Thor: Daughter of Asgard
Synopsis
Hannah Olsen just wanted to be an accountant. She met the girl of her dreams and was more than ready to settle in for an ordinary life. Then she found out she was the reincarnation of Thor. Suddenly, she’s thrown into a world of magic and intrigue, unexpected attraction, and a mystery she’s got to unravel. All she can count on are her friends and her partner, and perhaps her new crush. With their help, she just might be able to find her way in this new life, and maybe stop an evil plot along the way.
Thor: Daughter of Asgard
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Thor: Daughter of Asgard
© 2021 By Genevieve McCluer. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-815-9
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: January 2021
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Barbara Ann Wright
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design by Jeanine Henning
eBook Design by Toni Whitaker
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to Jessica, Danny, Alexandra, and Kassandra for all of your support and help, and to my editor, Barbara. And a special thanks to Alice, without whom I wouldn’t be alive, and who inspired a character.
Prologue: Ragnarok
The day had gone dark. Where the sun had lit the world on her chariot ride through the heavens, in her place lay an empty blackness, darker than any night could ever be. All these years they’d spent waiting for it, fearing it and struggling to prevent it, but the end of days had come at last. Fenrir had eaten the sun. Ragnarok had arrived.
Light sprang up from the ground, casting long shadows over the battlefield, each mote a spark from one weapon striking against another. As the warriors adjusted to the new darkness, the clashing weapons rang out more and more, producing enough sparks to light up the entire realm, blanketed as it was in battle.
In this luminescence, Thor stood dwarfed by the great serpent, Jormungandr, its body coiled around the world, its great strength causing fissures in the Earth beneath Thor’s feet. He resigned himself to his fate and leapt upon the mighty beast. It lunged for him, spinning the world beneath it, its body flying through the air to meet the god. Thor avoided the serpent’s strike and flung his hammer, felling the beast in a single blow.
After only managing to walk nine paces from its still-warm body, before Mjolnir could even return to his hand, Thor fell, never to rise again, killed by the venomous blood of the creature he’d slain.
Chapter One
Hannah slammed her shot glass on the table, letting out a satisfied sigh. It was her twenty-second birthday, and her sorority was celebrating it in style. Since she shared it with April, the president of Beta Kappa Sigma, they always did more lavish parties, but this time, it was quite focused on her. April was staying on and starting grad school, but in just another week, Hannah would graduate and be off in the real world, away from the home they’d shared for the past four years. Even if it was just on the other side of town.
They’d rented out the VIP room of the Ragnarok Club and invited several other houses and a few of the more interesting people from the community. Not the least of which was the man now offering them coke.
“I’m good,” Hannah said, turning to the bartender to order a beer. It was on the sorority house’s card tonight, and she was certainly not going to complain.
“Coming right up,” the woman behind the bar replied, grabbing a glass big enough to tide over even Hannah, at least for a moment.
She had been rather distracted by the festivities until that moment and hadn’t even noticed what the bartender looked like. She was four drinks in and was clearly insane to have missed her. The bartender had long blond hair cascading down her back in a gentle curl and was wearing a short black top that showed off impressively toned abs. “Hi,” Hannah managed, forgetting she was already talking to her.
“Hi.” The bartender grinned, sliding the glass over. “Was there anything else you wanted?”
“No. Sorry. I was just saying hi. Um, I’m Hannah,” she added, a bit louder than she’d intended, as she extended her hand. She could always say that she was trying to be heard over the club’s loud music.
“It’s on the tab,” the bartender shouted back.
“No, I’m trying to shake your hand, to introduce myself.” Gritting her teeth, Hannah decided to snatch her drink and take her losses. She’d been a waitress long enough to know how creepy it was having someone trying to pick her up at work. She could try finding the bartender later? No, that would be even creepier. With a heavy sigh, she drained the drink and felt a good deal better about herself. So what if she didn’t have cute bartenders throwing themselves at her? She had a 3.8 GPA, an internship over the summer that she couldn’t wait to start, and a week left to spend with these crazy bitches before she would never see some of them again. She should focus on the present, on enjoying that time and appreciating how great her life was, not on some bartender with zero interest in her.
Deciding to follow through on her own advice, she joined Megan and April on the dance floor. She could have some fun, get way too drunk, and then she’d still have all day tomorrow to study for her art history final. She had only needed two classes this year to graduate, but she’d been sufficiently curious about art history for it to be worth keeping her full-time status.
After a few songs, Megan shouted something in her ear.
“What?” Hannah asked.
“I need a drink,” she screamed.
Hannah had to rub her ear to stop the ringing, but she nodded, and after an eager thumbs-up from April, they left her with the newest guy to fawn all over her, his hands running through her platinum hair.
