Chapter 9: Kaitlyn- Bound by Birthright

9

Kaitlyn

Bound by Birthright

Memories Suck. Especially mine.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve made to either remember the dark horrors of my past, or in one way or another—relive them.

And trust me when I say this: Reliving your darkest, most traumatic memory—it can scar you deeper than you might not realize, or it can retrigger those long-forgotten pains that were once buried to become stronger.

However, to me, they were nothing more but a reminder. A reminder of a life of darkness.

And a life of pain.

However, this memory for me…it evoked quite a different response.

It was the spring of 1714, and I was only eleven years old; I had overheard voices that were coming from our grand hall within the Danish Circle—the places where our leader, the one who had given me something more, delivered messages.

Our entire palace—if one could call it that, was lit all the way through by candle lights that were constantly burning, and never giving out; the lights also giving way to the patterned cobblestone that was mixed with the stained-glass paintings that had also been carved into the floor.

All along the walls, and on the floors, were stained glass paintings that were elegantly designed; depicting figures that were clashing with other beings for power and control. Behind them, were the phases of a setting sun.

Behind Laci, who was caretaker, there was one final depiction—a stain glass image of a beautiful woman riding a horse through the sky, and behind her were expansive wings sprouting from her back.

“You are mad?!” Erik had been angry with Laci, as they were discussing something. “Listen to yourself woman,” He hissed. “You’re talking about is...a…lie.”

“How?!” Laci yelled, forcing him against the wall, holding him by the collar of his robe. “How is it a lie? When everything that I was—I can see in her?!”

“ENOUGH!” He screamed, grabbing her throat in retaliation. “I will not allow you to poison her mind with the thoughts or beliefs’ that she’s…. this…shield baring maiden, who is one of best warriors for Freya. ABSOULTELY NOT!”

“And how would Freya think, if she heard that coming from you?” Laci asked him, watching him flinch at the sight of her name.

“He would be in some deep shit, that’s what.” Freya spoke as she appeared from the portal that came out from nowhere. “And he knows the promise he made to me. To Odin. To Asgard. He knows our way of life, just you do. You’ve upheld your end, raising the girl. He has not.”

He reluctantly forced himself to bow. “Freya...” He breathed. I could tell even from my young age; he feared her. Downright intimidated. “We…weren’t expecting you…so...soon.”

“Shove it!” Freya snapped at him. “You were told to raise her. Protect her. Train her since you and I both knew Erik. I told you this would happen.”

“Enough, your majesty.” Erik venomously replied. “Enough with this bullshit nonsense of her being one of you. She is not.”

“She is, by birth and blood. It’s in her nature.”

“She is my property. I will make the decision that is best for her.”

Freya pulled out a sword and pointed at his throat. “DO NOT…TELL ME WHAT IS BEST FOR HER.” Freya sharply yelled. “She is only here because…”

After hearing the argument, I turned and quickly ran back to my room, when I accidently slipped and fell, crying out from the pain and then that’s when Laci and Freya were both immediately alerted and at my side, looking over my knee, along with the rest of my body for any more signs of cuts and bruises.

“Are you okay sweetie?” Laci asked me as she grabbed a cloth and got it wet to clean around the area, along with some medical cream that helped fight off any infection.

“What…” My younger self asked her, as she continued to calmly work on me, even if she had been rattled. “What were you and Erik arguing about before I got in the way?”

“Kaitlyn, sweetie,” Laci replied. She could tell that I was curious. I was never allowed to learn what they talked about. But my feelings told me—that some of the time---that they spoke of me. And even worse, it wasn’t the good kind. “You’re never going to get in the way. I can assure you of that.” She paused, rising out the rag, and now using it to dry my skin. “Erik, well let’s just say that I was telling him to—”

“Laci was trying to convince him to train you.” Freya injected. “Since unlike him, she actually sees your potential. She can see what kind of warrior you could become. She sees your humanity, your tenderness, and love.”

“How do I become what you are Freya?” I asked her, even if I thought it was impulsive. “How do I…become…” I lost my word for a moment, trying to get it right. “What is it? Living forever? A Goddess?”

She laughed at me, but not in a way that was degrading. More of a surprise. “Kaitlyn. You can’t become immortal.”

“Why not?”

“Since child,” Freya said in a warning like tone, crouching down on her knees to meet me at my level. “You are already. You’re just growing into it, and soon in a few years, you’ll stop aging completely.”

Laci stood up but firmly held me with her hand on my shoulder. “Let me train her. Please Freya, I beg you. Allow me to train her. I will work every day with her to make her the best of us.”

The best of us. At that time, I didn’t know what it meant, but with time, I would learn.

“No.” Freya declined her offer. “I cannot allow her to be trained here. She must go to my place. To Asgard. There, she can be trained. There she can be taught the arts of her blood origins.”

“He won’t allow that, and you know it.” Laci shot back, angered that she couldn’t train me.

“He will, under my orders.” Freya said while looking at me. “I won’t be the only one training her. I have someone in mind, and I’ll be guiding her too.”

“And…” Laci asked, sounding desperate. “Just who… did you have in mind?”

I startled myself awake after a few hours, from the memory that I had looked back on. Slowly, the pieces were falling into place. But—were they about me?

Or did they foretell a different fate for me?

I found myself tied down to a cold metallic chair, handcuffs tightly shackled around my ankles and wrists, ruthlessly biting deep into my flesh. I looked over my body and noticed that they had left me completely nude.

“Great.” I muttered to myself. “Just fucking wonderful.”

The room I was trapped in, had the same sliver and metal as when I was living in Elizabeth’s mansion oh so long ago, although this was vastly different from an armory. This…this room felt more like isolation and a way for them to break someone when they needed information.

There was a lone small window with a covering that looked like those air conditioner coverings. Also hung in the room was a lamp, which squeaked back and forth as it swayed on the lose cable. The light, flickering on and off as it went side to side.

