Page 69 of Vow of the Undead
Stasia looked back and forth between us. “Don’t tell me you trust him.”
I lifted my chin. “She wants me to learn about these trials? Why?”
“You truly do not listen. Humans will not survive when Vylheim inevitably becomes overrun by monsters. Everyone here will either be a vessel or a vampire. Now with this Age of Exploration on the horizon, they’re seeking food from beyond, there won’t even be anywhere to run.”
“What do you care for human survival?”
He licked his lips. “Maybe there’s a human I care for. Once you pass the trials, you’ll not only know the truth of monsters, you’ll eradicate them.”
Victory over these trials will spare your fellow Volva for years to come.Freya’s words came back to me until Loki’s voice cut through my thoughts.
“I told you he was coming, L.
Go on, ask him about the second trial.
About waking those who play dead.”
A shiver stole through me. My gaze slid across Kayn’s face. “If you know so much about me and my Gods, tell me, what do they expect me to do next?”
His dark eyes fell to my feet. “Loki wants you to give power back to the vampires who’ve been buried. We rest in graves, but once we’re under the ground, we cannot rise up on our own. Only a vampire’s connected vessel or a witch with compulsion can do that.”
Breath stagnated in my throat. I was that witch with compulsion, straight from Loki. A vampire was who Loki sent to guide me to this trial? It was as chaotic as it was dangerous.
“And why would I help monsters climb out of their graves?”
“So you can kill them.”
“Me?” I breathed.
He nodded. “Chosen by Odin.”
Nerves ignited down the back of my neck and my throat tightened. Kill them? Was this really what the Gods wanted from me? I didn’t yet know the details of Odin’s trial, but Freya’s showed me what these monsters were capable of, and Loki gave me the power to compel them. But Odin?
According to the single saga mentioning Draugr, the Allfather despised the sight of these monsters. They were an affront to the humans he’d given life to in Midgard. They were the only part of this world he did not have a hand in. The sagas said they sprang from the ground, suggesting they’d found a new way into our realm from wherever they came from that wasn’t through deep water, like giants and the other monsters beyond Midgard.
I should have known he wanted them dead. But why at my hand?
I’m a killer.
I’m selfish.
Evil.
This is why they chose me.
Stasia huffed but when I met her gaze, she shrugged. “I guess I’m on board,” she said. “Because if the council is dead, who would send the explorers to drown at sea? The exiles haven’t left for shore yet, if someone’s going to kill the council, it needs to be now, and I, for one, want to help make that happen.” Hope pitched her voice higher. I couldn’t argue with that logic, but I was a weak runner, a simple girl from Skaldir…and just wicked enough to kill. “It’s wild that you’re going to be the one killing them though.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself.I’m not evil.
That wasn’t true. Maybe Silver wasn’t evil, but I wasn’t Silver.
Stasia hummed thoughtfully, drawing me from my downward spiral. “I guess I should have expected this from someone who rolls around in the leaves with the enemy.” She said it as an insult but the mischief in her jade eyes revealedthat the wall around her fortress was cracked. She was considering this wild change of plans along with me. “Anyway, it’s not like he can turn us in,” she muttered, dropping her arms and marching past us. “So lead the way, Monster.”
“Listen this time,” he said, his voice ragged and as deep as when he was pinning me to the ground. He was speaking to her yet staring at me. “I prefer Kayn.”
“Right then,” I said, not moving. Truly, it was out of sheer exhaustion rather than stubbornness or the desire to flex my control over the situation. My heart was pumping too slowly, and my limbs were sluggish. Fighting often energized me, but that combined with running all night and the shock and fear that stripped me bare, I required plenty of sleep.
As much as Kayn claimed we didn’t hear him, I listened well enough. My listening skills and focus were usually just reserved for when my body spoke. My failing heart demanded I keep a piece of my attention on myself at all times, for survival.
