Page 114 of Valkyrie Unknown

“He would if it killed people,” I said to Azzie.

“No.” She shook her head and slowly lifted the top. “He’s having too much fun with the game.”

That was more true to Loki than she probably realized, but it didn’t stop me from bracing myself as she opened the package.

There was no big boom, no screams, and no monsters appearing out of nowhere, but the concern on her face didn’t assure me. She started to reach into the box, then stopped, and showed me the contents instead.

There was a hatchet nestled inside. It looked like it was made for combat, and the note on top said,love, Loki.

I didn’t think any of that was what bothered her though. She was more likely concerned, as was I, by the fact that the shaft, immediately beneath the hatchet head, was wrapped with the same style leather and moonstones as the necklace I’d given her. As if the two were a matching set.

What the fuck was he up to, and how did he know what I’d gotten her?

Thirty

Azzie

Enid gaveme the rest of the information about the siren, and Zeke, Finn, Davyn, and I, headed home after the party. The gift from Loki soured the mood.

Not because he sent it, but the reminder that no matter how safe I thought I was, he was always lurking around a corner, and we never knew which one. The distinct pointer that he was watching me so closely he knew what Davyn had gotten me for my birthday.

I’d wanted to destroy the gift, but Zeke refused. I wasn’t surprised that Finn backed him up, but I didn’t expect Davyn to take his side too. Zeke’s reasoning was, “it’s a magical weapon, and I can’t feel what kind. You’re safer storing it than doing anything else with it.”

We locked it in his safe, and Davyn and I went home, all of us to sleep on separate beds. If one could call the tossing and turning and mind running rampant that haunted my night.

I was grateful now to be in the sunshine, letting it chase away the shadows of not-quite-realized nightmares, walking down the familiar street by Enid’s with Davyn and Finn. I was surprised Davyn agreed to come since we were heading back to the library, but he said this was research he wanted to be a part of.

Zeke was sleeping off an all-night bender of blacksmithing inspiration.

If I was going into another training session, I needed it to be with as much information as possible. It was hard to call what had happened with Ulf a mistake, especially since the experience gave me and Davyn as well as a new level of caution, but I would’ve liked more data going in. I hadn’t looked much into sirens in the past, but the library seemed like as good a place to start as any.

I didn’t think Enid was holding back when it came to what she knew about the siren, but I couldn’t share the feeling that we neededmore.

Finn had blinked us in near Enid’s, but she was with a different client, so we’d gone on our way.

I’d been racking my brain for the best way to express my concerns since I found out about the nature of the siren’s test. As we strolled the familiar street, the answer came to me. “You should be aware, Azzie, that tests like this blur the line between a person’s psyche and reality.”

She glanced at me with raised eyebrows. “Isn’t that the point?”

“This is something you’ve never experienced before.” At least, I believed that was the case based on the stories she’d told me about her past training. “A siren’s magic is meant to replace truth with a new version. You may go in knowing that it’s all an illusion, but even the strongest will can forget that once the trial begins. It’s a test that exists to make you question your heart, your world, and yourself.”

“I told you not to do this,” Finn muttered.

Azzie kept her attention on me. “Technically, fighting that golem of Ulf’s did that.”

“This is different.” I needed her to understand. “This isn’t a moment-in-time event. The way I understand it, because what happens in there is based on your fears and desires, the experience stays with you. Those moments—hours or days—of altered reality become as much a part of you as if they were real. You live with them.”

Azzie faltered in her steps, and let out a soft sigh. “That’s the point of a test, isn’t it? To change me?”

“I’ll say what Davyn’s being vague about,” Finn said. “If you discover you’re capable of certain things in that test, the knowledge will sit with you, even if you can’t do it in real life.”

Azzie opened her mouth.

“You think I’m talking about powers and skills.” Finn cut her off. “I’m talking about death and destruction. If you torture someone in there—if you hunt them or seduce them for your own gain or kill them with your bare hands for the joy of it—that stays with you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Azzie’s tone was impossible to read.

However, I’d been traveling with her long enough to guess what she was thinking. None of this was enough to stop her from taking the test—few things could detract her from her drive to fulfill the prophecies—but at least she’d go in with an idea of how she may be different when she came out.

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