Page 13 of Valkyrie Unknown

“Stop,” I screamed.

Davyn didn’t look surprised at my outburst. “We hurt each other. No one dies. We both walk away.”

“Like some sort of bloodletting?” I forced out a rough laugh. My sword required that I draw blood when I unsheathed it. Which I hadn’t. Was this like that?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Davyn’s nostrils flared, and he licked his lips. “No. Do you trust me?”

“Not even a little.”

That earned me a dry smile. “Smart woman. How about this? Give me two minutes. You can watch me the entire time. It’s really easier to do than to explain.”

Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.I swallowed hard. “Okay.”

He approached the coffee tray and pulled two of the paper cups from their plastic wrappers.

“Wait.”Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. “You don’t have one of those magic rings, do you?”

Davyn held up his hands, which were devoid of any jewelry, though some really neat tattoos ran up his bare forearms. “I can tell youno, but you’d have to trust me to believe me.”

Let him finish, then fight him. Lure him in, the way he is doing with you.

Fucking— “Keep going.”

He tore open a few of the powdered-creamer packets and dumped them into the cups. Then did the same thing with some sugar, before picking up one of the single-serve tea packets.

Tea was the answer? We were going to sit and sip and be calm?

Fight. Fight. Fight.

He opened the tea and dumped the loose leaves in the cups as well.

Was this some ancient sort of tea ritual?

Kill. Kill. Ki?—

He spilt a serve coffee packet between the two cups of ingredients as well.

What the fuck?

And then whole packets of salt and pepper.

“What are you doing?” This made no sense. The voice in my mind panted in anticipation.

Davyn filled both cups the rest of the way with water from the sink, then mixed each with a stir stick. He handed me one, and I took it.

It looked revolting.

“You have to offer that to me,” he said. “And you have to want me to drink it and hate it.”

I swallowed a gag, as the pieces slotted together. I had to hurt him. This was one of the most disgusting things I’d ever seen, and I’d been a bar bunny with a death wish just a few years ago.

I gave the drink one more stir and watched the grossness float and swirl. “It can’t even be warm?”

“Is it less appealing when it’s cold?” he asked.

So much less appealing. I saw his point. And yeah, if he was going to hurt me, I’d do the same to him. “I’d like you to have this.” I handed him the drink, and I meant every word of what I was saying. “Drink with me.”

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