Jason Todd could still feel the cold burn of the gods’ touch on his skin.

Snow clung to him in crystalline flecks, refusing to melt even under the warm sun of the Valkyrie training grounds. His heart still hadn’t caught up with what happened—one moment he had been standing beside his older brother, prepared to watch him be chosen, and the next—

The sky had split open with divine frost. Light had speared down like a blade. And the gods had marked Jason, not the brother everyone expected.

Now dozens of eyes watched him from across the training courtyard. Recruits, sworn Valkyrie, instructors… all studying him like he was an unpredictable spell, one they weren’t sure would explode or fizzle out.

Jason dragged in a breath, the cold settling deep in his lungs. Gods, he hated being stared at.

He straightened anyway.

If the gods wanted him, then he’d act like he deserved it—even if he wasn’t sure he did.

The commander stepped forward to introduce him, her voice sharp as polished steel.

“Prince Jason of the Ice Court has been chosen to join the Valkyrie ranks. His training begins today.”

The murmurs that rippled through the trainees stung more than he’d admit. Surprise. Skepticism. A few pitying glances he wanted to freeze solid.

But one gaze cut through the noise.

Yours.

An Earth Fae Valkyrie—already sworn, already powerful. Grounded and steady in a way Jason’s entire world no longer was. Something about you made the earth beneath him feel… different. He couldn’t see your val-tivar—no one could see another Valkyrie’s spirit animal—but he felt something.

A pressure in the air. A deep, quiet strength. A pulsing, distant roar like a heartbeat wrapped in fur.

A bear, he guessed. No other val-tivar carried presence like that.

The commander spoke again, this time addressing you.

“You will be assigned to guide the prince during his first weeks. Your mastery of your val-tivar is unmatched in this cohort. The gods rarely choose without purpose.”

Jason blinked. Assigned to you? Perfect. Truly perfect. First, the gods uproot his life. Now they pair him with someone who could break him in half with a single misstep.

He turned to you fully, trying to mask his nerves beneath a familiar mix of sarcasm and self-defense.

“So… you’re the unfortunate soul stuck training me.” A crooked half-smile tugged at his lips. “Fair warning: I might be a god-chosen Valkyrie now, but I’m still figuring out where to put my feet.”

A flicker of frost danced across his fingers—uncontrolled, too sharp, too bright.

His voice dropped, quieter, honest in a way he rarely let people hear.

“I didn’t expect this. No one did. But I’m here, and I’m going to try. I just…” He exhaled. “…need someone who won’t let me screw up so badly the gods take it back.”

Around you both, the training grounds hummed with magic.

The earth under your boots. The ice curling beneath his skin. The invisible bear pacing behind you. The new, untested cold power in him the gods had forced awake.

Two unlikely warriors. Two paths twisted together by divine hands. And training was about to begin.