This was their version of a prison, and I had been brought in here, without the single notion of why they wanted me so desperately.

“Finally, the Valkyrie,” A strong, confident femine voice spoke up, and for a moment, I thought I had been alone in the room. “Has awakened. It’s good to know that you can take a blow to head pretty well.”

I thought about it, playing dead would have amusing, but that wouldn’t have done anything overall. They looked like they could have held out for a quite a while if it came to that.

That same voice started to approach me, and I saw that it was a woman with Burgundy hair. To her left, was the Guardsman who was keenly observing me.

However, prior to the woman speaking, the guardsman booming voice, caught my attention.

“That mark you have, where did you get it?” His voice was remarkably like the deep, bellowing one that the bouncer at the rave had.

“Never mind where she got it Alister,” the woman playfully spoke in response to his question. “I want to know exactly why she has one, and what it means. Since,” She turned to Alister, and then back to me. “The other girl also has one.”

Roughly, my wrist become loosened, and the cuffs around me fall slightly, as the guardsman took ahold of my wrist and turned it over.

Down the base of my longest vein was the sword itself, with the hilt of the blade stopping right where my palm met the joint. Wrapped around the length of the sword was a chain, acting like it was holding it back. From behind that, were a set of two wings on either side. Colored in pure black.

This was the one that the women had mentioned that the other one had. She meant Sam. Although how did she know about that?

How did she know about us?

She came closer to me and met my eyes. I could feel her burning desire to seek out the answers that she was missing. I could sense that she wanted clarity on a different level.

“Forgive me, where are my manners?” she spoke, coming from behind and started running her hands over my petite frame, over my breasts, as she tried to elicit a response from me.

Being strapped down, while roughed with wasn’t fun, and enduring it, was beyond what I had endured in the years before.

“I was so captivated by your beauty, that I was enchanted to remove most of your clothes.” She ran her fingers down my stomach, near my vagina. “My name is Sydney.” She breathed her name into my ear, still very much flirting with me. “I heard that you gave one of my sisters quite the fight. I love that about a woman of your character. I love that---about you.” She breathed on me, still very much flirting.

“This mark,” I told them plainly, only because I couldn’t risk anything happening to me. Or Sam. Or the both of us. “Is only for a chosen one, it bonds people together on a level that physics have no realm existing on.” I turned my eyes towards Sydney. “Now, what in the hell, do you want with me?”

“That,” She continued to flirt and breathe on me. It was her way of trying to break me. “Is a most excellent question. And soon you’ll come to find out.” She pulled her hands off my breasts and walked around to face me now.

Then she looked at Alister, her tone returning to the bolder stern type. “Go get the others. It’s time we start this; now that she’s finally awake.”

As soon as he left the room, she quickly cuffed my ankles and wrists back to the arms and legs and held on to me by the shoulders with her intense grip.

I tried to test the restraints, and she saw this and like lighting snapped my back against the chair, momentarily dazing me.

“You can try all you like,” She laughed at my predicament. “I secured you tighter than when we brought you in. You’ll never get free.” She walked around the chair, coming to stop in front, keeping her eyes locked with mine, her face revealing a happy determination about her. “And then, when we are done with you, you’ll break. You’ll talk and tell us everything you know.”

“Go to hell.” I spat at her, still trying to break the restraints, but I knew I would need everything in me for whatever they had planned next. “YOU. WONT. BREAK. ME.”

Moments passed and then I saw that Alister had returned with a few of his friends: Claire and Aiko. They both looked hungry to have another chance at me, since I had escaped them once before I made them chase me down.

In her hands, I could see that Claire had brought in a hooded cloth—the same one that they had placed over my head to keep me in the dark—and realized that it was huge, which meant they had more planned than just having me tied down in this chair. And it would be their job to make me suffer.

Until I either broke on them, or I talked. And honestly, I was going to do neither. They would have to kill me.

“Claire,” Sydney was talking to her, holding my wrist out so she could see the mark in full detail. All the lines, the intricate designs weaved together. “She has the tattoo markings, just like the other girl.”

“Smh,” Claire scoffed. “She’s something special all right. She’s one of them. This mark proves it.”

“This mark proves nothing.” I snarled back. “And I would appreciate it, if you uncuffed me.”

“Why?” Claire studied me, sensing what could happen if I got free. “So, you can escape and kill us? Not happening sweetie. Hate to burst your love bubble. But you are ours to break.”

“One of what?” I thought about what she just said, and then thought of what Sam was—and then it all clicked. “You can’t be serious, can you? You think I’m one of them. What is this? Some sort of sick joke?”

She grabbed my jaw. “You may not want to talk from this point forward.” She snapped her fingers.

Aiko came to my right and undid the cuffs to my ankles, followed by Sydney, who backed up so Claire could come behind me and put the overstretched cloth over my face. While Aiko also hoisted an exceptionally wide container, that held water. The freezing sensation of the water going through the hood, and when it connected with my body, I felt a shock, and then a chill and then instantly tried fighting back.

“Tell us what you know Kaitlyn,” Claire raised her voice an octave as the water fell over my face, forcing her to hold the hood tighter. “Tell us, and we can make your suffering end.”

In between the water, and the hood, I tried to gasp for air, as Claire now went as far as tipping the chair back, forcing my legs off the ground, thwarting me from fighting back.

However, she was right; in fact, they all were. Claire was hellbent on breaking me, body and spirit, and this method was just what they could do it with. Nevertheless, I had to hold out, and prove that I was strong and could endure this.

She lingered only for a moment, to halt the suffering so I could breathe, however, I knew it wouldn’t last, before we started again. I knew if I wanted to stop this—I had to speak up.

“Tell us Kaitlyn.” Claire went on. “We can go round and round like this all day until you break.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I coughed, and nearly choked as I tried to respond coherently. “You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Where are the others?” Claire demanded. “Where is Dimitria? Samantha?”

