Valkyrie

Valkyrie
Allison

We can see the entrance now. Cassian lifts his hand and points once to the left, then once to the right. Evander peels off first. Kael follows a heartbeat later. Neither of them says a word. They both look at me before they go and nod once. We will see you soon. Then they’re gone, swallowed by the dark around the compound. Cassian moves in first, while Christopher stays at my side. I don’t look back, but I know Rhaziel is behind us. I can feel him there, contained and watchful. The entrance sits low against the slope, the stone cut clean and deliberate, half-hidden beneath brush that’s been allowed to grow just enough to look natural. Cassian drops down without hesitation, landing softly, then turns and signals us forward. The tunnel below is narrow and clean. The walls are smooth stone, the floor level, the ceiling low enough that I have to watch my head. Light panels hum overhead, casting a flat white glow that strips the space of shadow and depth. I step inside and feel the place's pressure immediately. Christopher stays close, his shoulder almost brushing mine. Rhaziel follows a step behind us, but his shadows don’t stretch here. They cling to him instead, drawn tight by the light. We move. Our boots barely make a sound. We measure every step intentionally, as if the tunnel were waiting to see if we'd make a mistake. There’s a guard posted just inside the first bend. Cassian sees him before I do. The man turns, mouth opening, and Cassian is already inside his mind, stealing the life from his body. Christopher catches the body before it hits the floor and eases it down. There's no alarm and no sound, so we keep going. The corridor splits ahead with identical paths branching left and right—same lights, same doors, the same sterile stone. Cassian doesn’t slow. Left, he sends. Right side’s alarmed. I nod and follow him without question. I don’t feel anything from the right path, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. It means it’s hidden well enough that only Cassian can sense it. We take the left.

The tunnel bends and opens into a longer stretch lined with sealed doors. It might be storage, maybe archives, but they're empty now. The Council clearly liked their symmetry. I'm sure it made them feel in control. I reach out with my senses, brushing the edges of the space ahead. I’m looking for pressure, resistance, that tug that means something is waiting to snap shut, but nothing answers me. Christopher adjusts his steps as the floor dips, compensating without slowing us down. I can feel him doing the math in his head, recalibrating distance, tracking where I am, without needing to touch me. We pass another junction. Clear, Cassian sends. I let out a breath, and we continue moving faster, confidence settling in. Down a short flight of steps. Across a narrow bridge that spans a dark drop I don’t look down into. Past another sealed door, its wards are old and dormant. A shimmer catches my eye, and I stop. Cassian follows my gaze. Suppression thread, he sends. Low level. I angle my magic toward it, just enough to feel its edge. It prickles against my skin, irritated but asleep. Christopher shifts our path slightly without being told, steering us wide enough that it never brushes us. Another guard steps out from an alcove ahead, but Cassian doesn’t break stride. The man barely has time to register us before Cassian’s elbow strikes his throat. Christopher is there a second later, catching him and lowering him down. There's still no alarm. The lights hum steadily overhead. The air remains cool and stale. Everything is unfolding exactly as the intel promised.

We’re inside. We have control. This is fine, everything is fine. The corridor slopes gently downward, and the air cools further. I feel a faint tug at my magic, distant and curious, like something turning its attention toward us... Then the lights die. They don't flicker out of fizzle; they're just gone. The hum cuts out with a sharp snap, and the corridor drops into absolute black. I stop dead. The air feels wrong, as if it's pressed flat against my skin. What’s happening? I send urgently. Cassian? He doesn't answer. I reach again, pushing harder through the bond. Cassian. Talk to me.
Still no response. The darkness presses in, thick enough that it feels like it’s touching me. I can’t see my hand in front of my face. I can’t hear anything beyond my own breathing. My heart starts to pound. Cassian, I send again, harder this time but there’s nothing there. Panic rises fast and sharp in my chest. My magic surges in response, instinct screaming to light the dark, to tear through whatever just closed around us. Before I can move, fingers close around mine. Christopher's grip is firm and warm, solid enough to anchor me. His thumb rubs once over the back of my hand slowly. He steps closer, placing himself slightly in front of me without breaking contact. “I’m right here,” he whispers near my ear. “Don’t move.” I force my breathing to steady. Inhale. Exhale. The darkness presses in from all sides, heavy and suffocating. I reach out again, searching for the others, but I find nothing. No Cassian. No Kael. No Evander. Not through the bond. Not through Cassian’s awareness. Not even Rhaziel. My chest tightens.
“I can’t feel them,” I whisper. “I can’t feel any of them.”
Christopher’s thumb brushes my knuckles again.
“Focus on me,” he murmurs. “I'm right here with you.”
The silence stretches. No sound. No light. Just the weight of the trap settling into place around us.
“We’re okay,” he says softly. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His hand tightens around mine.
“You're okay, Valkyrie. I'm going to keep you safe.”
I hold onto his hand, onto the only thing I have in this darkness, and I wait.