Into the Fire (The Unseelie Court Book 4) Gwen Rivers (sneezy the snowman read aloud .TXT) 📖

The Valkyrie’s reports are grim. The dead are everywhere and the few fey remaining are evacuating to the Vanir lands. Worst of all is when she tells me Aiden has vanished.

“What do you mean he disappeared? Did he cross the Veil?” My heart thunders against my ribs. Maybe my wolf is on his way to come to save me even now.

I’m not a girl who likes to depend on rescue, but any port in a shitstorm….

But the Valkyrie spirit dashes my hopes. “That was his intent.”

I roll onto my back, trying to ignore the pain in my arm from the new batch of blood tests. “He’ll be coming for me.”

“Of course.” The shade disperses and a moment later the red light on the camera winks back to life.

“He’ll come,” I say and face the wall. “And I will have to be ready to rabbit when he does show.”

The days marking my incarceration start to take shape. Medical checks three times a day. Heart rate, blood pressure, blood draw. At least they let me keep my sarong thingy. Followed by shower time down the hall from the medical center. I never see another prisoner, except for the girl on the first day.

A few staring sessions with Agent Hanson. The day before she laid out photos from the tornado that ripped through my high school and the apartment complex that had been taken over by Valkyries.

“How many of these people did you kill?”

“None.” I’d given up on my innocent act and instead employed a new tactic—the truth.

“Then who killed them?” Her finger slams down on the pile of rotting meat that had once been people. “Because they sure didn’t die of natural causes. Not with their bones ripped out.”

I stared at the image, haunted by the memories. The smell of carrion, shit and rotting meat that were telltale signs of a Valkyrie nest. The battle. The Wild Hunt had cleaned it up but not before Gretchen had gotten her pictures.

“Did you ever think it was staged?” I hold Hanson’s gaze. “That someone is playing a prank on you?”

In response, she shuffled through her briefcase and extracted a stack of papers. “You see this? Missing persons. All of them lived in that apartment complex. We have the wood chipper from your farm. All it will take is one hair, one fiber, and you’ll be locked up for the rest of your natural life.”

Again, I try to imagine running. There are way too many people in the building for my comfort, all of them armed except for me. I can’t get close enough to kill them all and escape.

I miss the rest of my magic. Not that I could have wielded it in front of Hanson. I sit and stare at the ceiling, trying to plan. What are my resources? Nothing much on tap. They know about my kiss and take extra precautions anytime they move me. Allies? One phantom Valkyrie can’t do much except deliver messages and haunt people. I shiver as helpless vulnerability wafts through me.

Even though I am 99.9 percent sure there is no baby, I can’t help thinking about it. What would the progeny of a shape-shifting wolf and a teenage serial killer with a deadly kiss be like?

A predator, a hunter of men. Maybe he’s been right to worry that his offspring would join his father in Ragnarök. I had almost sided with my mother. Before I knew what an evil bitch she is.

My thoughts turn to Aiden. He will freak out. Like some biblical old-testament catastrophic meltdown. He never wanted kids, not with so many monsters in his family tree. Our relationship is so odd, so new. I know him and yet in so many ways we’ve barely had any time together. Our union is older than time. I love him, I know this. And I am certain he loves me. But that doesn’t mean we’re ready to be parents.

Gas leaks through the vents for the first time since my first exam. Memories of that day make the sight even less welcome.

This isn’t going to be pretty.

I come to, not strapped down on a gurney, but face down on a blue exercise mat. And I’m not alone.

The young girl I saw is huddled in a corner, knees bent, her hair hiding her face from view. Her shoulders shake but she doesn’t make a sound. Her entire body trembles as though she has too many emotions and nowhere to put them.

Neither of us is chained.

“Hey now,” I say. My voice cracks from disuse.

She looks up and I see the silver sheen of tears in her eyes. “Are you going to kill me?” Her voice is small and terrified.

I hold my hands up in front of myself. “I won’t hurt you.”

“They told me you killed people.”

How to answer that one honestly without scaring the crap out of her? Deciding I can’t, I change the subject. “What’s your name?”

“Astrid,” she sniffles.

“Hi, Astrid. I’m Nic.” I hold out one hand.

She stares at it but doesn’t move.

Did the FBI put us in here because they want us to fight? I study the large room. There are cameras, but no other occupants. My hands aren’t tethered there is no facemask covering my deadly lips. “Is this some sort of test?”

Astrid shakes her head, her brown curls bouncing out of the way. “I don’t know.”

There’s something about her, something familiar that I can’t place.

Slowly, I get to my feet. Even though I’m still barefoot in my sarong, I’m not about to squander the opportunity to move. “Do you want to walk with me?”

She scowls at me as though I’ve suggested something obscene.

I head off, deliberately turning my back on her. It’s a risk, but trust has to be given in order to be received.

After a moment, she falls into step beside me. “Tell me about the baby’s father. What’s he like?”

I stumble. “How…?”

“I overheard the guards talking about you.”

My eyes narrow. Okay, I’ve seen this movie before. Put seemingly innocent person in