“You look amazing,” he whispered huskily, his eyes on my mouth.
I covered his hand. It was killing me not to kiss him, and he wasn’t helping. Faking indifference, which was hard because his delectable lips were only a few inches away, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and lifted my chin. His hand moved to my nape.
I put my phone to my ear so anyone who saw me wouldn’t think I was talking to the wall. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Checking on things. Would you like a kiss, Cora-mio?”
I forgave him. When he called me his Cora, he could get away with anything. “Yes.”
He chuckled, lifted my chin and took his time. The kiss was sweet and way too brief. I fisted my hands to stop myself from reaching up and grabbing his face. I growled in frustration.
“Nod or shake your head,” he whispered against my lips. “Did everything go smoothly this morning?”
I nodded.
“Good. I’m not staying, just doing rounds.” He caressed my cheek. “Maliina is not here, but I’ll check again. Want to have lunch with me?”
“Yes!” I said. Then, remembering I was supposed to nod, I glanced around. Thankfully, no one in class seemed to be paying attention to me.
“I’ll be outside the school.” This time the kiss was deeper, lingering. Then he swaggered out of the class. Nice walk. Nice ass. All mine. It was unfair for a guy to look that good so early in the morning. On the other hand, I had seen him with nothing on earlier.
I couldn’t wait for lunchtime, but the morning dragged. Worse, Echo wasn’t outside when the bell rang. Andris, Ingrid, Raine, and Torin were.
“Where’s Echo?” I asked.
“At the mansion,” Torin said. “He went to get lunch.”
Lunch turned out to be quite festive. The guys were entertaining as they argued about the number of souls they’d poached from each other. I had no idea souls could be stolen. Whatever problem the Valkyries had with Echo, and vice versa, didn’t seem important anymore. Or maybe they’d put it aside to protect me. Lavania peeked inside the kitchen, smiled, and disappeared again.
Later that evening, Andris and Raine watched me swim, but she drove me home. We grabbed snacks and disappeared in my bedroom to do homework. When we were done, we started on the mail for relatives of the souls I’d communicated with.
“Did you know there are runes that can stop you from seeing souls?” I asked.
Raine, lying on my bed, cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Lavania never mentioned them.”
“Blaine told me most Immortals use them.”
“Use what?” Echo asked, entering the room.
“Runes that stop them from seeing souls,” I said.
“Where did you come from?” Raine asked.
“Florida.” Echo walked to where I sat on the chair and lifted my chin. “Why are you discussing soul-block runes with him?”
His display of jealousy was sweet and unnecessary. “There was a soul in the trees when he was here and Blaine mentioned the runes. He said most Immortals use them to stop seeing souls. Of course, he thought I was an Immortal at the time. Anyway, I told him I wasn’t interested.” I waited for Echo to respond, but all he did was frown.
“And they probably wouldn’t work on me anyway,” I added.
I didn’t know if Echo believed me. He lifted me, took my seat, and put me on his lap. Without speaking, he ran the tip of his fingers up and down my bare arm. I shivered. From the slow smile that curled his sculptured lips, he liked my reaction.
“You’d tell me if you wanted out, wouldn’t you, doll-face?” he asked.
I nodded. “But I don’t.”
He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Good, because if Blaine or anyone else ever marks you, I’d kill them.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“Uh, I think he means it,” Raine said. She’d been so quiet I had forgotten her presence.
I leaned back and studied Echo’s face. He looked the way he always did. Sexy. Eyes twinkling. I pushed the hair from his forehead. “She’s kidding, right? I mean, you wouldn’t.”
He smiled. “I would. You see, if anyone is going to mark you, it’s going to be me.”
Yikes. If he knew Torin had after my hand got hurt, would he go after him? “Okay.”
“Good. So what are you girls up to?”
“We were finishing these,” Raine waved the letters. “So why Florida?”
“I own a place there.” He lifted my hair and burrowed into my neck.
Raine sat up. “Can I see it?”
