No.
Except if I didn’t, all the innocent people screaming to be allowed in the gates, screaming for the protection of my magic, would die by Tora’s lightning just as Bodil had. And how many more after that? How long could I keep these walls protected until exhaustion caused me to falter? Because the moment it did, Tora would blast through the walls, and it would be over.
You have to try. It’s who you are.
I shook my head sharply, then shouted, “I am a Skalander. I’ll die fighting before I concede to Nordeland!”
A roar of cheers rose up from my people, but Harald only gave a disgusted shake of his head.
“If you choose to kill these people, their blood is on your hands,” I shouted at his back as he retreated. King Harald didn’t respond, only nodded once as he passed Tora, then joined his army, which retreated slightly down the slope.
The child of Thor met my gaze a heartbeat before lightning exploded from her palms. Except it wasn’t the people below she aimed her power at, but rather my magic. The lightning struck my shield and rebounded, splintering into a dozen jagged arcs that went in every direction. The crack of thunder split my ears, but it was not enough to deafen me of the screams that filtered upward.
I looked down, seeing dozens of people on their backs many paces away from the wall, where my magic had flung them as it repelled Tora’s lightning. They clambered to their feet, racing again to the gate, screaming to be allowed sanctuary.
Tora lifted her palms, and another bolt arced toward my shield, the civilians again flung backward, more violently this time. I howled wordlessly as their bodies were tossed every which way, some landing on stakes in the trenches. The thunder was a short-lived mercy, for the moment it ceased its roll, the screams of agony and fear filled the void.
“Don’t touch it,” I shrieked at them. “Don’t touch the walls! Stay down!”
Some listened and drew away from the walls, while others who either didn’t hear or were too terrified to understand again tried to reach the gate.
Lightning flashed, rebounding off my magic, splintering into arcs as it did. To my horror, it struck some of those who’d moved away. They dropped to the ground, smoke rising from their bodies, and I screamed and screamed because there was no escape for them. No way to protect them as bolt after bolt of lightning shattered against my magic, only for its glowing fragments to find victims.
“Stop!” I howled, the stink of charred flesh filling my nose. “Please!”
Tora didn’t stop. Only stood out of reach of the desperate attempts of Snorri’s archers to take her down, watching impassively as her magic broke against mine.
Bjorn’s words echoed in my head. She told me the shield maiden would unite Skaland, but that tens of thousands would be left dead in your wake. That you’d walk upon the ground like a plague, pitting friend against friend, brother against brother, and that all would fear you.
Bjorn’s mother had been right in her fears. Right to instill them within him, for before me was the future that Odin had shown her. Skalanders, dead and dying because of me. Dead and dying because men of power wanted to possess me. To use me. And there was no path I could take to stop it.
Except for one.
A bolt of Tora’s lightning struck, and the second it did, I withdrew my magic from the wall. From the corner of my vision, I saw Bjorn reaching for me, but for once I was quicker than he was.
Slinging my body over the edge of the wall, I jumped.
The ground raced up to meet me, my heels slamming into the embankment hard enough to rattle my spine. Then I was rolling. I ground my teeth as I somersaulted into the trench, slamming against corpses and stakes as I fell. My body screamed with pain, but I ignored it and scrambled to my feet.
“Freya!”
Bjorn’s shout filled my ears, but I didn’t look back. Only clambered to my feet and ran.
Tora’s face was filled with shock, and she cast a backward glance at Harald. “Catch her,” he shouted.
The taller woman broke into a sprint, but I had a head start.
You can do this, I told myself, my eyes fixed on where the river poured over the cliff, the thunder of the falls growing louder with each pounding step I took. You can end this.
Tears poured down my cheeks, fear constricting my chest. If they don’t have something to fight over, they’ll stop. No one else has to die.
“Freya!”
Bjorn’s voice. He was chasing me, trying to stop me. But I couldn’t let him.
Forgive me.
I reached the river, a stitch forming in my side as I sprinted down the bank. The waterfall loomed ahead, rocks slick from the mist.