Valkyrie Rising ✓

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Can you see them all? I've got a great view." Kaz adjusts his hands behind his head.

"Close," I say. I lean back a little further, then decide to go for it. I lay my head on his torso, my feet still in the water. "Yes, much better." I turn my head and smile at him. He smells amazing; I just want to lay here for the rest of the night, breathing him in. His heart is beating just under my head, thumping strong, if perhaps a bit rapid.

"Are you nervous at all about fighting Anders?" I say, breaking the silence.

"Not at all." He shifts his head to his left arm and grins down at me. "You afraid of Caither?"

"No!" But I am. She's faster. And stronger. More confident.

"You're going to beat her," Kaz says. He brings his right hand down and hesitantly strokes my left forearm, his fingers trailing over the scars. "You're way tougher than she is."

His heartbeat picks up; I can feel it against my cheek when I turn to him again. But I can't come up with any response, so I turn my head back to the sky. We lay like that, looking at the stars, listening to the other breathing.

Too soon, I can hear Eveia's voice whispering urgently somewhere in the darkness. I can't make out the words, but then she says, "No, Wick!" a little louder than a whisper.

"This is going to be hilarious!" Wick yells the last word as he runs and catapults himself into the pool a few feet from Kaz and me.

With my legs in the water, I don't have time to react; his splash drenches me from my midsection down. Kaz is mostly blocked by my body.

Eveia shrieks to Wick that he is such a donkey, but Kaz and I are laughing. Wick pushes himself out of the pool.

"Oh, hey guys," he says nonchalantly. "How's it going?"

"I feel like I just peed myself," I say, sitting up.

Wick raises his eyebrows and tilts his chin down. "You're welcome."

"Wick, I'm going to murder you." Eveia storms over.

"Aw." He comes at her with open arms. "Let's hug and make up."

She moves away. "Don't you touch me. Wick!" She screams as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her to the pool. She kicks at him, but he dodges it and tosses her easily into the water, then jumps in after her.

"You are so lucky I like your face," she says when she surfaces.

"I know I'm handsome, but you like more than that." Wick swims over to her then kisses her right there, in the pool, in front of Kaz and me.

Eveia pushes him away, but the huge smile she wears says she's not really mad.

"Should we let you two have more alone time, or...?" Kaz says, standing.

"Screw you; I'm going to bed." Eveia climbs out of the pool, Wick following.

"Is that an invitation?" he says. She pushes him back into the water.

Kaz helps me stand. "Yeah, I guess we have a big day tomorrow."

I remember the tasks for tomorrow and grimace. For all the bravado we had at dinner, for all Kaz's whispered assurances, I'm not entirely convinced I'll beat Caither.

*

If I was concerned about the fight before bed, that's nothing to how I feel after the obstacle course. We start on the pool deck, swim across the pool, run into Briar's gym to shoot arrows at a few differently spaced targets, then sprint down to the lake, jumping fallen trees on the way. We finish once we reach the falls, then get to walk back up to the compound for lunch.