“Go ahead.” He waved toward the mirror.
Still trying to wrap my head around what Echo had said, I shifted to selective listening mode. If he wouldn’t allow anyone to turn me and he’d already made his position obvious, didn’t that mean I’d never be Immortal?
***
“Can I snap his scrawny neck?” Andris asked Friday morning when Blaine dropped me off at their house. We were discussing Drew who was becoming more obsessed with me as the days crawled by without Maliina. To him, I had ditched him after sleeping with him for several nights. I kind of felt sorry for him.
“Are you forgetting something, Valkyrie?” Blaine snapped.
“I’m sure you will enlighten me, Champion-of-all-Mortals,” Andris said while waving rooter pom. We had pep rally day, and we all wore something crimson or gold.
Blaine’s eyes narrowed. “He’s innocent in all this. He and Cora are victims here.”
“Have you always been this melodramatic?” Andris asked. “So not attractive.”
“Screw you, Andris,” Blaine snapped.
Andris laughed. “Sorry, you’re not my type. Although I could be persuaded if you begged.”
Blaine looked ready to punch him. I took his arm and pulled him away, wishing Torin and Echo were around. They were pushing themselves, trying to find Maliina. Andris only ever behaved when those two were around, and Blaine still hadn’t forgiven them for Casey’s death. He’d become testy the last few days. Actually, everyone had become grumpy since Maliina went underground.
“Stop messing with him, Andris,” Ingrid scolded, and then she glanced at us. “Don’t worry, guys. He’s just talking. Torin would go ballistic if anything happened to Drew.” She looped an arm through Andris’. “Come on.” They continued toward the SUV.
Blaine and I followed slowly.
“How can you stand them?” he asked. “They are arrogant, rude, and act like they are invincible.”
“They are invincible. You are invincible, too. You are just… nicer. But since you’re going to live with them, you need to know a few things. Ingrid is sweet and will always be neutral.”
Blaine snickered. “She always takes Andris’ side.”
“But stops him from being a jackass. Torin’s word is the law. When he says no, Andris might complain and bitch about it, but he’ll listen.”
“Except when it involves some girl or guy he’s sleeping with. Do you know he’s now dating a local college girl?”
I didn’t bother to keep up with who Andris slept with since Raine told me he was bisexual and changed preferences on a whim.
“I didn’t know that, but he says and does things to get a reaction. Don’t let him get to you. Ignoring him doesn’t work either, so give him as good as you get.” I patted his arm. “See you at school.”
“And tonight, I’m moving out of Drew’s after school.” He sounded relieved.
I waved as he took off. The drive to school had followed the same routine since we’d discovered Maliina was sleeping with Drew. My parents were now convinced I was dating Blaine since he picked me up and dropped me off in the evenings. Torin and Echo were busy searching the entire valley, Hel, and places they’d refused to disclose every morning and evening. With her Norn runic powers, she could be anyone, and we wouldn’t know it. Raine, with her ability to feel and hear the Norns, hadn’t had any luck feeling her either.
The school was abuzz with pep rally activities
. The rooter pom-poms had gone on sale a week ago and most students carried theirs as we streamed into the school building.
“See you guys,” Ingrid said and went to join the cheerleaders.
Almost everyone wore school colors—crimson, black, and gold. A recording of our school fight song blasted from the speakers. Banners, flyers, balloons, and streamers decorated the halls and the lockers of football players. Cheerleaders and our dancers performed in the hall as students arrived. Others sold leftover pom-poms and gave out water bottles with coins for noise.
Cheerleaders separated Torin from our group, putting beads around his neck. The players were being treated like royalty, which they justly deserved. If they won the game tomorrow, they’d make history.
“The pep rally will start during the last two periods of school,” the principal announced between songs. Despite my problems, I was caught in the moment.
As per every pep rally day, the classes were shorter and cheers and contests were held between classes. All the teachers were dressed in wacky costumes. An invisible Andris followed me from class to class and sat in the back with a stack of comic books as he’d done the last three days. He’d stopped grumbling about babysitting me.
