“Me neither. It’s been like a century,” I said with a questioning stare.
“Last I heard, my father was there,” he muttered, avoiding eye contact.
I furrowed my brows and went to stand in front of him. “So what if Loki is there? Did Odin strike a nerve or something? We’re going to talk to Freya and no one else. If anyone knows about the valkyries, it’ll be her. If one of us should be nervous, it should be me because the bitch hates me.”
Fen shook his head. “Raven, you don’t know what my father is capable of. They don’t call him the trickster god for no reason.”
I understood his worry. I’d heard the rumors, and I’d seen his father a time or two, and it had never been pleasant. But if I let his fear get to me, we’d never accomplish what we needed to do. And we had to find the other valkyries before Hel paid Midgard a visit.
“We’ll sneak in,” I whispered. “He won’t know we’re even there.” I reached for his hand and gripped it tightly, our fingers interlocking.
We stared at each other intently. Fen’s hand went to caress my face as he leaned in for a kiss; then someone knocked at the door. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed out. Perfect timing.
“I’ll get it,” he said and walked out of the bedroom.
I rubbed my hands up and down my face. I was flushed all over, and I needed to calm down. Not everything was solved with sex. And like the addict I was, I traded drugs and alcohol for him. I had to stop.
The harsh tones coming from the living room cut into my thoughts, and I hurried out to see who had interrupted us. A man and a woman in suits were at the door, flashing their Portland police badges at Fen. My bare feet slapped the tile floor, and Fen turned around to look at me, worry clear on his face.
“Are you Raven Romero?” the woman asked, giving me a once-over. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her tan skin glowed as she stared me down with those brown eyes.
I shrugged. “Who wants to know?”
“Portland police,” the man said. “We’re here to ask you some questions in regards to the disappearance of Detective William Callahan and Charlotte O’Malley.”
I instantly paled.
“You’re an associate of theirs,” the woman said. “We’re told you were the one last seen with them before their disappearance.”
Of course, there was a human investigation. They had family and friends, people that would miss them if they were gone for months with no word. This was déjà vu all over again, and with my history, I was going to be suspect number one.
“She doesn’t have to answer any of your questions,” Fen said as he went to shut the door.
The man stuck his foot out and stopped it. His green eyes narrowed, and he looked whip smart and a little too suspicious for my liking. He reminded me of Will—overly curious. “It’s in her best interest to answer our questions. This is a high-profile case and at the top of the list since one of our own is missing. The department is going to stop at nothing to find him.”
My nostrils flared, and my fists tightened. “So what you’re saying is that if Will weren’t missing, you wouldn’t give a shit about Charlie?” I fumed.
The man quirked a brow and smirked. “That’s precisely what I’m saying.”
“You piece of—” I charged forward, but Fen caught me around the waist and covered my mouth with his hand.
The detective laughed. “Don’t leave town, Ms. Romero.” He tossed his business card at us, and he and his partner left.
Once they were gone, Fen let me go and picked up the card. It read Detective Carlos Jimenez. I wanted to throttle him.
“Easy there.” Fen closed the front door and pushed me to the kitchen. “Don’t let him get to you. He was just pushing buttons, and you let him.”
“Can you believe what he said though? That’s just … just … Humans are just so … so … ugh!” I stuttered and slammed my palms on the kitchen counter.
Fen tsked. “I’ve told you from the beginning how humans are, but you didn’t want to believe me.”
“Oh, shut it.”
As long as I’d known Fenrir, all he’d ever said was how humans weren’t worth our time. Funny how he was helping me save them now. His sister wanted to bring upon the destruction of all the nine realms and start them anew, beginning with Midgard. All because Odin sentenced her to an eternity in the underworld and this was her revenge. So much for that since Fen tricked me into freeing her. But that was here nor there. We were on the same side now that he knew how crazy his sister really was—at least I hoped we were. Hel wanted to destroy all that Odin loved. If only she knew how much he didn’t give a shit.
