Page 43 of Valkyrie Confused

The terrain is uneven, and I’d take the fields of Iceland over it any day, but the roughness of the scenery may make this session more effective—if Scarlett can stop spinning around and sayingwowlong enough to take the sword he offers her. It’s the same one he gave her last night.

She finally takes it, but her hold is nowhere near as sure as it was the first time she hefted it. Her wrist tips downward.

I’m about to correct her, when she says, “What’s the stone in the pommel? It seems to absorb daylight, instead of reflecting it.”

“It’s made from the ashes of Ophiotaurus’ entrails,” Pan says, as if that explains anything. I’ve never heard of that name before.

Scarlett makes a disgusted grimace and holds the sword farther out. “Ew. And what’s an Op— Oph—That thing?”

“Ophiotaurus. Literally translates toSnakebull. It was a creature of Chaos,” he replies offhandedly. “Doesn’t it look cool?”

“I guess.” Scarlett still watches the sword as if it’ll jump up and bite her. “What about you?” She looks from one of us to the other.

“What about us?” I ask.

“Well, shouldn’t you have weapons too?”

Pan raises his arms, as if in surrender. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

Ha.He can more than hold his own in a sword fight or a brawl, but this must be part of his masterplan for me to get to know and like Scarlett.

Yeah, if I’m supposed to admire her prowess with a blade, it’s not gonna work.

I reach for my bear and let the beast surface enough for my arms to turn into long-clawed paws. “I’ll be using these,” I say.

Scarlett scrunches her nose. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

That startles a laugh out of me. “Hurtme?” I flex my digits. “Did you notice theclaws?”

“Yeah, but if they make impact with the sword, the blade will go right through them. Through you.” Her eyes are wide as saucers. She’s not afraid of me; she’s afraidforme.

And that doesnotmake me like her any more.

Nope.

If anything, feeling empathy for the opponent shows weakness. By leaving me alive all those years ago, Tyr gave me the chance to end him when I see him again.

Only, I saw him and pretended not to, so maybe that’s not the best example I could have used.

To Scarlett, I say, “You focus on not dropping your sword. I’ll worry about remaining intact.”

The sarcasm in my tone makes me cringe internally, but she just raises an eyebrow. “Whatever.” She adjusts her grip on the sword. “How do we go about it?”

Pan looks around. Tuts. Snaps his fingers, and the armchair from his room materializes behind him, so he can drop into it. He folds one leg over the other and summons what looks like an iced coffee. “Ah. This is the life.” He waves at us with his free hand. “You may proceed.”

“Are we here to train her or to entertain you?” I put a growl into the question, but I want to laugh. I’d forgotten how much fun being with him is. Why did he have to go and remind me?

He sucks noisily on his straw. “It doesn’t have to be aneither-orscenario.”

Scarlett shakes her head. “You guys should take this on the road.” To me, she says, “Tell me how you want us to go about it.”

“I want you to charge me,” I say. “Let’s see what we’re working with.”

She raises the sword over her head with both hands and runs at me like a dumbass,yodeling.

I sidestep and smack the back of my arm into her stomach, stopping her in her tracks and making her drop the sword.

“Ow.” Her glare is definitely more life threatening than her attack was.

---