by S. T. Bende
It was particularly better for Mia’s birthday cake.
“Anything we can do?” Tyr asked.
“Somebody want to flour the pan?” Henrik glanced over his shoulder. Tyr and I stared blankly. “Wipe the cake pan with butter,” Henrik explained slowly, as if he were talking to a pair of preschoolers, “then dust it lightly with flour. You two master chefs think you can pull that off?”
It took an enormous deal of self-control to not roll my eyes as I picked up the butter. “Sometimes you can be a real know-it-all, Henrik Andersson.”
“Ah, you love me, Brynnie.” Henrik shot me a wink and turned off the mixer. My overworked heart clattered violently against my ribcage. Bounce, bounce, bounce. Henrik pulled the bowl from the stand and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s my pan?”
Oh. Right. Tyr grabbed the butter out of my hands and rubbed a generous amount into each of the cake pans. I snatched a handful of flour and sprinkled it over the tops. “How’d we do?”
“Perfekt.” Henrik gave his easy smile as he divided the batter between the pans. He placed them in the oven and checked the temperature controls. “Now we wait. If we put them into the fridge when they’re done, they should be cool enough to decorate about an hour after Mia gets home.”
“Not soon enough.” Tyr frowned. “I wanted to give it to her when she walked in the door.”
“We’ll do our best.” Henrik patted Tyr’s arm. “But a cake needs to cool completely before you layer it, or decorate it. So it’ll probably be good to go by—”
“It’s her birthday.” Tyr glared.
“Then you should have asked for my help sooner.” Henrik shrugged. “Now if you two can stay out of trouble for the next hour or so, I’ve got a stabilizer I need to reattach to some grounding cords.
“What are you working on now?” I followed Henrik out of the kitchen.
“There’s been some weird activity in the portal behind Elsa’s cottage.”
“Oh my gods, why didn’t you say anything?” I skidded to a stop. “The one Fenrir got in through?”
“One and the same.” Henrik kept walking, so I forced my feet to move.
“Why aren’t we out there right now making sure nothing gets through?”
“Because I only just noticed it this afternoon. Don’t worry, I’m already on it. I’ve got a halter lock in place, but I’m working on a little something extra to make sure the portal’s dog proof. Not that Fenrir could come back or anything; a certain shiny pink ribbon and a little thing called the prison chamber have him on lockdown. This will just be a little bonus security—an early Christmas present for our prince of preparedness.” Henrik cocked his finger toward the kitchen.
“Much as I love to make fun of Tyr, this isn’t a good time, Henrik.” I grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. His biceps were hard against my palm. “Wh-wha…” I stamped my foot and forced myself to focus. “What are we going to do if Hymir or one of his minions get through? We all know he’s madder than a wet fire giant that we captured Fenrir. And with that vindictive streak, Odin only knows what he’s plotting as his revenge.” I tightened my grip around Henrik’s muscles. “And what about Loki? He’s been awfully quiet lately. Hasn’t delivered any of us to the jotuns or stolen a treasure in a really long time. Isn’t it about time he had an episode?”
“That’s the thing.” Henrik scratched his chin, where a smattering of stubble testified to his long hours in his upstairs lab—a technological paradise I called the man cave. “Loki hasn’t created a disturbance in… it’s been a few decades now. It’s possible everything’s hunky-dory with him.”
“Mia’s little sayings rubbing off on you, too?” I snickered.
“They are catchy.” Henrik paused at the bottom of the stairs with a chuckle. The noise resonated along the hallway, and the space filled with his easy laughter. My lips curved up at the contagious sound. “Point is, whatever he’s up to, if it’s anything at all, he’s not showing his hand. And Hymir’s been quiet since Fenrir’s capture. If he’s got anything to do with the disturbance around the Arcata portal, he’s doing it behind the scenes. We just have to make sure whoever’s working for him doesn’t develop better tech than we do.”
“Nobody develops better tech than we do. We’re the perfekt team.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized how they sounded. Henrik’s mercifully dense Y-chromosome kept him from picking up on my double meaning. “I mean, our technology’s perfekt—always way ahead of the game. ’Cause we’re so smart. Um, yeah. Listen, if you need anything, I have some of that titanium alloy left over from the robotics backup we started in case Fred didn’t perform to specs. If we combined it with some of the älva dust we’ve got left over, we might be able to develop an auto-return glitch to attach to the portal.”