I threw the dirtiest look with my eyes that I could. The hell I would my lovers up; this bitch would have to kill me.

“Again,” Claire said, ringing out the soaked cloth, and getting it ready again. “It’s clear that she won’t speak.”

Aiko poured more water on this time, and as they were doing it, I focused on a sound. A sound that had not been present before. The sound of someone walking in on this interrogation.

“That’s enough!” the voice called out, which got everyone’s attention, since even Asher halted pouring even more water. “Stop this torture now!”

“And just who are you?” I heard Aiko rudely ask. “I don’t remember seeing you here before?”

“Who I am, doesn’t matter. But I’m sure your commander would love to speak with you.”

“Not before this woman was going to tell us what she knew.” Aiko came back.

“You really think you had the edge here?” the voice, which sounded familiar, while also very feminine, as well as incredibly young. Maybe younger than thirties. Maybe mid-thirties. “She wasn’t going to break, and you weren’t going to be able to break spirit, just for information.” She paused. “She won’t break. And your commander needs you. I would go now if were you.”

“But the girl…” Aiko started.

“Aiko,” Claire finished for him. “Don’t. Don’t start, just do it. I can take it from here.”

And like that, I could hear him running from the room, but that didn’t solve my problem with my cloth; they didn’t bother to remove it.

That didn’t seem to matter since the other voice that had entered the room, didn’t leave with them. Which didn’t give me a good feeling.

Their footsteps were also silent as they crept closer, and then they threw back the hood, while I labored hard for breaths; my chest rising and falling hard in succession with each attempt.

Well, at least I was hydrated now, along with my skin getting nutrients too. I also had to blink several times to clear the water off my eyes, as I watched her broke the cuffs around my ankles and wrists with her combat knife.

She looked familiar, yet at the same time, vastly unfamiliar at the same time.

“Who…” I asked, my voice still sore from all the water being forced down my throat. “Are you?” I still so confused by her presence.

She let out a little giggle. “You know exactly who I am Kaitlyn.” She met my eyes, and darted them over my attire, which was now soaked. “Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.”

She walked a few feet away from me and placed a bag on a table that I didn’t see in this room before; after she had placed it, she turned to me, and sat on my legs, and ran her hands over me, obviously checking for any sings of damage, yet, the feeling as she was doing it, was radiating something…more.

Something…intense. As if it were sexual by design.

I wrapped my arms around my B sized breasts; even though she radiated a warm and friendly feeling, years of sexual assault tore you down. It eroded away at one’s self-consciousness and their body.

She giggled. “Glad to see that you made it through that brutal stretch,” She spoke again, that childlike feminine laugh slipping out. “I need you to be strong,” she got up and then moved some of my wet hair out of my eyes. “I need your help. More than you know.”

“What help?” Now I was eager to know. More like desperate. I also needed to start putting pieces together. I needed to solve whatever was happening. “I can do anything you need.”

And then, a thought hit me. “Wait…” I had to mentally pause myself from the shock of now realizing how I was in the same room with. “Freya!”

“See I always knew you were a smart lass.” She happily beamed. “I knew you would figure out who I was. Even if you weren’t allowed to know your true birthright. Such a shame, so many people have lied to, and covered up your true self.”

“Sorry about that.” Claire spoke up. “We had to push you. We had to push to the point of breaking.”

Just hearing her trying to apologize, made me nervous. Whose side was she on? Why was she helping us?

And then…. A thought hit me.

“Wait…” I exclaimed. “Claire?! What are you doing here?”

“I have my reasons,” she threw her hair back. “But that’s not important. What is that we’re all in danger. Grave danger.”

What sort of danger?” I questioned her, knowing that she owed me.

“Things, my little warrior, are happening and I feel like a darkness is returning. A darkness that the cosmos has not seen in eons.” She took my hand and walked closer to the door.

“Sophie mentioned that when I faced her.” I told Freya as I faced her, trying to take her face and all her beautiful pore-less features in. I took in how, even in this dim setting, her skin was still glowing brightly. “That the darkness was returning, but I’m just confused by it as you are.”

“Wait?!” She said surprised, clearly taken aback. “You faced off against Sophie?”

“I did,” I told her. “I still don’t like how she’s approaching this, and she doesn’t seem fond that I’m getting in her way.” I paused again, debating if I should tell her this. But I did anyway. “She called me Valkyrie. As if she knew or could tell what I was already.”

“Then it’s not a coincidence” Claire lamented. “The people around you know—including your enemies, which will always put you in constant peril Kaitlyn.”

“The real question is Why?” I asked her, confused. “If this is my birthright, why is it putting me in peril?”

“Since” she breathed a shallow sigh, almost dreading about the events unfolding. “You’re not just one of us…my warrior…” Freya paused again, this time putting her hand on me. “You are something much more. Someone who is much more capable than what you think. Right now, with your talents, you’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what you can do. Once you unlock that part of you—the part that is stronger than you are now—no one, including me, can oppose you.”

That hit me. Deep. I would have never thought I was that talented. Or that strong. However, Freya could almost sense it.

“Get to Olivia, Kaitlyn.” Freya advised me. “Together with the others, you can start solving what’s going on. You can start putting the pieces together.”

And then, like that, she bounded out the door and disappeared. “Oh, and Kaitlyn,” her voiced echoed as she left. “Mind the dragon.”

Watching them both disappear through the door, I was left to my own thoughts, and what it all meant. There would be a time for all that, later. For now, I had to work my mind and think of a way to escape. However, first, I needed to find some clothes first.

Walking back to the table where my backpack and opened it where I saw she had brought me a black gothic punk zipper jacket and a graphic t-shirt along with a pair of jeans.

Quickly, I threw them on and found that the pair of clothes that they had ripped off me during my time asleep and threw them into the backpack.

