fight, Thane!” my father shouted. He lunged at me again, and I easily smacked his sword aside.

THUNK—

My head whipped over as Canute’s shield dropped to the ground and wobbled for a moment before settling.

The Thane crossed his huge arms.

A spectator and nothing more.

I grinned at my father. “Your control and influence only go so far, dear Da.”

My sword whipped toward his face.

He ducked, growling to take my legs out from under me as his robe fluttered around him in a circle.

I slammed my shield down, catching his sword—stepped into his guard—and elbowed him in the face with a crunch of cartilage.

Salos’ head snapped back, blood spurting from his broken nose.

“You turned my brothers and sister against me,” I said, enraged yet keeping my wits.

I sliced my blade again. He barely parried it, backpedaling, put on the defensive.

My anger grew the more steps I took—the closer I became to toppling my father from his pedestal of lies and deception.

“Worse than that, Father, you tried to separate me from the woman I love more than anything in this realm.”

Our blades caught, his parry desperate as he kept one hand on his bleeding nose, his tearing eyes.

I slid the edge of my sword down to his guard, forcefully ripping down.

Da was forced to unhand his weapon and let it go flying, lest he lost the tips of his fingers.

It clattered off into the shadows.

“As your Gothi, Thane, Icommand youto strike this usurper down!” he screeched, thrusting a finger at me.

My blade took the finger off at the knuckle.

Salos screeched, blood spurting.

Turning, he made to run—

Something caught his foot.

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