Valkyrie (Complete)

12: The Soldier From the Forest

She wakes up to screaming on her left. She must have dozed off after staying up for hours. She was exhausted and in pain, and eventually she must have given in.

The scream comes again and she turns to find Phoenix thrashing in the sheets on his bed. His face is twisted in pain and her heart clenches at the thought. He cries out again and yanks the sheets but they're wrapped tightly around him and he cannot get free. She doesn't know what's happening in his dream, but it can't be good.

She tries to loosen the sheets around him in an effort to stop his thrashing, but as she pulls on the cloth, it seems to make it worse. His arm is thrown and before she can move, his elbow cracks over her cheek. The sudden pain knocks the breath out of her but she reacts quickly by grabbing his arm and setting it next to him. She decides to wake him up and puts a hand on the side of his face. She smooths the hair from his face and whispers nothings to him until he wakes up.

He opens his eyes to see her and without a word, he wraps his arms tightly around her. She moves so she's lying next to him on the narrow cot and he pulls her tightly to him. His face is buried in her hair and one arm is wrapped around her waist and the other is around her shoulders. She keeps one of her hands on his face and the other is around his neck. "What did you dream about?"

He takes several deep, shaking breaths before he murmurs, "Losing you."

She runs her fingers through his hair and he seems to enjoy the calming motion. He moves his head so it's resting in the juncture of her neck and shoulder and she can feel his eyelashes brushing her skin. "How did you lose me?"

"It was the end of the war, and we almost lost," he recalls. "And suddenly, you were shot and then everything went in slow-motion, and it was terrible. Everything else just seemed to fall away until all I could see was you dying, and there was nothing left. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get to you and then we lost the war and all of our people were gone. There was nothing I could do, nothing, even as hard as I tried. It was like I was frozen." He shudders.

She runs her fingers through his hair again and his warm breath on her neck sends a shiver down her spine. "I won't die."

"You don't know that!"

"Nix, I promise not to die. I could never leave you and Kaj."

"Don't make promises that you might not be able to keep. I won't be able to forgive you if you break that promise."

"Nix, I swear. You know why? Because it gives me something to live for. You and Kaj are all I have left, and I could never die knowing that the two of you are waiting here for me. Don't worry, okay? It was just a dream."

"Don't leave me." His voice is sad, child-like, almost a whimper. Wetness lands on her neck and she realizes with a shock that he's crying. "I can't lose you and Eira. It would be too much for me."

She hugs him tighter. "I won't leave you. You won't lose me." She feels him shiver and moves her arm to pull the sheet back up, but he stops her. He reaches for the sheet himself and pulls it up to their shoulders. "Go back to sleep, okay? I'll stay right here."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He falls asleep in that very position, with his arms around her and her head on her shoulder. The warmth radiating from his is comfortable and it's all she can do to keep her eyes open.

Just as she's nearly dozed off once more, a sudden sound from outside the room gets her attention. She pulls out of Phoenix's arms, wishing she didn't have to, but she has to make sure her sleeping friends are not in danger.