Page 64 of Valkyrie Unknown

With the rush of the fight fading, the pain was seeping in, and without my daggers, I wouldn’t be healing anytime soon. This was one of those points that seemed insignificant, but would dictate everything that happened next. If I didn’t earn Zeke’s trust again, he couldn’t work on my knife.

And none of that mattered—not the ache in my neck or the fact I might lose one or both of my throwing blades—to the voice screaming in my head to make this right. To not lose him.

That voice got me here, and it was what I couldn’t trust.

I also couldn’t ignore it.

“I forgot,” I said.

Finn coughed. “You forgot you were carrying a fucking katana?” Now that he wasn’t actively trying to kill me, I registered that he spoke with a heavy Irish accent. One that might’ve been sexy… if he hadn’t actively tried to kill me.

Zeke shot him a look, and he snapped his mouth shut.

Who the fuck had that kind of control over an immortal?

You do with Davyn.

Shut up, voice.

“I don’t think about it most of the time.” That was the truth. “It’s tucked in a pocket reality. It demands blood when I draw it. I tend to ignore it until instinct kicks in.”

“Hmm.” Zeke drew a finger down the side of the blade without making contact, and the connection I had with the weapon sang in my thoughts.

He shouldn’t be able to do that. It was mine.

He’s mi?—

Nope. Shut the fuck up, stupid voice.

“You never asked if I was seeing anyone else,” Zeke said.

I shook my head. “No. Buttrustcovers a lot of implications, and I can’t trust someone who cheats on their partner.”

Finn looked between us. “You and her?Kronus in Tartarus, I was gone like a day.”

“See?” I clenched my jaw.

Zeke smacked him playfully on the arm. “Knock it off.”

“What?” Finn shrugged. “You don’t touch anyone else for months, and when you do, it’s the woman who’s supposed to kill you?”

I was missing something, wasn’t I?

“We’re not…” Zeke’s nostrils flared when he sighed. “It’s not that kind of relationship. Finn and me. It’s kind of like friends with benefits?”

Finn jutted out his lower lip. “We’re more than friends.” Despite his teasing tone, I swore I heard something more meaningful underneath.

Or I was extra alert and slightly paranoid after everything that just happened.

Zeke shook his head. “Relax. That pose has to be murder on your muscles.”

“I’m fine.” Except I wasn’t. Aside from everything else, an ache ran through my neck and shoulders. My back was tight, my arms sore. I didn’t stop watching the two as I forced tension out of my muscles and stretched. “And I’m waiting for the rest of your explanation. I don’t help people cheat.”

“You just do it yourself.” Finn reached for the sword. He was inches away when a visible arc of energy zinged from the hilt and shocked him. “Ow. What the fuck?”

“She doesn’t like strangers,” I said sweetly.

Zeke moved the sword further from Finn, whose scowl deepened. “Anyway.” Zeke bit off the word. “I wasn’t hiding him from you, Azzie. Finn and I are friends. That’s it.”

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