Losing It: A Collection of VCards (23 page)

Joyous tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too.”

***

The Release of Rae
is an extended bonus scene from
The Rise of Rae
(An Ovialell Short-Story) by Tish Thawer.

About the Author

Tish Thawer writes paranormal romances for all ages, including her new adult series' The Rose Trilogy and The Women of Purgatory Trilogy, as well as her adult paranormal romance, The Ovialell Series, and young adult short-stories. Her magickal elements and detailed world-building are a welcome constant in every novel.
Before becoming a writer she worked as a computer consultant, a photographer and a graphic designer. She also operates a custom glass etching business, in addition to being a wife and the mother of three wonderful children.

Available Titles at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, All Romance eBooks, Books-A-Million, and other participating retailers.

The Rose Trilogy:

Scent of a White Rose
~ Book #1 

Roses & Thorns
~ Book #1.5

Blood of a Red Rose
~ Book #2

Death of a Black Rose
~ Book #3

The Rose Trilogy Box Set
~ Full Collection

Ovialell series:
(Pronounced Oh-vee-uh-lell)

Aradia Awakens
~ Book #1

Prophecy’s Child
~ Companion

The Rise of Rae
~ Companion

Shay and the Box of Nye
~ Companion

Behind the Veil
~ An Ovialell Omnibus

The Women of Purgatory:

Raven’s Breath
(Book #1)

Social Links:

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A Valkyrie’s Song

By Ednah Walters

They move among Mortals, using the powers of runes to become invisible, heighten their speed, and manipulate things; but more often, they hide in plain sight. Like the boy seated across from you in math class. The captain of the cheer squad. The hot new quarterback. Or the new neighbor across from your apartment.

Wherever they appear, death follows. They are soul reapers—the Valkyries and Grimnirs—collecting warriors for Asgard to fight in the end-of-the-world battle between the gods and the giants. Working beside them on earth are Immortals, men and women given immortality by the power of runes.

Yet when they leave, memories are erased and Mortals don’t remember ever meeting them, unless you’ve been chosen to join them… Or if one of them falls in love with you.

Raine Cooper met and fell in love with Torin St. James without knowing what he was. He too thought she was just another Mortal. But Raine is much more than they both realized. This scene occurs after Torin learns that his father, a rogue Immortal, has kept his mother’s soul tethered to him for nine centuries with the hopes of personally escorting her to Asgard. A furious Torin engages his runes and takes off at a hyper-speed.

***

Raine

“TORIN!” I yelled, but he was gone, his glow hidden by the thick forest despite the line of fallen trees.

Way to go, Raine.
Some girlfriend you are.
Tomorrow the rangers would have a field day with this. Trees being uprooted from the ground without a trace of tires weren’t common. If Torin left footprints, and I was sure he did, another alien story would surface in
Kayville Daily
.

The poor fallen trees. I touched one uprooted trunk, wishing we didn’t leave so much supernatural evidence behind every time a soul reaper threw a hissy fit and vented.

A movement came from my left, and I jumped back. The leaves rustled and moved as though something was crawling from under the fallen tree. A black bear was my first thought.

The tree lifted. My heart hurtling to my throat, I stepped back, not realizing how close I was to the manmade slope bordering the road. I lost my footing and fell backwards. Rocks and sticks dug into my skin as I rolled toward the road. I tried to break my fall, tendrils of panic coiling around me. I scrambled to my feet at the edge of the road, expecting an animal to come lumbering after me. Instead, the tree that had fallen was now upright.

No, it couldn’t be. People of the Old Religion like the Druids could control elements. Did I cause the tree to lift up and replant itself by reattaching its root?

Blood pounding past my ears, I stood there undecided. Where was Torin? I needed him. I peered past the now-standing tree, but there was no glowing being anywhere. Mastering some courage, I pulled myself back up to the fallen trees and touched another root. As it moved and struggled to lift itself, the root sank into the ground.

Laughing, I touched the next root and another. Finally, I went big, splayed my hands like some all-powerful witch and yelled, “Stand and let your roots sink into the earth. Live and be the giver of life and shelter.”

Okay, so I got carried away, but it seemed to be working. The trees rose, creaks and rustles filling the air, the earth shaking as roots disappeared into the ground.

Where was Torin? He should see this.

Pleased with myself, I ran down to the middle of the road, spun around at a super speed with my hand held up, and woo-hooed. This could be the start of a trend. A pissed-of Torin hell bent on destroying everything in his path with me following him and cleaning up his mess.

Nah, that sounded exactly like what Norns did. Cleaned up after Valkyries. This was different. Torin was hurting deep inside. Somewhere even I couldn’t reach because of his father.

A flash of light came from deep inside the forest and pulled me to the present. Then a streak of light zipped through the trees. Torin. Within seconds, he stopped beside me. His eyes burned under the glowing runes etched into his skin.

“What are you doing?” His voice whipped through the night, and I winced.

“Trying to get your attention,” I said. “See, I fixed all the trees you destroyed. Cool, right?”

“You do not want to be around me right now, Freckles.”

“I disagree. I plan to be around you when you are happy, sad, pissed off, hurting, acting like a jackass, goofing off, or showing off. Whatever and whenever. You and I are a package deal, pal. Equal partners and all that jazz.” I pointed at a nearby tree and moved my finger left and right. The tree swayed. “Any time you want to destroy nature, get me first.”

He leaned in until we were eye level. “Go home, Raine.” His voice was mean.

“Only if you come with me. You want to stay out here, then I’m staying, too. I’m not going anywhere without you, Torin St. James.”

