– T A Y A H –

The sun had started to set by the time I tracked down the men. Although there was not much tracking necessary... I could likely hear their shouts from the other side of whatever continent we were on.

They were stood before the skeleton wreck of a ship and debating the likely hood of booze nearby.

John soon caught my figure walking towards them on the beach and cast a hand out.

"Tayah! Finally!"

Kaden turned and threw me a grin before trying to push John out the way. He dodged it and jogged up to meet me.

"How is your mood?" He asked innocently, waving around a piece of the ship like a sword.

I shrugged at him and eyed Kaden who was crouched over a mast.

"Just perfect." I muttered, "What's the matter?"

He twirled the wood in his hand before leaning on it like a cane. "Well, it depends on how much bad news your mood can take..." He ventured.

"Out with it." I sighed. "Nothing on this realm can bother me as much as what has already happened–"

"We're on an island." He deadpanned.

"What."

He raised his weapon. "Now don't get angry–you just said–"

"I don't fucking believe it." I growled. "As if it's not enough to have to deal with the proximity of you two again but it's on an enclosed space?"

"I found coconuts!" Kaden said happily in my direction.

I stared at him until his smile faded.

"Do remember this was not our idea." John grumbled, "–now if you'll stop hissing, I have a plan."

"Of course you do." I muttered, dropping to the sand and laying my arms over my knees.

He smirked at me and took his piece of wood to annotate.

"We only need a vessel to reach the nearest southern continent shore line–" He began, sketching out a rough map. "–As far as I know there are a cluster of islands like our own here–" He poked at a number of blots near the large section of Zanos. I sighed and nodded, glad for some distraction at least. "If we head West using the sun to orient, we should reach the mainland in a number of days."

"Days." I repeated calmly.

"More or less." He shrugged.

"And you can build us such a vessel?"

"More or less." He shrugged again.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Then raised my eyes and met his rich brown that was eager for a new project. I was long used to the same look of a prototype that would involve smoke or fire or waking someone up at the wrong time–

"To hell with it." I said simply. "Tell me what you need and I'll fell any tree you want. I have enough anger for a whole damn island." I muttered.

"That's my woman!" John clapped his hands together and called over Kaden. "Come man! We have a ship to build and only one of us with the brain to do it–"

Kaden clapped him over the head making me smirk for the first time in... I didn't know. It faded quickly and I found myself looking out to the horizon. I wondered what she was doing now. Hunting down Anselle already? I couldn't imagine it being a problem without us as distractions. In fact I couldn't imagine much in her life being a problem without us. The thought stabbed my heart through.

John began his sketching on his sandy canvas as we watched the form of a ship take place. It was an ambitious model but we were ambitious people. He even took into account a small sleeping quarter below deck that would keep us from the worst of the weather if it turned.

"The next question is the mast." John murmured, intrigued. "We have no fabric but the clothes on our backs–"

"I have no shirt." Kaden reminded him with a grunt. "Unless you really want my trousers–"

"Absolutely not." John finished for him with a look of horror. "I'll see to it about using the palm leaves before I see any more of you than necessary."

"Great." I noted, lying back into the sand and counting off with my fingers. "You need ten palms worth of wood. Kaden will work on the assembly, and you on the planning and navigation."

"Yes..." He ventured looking at me more intently, "This is normally the part where you over plan the plan, Ashrive."

"Nope." I said, popping my mouth. "Not interested."

Kaden snorted. Soon a large shadow fell over me and I glared at the mountain of a man responsible.

"You're in my sun." I deadpanned.

"Why doesn't little Tayah just use a bit of that immortal magic to return us?" He questioned in a deep voice, crossing his arms. The realisation seemed to suddenly hit John too and he soon stood with Kaden over me.

I sighed and eyed them both. "Because first of all, I did not master my portal ability on the immortal realm, let alone the mortal one." I stated, "–secondly I'm not even sure mortals can pass through an immortal portal and lastly... if you really want to know–I promised to keep a low profile."

"To whom?" John questioned, taking a seat beside me.

This caused Kaden to also drop onto the sand making the ground shake. I resisted a smile and held onto my calm indifference.

"To a God." I finished.

They were silent for a beat before Kaden propped a fist under his chin and frowned like a very large boy.

"So the... other Valkyrie doesn't know you're here?" He probed carefully.

"No." I sighed, filling my hand with sand and letting it slip through my fingers.

"Why did he exile you–well us?" John pressed, with curiosity.

"Because I compromise his best student in more ways than one." I chuckled. I saw the stark confusion on their faces so I shook my head. "Look, boys. It's a very long story so the least we could do is sit around a fire with whatever coconuts this tree has promised." I muttered, poking a thumb at Kaden who scowled.

John laughed and dusted off his trousers. "I'll get us some firewood."

Kaden poked me in the side before getting to his own feet and heading towards the suspect pile near the ship wreckage.

"You coming Ashrive?" John called over his shoulder as he headed into the trees. I forgot I would have to be the muscle in this situation.

"As long as I can use you as the axe." I told his back, making him laugh again.

"I think you'd use me for a different purpose–have you seen this face–"

"John don't make me consider taking my own words seriously." I interrupted.