As I also looked farther, I noticed that Freya had managed to slip my Katana to me, along with several daggers and butterfly knives.

Laying my sword down, I took my daggers and slipped them through my belt, followed by the knives, and then made a b-line for the door just to see what dangers were waiting for me.

The hall was dark and damp. I could hear water dripping from pipes somewhere close to my position. There were lamps hanging on the walls, burning dimly providing little light, but the more I could see down, I saw more lamps, which told me that the lights were a marker for my way.

The ground beneath my shoes was cement all throughout.

As I was scanning for other issues or to see a way out, I heard a low bellowing from something that I didn’t know could make those kinds of noises.

I carefully turned around and found myself looking at the eyes of what I could only assume was my death. Its eyes flew opened and blinked several more times before locking in on me. I could see the scales around its jaw line and then when it opened its mouth, the rows upon rows of sharp jagged teeth.

It snarled so loud that I felt it pushing me back slightly. But not as bad as what it did next.

It opened its mouth and shot a quick burst of fire so fast, that I quickly had to duct and roll out of the way to avoid getting roasted by. Without pause, it started hastily moving on its front webbed claws as it came near me; It’s eyes intensely locked on and didn’t move from me.

I was its new prey and I had invaded its territory. I had to either tame this beast or kill it, and neither sounded appealing, but both were better than dying to it.

As I looked for a way to jump on it, the ground below me thrashed violently, as its tail slammed back and forth into the walls. Creating cracks, and causing bits here and there to fall, which caused me to move swiftly to avoid them.

As it went to open its mouth to swallow me whole, I took the time to jump above it, and hopefully land somewhere on it.

I landed hard, and in a sea of scales; when it sensed that I had done that, it started thrashing violently again to shake me off, and since I hadn’t cemented my grip, I was violently hurled to the ground, where I could see one of its webbed claws slamming down towards me.

I hastily rolled away from the claw as it came down, however it moved with me and violently threw me into a nearby wall.

“Fuck,” I cursed to myself. “This creature has gone berserk. I have to tame it and quickly.”

I saw that it was moving to strike me down with its claw again, and I spun roughly out of the way, just in time to avoid it.

Although, I couldn’t avoid the water it had broken open when the claw slashed at the wall. I watched as its claw stuck hard and fast, but something told me that, my moment wouldn’t last.

However, I still had to get on top of it. I had to calm it. Even If it was going to kill me to do so.

I watched it’s moves; and how it moved. I found myself trying to move with it, although I was backing up to avoid either getting roasted or death by its claw.

When I found an opening in its moves, I dove underneath it, and after I had, quickly climbed on top of it, once again in its sea of scarlet red scales, that were harder than diamonds; in between its chink so I could hold on to it and then use that to get higher up on it.

It sensed me again and started thrashing about again, in the commotion, it had managed to find a way to throw me to the ground.

As I was managing to recover to my feet, I barely had enough time to see that its claw was coming straight for my face so once more I was force into a spin, where I spun on my heels.

It must have sensed this since it used its other claw and effortlessly flicked me into the wall, where I collided hard, and could taste my own blood in my mouth, and could see it slowly trickle from my head.

As I was clamoring to my feet, its deadly face met my scared one and it opened its mouth to shoot a stream of intense fire, and would have roasted my petite frame, had I not managed to scamper away from it, hugging the walls the best I could.

It chased me down the hall, however I knew that I couldn’t run from it—I had to tame it and make It mine. As it closed in on me, I waited and watched how it moved. I had learned one thing about it already—it was fast as hell.

Once I found the perfect opening, I took my jump through the air and reached out to grab one of its scales as I not only latched on—but climbed on and found a spot around the base of its wide body, in between its wings where I also tried to ease its anxiety, since I was new and a threat to its livelihood.

“It’s okay,” I tried to ease its pain and confusion. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m someone who doesn’t want to hurt you. Only help.”

It grunted in response, and I couldn’t tell whether, it was happy or mad about what I said, but either way I took it as it didn’t want to or try to kill me farther.

I moved with it now, and then let it know to stop at the cell door, and when it did, I used my telekinetic power to get both my backpack and my Katana.

When I threw both over me, I guided it down the halls, hoping that I could lead it to Olivia. We followed the winding path and confusing hallways until I started hearing voices.

Until I started hearing the screams, followed by the crying. However, until I got closer, I couldn’t decipher who was making the noise; only that the sound was being made.

The dragon lowered its body and allowed me to slide off it, and then I made my way against a wall, and took time to listen, to make sure I was right.

“Show us your talent you bitch!” I could only assume that would be Cameron’s. “We know you have it! Now Start using it!”

“I’m telling you, that you don’t.” I could now make out Olivia’s grief-stricken voice, and how she was also full of panic. She was trying to hold on, but whatever Cameron was doing, broke her. “I swear. I’m not even that special. I’m just some mundane.”

“You’re lying.” Cameron snarled. “Mundies’ don’t have the abilities like you.” I turned and came back to the dragon, reaching for its massive jaw, trying to pet it. I couldn’t sense what it wanted, but I knew I had to get in.

“Can you help me?” I asked it, nudging my head to the cellar door so it could see. “Can you gently melt down the door so I can get my friend in there?”

It huffed in approval, and I moved out of the way as it stomped up to the door, lightly throwing its flame on it.

I could feel its heat from here, and it was almost overwhelming me because it was breathing fire of at least fifteen hundred degrees or more just to burn that door. Once it had stopped breathing on the cell door, it used its claw to finish it off and send the remains into the room.

I waved the dragon back as I went in not knowing how to prepare. If Cameron had really broken Olivia, then I was in for a hell of a fight. I noticed that there was a chair that she must have been tied to, or that Cameron was sitting in but now was empty, which made it useful to me.

Stealthy, I used my telekinesis and pulled it to me, while also not drawing attention to myself.

