Page 89 of Valkyrie Unknown

Azzie broke away first and nodded at Zeke and me. “Gentlemen, this is the brilliant and talented Enid. Enid, Zeke, and Finn.”

“God and sage extraordinaire.” I grasped Enid’s fingertips and kissed the back of her knuckles, earning me a giggle.

“You didn’t tell me he had an accent.” Enid’s light tone faded when she looked at Zeke. She shook his hand while she studied him with narrowed eyes. “I know what Azzie says, but if you hurt her…”

Zeke shook his head, but he didn’t look bothered by the unspoken threat. “I won’t. But I get that a lot.”

“He doesn’t.” Azzie’s tone was still friendly. “He got it from Davyn, and that’s it. No one else is threatening people about hurting me.”

Loki and Lugh made threats about it all the time, though not in the way she meant. If Lugh had his way, the Azzie we knew would be gone, and Malsumis—her godly mother—would assume her body as a new vessel.

If Loki had his way, Azzie would be broken and useless to anyone. No good for Lugh and not a threat to Zeke.

I’d rather not see her suffer—there wasn’t any fun in torture porn—but I wasn’t picking sides between friends. I’d help both Loki and Lugh, despite their resentment toward each other.

Why was this other stranger still staring at us? Her gaze was fixed on Zeke now.

“Where is Davyn?” If Enid meant to sound casual, she failed. Largely because she caught her lip between her teeth when she asked, and pink crept into her cheeks.

Azzie shrugged. “He’s catching up with an old friend—I think he’s been feeling nostalgic lately. He’ll be here for the party tomorrow.”

Zeke’s and Azzie’s birthdays were tomorrow, and I made him celebrate every year. He deserved the reminder he wasn’t alone in the world. So we had come to Enid’s to spend the day talking about prophecies, be tourists in a small town that boasted more magic than any mortal place should, and to see the library. Tomorrow we’d eat, drink, and have cake.

The other customer stepped toward us, attention on Zeke and unwavering.

I didn’t like that. “May we help you?”

Her eyes grew wide and she turned away from me, muttering something I couldn’t hear.

“No scaring the other customers.” Enid’s voice was a blend of soothing and chiding, with the faintest spice of magic running through it. She was deescalating before anything started, and I had a feeling she was conscious of the trick.

The shorter woman approached us, her gaze on Zeke again. “It’s just… You have a book written on you.” She nodded at one of his arms.

He looked down at the tattoos. “It’s not so much a book as a smattering of symbols.”

“Technically that could be a book,” Azzie said. Her neutral tone implied she was as suspicious as I was.

This stranger wasn’t any god or immortal I’d met, but that didn’t mean she was safe.

“It’s definitely a story.” She tilted her head as she trailed her gaze up, stopping at his sleeve. She shook her head and looked away. “I’m sorry. I forget myself sometimes.” She took a step back from us.

“You can read this?” Zeke pulled up his sleeve, exposing more ink. “As in, they tie together?”

The stranger nodded.

“What does it say?” he asked.

I bristled at the question. While it was true, I couldn’t decipher all of it, I’d told him the individual meanings.

“You don’t know?” she asked.

“I just thought the pictures looked neat.” Zeke’s lie was unconvincing.

I understood though why he didn’t just saythey popped into my head and I was compelled to scar myself with them.He’d taken a lot of heat from his mother’s friends in the past for pursuingthe devil’s art. And the tattoos having another meaning added to the negative sentiment in his mind. From what he’d told me, he wasn’t embarrassed, he simply didn’t want to take the time to explain to someone who refused to understand.

The woman studied Zeke’s arm again. “Are you worried at all that one of them saysultimate rice fucker?”

“I don’t think the Vikings grew a lot of rice,” Azzie said before I could. Her tone was sharp, and her posture rigid.

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