“What now? You can’t leave town,” Fen said as he made some tea. It was our sublimation for alcohol. I hated it. It tasted like fruity urine.
I snorted. “You think I’m going to let Thing 1 and Thing 2 tell me what I can and can’t do?” I rolled my eyes and went for a bottle of water instead of the teapot. “We’re going to Asgard. And technically, we’re not leaving town.” I grinned. “Just the realm.”
2
As we entered the shop, the distinct smell of marijuana hit and I immediately felt Fen tense beside me. Traveling through Yggdrasil was out of the question, so we had to find a back entrance to Asgard, which brought us to the local smoke shop we were in.
A counter wrapped around the store—a glass case showing what was for sale, containing everything from vapes to hookahs and so much more. Behind the counter, on the wall, was the shop’s name—the Smoke Screen—with a green marijuana leaf in the middle. I went to the center counter and rang the bell. It dinged loudly, and we waited.
After a few seconds, a young guy in his late twenties with floppy surfer hair that fell above his eyelashes walked out from behind the curtain that led to the back room, and he smiled at me through glassy, slit eyes.
“Hey.” He pointed at me. “I know you. You’re Charlie’s friend. The valkyrie.”
“Yeah.” I waved at him and looked around. “We met a while back. I was hoping you could do me another favor.” He was our local traveler, which meant he could travel through realms without Yggdrasil or Limbo. Last time I was here, I was asking for the location of the Norns.
“Totally.” He nodded, and his hair swayed. “Any friend of Charlie’s is a friend of mine.”
The smell of weed was really starting to get to me, and my mouth felt parched. I wasn’t much of a smoker, more of a pill popper, but at this point I was just an addict. I would take anything to get high.
I shook my head to shake out the fog. “We need to get to Asgard, but not through the front door. We need a back entrance.”
“Whoa.” He raised his hands up. “I don’t know.”
Fen came up beside me. “Look, no shady business. I’m just avoiding my father. He can’t know I’m there.”
The pothead traveler looked between the two of us, uncertainty clear in his face. “Where are you trying to go?”
“The palace,” I told the truth. That was where Freya would be, I was sure of it.
The traveler whistled. “You might as well go through the front gate through the rainbow bridge. It’s closer.”
“We can’t.” I shook my head. “Please.”
“There’s only one other place I can travel to, and it’s a pub in town. It’s far from the palace,” the traveler said. “Once I take you there, you’re on your own.”
“We’ll be fine.” It was Fen who said it, and I was shocked to see how sure he was. He’d been nervous about going and potentially running into his father. I wondered what that was all about, but I didn’t want to pry. If he wanted to tell me, he would.
“All right then,” the traveler lifted the countertop and waved us over to the back of the store.
Fen and I walked past the curtain and into the dim room in the back. The traveler skirted past us and led the way into another room down the hall. Fen reached for my hand, and we held on to each other as we followed him.
He stopped at a
brightly lit room that was empty except for a single door. It was red with a polished gold doorknob.
“What is this?” I asked as we walked inside, surveying the white walls and the red door.
“I’m the gatekeeper of the door. This is how I travel,” he said. “It takes me anywhere I want to go.”
The traveler grabbed the golden doorknob and twisted it. When he opened the door, a blinding light shone out, and we let go of each other to cover our eyes.
“Come on,” the traveler said. “We don’t have all day.” He stretched out a hand, and it was all I could see against the light. I put my hand in his and, with my other, reached for Fen. And just like that, we were dragged through the door and into the warm light.
A cacophony of noises surrounded us as we fell to the ground. On my hands and knees, the roughness of wooden planks scraped at my skin, and I winced from a splinter that poked at my palm.
“Are you okay?” Fen was instantly at my side.
I brushed him away. “Relax, I’m not a porcelain doll.”
