Page 11 of Tyr

Celeste stared at it, wondering why he’d left so fast. She waited for him to return, but when he didn’t, she laid back on her pillows and closed her eyes. His chiseled features swam into view. His bulging muscles. His strong jaw, but most of all, his eyes. His eyes had turned bright red in a flash. So different from his cold, dark eyes. Even so, they were both beautiful and terrifying.

CHAPTER 5

Tyr jumpedto the first floor from the landing. The ground shook beneath him and he headed straight for the kitchen, where he whipped open a cupboard, ripping it from its hinges, and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He gripped a glass, but it shattered in his hand onto the floor.

Dammit!

He grabbed a second glass, careful not to break that one as well, and poured whiskey to the top. He gulped it down and filled it a second time, downing that one as well.

A bat. Someone hit Celeste with a bat. Not once, but over and over and over.

He gripped the glass too hard, and the second one shattered.

“Son of a?—”

Hermódr and Vidar’s laughter and joking preceded their footsteps ascending the stairs.

Tyr sucked in a harsh breath and fought the rage coursing through his body. He stared at the bottle of whiskey and fought the urge to down the entire thing. His vision darkened further, and the dark pinkish haze that tinged his vision previously turned completely red. Calm down. He had to calm down. Even though Frigg had placed magic on his house to keephis emotions from bleeding into the Underworld, or worse, Midgard, it didn’t mean he could afford to keep breaking things. And being angry as well as drunk in front of Celeste was not the way to instill trust.

“Tyr!” Hermódr called. “Who’s the little cloaked thing you left with?”

“Yeah,” said Vidar. “You holding out on us? You have a hottie you’ve been hiding?”

“Bet she’s upstairs right now, isn’t she? In the guestroom. Waiting for you to come back and take advantage of her”

“Is she hot? Tell me she’s hot.”

Tyr hurled the whiskey bottle across the room at them.“Haltu kjafti!”

Herm ducked, but Vid caught the bottle before it hit him in the face.

Vid and Herm looked at each other. Tyr took several deep breaths, and they walked slowly forward. He fought against the wave of emotion, which threatened to burst from him. If he let go now, who knew what damage he’d do to the house. His fists shook as he slammed them on the granite counter, making it shake.

Vid set the bottle on the island and scanned the scene.

Herm rounded the counter and picked up Tyr’s hand. A jagged shard of glass stuck out of his palm. Blood dripped down his arm. Tyr hadn’t even noticed. Herm pulled the glass from Tyr’s hand and then led him to the sink and ran it under the cool water.

Tyr hissed and gritted his teeth against the sting. His vision darkened further, and his blood pounded. He wanted to find something, someone, to hurt, maim, kill…

Vid set his meaty hands on Tyr’s shoulders. He moved in so close his body pressed against Tyr’s. He breathed in deep, and Tyr mimicked him. The three stood together, none of themspeaking for several minutes as Vid breathed with Tyr, and Herm cleaned Tyr’s wound and then put a bandage on it.

When Herm finished, he put one of his hands on Tyr’s shoulder, and Vid removed one of his hands to rest it on Herm’s shoulder instead.

Tyr closed his eyes. Images bombarded him. Blood. War. Death. Bodies torn and bleeding at his hand. He fought against the rage wanting to be unleashed.

For over a thousand years, the three of them had fought side by side. No one knew him better. No one he trusted more. And no one who had learned how to calm him the way they had.

Which was why they didn’t pry. They simply stood with him, lending their support and focusing on him.

After what seemed like an hour, Tyr took a deep breath and opened his eyes. His vision cleared, and the wave of rage dissipated. He nodded to Vid and Herm, and without another word, the two began moving around the kitchen.

Vid grabbed spray and a towel and wiped Tyr’s blood from the counter and floor. Herm removed the broom from the pantry and swept up the broken glass.

Tyr moved to the edge of the bar and dropped onto a stool. He didn’t speak for several minutes and then finally said, “The girl I left with is upstairs. Her name is Celeste.”

Both stopped.

“It’s not what you think. I didn’t bring her here to bed her. I brought her here to protect her.”

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