Chapter 8
CLARA
I tugged on the lapel of my blazer as I made my way into the brightly lit gallery Daisy had sent me the address of. As soon as I stepped inside, I was assaulted by a barrage of pink and hearts, which didn't seem to be my cousin's style, but was definitely there.
"Clara! You came!" Daisy hurried over to me wearing an elegant jumpsuit that was much more her.
"Well, you did promise to introduce me to a necromancer," I responded.
She laughed. "Of course you're only here for Hel."
I blinked a couple of times. "Hel?"
"Yes. Thor's niece. Is that a problem?" She looked at me with a curious expression.
I cleared my throat. "No, not at all." There was no chance the woman I met the other night was the goddess Daisy intended to introduce me to. That wasn't how the world worked.
"I'm sure you're going to love her," Daisy said as she drew me further into the room.
"I'm sure I will. The sculptures look great, by the way," I said as I took them all in. They were scattered around the room with their metal gleaming in the light. Huge flowers that were far bigger than they would be in life, but just as intricate.
"Do you have a favourite?" Daisy asked.
"I'm going to have to look around more before I decide anything like that," I responded. "But the bee is amazing."
My cousin beamed. "I'm proud of that one. It took weeks to get the wings to look as if they were actually flying, but I'm so happy with how it turned out."
"You should be."
She let out a satisfied sigh. "And this is an amazing turnout." She looked around the room at the dozens of guests who were caught in various conversations and admiring her work.
"No more worries?"
"Oh, plenty. But your sleep potion meant that I've had enough rest so I'm able to manage it better. So thank you."
"It's what I'm here for."
"It really isn't. Ah, this is who I'm looking for," she said as she reached a woman with light blue hair tied up in an elegant twist, and a dress that skimmed every part of her.
Daisy cleared her throat, but not before my heart started beating faster at the prospect of the woman who was about to turn around. I knew who it was, there was no way I didn't, but that only caused complicated feelings about what it might mean.
Hel turned, a brief look of shock on her face before she covered it with a winning smile. "Daisy, the place looks fabulous," she said, leaning in to kiss my cousin on each cheek.
As much as I could work out how the situation in front of me had happened, I was still a little surprised about it, especially as I'd had no idea that the two knew one another.
If only I'd gone through with my promised research into the Norse pantheon, then I might have had some inkling of what was going to happen today.
"This is my cousin, Clara. And this is Hel, Thor's niece," Daisy said.
Hel looked at me, her lips twisting up into a knowing smile. "Good evening, Clara."
The way she said my name filled me with reminders of our night together, and that was going to be a hard thing to forget, even when I was in the middle of a crowd of people.
Someone called Daisy's name, and she let out a sigh. "I'm going to trust the two of you to make the rest of the introduction," she said. "Enjoy." She waved and headed off into the crowd.
"It's an unexpected pleasure to see you here," she said with a slight smile, already making me feel a little flustered.
"Likewise."
"Daisy's your cousin?"
"And Thor is your uncle," I responded. "We could have saved this if either of us thought to use names the other night."
She laughed. "So, what do you think of the gallery?"
"It's very pink," I said, looking around.
Hel snorted. "That's love gods for you. They live for the drama. The only ones who can rival them are death gods. We really are the worst."
"Right, you're a goddess."
"In more ways than one," she responded while raking her gaze down me.
My whole body heated in response. She shouldn't be affecting me like this. "That's not very one night of you," I murmured.
"Flirting isn't sex," she responded. "And I've been drinking, so no sex for me tonight."
"That's a strict rule."
She shrugged. "It's a rule nonetheless. And yes, the whole place is very pink. Jinx events tend to be like that. I do enjoy the open bar, though." She waved towards the bar that I couldn't imagine lived in the gallery full time, but was clearly functioning as a proper one.
"I wouldn't know. This is my first time at a Jinx event."
"There's a distinct lack of mead behind it, which I must talk to Aine about when I see her," Hel said.
"I didn't realise that mead was an issue."
"Lack of mead is an issue, especially when hosting an event connected to the Norse gods.
My uncle is particularly partial to it." She looked over to where Thor was standing with Daisy, making all of the pieces slot together properly for me beyond the shock of discovering that she was here. And that she was a Norse goddess.
"Thor is your uncle," I said again.
She raised an eyebrow. "You already said that. But yes, he is. What about it?"
"I suppose I'm just coming to terms with the fact that we..."
"Had sex?" she asked, her pale eyes boring into me.
"Yes. But you know my cousin. I've had dinner with your uncle." My eyes widened. "We're going to have to act as if we haven't slept together."
"I don't think it's going to be much of an issue," Hel responded. "They've been together for over a year and we've never met before."
"I suppose that's true." I relaxed a little. "Maybe I do need a drink."
"They have a good selection of mocktails..."
"No. I need something stronger today," I muttered.
An amused look danced over Hel's beautiful features. "All right. What can I get you?" She gestured for us to approach the bar, which was a lot calmer than the one at The Pomegranate.
"Wine would be good," I murmured.
"Any preference?"