Just before lunch, Raine walked into my history class and handed the teacher a note. She didn’t look too good. I was out of my chair with Andris close behind before the teacher finished saying, “Cora Jemison, report to the front office.”
“What is it?” I asked as soon as we moved away from the door.
“We have a problem,” Raine said without slowing down.
“What?” Andris and I asked at the same time.
“We’re going to the mansion.” She pushed open the door to the girls’ bathroom, and we followed her inside. There was already a portal, and through it, we could see the foyer of the mansion.
“We have a visitor,” she whispered, leading the way.
“Maliina?” I asked, hurrying after her. I was now used to treating portals as doorways.
“No.” Before she could explain, I was staring at the back of familiar Chex Mix hair.
“Eirik?”
He whipped around and grinned. “Surprise!”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, staring.
He wasn’t alone. A guy a few inches shorter than him with copper hair stood to his right. They both wore a uniform of some kind—long-sleeved black shirts, matching pants, and knee-length boots. Weapon belts hung low around their waists.
Torin stood a few feet to their left with his back to the wall. He didn’t look happy. My senses picked up on Echo’s presence. Where was he? I glanced around and tried to find him.
“You can’t be here,” I said, walking towards him. “Didn’t they tell you the danger you’re in?”
Eirik laughed. “I came all this way to see you and you meet me with a lecture. I’ve missed you.” He swept me into a hug, lifted me off the ground, and turned around. When he stopped, he looked into my eyes. “I thought I was too late.”
“For what?” I still couldn’t see Echo.
“This.” His head swooped down and he crushed my lips with his.
For a brief moment, I was too shocked to react. Just when I reached up to push him away, a roar filled the foyer. Echo. I saw a blur from the corner of my eyes. Then Eirik was yanked from me.
19. Bad to Worse
The force of the attack sent Eirik flying across the room. He hit the wall, the thud reverberating around the room, a dent appearing on the wall. Echo was on him before he hit the ground, grabbing him by the collar.
“You touch her again and you are a dead man,” he growled, arm raised.
Eirik hit Echo in the solar plexus. The force would have snapped crashed Echo’s ribcage. Since Echo still held Eirik by his collar, the two rolled on the floor. Torin went to the rescue. He grabbed Echo, while the copper-haired man grabbed Eirik, his dagger drawn.
“Who in Hel’s Mist is he?” Eirik yelled, trying to break free from his friend’s grip.
“Your executioner if you so much as look in her direction,” Echo snarled.
“Stop it!” I yelled, but my words were drowned by another.
“ENOUGH!”
We all looked at the top of the stairs, where Lavania stood, looking regal in an ankle-length white dress. “Echo, I told you to stay out of the way until Cora talked to Eirik.”
“And I don’t recall agreeing,” Echo snapped, pushing Torin away. “He kissed her. I ought to haul his ass to Hel for that alone.”
“What’s stopping you?” Lavania asked, moving down the stairs.
He glanced at me, his eyes narrowing. I saw the answer in his eyes. He would do it if Eirik touched me again. Sighing, I crossed the foyer and looked him straight in the eyes. “Eirik and I need to talk.”
Echo stiffened, and his eyes shifted to Eirik. “No. I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
I glanced at Eirik and wondered what was going on in his head. He’d have to be an idiot not to realize that Echo’s behavior was that of a lover. First Raine ditched him for Torin, and now I was following in her footstep, ditching him for Echo. My news was going to hurt him, but first things first.
I took Echo’s hand and sandwiched it with mine. “Look at me. Please?”
He did.
“Trust me.”
“I do.” He glared at Eirik. “It’s him I don’t trust.”
“Who is he?” I heard Eirik ask angrily, and I knew we needed to talk before he lost it. Raine had told me what happened to people whenever Eirik went ballistic. The others were safe, but I wasn’t sure about me.