Ever since I’d sobered up, Fen had been a little overbearing. I could get a papercut and the man was ready to give me a blood transfusion. He was worried I’d break at any moment. I just wished he’d have a little faith in me. I was struggling, yes. Being in the smoke shop was hard, causing me to sweat profusely. I craved alcohol like a fish needed water to survive. But I was fighting it every single day.
“All right, good people, this is where I leave you,” the traveler said from behind us. We were still on the ground while he stood by the door with it propped open with his foot. He grabbed a pair of black cloaks that hung on a rack nearby and threw them at us. “You might want to use these if you’re trying to stay low-key.”
I caught the soft material, the hood slapping me in the face. I brushed it away just as the traveler stepped through the door and disappeared.
“Bloody hell,” Fen murmured as he stood and held out a hand for me. I took it and got up.
We looked around the room and found ourselves in the storage room of a pub, surrounded by none other than cases of mead. I gulped.
“Fen.” I licked my suddenly dry lips.
“Let’s get out of here.” His eyes drilled into me as he wrapped one of the cloaks around me and tied the string at my neck, bringing the hood over my head. He did the same to his.
We hurried out of the storage room, and shouts and cheers from the pub grew louder the closer we got. Down a hallway and straight into the pub, we came to a halt at a full room of Asgardians celebrating something. It was packed, and there was no way we’d get through the pub without one of us getting lost in the shuffle.
My heart raced, and it wasn’t just the fear of being caught that spiked my adrenaline. It was being near so much damn alcohol that was making my hands shake.
“We need to split up,” Fen said as he faced me. “I recognize this pub. This is Ulfrik’s bar, which means there’s an alley just across the way. We’ll meet there.”
I nodded because I didn’t trust my voice at the moment. It was too dry, and I just needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
In a hurry, Fen disappeared into the crowd, and I was left standing by the bar. It would be so easy right now to just order a drink. I didn’t have any Asgardian money, but it had never stopped me before. No. I had to stay focused.
I adjusted the hood on my head and went into the fray. The pub was so crowded, I was bumped and jostled by many tall and broad-shouldered men. By their uniforms, they were soldiers. Their muscles bulged out of their armor, and their long hair—worn like most Asgard men—was still wet with sweat. They must have just recently come from battle. But against who?
“And where do you think you’re going?” one of them said with their thick accent and grabbed me by the arm. “Come to have fun with the men?” He was blond and blue eyed, a total catch for most of the women here in Asgard. To marry a soldier meant you were set for life, but I was no regular woman.
“I suggest you let go of my arm,” I said in a low and menacing voice. I didn’t want to cause a scene.
He let out a hearty laugh, his chest rumbling, and I could feel the vibrations through his arm and hand. “Well, aren’t you a big girl. Do you have a name?”
Those blue eyes glittered with delight, and I wanted to squash it.
I was about to speak when I realized I didn’t have an accent. I blinked a couple of times to keep my eyes from widening and stared at the soldier. Because of my time in Midgard, I started to speak like them, and it would be a dead giveaway. I had to blend in.
“My name is of no business to you,” my accent was clear as if it had never left. I shocked myself.
“You’re feisty.” He grinned and pulled me closer to him. “I like that. Join me for a drink … or two.”
I wrenched my arm out of his grip and scoffed. “No.” I stepped to walk around him, but he stood and sidestepped me.
“And why not? Have I offended you?”
“I’ll drink you under the table. You can’t handle me. Now move.” I poked his bare chest and pushed with strength he wasn’t expecting. When he stumbled back, I took that opportunity to go around him and blend with the crowd.
Unlike the bars in Midgard, there was no door or anything; it was all an open space to the streets of town. I saw the wooden pillars of the front of the pub, and once I reached them, I was on the cobble road and out of the bar. I could finally breath without the lingering smell of mead.