He laughed loudly ahead of us and I kept my eyes on his back. If I was honest with myself. The men were the best distraction I had from the otherwise bottomless loss I felt. If it weren't for their easy going nature and constant madness I would likely lose myself. I saw why Odin had done what he had done now... 

It was a mercy in a compromised sense.

* * * * *

We huddled around the bright fire as the sun dropped below the horizon.

Kaden passed around dozens of cracked coconuts and John slurped loudly beside me. I took a light sip but didn't have it in me to eat yet. All I saw in the stars were burning silver eyes–

"Come then, Tay. Explain yourself." John said around a mouthful.

Kaden burped thunderously before nodding. I glanced at them both before answering differently.

"If you both promise to cut those hideous carpets off your chins when we reach shore." I replied flatly looking at their scraggly beards now.

Kaden looked the most scorned and suddenly stroked his longer beard protectively that now had pieces of coconut in it. Vile.

"I can agree to that–it ages me too much and lady's prefer the young stallion." John shrugged, dipping the rest of the coconut juice into his mouth before seizing another.

The firewood dimmed a bit so I threw another piece of dried salt wood onto it and clenched a fist. Bright green flames briefly crackled as a result of the salt. We watched it before Kaden cleared is throat and nodded at me.

"Fine." He muttered, spitting a hard piece of coconut at my boot.

I set the coconut down and leant back on my arms. My hood was low over my eyes because I didn't want the pain to be that evident on my face. I imagine my eyes were scarcely glowing but only grey.

"Where do I start?" I murmured.

"Try the part when you two disappeared the night after Kaden's fight." John probed, licking around the shell.

"I'm still not over leaving that bow behind." Kaden grumbled, launching his coconut off into the night behind us. The royal made bow she had offered him after that chess game... I sighed thinking of it.

"Odin came to us that night." I told them, watching their eyes turn serious over the fire. "He told us an immortal we arrived with would be corrupted by the power Anselle had. That meant only one thing. The relic–Kára's black shield–would be used to manipulate the other Valkyries." I clarified as I watched their eyes go comically wide.

"That would explain the damn noise we heard from across the city..." John murmured.

I nodded. "It was a new limit of power. Valkyries are not meant to expose it to mortals like that, but Odin made an allowance. Anselle must die at whatever cost."

"And?" Kaden rumbled. "The bitch got it?"

"No." I said with ice in my heart. "The bitch used me as she always intended to. Against Kára. Because she could never challenge my–her in single combat." I said quietly, "–none of them could." I finished thinking of her power of origin. How bottomless it was compared to the rest of the immortals.

"Gods Tayah–she's not... Is she?" John got out through a wince.

"She's not dead." I confirmed, without feeling.

"Why do you look as if that's not the case?" Kaden said quietly.

"Because Anselle..." I took a deep breath and ground my hands into the sand deeply. "She made me–I did kill her that night. I put a dagger through Kára's own heart." I whispered, unable to meet their wide eyes any longer. "Odin reversed that time between us and now I am to be forever cast from her so it can never happen again!" I finished in a shout that rose out of me before I could control it.

The fire briefly grew brightly before calming again.

I took a breath and controlled my raging flame inside me again. The fire of Ares.

"You protected her at least." John got out through the silence. I glanced at him with an empty look. "It may not be the fate you wanted but death is final. There is no going back from it and you convinced a God to–"

I scoffed and stared into the fire. "That god was never going to let her die. That god only needed me to see her die so that I would stay away." I grit out.

This made them silent. I thought no one would have any words for the heaviness in the air.

"What a son of a whore." Kaden spat out.

I flinched and glanced at him. But Kaden was adamant.

"I see no reason that you cannot stay together–that we cannot all stay together!" He shouted, hitting a large fist into the sand. "Consequences this and that–they can bite my ass as they have done my whole life." He finished in a low growl.

I stared at him for a beat as did John. His sudden outburst died as quickly as it had come and despite all of it... I laughed.

John turned to me incredulous. But I shook my head and laughed again. Kaden grinned at me and threw a coconut my way. The watery milk splashed all over me but I wore a smile I hadn't felt in many days and it felt too good to lose. Because we had already lost it all. Time and time again we had things taken from us three and we still found a way to spit in whatever fate or destiny landed in our laps.

"Fuck. The consequences." I grinned, and threw a coconut hard into Kaden's chest. It exploded in milk and he cackled into the sand.

"Well, since everyone's going insane tonight I might as well join them." John shrugged, picking up his coconut and flicking it onto my head. We we drenched in the salty and sweet smelling fruit juice.

Kaden quickly got to his feet and yanked the cloak from my shoulders without warning. He wrapped it around his neck and sprinted off towards the ocean.

"KADEN!" I yelled with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

We watched him get all of ten strides down the beach before I stood next to John and raised my hand clenching it. John glanced at me before we saw the cloak light up brightly in red and gold and Kaden's distant shout echo back to us.

"FIRE!"

John dropped to his knees laughing and I smirked as I watched the cloak of fire be flung to the ground and Kaden threw himself into the sea. I don't think buffoon even covered what he was anymore.

"Oh I have–missed you–Ashrive." John got out dabbing his eyes.

I looked down at him and then back at the shadow of a large man submerging himself in water again. I nodded.

"Me too, Sir John."