My words only seemed to infuriate him. He stepped back and thrust his fingers through his hair. I sat on an edge of the road and waited. A speeding car approached us, but Torin seemed oblivious. He was still in the middle of the road. Anxiety twisted my insides, but I engaged my speed runes just in case I had to snatch him out of the way. The car was closer and he still wasn’t moving.

“Ouch! That hurt. I think a snake bit me,” I fibbed.

He was by my side in a fraction of a second. “Where?”

The car drove passed. “It’s nothing. Just a stick. Can we go home now?”

He sat without saying a word. Usually he’d make a scathing comment about how I’d manipulated him. He rested his elbows on his knees and bowed his head.

“My mother has been attached to him for over nine hundred years, Raine. Nine centuries of watching that bastard do all sorts of despicable things.”

Yeah, his father was a bastard. An evil Immortal. “I know.” I rubbed Torin’s back. His muscles were tight, but the sparks caused by the runes on both of us seemed to relax him.

“I’m going to kill him.”

He spoke so calmly a chill shot up my spine. I swallowed and tried to act nonchalant. I pushed my fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp. “I know.”

“It’s what he deserves. His head severed clean. Heart ripped out of his chest. All this time, I assumed Mom was in Hel’s Hall.”

Hel’s Hall, the realm of Goddess Hel and where most of the dead rested was even bigger than Asgard. Hel was also freezing cold, like the draft slipping under my pants despite the runes. Unlike my long-sleeved shirt, Torin had left his jacket at the mansion and only wore a T-shirt. I rested my head on his back and tried to warm him.

A few more cars zipped past us. I watched their taillights disappear toward town and wondered how long it would be before my ass went completely numb. Someone should come up with warmth runes for moments like this.

After a few minutes, I’d had it. I stood and pulled him up. “We are going home. I’m going to make us hot chocolate. Then you’re going to hold me until we fall asleep, because tomorrow we have to come up with a plan.”

“What plan?”

“How to go after your father so
I
can decapitate him.”

Torin snatched me into his arms, pressed my cheek on his chest, and rested his chin on top of my head. “I would never allow you to take a life, Freckles. Never. You are a healer, not a killer.”

“I would kill to save you,” I said.

***

Torin

Listening to Raine, I fought to contain the fury pulsing through me. I’d never let her do something so damning to a soul.

For centuries, I’d reaped and escorted souls without taking a life. A broken neck once a week when goofing around with Andris didn’t count. He was ‘family,’ and he recovered. This shit with my father was different. For the pain Mom had endured the past nine centuries, I was going to enjoy killing him.

“Torin,” Raine whispered, lifting her head from my chest.

That was another thing. No one should ever intrude on my thoughts when Raine was in my arms. I pressed my lips to the pulse beating on her temple and listened to the pounding of her heart. It steadied me. A different kind of need coursed through me.

Since our first kiss, nothing set my world ablaze faster than listening to Raine’s heart kick up a notch before I claimed her lips. The way her breath caught when our lips met. And her soft gasps when I nipped her skin.

I needed her tonight. Needed her in ways she couldn’t possibly understand. For almost a year now, we’d waited. No, I’d waited for her to get used to me and to the passion we shared. I couldn’t anymore. I needed her. Needed her sweetness. Her love. The special bond joining with her would bring. Only she could take away the pain gnawing my insides. It would be worth the shit I’d get from her mother once she learned I’d claimed her daughter. Like most Valkyries, Raine’s mother understood the bond created when one of us truly mated with another. She’d feel it the moment she saw us together.

I claimed Raine’s lips, the feel and the texture of her mouth sending heat me straight to my groin. Her arms looped around my neck as she pushed her tongue through my lips.

This was different. She was controlling the kiss, maybe intending to sooth the darkness threatening to suck me under. When she bit my lower lip and swept her sweet tongue across it, a shuddered rocked through me. She was a quick learner, using my tricks against me.

Her breathing grew harsh, her skin hotter. I tried to slow things down, let my tongue caress hers and savor her unique taste, but she was determined to drive me insane. She pressed closer and reached under my shirt. The next second, a groan ripped through me as she clawed my back.

Holy shit! This was like nothing she’d ever done before. And the feelings. A burning sensation darted under my skin from where her skin touched mine. There was something different about her kisses tonight. Her touch. The urgent way she pressed against me. And it was screwing with my head.

Then I felt it. Her elemental magic was leaping through her runes to mine, infusing me with their powers. Another second, and we’d both rip our clothes off. In the middle of the damn highway.

I tore my lips from hers, tilted her head and saw her eyes. Hel’s Mist. They were glowing. They always did during her magical trips. Tonight, they were a brighter gold. Why were they glowing
after
she worked her mojo? That was new. 

Damn elemental magic. I was claiming her tonight and no hocus-pocus crap was getting in my way.

She smiled dreamily at me. “Why are you pushing me away? You know you want me, Torin.”

I stroked her cheek. “I do. Always.”

“Then why do you keep stopping?”

“Because I wasn’t ready,” I fibbed. I’d been ready from the moment we met.

She laughed. “You’re silly.” Then she stepped back, raised her arms, and turned around as though dancing to a tune only she could hear. Probably some special Seeress song.

I was up to my eyeballs in this witchy shit. She and I had weathered many things together. This witch side of her was new territory. Some idiot would have walked away from her months ago. Not me. I was reaching for the freaking star. The gold at the end of the rainbow. And that was Raine. She was mine, and I needed her like I needed air. Without her, my life would return to the endless, monotonous existence of a Valkyrie—reaping, sleeping, eating, and meaningless sex.