Page 169 of Valkyrie Unknown

Davyn yanked his arm back. His claws receded as Finn dropped to his knees with a gasp.

He’d heal.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Azzie. She was here again, alive. Looking between the three of us, questions in her eyes.

“Do I have something on my face?” She smudged her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Alive.” Davyn wrapped her in a tight hug.

My jealousy dragged back traces of the feeling that consumed me seconds ago, but the potency was a distant memory.

Azzie let out a dry huff of a laugh, and did a half-ass job of untangling herself from Davyn’s embrace. “Seems that way.” She rested a hand on his cheek.

Like that, his bear pulled back further, leaving more human features in place.

“I couldn’t leave you alone,” she said. “Who would keep you from becoming a murder hobo.”

Davyn snort-huffed.

Azzie turned to me, as Finn climbed to his feet behind her.

“Hey, Zee.” Her half-smile, her soft voice, were the most welcome sounds.

“Hey, A.” I reached for her and she let me grasp her fingers. My mind was my own again, but whatever I felt moments ago lingered and tasted more familiar than it should. As if I could be tipped toward that man again without much effort.

And I was okay with that.

The contact sealed cracks in a fractured psyche. This was the most fucked-up test ever. She did shit like this on a regular basis? How was she not completely mental?

Finn took a step. “Azz?—”

Davyn flung an arm out, stopping Finn from walking or talking.

With the all-consuming fury gone, I remembered what Finn had done for me. I knew he’d do so much more. But he was the reason we were here, which kept me from telling Davyn to back off.

Azzie moved to stand next to me, her shoulder pressing into mine, and slid her hand into mine with a squeeze. She was watching Finn, though. “You could be so much.” Her voice was a beam of calm in the aftermath of chaos. “You’ve always been so close tomore, but then you go and do shit like this.”

Finn’s expression fell. Did that actually shame him?

“What are you talking about?” Davyn asked.

Azzie gave a hard shake of her head. “Not sure. How’s this instead? Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Then we could decide Finn’s fate.

That sounded so final.

Then again, his plotting to destroy Azzie wasfinal.

How did I convince myself his lies wouldn’t be a big deal when the truth came out?

Sparks flowed between us as she raised her hand, and the instinct was back. I knew without words what she needed from me and what she offered in return, and I opened myself enough for the exchange.

Azzie placed her palm on what looked like empty air, and a doorway appeared in the illusion, revealing Tania’s shop.

“Is it real?” Finn asked.

It was. I was certain. We were looking at the real exit.

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