I was getting furious that she was abusing the hell out of Olivia, and even though I could see that she was really restrained, and had her mouth sealed, I knew she was sacred shitless.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Olivia was my girl.

“Hey bitch,” I called to Cameron. “Hands off my girlfriend.”

She spun around at the call of my voice, but she was too late, and was met with the chair slamming her in the face, causing her to double over and then fall unconscious.

That just left the two guards here in the same room and as soon as they saw Cameron go down, they started rushing me.

Quickly, in the same motion, I flipped the chair back into my hand and used it to hit one of them, causing them to fall over as well.

The second guard was trickier, since he came at me with his weapon drawn. Instead of letting him get off a shot, I twirled into his body, and grabbed the wrist of where he held the gun, and used my force to throw the gun down, and as I did, he also threw me to the ground.

“Shit,” I cursed again. “That completely backfired.”

He came at me again, and this time, inactively, I hurled some of my magic at him, causing him to go down to one knee but he wouldn’t quit.

“You can’t take me down.” He grunted. “Not that easily.”

“Then maybe this will change your mind.” I said as I pointed the tip of sword at his throat. “I’m getting my girlfriend and leaving. Interfere and I will send this blade through you and watch you die.”

I kept my sword at my side as I rushed over to Olivia, and frantically ripped the tape off her lips, and checked her breathing.

After going through what I had, I wasn’t even risking it. I started applying pressure on her chest, and did several compressions to her, repeating this until I got her to cough up some water.

“Kait…” she spoke weakly. I could see in her face she was drained. Emotionally, and physically. She had endured the torture. “Get out of here. Leave me.”

“No,” I said frantically, fumbling with the chain links, trying to find where they connected so I could break it and break her free. “I’m not leaving you. Damn its girl, you’re my love.”

“I can’t continue.” She replied weakly. “Leave me.”

“No!” I screamed. She was fainting again, and I was forced to use CPR to revive her again. She really took more of it than I did. “Damn it, quit dying on me!”

“You can’t.” she replied weakly. “They chained me into place on both my wrists and ankles.”

“Then I’ll fucking break them.” I cried; the tears evident from the pain I was feeling from her. “I’ll break them—just to be with you.”

I rushed back to the dazed guard in the room, taking him savagely by the collar of his uniform and slammed him into the wall. “What did you do to her?”

“We were instructed to extract information from her—just like we had been told to do on you—” The guard wheezed and grunted in pain, trying to snap free of me, but I held him in place with my legs. “And if she didn’t talk, we were told to kill her.”

“Does it look like that fucking worked?” I savagely screamed. “HUH DOES IT? I SEE A DEAD GIRLFRIEND THERE! YOU DIDN’T TORTURE HER, YOU KILLED HER!”

“We were only following orders.” He wheezed again, and then I used my strength to slam him up against the wall, harder this time.

“THAT’S MURDER THAT YOU JUST COMMITED. YOU TOOK A LIFE!” I hatefully growled.

“She was an innocent life that you ruthlessly stole from so many people. Including me.” I raised my sword and pointed it at his stomach. “And for that, I can never allow you to live. EVER!”

“No,” He started begging. “Please, I didn’t mean to—I was just…” I forced my sword through him, piercing his stomach and then I pulled it back, watching his cold, lifeless body slump to the ground.

I rushed back to her, checking on her, and once again doing attempting to do CPR until her raspy voice spoke to me.

“She was right,” Olivia said with a heavy breath. She was having a tough time breathing. Which made me think. Did they break her ribs, or any part of her? “What that girl said about us. It’s true. And it probably has been for several years.”

I took her in disheveled appearance, and how messy her hair was. How much dirt had smudged her skin. There were blood trails, covering the length of her legs, and arms. Which made me truly wonder what they did differently to her, that was different than the tortured I went through.

“I know, but I care about getting you free right now. That’s fucking all.” I sobbed as I worked through her restraints.

I whistled for the dragon, and he busted through the door. I held up the chains and he easily chomped them off and spit the remaining links into the ground. I had him repeat the same thing, with the chains around Olivia’s wrists and finally she was free.

The dragon backed up giving us distance, but I had given it a meal, as it ate the dead corpse I had left in my emotional storm.

However, this wasn’t going to be the first storm. I was bound to have more.

I held onto Olivia until I knew she would come around, crying about the pain she had gone through. Crying over the pain, that I should have prevented, and yet didn’t.

We were in this because of me, and my recklessness. I had endangered her life in all this, and I knew it.

“Please come back baby!” I sobbed harder. Not knowing what would come about this. “Come back to me.”

I got up from my sitting positions, and took her into my arms, the dragon lowly crying behind me, like it could sense that she was fighting, and holding on.

I let the dragon out first so I could find a way to place her on his body, and then I went back for her things. Just to make sure that she wasn’t emptied handed if she did come back.

Still, the sting of failing her, and letting this happen to her, it hurt. It really got to my mentality. To the point, where I wanted to join her just to end my misery. Even if I was Freya’s so-called warrior. I wouldn’t be the woman I am with Olivia.

Without Samantha. Or Brittany. Hell, even Dimitria.

And that also applied to everyone else, who took me in and never gave up on me. And I wasn’t going to break Erin’s heart either. Olivia was going to live, and I would make sure of it.

When I left the room, I looked back at the dragon and that’s when I felt my heart skip three beats and my jaw wanting to drop to floor. I saw that Olivia had found the strength to sit up.

“Sorry for really scaring you back there.” She apologized. “I just couldn’t find the strength to fight them or fight back.” She shed a few tears. “However, when you fought to break me free, and take me out of there, something snapped in me. Something…it told me to keep fighting.” Then she eyed the dragon carefully. “We would look badass on top of him.”

I snorted from sheer joy. “Yes, we would. Come on; we have to find Dimitria and the others.”

She extended me her hand to me, and I climbed on and in front, and she placed her arms around my waist, laying her head against the nook in my shoulder.