“We’re out of älva dust; used the last of it on Fred,” Henrik reminded me.
“Oh. Right.”
“We’ll figure something out, sötnos. I’ll give a holler if I get stuck. You might not be able to bake, but you’re one Helheim of an engineering mastermind.” Henrik pinched the tip of my braid, and my breath caught. I was having a really hard time controlling myself today. Muspelheim must be in retrograde. Stay calm, Brynn. He’s just a guy…
Liar. Henrik Andersson had never been just a guy to me. And he probably never would be. I’d been head over heels for the boy next door since he defended my honor in the kindergarten playground roughly six hundred years ago, and my feelings hadn’t changed in… ever. But it didn’t matter. Asgard had survived for millennia thanks to an unchallenged system of rules and structure. Henrik was a seasoned warrior, and I was a junior valkyrie. And our sole priority, for as long as Odin commanded it, was to protect Asgard’s first line of defense—the God of War. And on his order, we were to protect Tyr’s girlfriend, Mia. Personal feelings, and even more so a relationship, would be an enormous liability, notwithstanding the fact that Valkyrie code stipulated I wasn’t allowed to date until I made captain rank. Besides, my seat in Henrik’s life was planted firmly in the friend zone. I was his colleague, his little brother’s classmate, and while we were stationed in Arcata, his occasional flat mate. That was as far as our relationship could go.
It didn’t stop the uninvited battalion of butterflies springing to attention every time he looked at me. I might have been an immortal battle goddess, but I was still a girl.
Henrik let go of my hair, and turned around with a small smile. He jogged up to the second floor. The muscles of his backside flexed as he ran, and I permitted myself a solitary inward sigh as I watched pure denim-clad perfection ascend the staircase. When I tore my eyes away from the spot where Henrik had disappeared, I noticed the six-foot, six-inch deity smirking in the kitchen doorway.
“Shut up, Tyr.” I grabbed my keys off the key hook Mia had installed in the entry, and ripped the front door open. “If anyone needs me, I’m going to the gym.”
“You forgot your yoga mat.” Tyr chuckled from inside.
“You know I don’t do yoga.” I glared at my insufferable friend. “There’s a kickboxing class in ten minutes, and my gym bag’s in the car. And I need some space from this.” I waved my hands in front of me, outlining Tyr’s irritating form.
“Don’t be late for Mia’s birthday dinner,” Tyr warned.
My glare softened. “I wouldn’t miss it. She’s my friend, too, remember?”
“She’s special to all of us,” Henrik called as he ran down the stairs and out to the garage. He returned seconds later with a small transistor. “Forgot this.” Before we could comment, he’d blurred up the stairs in a display of Asgardian speed.
Tyr nodded to the door. “Have a good workout then.” He glanced up the stairs with a half-smile. “I’d imagine you have a lot of frustration to work off.”
“Shut up!” My glare returned in full force, and I slammed the front door behind me. He might have been my charge, and one of my oldest friends, but if Tyr Fredriksen made one more innuendo about my feelings for Henrik
, I might have to kill the jotun-face.
****
“Happy birthday dear Mia, happy birthday to you!”
Tyr’s adorable mortal girlfriend grinned, her blush spreading to the roots of her chocolate brown hair. She tucked one loose lock behind her ear and leaned over the coffee table to blow out eighteen symmetrically placed birthday candles. Tyr was as predictable as he was bossy; and he conducted his life with the control typical of most warriors, from his impeccable housekeeping habits to his perfectly organized garage. I, on the other hand, could barely wrangle my nightmare hair into submission, never mind keeping my room clean.
“What did you wish for? More time with your favorite roommates?” Henrik slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me back onto the couch. Benefit number one of the friend zone: Henrik didn’t think twice about physical contact. I honestly believed he forgot I was a girl.
So long as he kept on touching me, I was totally okay with that.
“Watch it, Henrik,” Heather warned. “If you guys didn’t have Captain Beefcake all up in here, you know Mia would spend more time at her ‘official’ residence—you know, the one her mail still goes to. I doubt you’re sticking to her cleaning schedule.”