"Whatever you're drinking," I said. "I have no idea about anything like that."
She gave me a genuine smile and caught the attention of the bartender. "Two glasses of R?lund."
He disappeared and came back with two glasses, setting them down in front of us.
"Thanks," Hel said with a winning smile before sliding one of the glasses across to me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"R?lund," she responded. "It's a blueberry wine that they make in Sweden."
"I don't think I've ever had it."
"It's good," she responded. "But hard to get here. They only make a limited number of bottles a year." She picked up her glass and took a sip.
I did the same, surprised by the explosion of blueberries mixed with the tartness of wine in my mouth. "Oh, that is good."
"It is. Jinx always has the best things behind the bar, you just have to know what to ask for," Hel said. "If your cousin continues to have events sponsored by them, then it'll be a good tip for you to know."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "Though surely, if I were sitting here talking to another god, then I'd be having a different recommendation," she said.
"Mmm. Some of the Greek pantheon take their dedication to ouzo seriously."
"If I were drinking that with someone, then I definitely wouldn't be invited back," I joked. "Even one glass of wine is a lot for me."
"I think that depends on how you were invited in the first place," she said. "Everyone keeps inviting Zeus to these events and he's always making a fool out of himself."
"Dare I ask how?"
"The exact way you think that Zeus will make a fool of himself." Her amusement showed on her face, making me laugh along with her.
"I'll admit, I only have a cursory knowledge of mythology. After I realised the gods were real people, it felt weird to be diving into their stories. You'll have to tell me if I get something wrong about you."
She shrugged. "There's not much to get wrong about me. I'm Hel, ruler of Hel, that's pretty much all there is to it."
"So, do you come to the land of the living often?" There was no way I could stop the flirtiness from coming through my tone, but I supposed that wasn't a problem. Hel already had plenty of knowledge regarding my attraction towards her, it wasn't like I was revealing something new.
"It's my permanent residence. Which you know, considering you've seen my home.
" The expression on her face almost made it seem as if she was thinking about our night together, making me a little hot under the collar.
It was one thing knowing that it had happened and I was supposed to ignore it, it was quite another to know that she was thinking about it.
"Right, yes, I'm sorry. That was a foolish question," I murmured.
"You're fine," she assured me. "But I can't go to the afterlife, I'm still alive. So I'm not really the goddess of anything."
"Except the bedroom," I murmured.
Hel laughed and flicked her light blue hair over her shoulder. "Don't let any of the love gods hear you say that, they'll be insulted that you're giving the title to me and not them."
"I haven't slept with any love gods to be able to compare."
"That you know about. You had no idea you'd slept with a death god until tonight either." She took a sip of her wine, drawing attention to her perfect lips.
If I wasn't careful, I was going to find myself slipping back into thoughts that were highly inappropriate given where we were and the fact she'd made it clear that we were never going to have more than one night.
I cleared my throat. "So, I heard you were a necromancer."
She raised an eyebrow. "And how did you hear that?"
"Daisy told me. She actually said that she'd introduce me to you because I needed to talk to a necromancer for a potion I'm working on."
"How intriguing. But you should know that I don't do work during socialising hours," she said.
"You have a lot of rules."
"It keeps everything the way I like it." She took a sip of her drink.
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you even do?"
"Did Daisy not tell you that?"
"She didn't, actually. She didn't tell me your name until tonight either."
"That could have saved you some time, especially if you'd looked up a photo of me," she said.
"I didn't realise there'd be any."
"Of course there are. I can't look this fabulous and expect no one to want to photograph me. Though you'll mostly find artwork from people who have drawn me over the years."
"Did you pose for any of them?" I asked curiously.
"Some." The way her lips quirked as she said it made me wonder which of the images she'd posed for, and what she thought of them.
I cleared my throat so I didn't get distracted by doing anything like recalling what she looked like naked. "So, your job?"
"I'm a mortician," she said.
"Isn't that a bit on the nose for a goddess of death?"
"I prefer to see it as working within my skillset. What about you?" she asked.
"I work at my uncle's shop. I make the potions."
"Ah, hence needing my help with one. I assume that means you're a witch." She took another sip of wine and set the glass down. She didn't let go of it and stroked the stem of the glass with her fingers in a way that made me think of how they'd run over my body.
"I am."
"That must be convenient."
"It is when I want to reach something down from a high shelf," I joked.
Hel laughed. "A joy indeed." She finished her wine and set the empty glass down.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a card.
"I don't say this lightly, because I already told you my rules about making things personal after one night, but you should make an appointment, and we can talk about your potion.
But be warned, I don't start work until at least two in the afternoon. "
I reached for the card, my fingers brushing against hers as I took it. I looked up and met her gaze, unsure what to make of what I was seeing there. "After two it is."
"Good. It was nice to see you again, Clara."
The way she said my name sent a pleasant shiver through me, but she didn't wait for me to respond and sashayed into the crowd in a way that would make anyone want to watch her, and me more than most.
It was going to be hard to be in any room with her and not want more, but I knew better than to break rules that someone like Hel set. It wouldn't be worth the broken heart.