“What’s going on?” She scowled at me. “They don’t like you dating Echo?”
I scoffed at the idea. They loved him. “I’m not ready to talk about my parents. God, I wish I could rip them from my head and my heart. Such hypocrites.”
Shock flashed in Raine’s eyes.
“Please, don’t push. I’ll explain when I’m ready. Right now, tell me what to order for dinner, or go home to your husband.”
“Okay. Pizza.” Her eyes went to the TV, where a ship was frozen on the screen. “Vikings?”
“Don’t judge.”
“Never. Get brownies, too.”
“I’ll get more of everything in case the guys decide to join us.”
“Torin might. He’s checking in on his first recruit, a future Valkyrie.”
“Is he excited?” I asked, trying to focus on someone else rather than me.
Raine made a face. “You know him. He’s taking it seriously. I’m more worried about Andris. They’ve been together for centuries, and now he’ll be getting a new reaping partner. Maybe he should be reassigned to Lavania’s school. He’d make an amazing teacher.”
I scoffed. “Teaching what? Seduction 101?”
“Immortality: How to Piss Off the Norns. How to rune a woman just so you can have a playmate.”
“Make Mortals fall in love with you before they die,” I added. “Do you think they have an Andris Support Group in Valhalla for those he seduced and reaped?”
“Probably. Worse, they see him every time he brings in a new soul. ‘Hi, my name is Sarai. It’s been twenty hours since I last saw Andris. I still love and hate him.’ He is terrible.”
“He’s such an amazing guy I wish he’d be serious about something or someone.”
Having Raine around made me forget about my problems. We talked just like the old days. The food arrived first, then Torin and Echo. The fact that they came together didn’t escape us. They might not be best friends, but they were learning to tolerate each other. Raine flew into her husband’s arms like she hadn’t seen him in days, instead of hours. Echo lifted me up, took over the couch, and set me on his lap.
“Should we offer them the guest room?” he asked when Raine and Torin continued to kiss.
“Guest bedroom is that way, guys,” I called out.
Torin scooped her up. “Thanks, luv, but ours is a portal away. See you tomorrow.”
“No, see you in two hours,” Raine corrected as he engaged runes and the mirror in the living room responded. They disappeared inside their castle, and the portal closed.
“So what were you and Torin doing before you came home?” I asked.
“Who said…?” His voice trailed off when I lifted my head and gave him a do-not-lie-to-me look. “I wanted to know what Lord Worthington was up to. He was the leader of the group that went after orphans. I didn’t want him coming after you.”
“I thought his organization was destroyed.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s stopped. Torin took me to his club, and we had a little chat.”
“Is the club still standing?”
Echo chuckled. “Unfortunately. He was so cordial I wanted to punch his nose. Our talk lasted fifteen seconds.”
“Let me see. It probably went like this. ‘If you come after Cora, I will kill you and hide your body in an unmarked grave, then haul your worthless soul to Corpse Strand.’ Am I right?”
“You forgot I was with Torin. I told him his son would hide his body, and while in Corpse Strand, I’d make sure he fights the dragon every day. Being charbroiled at least once a week is the least he deserves.”
I laughed. “No, you didn’t.”
He flashed his famous I-did-it-and-enjoyed-every-second-of-it grin.
“And Torin did nothing?”
“He smirked the entire time. He hates the bastard but can’t kill him. I won’t have that problem if he ever hurts you.”
Something else occurred to me. “You didn’t mention me by name, did you? I haven’t told Raine what’s going on.”
“No, sweetheart. I wouldn’t mention you by name. That would be telling him my weakness. Men like him always find a man’s Achilles’ heel, and you”—he pressed a kiss on my forehead—“are mine. I warned him against going after other orphans because I have a vetted interest in their well-being.”
That was my man. He would raze the earth to the ground for me. I was lucky that way.
“Are all the orphans Immortal?”
He nodded. “Most were runed by their parents when they were young.”
Would my life have turned out differently if my parents had done that? We would never know. Torin and Raine rejoined us hours later and sat through two episodes of Vikings without complaining. I wasn’t sure whether it was historically accurate or if they were just being supportive of our weird habits.
“Want to come to a soccer game in California tomorrow?” Raine asked before they left.
I made a face and glanced at Torin. “Your club soccer team is playing?”
He shook his head. “World Cup, Uruguay versus USA.”
Soccer didn’t interest me. “I’ll pass, but we could hang out later.”
“Great!” Raine glanced at Torin, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Not after the game, Cora. We’re celebrating Torin’s birthday. Belated birthday party. Just the two of us. We could meet on Sunday. The women want us to hang out.”
Damn. I was hoping I could talk to her alone. “Women?”
“Lavania, Mom, Ingrid, and Femi, but we could ditch them. They want to share news about Mystic Academy. Don’t know what the big deal is. I know Monday is school for you, and I don’t want to keep you.”
“I’m going to miss school next week, too.”
Raine looked ready to ask more questions.
“Just count me in. Now go,” I said. “I need time alone with my man, or you won’t be invited to the wedding.” She winced. I knew I was hitting below the belt, but I didn’t want to explain my messed-up life. “Go. Love you.”
We hugged. “I’m so sorry about the wedding. I will make it up to you some day. I promise.” I waited until she left before saying, “That was mean of me. I know she did it to protect me, but still…”
“Cora-mia, there’s so much you don’t know,” Echo said mysteriously.
I didn’t understand what that had to do with missing Raine’s wedding, but he was right. I didn’t want to meet my biological parents yet, but I should still learn about what Mom and Dad had protected me from.
“Can you introduce me to an orphan? I was hoping to talk to Raine about Eirik and how he dealt with things, but our experiences are different. He was summoned to Asgard right away, and when he returned, his mother wanted to see him.” I shivered.
I hoped my parents, whoever they were, weren’t powerful. The last thing I needed was an army of guards from some god summoning me. I had no interest in visiting other realms, except Hel. But that was for Echo.
“Maybe I’ll talk to Eirik next, but for now, I want to meet an Earth-bound orphan.”
“We’ll go tomorrow morning.”
The next morning, we appeared inside a store with everything a Witch could possibly need. Shelves of grimoires, cauldrons, crystals, candles, and ointments. The store didn’t appear busy, but the few browsers inside were stocking up on things.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Windfall, a small town outside New Orleans. Tammy adopted Hayden, though both of them were orphans. Tammy remembers being in J?tunheim, but Hayden was brought here as a baby and doesn’t remember much.”
Hayden? It was a unique name, yet it sounded familiar. Where had I heard it before? We reached the front of the store, and I stared at the displayed athames and Wiccan jewelry. Racks of cloaks and T-shirts with cute sayings were to the right of the entrance. A woman in her early-to-mid thirties was ringing up a customer’s purchases and looked up. Her face paled when she saw us.
“She’s scared of you. What did you do?” I whispered.
Echo made a face. “Nothing. I’m the good guy here. I helped rescue the orphans. That’s Tammy.” He looked around. “Hayden should be here somewhere.”