Megan ordered two gin and tonics, and Hannah didn’t care enough to argue. It wasn’t her preference, but it was perfectly palatable when the bill was already being covered. As they turned to find a table where they could keep an eye on their friend, a sudden sound drew Hannah’s attention. Someone had called her name.
The bartender waved her over. With a quick glance around, Hannah did as she was told. “Do we owe you?” she asked. Maybe the tab wasn’t quite enough.
“No.” She giggled, showing a smile that Hannah could swear stopped her heart. Though that could have been the drinks and exertion. “I didn’t realize what you were saying until after you left. It’s really loud in here. You said your name was Hannah?” She motioned at the speakers, then back to her ear. “I’m Emily.”
Emily. It suited her somehow. “Nice to meet you.” Beaming, she held her hand out. “Oh, and yeah, I’m Hannah,” she added. It was a miracle she was getting out full sentences.
“This is a gay thing, right? You’re not just being weirdly friendly with a bartender?”
This time, Hannah was the one to giggle. Had she heard that right? She’d never b
een quite so forward, but maybe that was why she’d only been with one other woman and hadn’t had a date in the last year. It was nearly impossible to make people realize she liked them when she looked so femme. “It’s a gay thing,” she said, barely loud enough to hear. What if Emily had said that it was a “hey” thing? Hannah was fairly certain that that wasn’t an expression, but taking the chance was still terrifying.
“Good.” Emily scribbled something on a cocktail napkin and shoved it into Hannah’s hands. “Call me tomorrow.”
“I will.”
“You’d better. I’m not supposed to be hitting on customers.”
Managing to hold it together long enough to nod, Hannah turned around and then, grinning ear to ear, she ran to her and Megan’s table, almost spilling her drink in the process. “Holy shit,” she muttered, taking a sip of the gin and tonic.
“Good, right?”
“Yeah. Best I’ve ever had,” she had to admit. She could barely taste it, but anything would taste like heaven right about then.
“Did she give you her number?”
“What?” Hannah’s eyes went wide, knowing that she must look like the cat that swallowed the canary.
“I saw you run back there. She’s cute. I think you should be with someone with higher goals than being a bartender, but who knows, maybe she’s in school during the day.”
“Yeah, not everyone’s parents can pay for their education,” Hannah replied, sounding more accusatory than she’d meant. Megan had at least slightly softened the jab at Emily, albeit still missing the bigger issue with her assumption. She didn’t need it rubbed in her face.
“I know. I didn’t mean it like that. She’s cute. I’m happy for you. It’s been way too long since you’ve had a date. Just make sure you tell her that if she breaks your heart, I’m breaking her.”
Megan had always been more aggressive, and Hannah believed that she’d follow through. She hated the image, but she appreciated the thought. “Thank you.”
“So what do you know about her?”
“Her name’s Emily, she’s a bartender, and that’s about it. It’s pretty hard to find out much here, and she’s working, so I don’t want to pester her.”
“But I want to know.”
“I do too.”
Setting her glass down, Megan rose from the seat. “Well then, you better tell me everything after you go out. I’m gonna grab another drink. Or would you rather be the one to talk to her?”
“Nope, you can go.” She was trying to steel her nerves for the call the next day and didn’t have it in her to keep talking to Emily the whole night. There were just too many chances to blow it either through sheer awkwardness or even worse, inexperience and ineptitude. No, she was good right where she was, where she could drink in relatively worry-free peace. “Grab me a beer, please.”
A few beers later, while she could’ve gone for a few dozen more, Hannah was desperate to not make a fool of herself in front of Emily, so she gave Megan a tight hug—April had already left—and took a cab home. This was the best birthday she’d ever had. She just hoped the call would match.
Chapter Two
Hannah stared at her phone, the screen taunting her for the last ten minutes. Emily’s name was displayed brightly above her number. All she had to do was push the number and call. Just seeing it, Hannah could already feel her heart in her throat. It had been so long since she’d last been on a date, and she was beyond nervous to try this. What if Emily wasn’t really interested? Or even worse, what if she was interested, but then she realized how boring Hannah really was? It was safer to just not call. At least she knew that she still had it in her, that she could get a number if she really wanted. It didn’t mean that she had to act on it. Besides, she was so busy, and she’d be starting that internship soon. She’d never have time for a relationship. It just didn’t make sense to call.
She tapped the numbers and heard ringing in her ear. She tried to will herself to either toughen up or actually chicken out rather than hyperventilating on the other end of a call.
“Hello?” She recognized the voice from the bar. So there went any chance that it was a fake number.
“Hey. This is Hannah from Ragnarok last night. I mean, you work there, you know where we were. Sorry.”
