My gaze shifted from the window to the woman in the bed beside me. My mother’s energy was beautiful—a crystalline white with threads of purple laced throughout. But it was also troubled. Near her stomach skulked a menacing black blob that reminded me of whatever had risen from that thing Tore killed in the woods. It was dark and pulsing . . . it was alive. I let out a shaky breath and reached over so my hand rested just above my mother’s. My fingers trembled slightly. Lately, touching things had led to my passing out or having visions, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for the family-induced version of either. But it was my mom—I couldn’t not touch her. With another breath, I pushed down my fears, grabbed her hand, and braced myself. Nothing happened—nothing crazy anyway. Only a warm vibration that radiated out of her hand and into mine. The corners of her mouth turned slightly up in a hint of a smile. In that moment, I knew, without a lick of evidence, that she sensed my presence. And she approved of me. I was holding my mom’s hand, and she was smiling, and just for a moment, it was like we’d never been apart. But as much as I wanted to rewrite history and bring my mom’s gentle spirit into the last seventeen years of my life, the fact was that we’d barely known each other for a year before she was stolen from me. Stolen by some power-hungry goddess who wanted to take over my planet. White-hot rage built in my gut as my mind turned over the lifetime of memories I hadn’t been able to share with my mom, all because some chick hellbent on a hostile takeover went on a power trip. My chest tightened, and I exhaled forcefully. Maybe I could kill a goddess after all. Nott had to go.
I released my mom’s hand, so my angry energy wouldn’t filter into hers, and quickly stood. My mind was made up. With one final look back at my mother, I strode from her bedroom and into the living room where Tore stood waiting. His face went through a series of emotions as he watched me storm across the room. When his gaze fell on my clenched fists, his expression settled into concern. For a moment, he seemed like an actual friend and not a jerk, but I was sure the moment would pass quickly. He was probably wondering how many people I was going to pepper spray after this. Not nearly enough.
“Allie?” he questioned. “You okay?”
Not in the slightest. I met his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. “Teach me how to be a god killer.”
Tore flashed a devastatingly sexy grin. “Now we’re talking.”
There was a light knock on the door, and we both froze. Tore recovered faster than I did. He reached behind his back and pulled a dagger from his belt before stalking across the house like a hungry predator. He yanked the door back, arm raised to stab whomever had knocked. Long hair whipped back and forth as he looked from left to right. He stepped outside, blade still drawn, but instead of murdering someone else, he let out a laugh.
“Nice, Alf?dr.” He chuckled.
Since he was laughing and not stabbing, I stepped forward to peek around his shoulder. Some type of armor lay on a piece of fabric outside my mom’s front door. It was a silver shoulder panel and wrist cuff, bound with brown leather straps and offset with tiny tufts of fur padding and . . . were those crystals embedded in the metal? Something glinted brightly in the early morning sunlight, though it could have been the otherworldly sheen of the armor’s metal. Whatever it was, the effect was exquisite.
“What is that thing?” I was dumbfounded.
Tore reached down like he intended to pick up the armor, but stopped just before he touched it. He righted himself and indicated that I should carry the piece inside. “It’s a gift from the Alf?dr—the first piece of your weapon. Wearing it marks the first step to making you the warrior you will need to become to defeat Nott.”
I shook my head. “I’m no warrior.” But I bent to pick up the shiny new package. I was careful not to touch the actual armor—my whole textbook vision experience had scarred me. Instead, I folded the corners of the fabric together and carried the Alf?dr’s gift over to the coffee table, knapsack style.
Tore flashed his perfect white teeth in a grin as I set down the armor. “By the time I’m done with you, your soul will be worthy to enter Valhalla.”
“Valhalla, like Odin’s warrior-graveyard-palace Valhalla?” I remembered that much from my class. “I don’t think even you’re that good, Tore. I mean, besides wielding a mean can of pepper spray and sending the occasional knee to the groin, I have zero warrior skills.”
Tore rolled his eyes. “Just touch it, already. You’ll see.”
I reached out hesitantly, but the second my hand touched the armor, a sizzle of energy shot up my arm. It poured into the necklace and surged out again, seemingly amplified. Power coursed through me so quickly that my breath hitched. My heart pounded as this newfound sensation settled into my body. I felt strong—beyond strong. Like lift-a-building-above-my-head, throw-a-car-across-the-parking-lot, amazingly strong. I gripped the two pieces of the armor in my hands, and turned to Tore.
“This thing has a lot of energy. And it seems to be connecting with my necklace.” Another surge from my arm to my throat left me trembling. “They feel really powerful together.”
Tore expertly took the armor and began to strap it over my left shoulder. He gently brushed my blonde strands out of the way before securing it with the leather buckle. When the shoulder piece was attached, he slid the silver cuff over my left forearm.
“Allie, it’s not the objects that are powerful. It’s you. These are just awakening parts of you that have been asleep in Midgard.” The way his hands caressed my arm as he snapped the wrist cuff into place made me almost forget about what a self-entitled jerk he could be. Though come to think of it, he hadn’t been that jerky since we got to my mom’s house. Maybe now that I’d jumped onboard the crazy train with him, he’d be nicer. As he reached for the leather strap, his fingers brushed my chest. I shivered.
“Sorry,” he muttered. His eyes locked on mine. Suddenly all of the air vacated the space around us, and breath was hard to come by. That electric pulse was back in my belly, and I wasn’t sure if I was the only one feeling it. Tore swallowed hard. He glanced briefly at my lips, and the belly-pulse intensified. He gave the leather strap one more tug, then took a step back and let his eyes slowly rake over my body. My cheeks warmed, and I gulped, suddenly nervous under his gaze. More than ever, I wished I could read his energy.
Tore stared for what felt like forever. A rakish smile tugged at his mouth, but he didn’t say a word. When I couldn’t take the scrutiny anymore, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “So, if this is all real, then you must be a demigod, too? Or a god. Or whatever. I don’t really understand how all of this works.”
Storm clouds rolled across Tore’s eyes, ending whatever moment we’d been having. His jaw twitched, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. He was either really angry, or really . . . nervous? There was a slight vulnerability behind the storm that caught my focus. What’s going on?
“Tore?” I pressed.
He pulled his shoulders back. “Yes, Pepper, I’m a demigod. My . . . father,” he said the word as if it tasted like acid, “is the God of Revenge.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head at his declaration. I pepper sprayed the God of Revenge’s son? Seriously?
Clearly, I’d be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of my life.
****