Page 119 of Valkyrie Unknown

Finn settled a hand on my arm, silencing me.

Was I about to tell them about Zeke? What was I thinking?

The combination of my sword being gone mixed with these strangers was fucking with my head.

“How beautifully impersonal,” Finn said to Kirby.

She fixed him with a glare. “Death is always personal. Anyone who’s taken a life either knows that or has taken too many.”

At least I could agree with her on that.

Thirty-One

Finn

I didn’t like seeingthese people again, especially sandwiched between a surprise encounter with Lugh, and a planned trip to a siren. A trip I was pretending to oppose, to keep from letting show how much I needed Azzie to go.

Most of the conversation went in one ear and out the other, as I watched Gwydion do his damndest to pretend he wasn’t watching me.

But when he turned to Azzie and said, “We need to move you someplace safer,”thatcaught my attention. Not because of me, I assumed. I hoped.

“Why?” Davyn asked, taking the burden off me to do so. “Because someone might find her?” Sarcasm slid into his question.

“Draugar attacked her two days after she arrived here. Loki sent her a birthday present yesterday.Someonealready knows how to find her.” Of course, a lot of that had to do with me, but my presence, my insistence that Zeke not be hurt, was also keeping her from more overt attacks. She may not besafe, but it wasn’t as if a new location would be better. And at least with her living next door to Zeke, I could keep an eye on her.

Gwydion jerked a thumb in Kirby’s direction. “We have a god killer. Hel is gone. We can keep you safe, Azzie.”

Hel? No shit. Did Loki know? Did Lokicare? Yes, Hel was one of his children, but he and his family had drifted far apart over the centuries, and unlike the others, Hel tended toward more selfish behavior. Loki presented himself like a self-important bastard, but a more complicated reality lay under his surface.Deepunder his surface.

I doubted Davyn would have loved him at any point if the truth were otherwise.

Regardless, “Hel isn’t the god who was pursuing Azzie.” I bit back the rest of my thought, that Azziedefinitelywasn’t safer under the watch of two men who would burn down the world for Kirby. “And full offense—you’re not exactly a reliable source of protection.”

So I didn’t hide the thought as well as I meant to, but I was right, because I knew what I’d do in Gwydion’s shoes. I’d done it once, and it was why we didn’t like each other.

“No one’s going to stop you from fading back into the woodwork.” Kirby’s voice was soft as she leaned closer to Azzie. “If you do, the Followers of Urd will leave you alone.”

Ah, yes. The brilliant organization who would do anything to make the prophecies happen. I fucking hated people like that.

Azzie grabbed one of Davyn’s donuts—her third, and bit into it. She washed the food down with a swig of milk, never looking away from Kirby.

Knowing Azzie, it was meant to be mocking more than threatening.

“If you were me, would that bother you?” Azzie asked.

Kirby shook her head. “In fact, if I were you I’d run as far and as fast as possible from any group of gods or immortals larger than the one you travel in. Fade away. Hide. Until you’re ready for the world to know who you are.”

“Thanks. I think I’m good as-is.” Azzie wiped her fingers clean and shook Kirby’s hand.

As everyone finished their donuts, Gwydion continued to glare at me. Kirby smacked his arm lightly. “Knock it off,” she muttered, and gave me her attention. “For what it’s worth, I understand.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t used to people conceding I’d made the right decision when it came to my past.

Davyn gave me a furrowed-brow look, but kept his mouth shut.

A short while later, we said our goodbyes. Before we could part ways Kirby said, “Azzie, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Azzie shrugged and joined her a few meters away. As Kirby talked, Azzie’s expression fell, then shifted to a frown, and rage. She replied in something that looked loud, but there was no sound.

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