Flawless: Ancient Realms, #4

By A.J. Flowers

Ragnarok comes, and only one Valkyrie stands in its way.

Astrid is the youngest daughter of Freya and part of a tribe of Valkyries. She is flawed and hopeless to become the great warrior she wishes to be. Her flaw is extreme near-sightedness, but it'll be her flaw that'll save them all.

There is only one way to avoid the end of the world that is Ragnarok, and that is by keeping the careful balance of godly powers. She must face the last living gods and convince them to sacrifice their hard-earned gifts, or the world will descend into Loki's dark chaos forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FCC Books
• Release date: Aug 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386161431

A.J. Flowers

A.J. Flowers is a fantasy author, book blogger, and automotive engineer in Detroit. She loves her writing, her work, and above all, her faith and family. When not writing or designing, you can find her saving the world from annihilation on her favorite video games side-by-side with her Dutch husband and princess Blue Russian kitty named Mina. To follow AJ's blog for new writing tips, head on over to https://ajflowers.wordpress.com

Book preview

Chapter 1

Iheld my breath as I waited. Tonight was special and once a year I was blessed with a brief moment of true and perfect Sight.

The sky blazed with golds and blues, slowly transforming into a blood-red sheen that spread across the clouds that promised I hadn’t been forgotten. The lone, damaged Valkyrie of the Flawless was still a daughter of the goddess, even though I didn’t live up to the name.

When the last fleeting ray of light dived into the horizon, I tossed my useless practice swords to the sands and bolted for the beach.

Liliana didn’t try to stop me. If any of the other Valkyries under her training ever left in such a hurry, she’d have clapped them across the back of their head. But she knew my love of the goddess. So she smiled and shifted her shield on her hip. I rushed past her in a blur on my way to the waves that lapped just outside the village outskirts.

Finding my way to the shore used to be a challenge. As a severely near-sighted girl born on an island of mystical warriors, I never had quite fit in. But none of that mattered when I watched Sol’s flame, the god of sun and glory, crash into the oceans and the world set ablaze for a single moment. Then the sheet of darkness and stars came next and I didn’t feel so alone, because I knew my goddess was near.

My sandaled feet pattered across the dusty path, having memorized the way by now, I ran as fast as I could. Excited and out of breath, my chest heaved as I watched and waited for my reward beyond the shore.

Colors gleamed across the horizon until the blur of the moon took its place. I huddled into the tangle of my arms and knees as I crouched.

Then she was there. My goddess walked across the sea and opened her arms in greeting. I still couldn’t hear her song, but the sparkle of stars gleamed across her dress and the brightness of her smile brought stinging tears to my eyes. This was the only night she ever left the cloister. This was when she roamed free and happy.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the breeze and faraway glimmer of Freya’s voice. Because of my flaw, the world was always a blur of colors and movement. But when the goddess appeared, none of that mattered. In a single breath, I felt loved, protected, and secure.

Thunder crashed, making my eyes bulge with surprise and then my goddess was gone.

I jumped to my feet and my breath came in short gasps. She always stayed with me well into the night, wiping away my insecurities and fears that I wasn’t good enough. The Valkyries tolerated me and my blasphemous run to shore when the goddess appeared. I was an oddity, a flaw among the Flawless. But now, as my chest fluttered in panic, I began to realize that even the goddess had finally abandoned me.

Collapsing to the beach, I curled into a ball and didn’t care that sand ground into my hair. I squeezed my cursed eyes shut and tried to listen to the waves. As if nothing terrible had happened, its music lazily lapped against the shore.

Disturbing my peace was Mira’s battle-worn bay