Mia’s blush deepened.
“Captain Beefcake, eh?” Tyr scratched the stubble along his jawline. “I could get on board with that. What do you say, prinsessa? Want to call me that from now on?”
Charlotte patted Mia’s flaming cheek, then turned to Tyr. “Sorry about Heather. We don’t let her out much these days. Her internship’s keeping her busy.”
“How’s it going at the clinic?” Mia diverted the subject as she cut the cake. Heather passed out slices, and I tried not to be too obvious about sniffing Henrik’s chest as I turned to watch her. Mmm. Laundry detergent and sunshine and calm…
“It’s okay. I’m having a hard time balancing this unit’s Chemistry load with the volunteer hours, though. I might need you to tweak my study schedule.” Heather handed plates to Henrik and me. I reluctantly sat up, breaking the blissful contact.
“Consider it done. Anything for my roomie.” Mia sliced the final pieces of cake, and curled up on the loveseat with Tyr. She handed him a plate before digging into her own frosting. “Mmm.” She licked the cream cheese icing off her fork with a contented moan. “Meemaw’s Red Velvet. Tyr, you made it just right!”
Henrik pushed his fake eyeglasses up his nose. Asgardians had perfekt eyesight, but he liked to wear the glasses around mortals. He thought it made him blend in. Snort. I guessed he wore them for Charlotte and Heather’s benefit tonight. “Actually,” Henrik began. But he stopped short when I elbowed him in the stomach. Hard.
“Let him have this one,” I hissed, trying to erase the mental picture of Henrik’s pristine abdomen walking shirtless to the shower every single weekend. Why couldn’t his room have an en suite bathroom?
Henrik leaned close enough that his beachy smell enveloped my space. Fresh air, and sunshine, and a tang of lime. “Brynnie.” He frowned. “I worked my butt off perfecting her Meemaw’s recipe.”
“And I’m sure Tyr will thank you in the morning,” I whispered back. I raised an eyebrow at our friend, who had one hand on his plate and one hand on his girlfriend’s behind. The look in his eyes was undeniably possessive.
“Fair enough.” Henrik sighed.
“Sorry your sister couldn’t make it, Tyr.” Charlotte looked up from her cake. “I was looking forward to meeting her.”
“You still haven’t met Elsa?” Mia shook her head. “You’re going to love her. Her friend Forse, too.”
“They’re still just friends, huh?” I asked.
“Apparently.” Tyr shrugged.
“Yeah, we’ve got a whole lot of stubborn people around here.” Mia shot me a pointed look. I snorted. My dating life was not mine to control. Not yet, anyway.
We ate in contented silence, and when the last fork scraped the last crumb of red velvet, Tyr shifted Mia in his lap. “Well, mitt hjårta, looks like your birthday is drawing to a close. And I have a gift for you that’s not fit for public viewing.”
I buried my face in Henrik’s chest to stifle my laughter. Beside us, Heather let out a muffled guffaw.
“Well, it’s getting late. We’d better get home.” Charlotte took Tyr’s hint. She stood, carried her plate to the kitchen, and stared at Heather until she did the same.
“Uh, right.” Heather scurried to the kitchen and back, then grabbed two jackets from the hall closet. She threw one at Charlotte, then stuffed her arms through the other. “Homework waits for no woman.”
“Y’all don’t have to go.” Mia gave Tyr a pointed look. She gently removed his hand from her backside and stood up. “We have more cake. Anybody want seconds?”
Heather looked like she was about to say yes, but Charlotte grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward the front door. Mia followed. “Thanks, Mia, but we really should let you, erm, enjoy the rest of your birthday. Come on, Heather.”
As Heather begrudgingly followed her roommate out the front door, she turned with a sparkle in her eye. “Glad to see you finally glowing, Mia.” With a naughty wink, Heather closed the door behind her, leaving Mia standing in the hallway with flaming red cheeks and a gaping mouth. She stayed very still as the lights of the girls’ car flashed through the windows, sweeping across the drive. After a long moment, she pivoted on one riding boot, and returned to the living area. Her eyes darted around the room as she bit her bottom lip.
