Page 15 of Valkyrie Unknown

This was far better than my conversation in the bar with the wolf. Fun. Easy. A great way to forget that I could still feel the texture of coffee grounds and tea leaves in my mouth.

Damn it, now I remembered. “A lot of guys insist they can go longer than me. It rarely happens.”

Davyn’s laugh was deep and rich.

Now that I knew he wasn’t a threat, I could appreciate what he was.Big. At five-foot-eight, I wasn’t tiny, but his shoulders filled a door frame, and his head nearly brushed the top. And his hands… I couldn’t see the roughness from here, but I’d gotten a glimpse earlier, and those thick, long fingers looked like they’d seen all sorts of work.

Talk about the kind of man who could pin me to a wall and take a bite out of me.

Not that it mattered. I’d broken myself of the habit of fucking anyone who caught my eye, and on the rare occasions when I fell into a hookup, it had to be with someone I wouldn’t see again.

I wasn’t going to keep Davyn in my life, but if the gods were determined to push us together, this wasn’t the last time we’d run into each other.

In fact, it was time for me to make the break. Before I started enjoying this. Before any part of my mind convinced me we could be close. I kicked away from the bathroom wall. “Thank you for saving me. I do mean it. I’m not going to hold you up, though. I’ll let you be on your way.”

He fixed me with a raised-eyebrow look.

This was where he would object. Say something like,I’m meant to protect you. I’m meant to be your enforcer when you become a goddess. I’m not going anywhere.

“This is my room,” he said.

Heat flooded my cheeks. “Right. I’ll be going.” I grabbed my knives, holstered them, and strapped them in place, one at my hip and one at the small of my back.

Neither of us said a word while I worked, and I walked out of the room, leaving the cloud of awkwardness behind.

Five

Davyn

More than a decade ago,I let obligation convince me that it was smart to go behind a mother’s back, to offer sparring lessons to a child who wasn’t ready.

The woman I met tonight wasn’t the same person. She had the same color hair and eyes. The same name. That was where the similarities ended. This Azzie could hold her own in any number of fights. I didn’t need to see her combat skills; they were obvious in her movements.

She was confident. Strong. Intelligent.

She was also breathtaking in her grace and beauty.

It was a good thing she left. I didn’t have any more interest in watching over her than she did in being watched. What kind of immortal wanted to be a babysitter? Especially to a grown woman? I was made for war.

Granted, those weren’t the wars that were fought anymore, and the reminder made my bear roar to be free.

I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, and even if the bar was still open, I doubted I was welcome there. I wasn’t interested in pacing in this tiny room. The casinos were too crowded and loud for my senses.

The gas station truck stop at the edge of town had a coffee shop as well. I’d head there, drink a few cups, and keep an ear out for anyone going my way, so I could hitch a ride back to my life.

I left my room key card in the little box in the front office and walked toward the gas station. I reached my destination, asked for a booth near the entrance so I could hear people coming and going, and ordered a pot of coffee.

The leather under me was cracked with age, and the stuffing held the scents of all of those who sat there before me. Grease—both from the kitchen and the trucks out front—permeated the walls and the air. The slot machines running along the front window played an occasional tone. Digital devices begging for someone to pay attention to them.

The obligation I’d felt for Azzie back then wasn’t because of the prophecy. I was the one who put her in danger. That applied today as well, but from what I’d seen, she was more than capable of handling things herself.

A nagging bit of me said I needed to go after her. That I should insist she and I travel together. That even if she was destined to come out on top?—

“Davyn. How long has it been?” The man that slid into the bench across from me was the other subject of my thoughts. His appearance had changed since I last saw him. Today he sported shaggy blond hair and a poorly kept mustache, and he was wearing a flannel shirt and a baseball cap.

Loki could change his appearance at will—though only his face, not his body or clothing—and it must be killing him to wear this look. Not that he fit in here for an instant.

I rolled my eyes. “That stopped being funny centuries ago.” BythatI meant the implication that we hadn’t seen each other in ages. “Correction—it was never funny.” It had only been a few months since I talked to him.

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