Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Loki didn’t want Val having to walk through the cobblestone streets in heels, so he magicked them to Valhalla’s Throne. They landed outside the front door, and Val blinked several times, adjusting to the bright lights and the noise from the crowd waiting to enter.
Her stomach flopped, and she gulped. “I think I’ll fly next time.”
He looked at her. “You didn’t like it?”
She shook her head as her stomach churned again.
“Weird. It’s never bothered me. Not much does, though.”
“Not even turning into a female horse and giving birth?”
His face grew serious. “Yes, that did, actually. Very much.”
She couldn’t help but snort. She bent over and sucked in several deep breaths.
Loki rubbed the small of her back. “Are you sure you’re all right, love? Maybe I should take you home and pamper you instead of making you sit through dinner.”
Val straightened and breathed in. “Nice try, but getting me in your bed isn’t in the cards for tonight. Elle is going to be here with your whole family, therefore we are going to be here with your entire family.”
Loki nodded and took her hand, leading her to the front door. “So my bed isn’t in the cards tonight, but what about your bed? Or my couch? I have a really soft rug in the living room. And then there’s the shower, the sunken tub, the-”
She pulled on his tie and brought his lips an inch from hers. “Shut up, or all of those places will be off the cards for the foreseeable future.”
He smiled. “Yes, darling.”
“And don’t call me that while we’re in there. I don’t want to have to explain anything to anyone. I want to try and get through this night without bloodshed.”
His eyes twinkled, and she got the distinct impression he wasn’t about to listen to a thing she said.
“You’re impossible.”
He kissed her nose. “And you’re irritating as hel, so we’re even.”
No. Not in the slightest.
They stepped up to the bouncer, and he looked between Loki and Val, nodded, and let them in.
The inside of Valhalla’s Throne kicked Val in the gut. It was like being at an inn back on Asgard- except for the half-naked women, of course.
Valhalla's Throne was so similar to the Helheim side of the Raven Weaver, but more masculine. Deep leather chairs. Dark smoky wood. Rustic red brick walls. Metal ceilings with beams exposed. Dim lighting made everything more mysterious and sensual. It surprised her how much alike Frigg’s place and Odin’s place were.
Maybe it was because they both missed Asgard.
All around, beings played darts and cards. Females of varying races and species wearing small, poofy skirts and little more than a bra delivered drinks and food. The women smiled and laughed with the men, touching them, rubbing their shoulders, ruffling their hair. Yuck.
Several of the women sported heavy wings folded neatly on their backs. A couple more had long pointy tails poking out underneath their skirts. More than half the women sported horns of various sizes and colors.
“See anything you like?” Loki teased.
She elbowed him in the ribs. “Trust me, if I had been so inclined to be with a female, I would definitely have chosen a Valkyrie over this lot any day.”
Loki nodded in appreciation.
“Loki?”
Val turned as a bushy mountain man striding toward them with dark hair shaved on the sides and braided on top and down his back, and tattoos covering most of his exposed skin.
Baldur.
Val stiffened, knowing the history between Baldur and Loki, but Baldur simply nodded.
Loki offered his hand, but Baldur looked at it and then folded his arms.
Wow. Talk about someone who couldn’t get over the past.
Loki dropped his hand unfazed. “Good to see you back on your feet.”
Baldur growled, and Loki chuckled.
“Baldur and I go into the ring every few weeks. He keeps trying to beat me for slights in the past.”
“Slights?” said Baldur. “You killed me.”
Loki shrugged. “Technically, that was Hodr. I only supplied the arrow.”
Baldur grumbled. “Why do you come here? No one wants you.”
“Odin wants him,” Val said. “He invited Loki and me.”
Baldur looked at her for the first time. “That surprises me. Odin doesn’t usually allow Loki to bring his one-night stands to family dinners.”
“Maybe that’s because I’m not a one-night stand,” Val spat.
Baldur snorted. “I'm sure they all think that.”
Loki’s eyes flashed, and he stepped up to Baldur, though he stood a good six inches shorter.
“That’s enough. I won’t tolerate you disrespecting her.
Say what you want about me, but never, ever, talk to her that way again.
This is Valkyrie. The last remaining of the Valkyrie of old.
Show her respect, or I won’t wait for the arena to hand you your ass. ”
Baldur’s eyes widened, and he looked at Val. “I apologize.”
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” said Val. “Or I’ll kick your ass myself."
