Page 72 of Valkyrie Confused

“Why are you doing this?” I ask Arnlaug. I move slowly to the side, nudging Scarlett along, so we maintain our distance from him. “Everything was fine this morning.”

“Fine.” He snorts. “Nothing wasfine. You and”—distaste twists his mouth—“your useless, fledgling Valkyrie brainwashed me into joining your tryst.”

“What the fuck?” Scarlett has used the wordfuckmore in the past few minutes than in the entire time I’ve known her. “Webrainwashedyou?” Fury wafts off her in waves. “What are you talking about? You were there, with us. The whole time.”

“She’s lying too.” Odin’s voice comes from up ahead. “You can’t trust her. She’s lost her path, and now she wants you to deviate from yours.”

“You know that’s not true. You know we care about you. You know—” The words burn with their truth, as they claw their way up my throat. “You know I love you. I never stopped.”

Arnlaug doesn’t react, but Odin’s laugh bounces off the walls.

I seriously hate this guy.

When I squint, I make out the faintest ripple in the air, about five meters from where we are. We’re walking straight into Odin’s clutches.

“Pity you got rid of the bear.” His whisper sounds intimate. For my ears only. The shiver it sends down my spine isn’t one of excitement. “You see, I can’t control the beast,” he says, “but the man ismine.”

As if that’s a signal of sorts, Arnlaug drops the chill act, to rush us. He spread his arms to the side, and swords appear in both his fists. I know for a fact he can’t make this happen, so the question is, did Odin summon them, or are they another mind trick?

“Move.” Scarlett shoves me out of Arnlaug’s path, as one blade arches through the air to get buried into the ground with athwack.

Not a mind trick.

I hold on to her and blink us farther from Arnlaug and Odin,but Arnlaug is headed straight at us the moment our forms solidify at the new spot. “Arnlaug, no,” I call out. I blink us away once more, but it’s the same. Heknowswhere we’ll appear.

Because Odin tells him. The fucker can see where I’ll choose to go next.

I keep blinking us from spot to spot, hoping to at least tire Arnlaug out so I can stop and think for two seconds, but we’re in a finite space, and we can only evade them both for so long. Especially when one of them is invisible. And can see the future.

Despair threatens to overtake me as Arnlaug lunges at us again, but I shove it aside. If I let despair win, I let Odin win.

I’m not letting him win.

Starkad’s words reverberate in my head.He can’t even see the definitive future; he sees all possibilities and forces into shape the one that benefits him the most.

Odin’s seeing all our possible moves and guessing where Scarlett and I will most probably reappear next.

“Keep touching me,” I tell Scarlett. “And if possible, remain angry.”

“Oh, it’s possible.“ She clenches her jaw.

I chuckle and blink us out of Arnlaug’s way again, but this time, closer to where the air shimmers around Odin.

He doesn’tknow; he extrapolates. Which means, to beat him, I must defy logic and data.

The only way to win is to be rash and unreasonable.

Ha.This is my moment to shine.

“Hey, fucker,” I call out.

When the air shimmers again, I blink us to that spot. And into Odin.

The impact messes with his cloaking, and he solidifies long enough for me to grab him by the arm. It won’t do much but hold him in place for a few heartbeats. Hopefully, that’s all we need.

“Cut him down,” I bark at Scarlett. I’m half convinced she’s forgotten her training and will drop the sword.

Her aim is steady, as she steps back and slices an arch through the air and straight for Odin’s neck.

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