I placed my arms around the base of my dragons’ neck and leaned into him as we trudged our way through the catacombs. I didn’t have to guide it, although I wish I had since I needed to get to the others and see if they were okay, or if they had ended up with the same fate as we had.

“Did they break you?” Olivia asked me as we continued down the stretch before us. “Or did you make it?”

“They tried.” I replied, trying to remember how painful it was. “I was doused in water as their way of breaking me. They would have continued but Freya stepped in and stopped it.”

“So, Freya came to you as well?” Olivia asked, concerned. “I bet that was a scare.”

“Better than dying.” I smiled to her in response. “But I also have been disconnected from Sam, and that also worries me. I haven’t been able to tune in.”

“Right now, we need to survive. That’s more important.”

“Freya asked us to help her figure out what’s going on. She senses something, and it doesn’t look good to her.”

“We’ll they did try to torture me about being a Vovla so…there’s that.”

“They tried to break me since they think I’m this—Valkyrie. They think I’m like Sam.”

“We don’t know that.” She replied. “But hopefully we can discover that, as we get deeper into this sick and twisted game.”

“Well, they seemed convinced of it.” I told her, as we came to a path in the road. “One way or another they don’t want to give up on this notion that your like Sam.”

“Left,” I said, after looking at both paths, trying to figure out which way the lesser of two evils to take. Something told me—that it was the left one. “I feel like going this way will take us closer.”

“What do we have to lose?” Olivia sarcastically replied. “It’s not like were lost anyway.”

I rolled my eyes at her response. Of all the things she could have lost during her white light moments, she never lost her sense of humor.

We started down the left path, contently holding on the dragon, who was also at peace now, however I could somehow feel that it was itching for another fight.

After a few more moments of passing silence, I felt Olivia place a hand on my shoulder. “Okay,” she spoke. “You’re unusually quiet, and that’s not like you. It feels like—”

“Something is bothering me?” I finished for her. “Then you would be right.” I took her hand and held it in mine. “It is. None of what has happened has made any sense to me, it’s like—different people—they have different agendas that all at once get tied to us, and pull us in. Yet it feels like, the deeper we get…” my thoughts trailed off, looking at her.

“The more dangerous this becomes.” She finished for me. “And we don’t know what kind of damage Sam went through. She probably went through worse shit than us.”

She touched my shoulders, and I felt myself relax instantly. Even in our darkest moments, she still had a calming effect.

“We’ll make it out. All of us.” She reassured me. “I will die to get all out of here—alive.”

The more we traversed the path I had chosen for us to go down, the more split pathways we stumbled upon. And now, it was I who was following her advice. Upon this split, I took us down the right side of the pathway, where once we ventured deeper in, I started hearing faint sounds, however I couldn’t tell what, or who they were.

Olivia also took notice of it, and stayed a little behind me, as she quickly scanned the area, trying to see what or if there was anyone or thing coming to threaten us.

“It’s weird.” She spoke. “I can sense something, but I can’t tell where or what it is.”

“Then we best keep an eye out.” I warned. “We’re not out of the woods just yet.”

Down the path, we encountered another pathway, and instead of trying to debate which way to go, I listened for the sounds—whatever sounds I could focus on—and then I made the choice to follow the sounds, hoping that they would lead me in the right direction.

As we ventured further, Olivia broke the silence. “Do you think you could make it work? You know, the two of us?”

She stopped, placing her hands on me, trying to focus on her words.

I was honestly surprised. Why would she think otherwise? “Why do you think that it wouldn’t? I’m genuinely curious.”

She stuttered in her thoughts. “Since you have Sam, and I don’t know—she seems like she’s really protective and doesn’t want to share you.”

“Not true love.” I pulled her closer to me. “Whilst our relationship hasn’t been the best, we’ve made a pact.”

“What sort of pact?” she asked, questioning my intents.

“That, as long as I don’t do her wrong in any sense—like cheating---that I can date other women. We’ve even extended our pact to include having sex with other women, so long as we’re both in consent.” I paused. “So back to your question—yes, this could work. As long as you want it.”

She looked at me for a moment, and then tightly embraced me. “Good. Because that makes me feel better—almost like a weight comes off my chest.”

“We’ll have to plan a date then.” I held her close and kissed her. “I promise you.”

“Make it a double switch date.” She giggled.

Holding hands down the rest of the walk helped eased both of our thoughts, but not the worry or anxiety of what was coming.

I started to hear those voices again, but this time, I could hear what could be shouts; and as we followed those sounds, which led us to a door, that I had the dragon smash through.

Once we were on the other side of it, I tried to take in where we were, but almost immediately I was grabbed by a rough pair of hands, and violently thrown across the floor.

He was a hulking figure of a man. Standing at least six feet, but in his current state, he was hunched over, observing me. He pulled out two thick clubs that were embedded with spikes on every inch of them. He lazily dangled them in front of me.

Sensing the fight, Olivia tossed me my sword.

“Go!” I yelled at Olivia, my sword in hand. “Find cover or find the girls. I’ll come find you.” And like that, she was off—either to find the other two or to hide.

He spun trying to strike me with his thick clubs, and as soon as they connected with the ground, I knew it was my best bet to avoid them.

While I knew I had my sword, I knew I would have to use it to not only block, but to wrench free those menacing clubs that he violently swung.

He had managed to pull the clubs out from the ground and once again, flung it around, trying to land a blow on me, however I was able to block the blow and trap it in my sword as I broke free of the hold and twirled far enough away to avoid taking a hit.

I also noticed that he was slow and often inaccurate, which also gave me a few more minutes of survival. It also allowed me to gauge his moves, and time all my evades so I could strike back.

Swinging his clubs as he moved, using my sword I was able to block most of his strikes as we went back and forth moving all round this space, we were in.