“Yep. We heard it.” Henrik let out a guffaw, and I hit him over the head with a couch pillow. His glasses fell off, and he picked them up and set them on the coffee table. “What? We’re all thinking it. You want us to clear out so you two can have the house to yourselves?”
“Henrik!” Mia shrieked.
Tyr looked like he was considering the offer.
“No.” Mia glared at Tyr. “No, we do not.”
Tyr chuckled as he stood and crossed to Mia. He pulled her into his arms and nibbled on her crimson ear. “You’re hot when you’re embarrassed.”
“Hush your mouth, Fredriksen,” Mia protested. But after a minute she leaned into his touch.
“Before you get too into this,” I interrupted, “we need to talk about the time freezer.”
“Now?” Mia wrinkled her brow. “Is everything okay?”
“Not sure.” I paused as Elsa and Forse opened the front door.
“Sorry we’re late. Happy birthday, Mia!” Elsa ran to Mia and threw her arms around our friend. Mia beamed, while Tyr tousled his sister’s blond waves. Hers were smooth and loose, and not the least bit unruly. Mine took a half-hour to blow-dry straight, and even then they frizzed at the slightest sign of moisture.
Some goddesses got all the luck.
“Hei, Elsa. Forse.” Tyr held out a fist. Forse closed the front door, before walking into the living room and bumping Tyr’s knuckles in the universal male sign of greeting. “You’re late.”
“Don’t be rude.” Mia swatted Tyr’s shoulder and pointed to the coffee table. “We’ve got plenty of cake left. Would you like some?”
Forse ran a hand through his hair while Elsa wrung her fingers together.
“What’s going on?” Henrik rested his arm on the back of the couch as he studied Forse’s face. “It’s never good when your jaw twitches.”
“Wait.” Elsa held up her hand. “First we need to wish Mia a happy birthday. Forse?”
“Right.” Forse pulled a small wrapped package out of his back pocket and handed it to Mia. She took it with a smile.
“You didn’t have to get me a present.”
“Of course we did. You’re part of the crew now. And we want to bribe you not to leave us. Odin knows we’re a lot to put up with.” Forse crossed his arms and tilted his head at Tyr. “Especially this kille.”
“Shove it, Justice.” Tyr growled at Forse, using our nickname for the peacekeeping god. Forse just laughed.
“Open it.” Elsa clapped he
r hands. With a grin, Mia tore open the paper.
“You guys!” Mia squealed, holding up the sporting store gift card. “Thank you! I totally need new running shoes. How’d you know?”
“Hmm, maybe because my brother literally runs you into the ground?” Elsa tossed her hair over her shoulder. “How many miles do you two cover in a week, anyway?”
Mia glanced up at Tyr. “I don’t know. Maybe thirty?”
“Closer to forty.” Tyr rested his hand on Mia’s lower back.
“Mother Frigga.” Elsa shook her head. “Cut her a break, will you Tyr?”
“It’s me,” Mia corrected. “I don’t want to be the helpless human you guys lock in the house if something attacks us. Again.” She shot me a pointed look.
“I didn’t lock you in anywhere!” I protested.
“No, but your boss did. And she’s not here, so I’m blaming you.” Mia looked around. “Where is Freya, anyway? I saved her a piece of cake with extra frosting.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Mia and Freya got off to a rocky start, since Mia was under the misconception that Freya and Tyr were an item. But the girl and the goddess spent a chunk of time together on our last lockdown at the safe house, and they bonded over their shared loves of fashion and cooking. Now Mia was just as enamored with the Goddess of Love as the rest of us were… and the feeling was mutual.
“That’s why we’re late.” Elsa rubbed her hands on her leggings, nervously. “There’s a teensy situation at the portal.”
Every god in the room snapped to immediate attention. The mortal simply stopped breathing.
“What do you mean a situation?” Henrik pushed off the couch and stepped slightly in front of me. I jumped up and moved around him so we stood side by side.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“We’re not exactly sure.” A V formed between Forse’s brows. “It’s been sparking for the last hour. Tiny electric currents are shooting off the outline of the portal, traveling roughly three meters on due south, then disappearing before they hit the ground. We don’t understand what’s absorbing the energy. We would have come over sooner, but we didn’t want to ruin the party.”