“Hannah.” Her laugh was sultry, and it melted Hannah in more ways than she’d care to admit. She had always had such a weakness for blondes; maybe this really wasn’t a terrible idea. “I was wondering when you’d call. I realized after you’d left that the party was for a girl named Hannah. I assume that was you?”
Biting her lip, Hannah scooched back in her bed, pressing against the wall. Her anxiety was starting to die down, but she could feel her cheeks burning. “Yeah. It was my birthday.”
“Well, happy birthday, then. I forgot to get you a present.”
“I’m sure you can make it up to me.” Hannah could scarcely believe she’d managed to say that. She pumped her fist in victory. She wasn’t a complete wreck. She could at least figure out how to flirt, even if she was likely coming on a little too strong.
“How about I take you out for dinner tonight? That sound like a good start?”
Hannah’s mouth went dry as butterflies seemed to be having a rave in her stomach. This was so much more terrifying than calling had been. It was an actual date with a really cute girl, one who likely hadn’t been sheltered in college and school all this time since she had an actual job and looked a couple years older. Her mouth opened and shut again, her words seeming to fail her.
“Maybe around seven?” Emily suggested. She was sounding nearly as nervous as Hannah felt.
She had to give an answer. It wasn’t fair not to. How would she have felt in the same situation? She’d have actually died. “Seven sounds perfect. Any chance you could pick me up? I don’t have a car.”
“Sure. Where do you live?”
“Off the park blocks, by PSU, if that helps. I’ll text you the address. It can be really annoying to drive to, from what I’ve heard.” She’d tried giving directions to her parents a few times when they’d come up to visit and had found out driving those streets was much more complicated than walking them.
“I’ll manage.”
“All right. Then I guess I’ll see you in like five hours,” Hannah said, still too scared to breathe.
“It’s a date.”
Was this what heart attacks felt like? Maybe it was a panic attack instead? They hung up, and she somehow managed to send Emily the address, but she wasn’t sure how to handle this. After the disaster her sophomore year, she’d decided that dating could wait until after graduation. That was in a week, but it still wasn’t now, so she was absolutely making a mistake, and there was no way this could go well. She tried to ignore the fact that she’d be equally petrified if she’d waited that extra week.
After an hour of trying to talk herself either out of or into the date—she couldn’t manage to stay on either track for long—she used her remaining hours to get ready. She wanted this to go as perfectly as it could, and she had absolutely nothing to wear.
✥ ✥ ✥
At 6:45, Hannah was waiting outside the sorority house wearing a teal crop top with a blue and black flannel shirt unbuttoned over it and a pair of faded jeans, both of which she’d borrowed from Megan, with sneakers and her bright red hair up in a bun. It was so hard to get used to pants. They just never felt right. She’d tried a few dresses but didn’t think she looked gay enough, and Megan’s argument that she didn’t need to convince Emily she was gay when she was already on a date with her did little to dissuade her of that concern. Earlier, she’d swiped a button-up blouse and slacks from April but managed to spill someone else’s drink on the top, which she took as a sign that she shouldn’t be dressing up anyway. It was a first date, and she didn’t need to be dolling herself up, despite having gone all-out with her makeup to match one of the outfits she’d originally decided to go with.
Emily was early. The black Nissan p
ulled up to the curb, the passenger window rolling down as she leaned across the seats. “Hey there, beautiful. Love the top.”
Hannah would have to steal it from Megan on a more permanent basis. “Hi,” she managed, tugging on the shirt, trying to breathe like a normal, functioning person. It was easier said than done.
“Get on in. I’ve got the perfect place picked out.”
When she climbed in, she was relieved to find that Emily was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her long blond hair cascading freely down her back. Hannah had been worried that it was going to be something fancy and that she’d completely messed things up with her final outfit. “Where are we going?”
“Not one for surprises?” she asked, giving Hannah a playful wink.
“I can wait.” Hannah actually loved surprises. It was the whole dating part that was throwing her. With friends, or even strangers, she was nothing like this, and she was terrified about giving the wrong impression, but she had so little experience in this area that it was tough not to feel nervous. She’d been on one date with a guy in high school and had hated it, and then only a handful with the girl she’d dated when she was nineteen. She decided to look at this as practice. Emily seemed way too cool and confident to end up with her, but this date could give her experience so the next time, she wouldn’t end up sticking her foot in her mouth. At least not quite as much.
“Oh?” Emily smiled, looking surprised. Hannah was a little annoyed to find she was still shorter when they were sitting. “I had expected I’d have to tell you. And look at me, I didn’t even think to bring a blindfold.”
Hannah was one hundred percent certain that her cheeks were quite red. “I can just close my eyes.”
“You don’t have to. Unless you know this whole city like the back of your hand, I doubt you’ve been there before. I hope you don’t mind someplace a little seedy.” She headed toward the highway.
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