Loki slipped his arm around her waist before kissing her hair. “Come on, love.”
Baldur’s eyes almost bugged out of his head.
Val threw Baldur a tight smile. “Nice to see you again, Baldur. I look forward to meeting you in the arena myself sometime.”
Baldur didn’t reply as she and Loki turned from him and headed down a hallway to the end. They hit a door, and Loki stopped.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” His eyes held uncertainty she’d never witnessed in him before.
Val rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Don’t get all insecure now.
I dressed up and everything. Plus, if that’s the kind of intro I’m gonna get with your family, this dinner is going to be much more interesting than anticipated.
I’m not turning back now. Besides,” She kissed him.
“I don’t care what any of them say about you; it won’t change a thing.
Hel knows I’ve heard a thousand times worse. I’ll stick up for you, don’t worry.”
Loki shook his head. “Only you would relish putting Norse gods in their place.”
She shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a man-eater.”
Loki’s eyes twinkled. “And what a good little man-eater you are, too.”
Val laughed. “You’re awful.”
He tilted her chin and kissed her. “But you love it.”
Loki guided Val through the opulent burlesque chambers to the secluded enclave at the back of the club, where Odin’s exclusive sanctuary awaited.
They reached the door, and Loki paused before knocking.
As they stood before the entrance to Odin’s private quarters, a wave of tumultuous emotions surged within Loki.
The echoes of Baldur’s cutting words to Val reverberated in Loki’s mind, piercing him with a searing intensity.
Despite enduring countless insults over eons, the affront delivered to Val ignited a fiery rage within him, unlike anything before.
The thought of Val being insulted fueled a primal urge within Loki, compelling him to unleash his wrath upon Baldur.
Making him want to rip out Baldur’s tongue and nail it to the wall.
Now staring at the door to Odin’s home, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold back again if anyone else said anything to upset or belittle her.
Val had taken Baldur’s vocal jab with the same ease she used to deflect physical blows in the arena.
And had prompted Loki to regard her with a mixture of awe and pride.
How could someone as exquisite and resolute as Val have chosen him?
The weight of his unworthiness bore down on Loki, as he grappled with the realization that he was undeserving of her love.
Yet, against all odds, she was his, a beacon of light in his dark existence.
The mere prospect of losing her threatened to consume him, plunging him into an abyss of despair.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she finally asked.
With a fleeting smile to mask his inner turmoil, Loki rapped on the door, determined to face whatever lay beyond rather than risk losing Val, the embodiment of beauty and perfection bestowed upon him by the Fates themselves. Because losing her might really be the death of him.
He waited, almost losing his nerve, and deciding to lock her away in his house on the hill forever.
A moment passed, and the door opened.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with a feral air nodded to Loki. “Father.”
“Fenrir. How are you this evening, son?”
Fenrir looked between Loki and Val and simply nodded.
He sniffed the air and turned his deep-set, ash-colored gaze on her.
His heavy brow, thick sideburns, and facial hair belied his werewolf nature.
His hair was long and wavy like Loki’s, but his tanned skin showed how much more time he’d spent in the sun.
“So, this is her,” Fenrir said without pretense.
“Fenrir, this is Valkyrie.”
He stared at her for a moment longer and then offered his hand.
Val shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Fenrir.”
He snorted. “I doubt that, but thank you for saying it.”
Loki frowned. Something had happened. Fenrir was in an even more sullen mood than usual.
Guilt struck him. It’d been too long since he’d spent time with his son.
He’d been a horrible father before, but in the past hundred years or so, Loki had begun trying a bit more.
But in Val’s presence, he was acutely aware he hadn’t tried enough.
Loki pulled Fenrir into a hug. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Fenrir nodded and removed a piece of paper from his pocket. “I got through the list. They all agreed.”
Loki took the paper. “Thank you for doing it. I appreciate it.”
Fenrir stepped out of the way, and Loki and Val entered.
“What is that paper?” Val asked.
Loki looked at her. “Alamax’s siblings. Fenrir paid them all a visit for us. They agreed not to say anything.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How did you get them to agree?”
Loki smiled. “Fenrir can be most charming when he wants.”
Val snorted. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Loki dropped his jaw in mock offense. “How dare you! I invented lying.”
Val shook her head, and Loki kissed her hair.
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Confusion played over Val’s features. “What the hel does that even mean?”