Page 100 of Valkyrie Unknown

I tucked away any reactions I may have while reading a third-party book about Lugh’s past and my own, and delicately lifted the tome to bring it closer.

“It’s Celtic history.” I left Lugh’s name out, based on Azzie’s reaction to him.

“They fought a lot of wars.” Azzie’s enthusiasm drew a withering glare from me.

She had the decency to look apologetic, but didn’t say anything about her unabashed eagerness to use the bloody past for her gain.

I gave my attention to the book, skimming the pages for highlights. Despite the truth behind Azzie’s statement, these were more peaceful stories. Tales about people Lugh and I had known back in the day. About Morrigan and Nemain. Nuada.

And then my own name glared off the pages, halting me. I knew from the first few sentences this wasn’t one of the modern tales about me building a bridge for love or battle. This was an actual portion of my life inked onto these pages.

Azzie cleared her throat. She noticed I’d stopped.

“This isn’t what you’re looking for.” I was split between turning to the next story, and falling into my past.

“What does it say?” Zeke asked.

I couldn’t read the actual words aloud; the instant I saw Sadhbh’s name, the words blurred. “It’s about a Jotun who fell in love. He adored her so deeply, he’d do anything for her. Anything she asked.” A sense of loss surged in, more potent than it had been for centuries, but it wasn’t all attached to her. I remembered how she made me feel, and it had been so long, the memories weren’t tied to the same feelings.

However, my past tied to my present, and tugged at the fears I had about Zeke. “She was a seer.” I resisted the urge to look at him, staring at the pages instead despite barely reading them. “She saw things no one wanted to hear or believe about the near future. The kind of visions that haunted her. The sort that told her when and how people were going to die. She saw them suffer again and again, before it ever happened.”

“I’m sorry. I know that’s hard.” Azzie’s flippant tone had vanished.

I spared her a glance and saw her frown. She’d watched her mother deal with something similar. “It is hard.” I couldn’t delve into the details. Centuries later, I still didn’t regret keeping the secrets Sadhbh begged me to, and I disliked anyone who thought I would betray my word to her, regardless of whose death she’d seen.

“What else does it say?” Zeke sounded concerned and sympathetic.

I gave a rough shake of my head, and pushed away the clouds that mingled with feelings from then and now. “Nothing that will help you get stronger. Nothing I couldn’t tell you without the help of a book. She descended into grief, burdened with the images of one death after another. I tried to keep her here, but when fate was done with her, when the visions had devoured her both mentally and physically…”

“Yeah.” Azzie’s voice was soft. Was she stuck in the past as well?

I forced my gaze from the pages to Zeke’s face. “I swore I’d never let something like that happen again. I wouldn’t let fate destroy someone I love, no matter the cost to me.”

He stared at me for a moment, searching my face, then glanced at Azzie before looking at his hands. “I don’t blame you.”

A fist squeezed my heart knowing that he might understand a little, but not a lot, and he thought it was Azzie whom he had to protect.

“Is there anything else in the book?” Azzie’s question was sharp, almost shrill.

She wanted me to move on as much as I needed to do so. It was likely she was thinking about her mother, and I’d seen her steer away from that topic several times.

I turned back to the book, skipped the rest of my own history, along with the next story about Lugh, and stopped at Cú Chulainn. “Now this guy was a fighter.” He also had a story I wasn’t invested in much. “Lugh’s son, but Cu didn’t know that. He was raised by his mother and step father. There are a lot of legends about him. He—” I frowned as I read the words in front of me, then scanned a few more pages.

“What’s wrong?” Zeke asked.

This book was planted here. By fate. By Lugh. Who knew? It was meant for Azzie to find, though. “The other stories in this book are mostly accurate, these aren’t.” I was talking to myself as much as him. “These have more of a Herakles feeling to them. Cu was…”

“Was what?” Azzie sounded breathless.

Cu was too much like her. “He was a potential. He grew more powerful through a series of encounters and training.” I didn’t have to look to know she was invested.

“Like what?” Azzie leaned closer to me.

Zeke was the one scowling now.

“There were wars. Women. Men. Weapons. Gáe Bulg.”

“Oh.” Her voice fell. “I met someone once who offered to train me. I couldn’t.” She sounded embarrassed.

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