For each move he made, I was forced to block; and for every strike I went to deliver he was able to block using his gigantic, menacing clubs.

I noticed that one was always held higher than the other, which might have been something that I could take advantage of.

When he stepped closer to me, he struck, but I rolled out of the way, and then I saw it.

The second club striking me.

I hit the ground hard as I could feel the spikes hit me in the back and then pulled themselves back. I could tell he was getting ready for another assault, and that was his mistake.

As sore as I was, I was able to nimbly move out of the way and avoid another striking blow. When he threw down his clubs again, I threw my magic at him, which caused him to crash into a set of cargo boxes, as he also lost his clubs during the ensuing tumble.

I readied my sword and approached his dazed body.

Slowly he, started to move again, but this time, I used more magic with my hands and shoved him down.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I laughed, as he was still confused; I flicked back a lock of my black hair, smiling with pride. “Whoever sent you, they told you that I was weak.” I laughed at his struggles. “Well, here’s a message that you can send back to them.” I forced my sword through his stomach and watched him as he coughed up blood. “Tell them to come fight me themselves and to stop sending bastards, to do a bitches work.”

I looked over his body, and remembered that I snagged Olivia’s phone, and in a situation like this, I’m glad I did.

I snapped a few pictures and then sent them to both Sam and Brittany, hoping that they could help us uncover what or who these people were.

Once he was dispatched with, I finally took a chance to take in my surroundings. In the distance, I could see that a cargo place had arrived in the hanger, and I saw that several soldiers that were carrying containers to other ones that were stacked on top of each other.

The road below my feet was made of concrete and continued until I could barely see what looked like a road somewhere far off in the distance.

Stealthily walking down, the path, I also took in a cargo truck that had covers draped over their back ends that covered what they could hold. I found Olivia hunched down on her knees, watching something closely and as I joined her, almost spooking her in the process since I had moved silently.

“For the love of God.” She murmured out of surprise. “Say something next time. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“What did you find?” I asked her, and I followed her finger until I saw a group of people huddled together, talking.

“This is the end Julian, Carrie.” I heard his voice told them. “This arrangement we have is done. Now, kindly take your dark dealings and leave. Before things turn dark for you.”

“We’re not leaving.” Carrie snarled, full of anger and hate. “Not until we have the girls you were ordered to obtain for us.”

“The arrangement was never to give them to you.” James told them. “You simply asked us to get our hands on them—and honestly that request actually never came from you. It came from someone else. Your just taking orders like the rest of us here.” He pointed his weapon at them. “Now, leave!” He yelled.

“Those Valkyries are important asset to our operation! We must have them!” Julian snarled out of hate. “They are an essential part of what’s to come.”

“And just what is that?” A female voice spoke up, and I instantly remembered that as Claire’s. What had we been caught up in exactly, and just what were we a part of? “If you can’t disclose that information, then, this is the end of our arrangement.”

Quickly, and as silently as possible, I yanked Olivia to the side.

“I think we missed something.” Hinting at the conversation we had just overheard. “Like something major.”

“This is more than a hunt.” Olivia mused out of worry. “This isn’t by chance then—just as Freya feared.”

“What do they want with the Valkyries?” I wondered to her. “Why focus on me? On Sam?”

“Better question: What event that is repeating, that it’s so dire that it forces Freya to become involved?”

“And…who is truly in charge of this grand plan?” I mused to her. We both returned to the conversation, only to find that it had changed to something else entirely, and that the others, Carrie, and Julian, hadn’t left.

I looked around and spotted a set of jail cells where they must have put Erin and Lauren. But—reaching them without being noticed was going to be a pain.

We were surrounded, and there were just too many of them to not sneak around. If we were going to get by, it would have to be through some sort of distraction.

As I started to produce something, Olivia, joined me in planning.

“Okay, obviously, breaking the girls out is a massive priority.” She mentioned to me. “The question becomes, how?”

“Right.” I exhaled a shallow breath and tried to rack up an idea. One that would at least draw their attention.

“Let me get the other two and break them out. You get the others. Especially, Claire. She needs to pay for trying to kill you.”

“Oh,” I smiled, stretching my neck. “it’s so much more than that.”

Although, before we could enact our plan, my dragon was restless, and started knocking over cargo crates like they were toy blocks, and started spouting fire everywhere, which quickly caught the attention of every solider in the hanger and caused them to swarm him as they tried to use their weapons to slay the beast.

However—it was too late. I had to adlib as I went. I ran towards the cells of the girls and Olivia quickly hustled to me, curious as to why. But when I pointed to my dragon, she understood.

The dragon had become a huge distraction, on top of wanting to pay people for keeping it here, locked up in the darkness.

I could hear their screams, but I couldn’t focus on that—I had to focus on other things. Reaching the steel slab of a jail cell, quickly fumbled with one of my daggers, and slammed the lock until it broke, and then got behind Lauren, and cut her out of her zip ties.

“It’s about time you got here love,” Erin smiled as she embraced and kissed Olivia. “I got worried.”

“Well,” I drew out my word. “She did almost die.” I winked at her. “Almost. But I revived her. I think if I had been a few moments late, she would not be here.”

“Did she cry?” Erin asked, now amused.

“Yes, she did.” Olivia snickered back, throwing a jab at me. “But it was all for me. Whatever is happening is, is worth killing for. Us included.”

“Well,” Lauren spoke up. “Let’s not waste time. Let’s get out of here.” Before we could make a run for it, Lauren yanked me by the arm and roughly pulled me into her, as we melted together for a quick kiss. “I’ve heard the screams of D here.” She whispered to me in my ear. “I think that pink haired bitch has her.”

I pulled back from her and nodded. “We don’t leave her with her.”

“We’re a family, bound to each other beyond what blood can do.”

Just as we were about to make our move—a group of soldiers had gotten past the dragon and focused on us.

“Kait,” Lauren said, and I looked back at her, I could tell she was itching for a fight. “We got them, go for the others; make Claire pay.”