I looked up and down the street where people were milling about, but no one paid me any mind as I crossed the road and went straight to the alleyway. It was dark except for a single light all the way at the end. I kept my guard up in case anyone else but Fen were here as I walked through the darkness until the end. Off to the side by the light there was movement, and that’s when I saw Fen’s cloaked figure.
“What took you so long? I was about to go in looking for you,” he said with clear worry on his face.
“Did you not see that place?” I raised a brow. “It’s packed with soldiers, and I’m a woman. One of the soldiers stopped me.”
“Fucking hell.” Fen squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips into a thin line. “We shouldn’t have split up.”
“Relax. I can handle myself. And you know we would have attracted way too much attention had we gone through that mob together. We would have separated either way. It was too crowded.”
He wrapped a hand behind my neck and pulled me toward him. Our foreheads fell against each other, and he took in a deep breath. “We have to be careful,” he said with a sigh.
“Fen, what is with you? I know you’re a wolf and all, but you’re being overly protective. I’m a valkyrie, a warrior; I don’t need saving all the time,” I reminded him.
He shook his head against mine. “That’s not what I’m doing. I—”
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” someone said behind me, and Fen and I pulled apart quickly.
I saw the shining of armor, but I couldn’t see their face. When he stepped closer and the light caught his profile, I realized it was the blond soldier from the pub. He stood there, legs spread out and thick arms crossed over his chest. He’d followed me.
“It’s rude to follow a lady,” I said, continuing the accent. “It’s called stalking.”
The soldier walked closer, and Fen grabbed me, pulling me behind him. I rolled my eyes; we’d just been talking about this. The man’s face was clearer now, and Fen’s body stilled then relaxed as he pulled his hood off his head.
“For fuck’s sake, Bram, is that you?” Fen asked as he walked closer to the mystery guy.
“Fenrir?” the soldier asked as his arms fell to his sides and he squinted his eyes to get a better look. “Bloody hell, where have you been?” Bram walked forward and pulled Fen into a tight hug.
“Well, this isn’t awkward,” I mumbled, looking anywhere but the bromance before my eyes.
“I’ve been around,” Fen said with a huge smile as they patted
each other on the arms. “Been doing some traveling.”
Bram smiled wide. “I heard. Asgard has been abuzz since you released Hel.”
My eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. “You know about that?” I asked, cutting into their moment.
They both turned to me as if just remembering I was there.
“Of course. We’ve been at war ever since,” Bram said.
Fen stiffened. “What do you mean? With whom?”
“Your sister, of course.” Bram tilted his head in confusion. “I’d assumed that’s why you’re here. We heard you stayed in Midgard to help protect it.” Both of us were clearly shocked by the news. “I see the information was wrong.” Bram’s face turned grave, and his hand went for the hilt of his sword on his waist. He was now thinking we were working with Hel.
“No!” Fen quickly interjected. “You’re right, I stayed behind to help Midgard. I’m just surprised that you know. How are you being informed?”
Bram visibly relaxed. “I believe your father has something to do with that.”
Fen sighed. “Of course he does.”
There was a comfortable silence before Bram’s blue eyes trailed to me. “And who might this be?” He stepped closer to me, and I scowled.
“Right, how rude of me. This is Hrefna. Hrefna, this is a very good friend of mine, Bram.” I hated that he had to use my birth name. It brought back too many bad memories. But I couldn’t go by Raven. It’d be a dead giveaway we were from Midgard.
Bram took my hand and kissed the back of it. “A pleasure.” He grinned wickedly.
I snatched my hand back, still scowling. First impressions mattered, and I wasn’t impressed with his. “I’d say the same, but I’m not one to lie.”
Fen chuckled. “I’m assuming you’ve both met already.”
I nodded. “He was the soldier that stopped me. Hence, why I was followed.”
“My apologies.” Bram smiled. “I’ve had much to drink tonight, and when I saw a beauty such as yourself, I just couldn’t help myself.” He placed his hands on his heart.
The Last Valkyrie Series Complete Boxed Set Page 37