“Then trust me to do the right thing,” I said softly to Echo and turned.
He caught my wrist, and I was sure he was going to pull me into his arms and show Eirik who he was—my boyfriend, but something in my eyes must have convinced him to behave because he smiled.
“Okay, doll-face. Have your talk. I’ll be out here when you are done.” His voice rose during the last sentence, and I knew he was warning Eirik. He let go of me, crossed his arms, and fixed his narrowed eyes on Eirik.
Eirik still wore a puzzled expression. The others all looked tense. The faster I sorted this out, the sooner he could leave. He shouldn’t be here. “Let’s talk in the kitchen.”
“Living room is closer,” Echo suggested, steel in his words.
Yeah, right, He was only suggesting it because it didn’t have a door and he would hear us. “No. We’re going to the kitchen. Eirik.”
I left without checking to see whether he was following me. The dining room opened into the foyer and the kitchen was on its other side. I used that entrance instead of the one that led to the hallway and the pool.
I was reaching for bottled water in the fridge when Eirik appeared.
“Do you want something to drink?” I asked while I rearranged my thoughts.
“No.” Eirik leaned against the counter and crossed his arm. “Who was that guy?”
I took my time twisting the lid and sipping water while studying him. He looked different. More mature. His hair was shorter than I recalled, his features more chiseled. The things Raine had told me about him zipped through my head. He had gone through so much crap, and it showed. Eirik wasn’t the fresh-faced innocent boy I’d known months ago. He’d changed.
“His name is Echo,” I said.
The way his eyes widened, I knew he’d heard of him.
I swallowed, hating what I had to say next. Part of me wanted to delay the inevitable, but another part knew I had to do it now. “Echo is my boyfriend.”
A spasm crossed Eirik’s face, eyes sharpening as emotions churned in their depth. For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just stared at me, his hand clenching and unclenching.
He shook his head. “No, he can’t be. He’s a Grimnir. I know because I saw him in your room weeks ago and knew I had to rescue you. If my grandparents hadn’t delayed me—”
“You saw me?”
“I used my grandfather’s chair,
but that’s beside the point. I missed you, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He moved closer. “I’d meant to tell you everything about me, who I was and why I’d left, and the most important of all, how I feel about you, Cora.” He reached up and touched my cheek, a sad smile tugging his lips. “How I’ve always felt about you.”
Oh, God. This was bad. “Eirik—”
“I’m not saying you were supposed to wait for me, Cora. I’m not even angry about the Grimnir. You are beautiful and always dated other guys, but that never stopped me from wanting you. I told my grandfather I would bring you to Asgard. That you’re the one I’ve chosen.”
This was beyond bad. “Eirik—”
“Let me finish. My grandmother was convinced that I’d never go back to Asgard if I left. I told them if they made me stay and didn’t let me get you, I’d leave for good. We don’t need to live with them. I can make you Immortal with Lavania’s help, and we can finish high school and do whatever we—”
“No.” I interrupted him this time. “I can’t be with you, Eirik. I’m so sorry.” Our friendship was important, but Echo was my life. I couldn’t live without with him. “I love him.”
Eirik blinked, disbelief in his amber eyes. “You can’t love him.”
The way he disregarded my feelings annoyed me. I put the bottle down, feeling better that I was telling him the truth now. “I do love him. I didn’t mean to, but it happened. If I could spare you—”
“Don’t.” He moved away from me, yet I felt his pain. “I’m an idiot.”
“Don’t say that.”
“First I thought I had a chance with Raine, but then Torin happened and I ceased to matter. Then I thought I had a chance with you. I believed Raine when she told me you had feelings for me. I believed we had a chance.” He sounded so defeated tears rushed to my eyes.
“I did have feelings for you. I still do, but it’s different with Echo.” The counter separated us now.
“Just like it was different with Torin.” A sarcastic laugh escaped him. “I guess I’m truly my mother’s son.”
Runes #03 - Grimnirs Page 30