Without hesitation, I dashed after them, and started my chase for Claire. I wanted to see what happened when she had fight fair.

I approached the middle of what I could tell was the room, and saw her surrounded by her allies, that also looked like they wanted their revenge against me, since I fucked their idea of trying to kill me.

“Kaitlyn,” She smiled devilishly. “Glad to see you. Alive no less. This time, I can assure you, that there is no escape.”

I could tell that she would be an obstacle that I would have to overcome, but before I could consider my options further, I was surrounded by trained sharp shooters and other weapons they had in their arsenal.

All their weapons trained on, not only me, but also the others.

“You must make a choice Kaitlyn. Either you live and they die,” I looked back at them with all the trained heat on them. “Or you surrender—and you all die.”

“You need me alive. You would never hear the end of it from Julian and Carrie, and quite possibly another player,” I raised my eyebrows, knowing that I had overheard their little conversation. “tell me, what were they going to offer you? How much money were they going to bribe you with?”

“The details were irrelevant.” She spat, irritated. “All we were tasked to do, was grab you and now that we did, we have to put you down, like the dangerous woman you are.” She removed her combat vest that I didn’t see her wear last time. “But instead of running away, I want the pleasure of breaking you, since you escaped me twice now.”

“You can thank Freya for that.” I smiled, knowing that it would piss her off. “She saw through your smokescreen.”

“Well, now that you’ve seen the horrors, I can’t just let you escape.” She whipped out a long knife and fully extended it. “Not alive at least.”

“If the other girls move an inch,” Claire ordered the others. “Kill them.”

“Where’s Dimitria?!” I demanded. “Where are you keeping her?”

“You want her sweetheart?” She mockingly laughed at me. “Come and get me.”

She charged me, and I met her and grappled with her taking me to the ground, and during the commotion, as we also traded blows and kicks, she lost her knife and I was able to pull out my knives however she kicked it away as well, forcing me to resort to more extreme methods to surviving the fight.

I pushed her off me by using my legs and then using my magic, I was able to use some to shove her down. Once she was down, I made a dash for the girls, and as I did, the rain of bullets start to shower around, and I was forced to use my magic to deflect the parade of bullets that were coming at me.

And then, during the haze I felt a hand reach and grab for my ankles and yank me down hard to the ground.

“DON’T SHOOT!” The commanders voice boomed. “We need them all alive.”

He approached us and applauded our efforts. “I’m truly amazed.” He said as Claire held me in place with her knife back in her possession and around my neck. “Never would have I thought that an extraordinary group of ladies, such as yourself would be able to navigate their way out of our base.”

“If that’s you think makes me special, then your mistaken.” I snarled, quickly trying to work my legs out of this hold.

I watched as Julian and Carrie both came closer, and in meeting Julian for the first time, I saw why Sam had her hands full with her. She was outstanding as she fought, and her body language spoke volumes of confidence that had been there for ages.

“Finally,” she smiled, her voice was silky smooth and calm as she approached us. “I get to meet the elusive Kaitlyn.” She came closer and I raised my hand in defense for magic. “Please, do it. Do it and watch everyone you love—including Dimitria—die before me.”

She waved a hand, and Carrie appeared holding a bound Dimitria by the neck. “See what I can do? See what I am capable of? I can take everything sweetheart. I can destroy your life, before you knew it was ruined.

“So, it was you then?” I finally realized what Sam had told me from our moment in the shower. “You destroyed her. You defiled her mental state.”

She beamed with excitement. “And had it not been for that bitch Freya” she snarled her name. “I would have ended her pathetic existence.”

“Well,” I laughed. “Even if you had—the bond wouldn’t have broken. You would have needed me, and from what I can tell, you want the both of us alive. So, how does killing us, do any justice for your plan?”

Before I could blink, she got right up in my face, locking her eyes on to mine, smiling all the same.

“Watch your tongue missy.” She warned menacingly, holding her own knife that was branded entirely in something that looked ancient. “If I wanted you dead, I would have done so eons ago. No.” She turned, and then threw a hard punch into my stomach causing Claire to release me and have me fall to my knees. “I merely have big plans for you. And if you die, those plans are ruined.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw the start of a door, or what would become a door start to materialize.

I turned on Claire, forced her to the ground and yanked her weapon from her holster and pointed it directly at her head.

“DO IT!” Julian masochistically shouted, somehow getting enjoyment with how I would decide what happens. “Pull that trigger and show them the true monster you are. What you’re truly capable of. Show them how you can choose to take and restore lives! Do it!”

I kept the gun pointed at her but looked at the others and thought back. I killed the guardsman. I revived Olivia. I did those things. But were those the choice I had control over?

Were those the traits of Valkyries or were those the powers that they were given? To freely choose who lived. And, who died.

Her breathing become shallow. She was worried that if she didn’t succeed here, that she would die anyway.

And—I wasn’t going to have any of that.

“Do it.” She whispered to me. “After all I did to you, and still wanted to do, do it. Pull that trigger.”

I gripped the gun tighter. “No.” Instead I moved it away from Cameron and focused it at Carrie, but purposely missed my shot which spooked her and caused her to retreat, which only left Julian.

“I’ll be back Kaitlyn.” Julian made sure that we didn’t forget. “And next time—I will have you. Or everyone around you will die. I will make sure of that.”

“Kait” Lauren spoke up now that the door had fully opened. “Door, let’s go.”

I jumped off Claire and raced towards her, taking her hand as I passed, and the others barely had the time to follow our lead and link hands and jumped through the door as well.

What would wait for us on the other end of the door? Would there be more questions than answers about my birthright, or only more pain?

There was no going back, it was now or never as the door closed behind us and took us too somewhere. I didn’t know where—but as I learned already, going deeper into this—would lead to more dire and life altering situations.

Along with…. Impossible choices.