Chapter Three
Elle's nerves coiled tighter with each step the man took towards her, almost springing her from her seat. Her hands trembled as she fixed her gaze on him- butterflies staging a rebellion in her stomach, making it hard for her to catch a full breath.
"My Lady," he said, his voice velvety and calming. "Your mead?"
She froze, unable to nod in response. He placed the mug on the table and took a step back, allowing his presence to recede enough for Elle to breathe again.
The atmosphere between them thick as spiderwebs spun by the Fates themselves.
He brushed aside an unruly curl obscuring his vivid aqua eyes, framed by long lashes, watching her with a fascinating intensity.
Heat pulsed in her veins, and her magic swirled in her gut, making her tense.
She couldn’t place his subtle scent, which reminded Elle of mountain air after rain, crisp and invigorating. The earthy aroma of the honeyed mead wafted up, warm and inviting, teasing with promises of liquid courage.
Though she couldn’t see his entire face, he was the most handsome being she’d ever seen. Tall and broad-shouldered but trim at the waist. Not like her father’s men, who were built like giant rectangular blocks of concrete.
The faint pulsing thrummed inside her at the sight of him. Warm and alive. It stretched out, making her tingle all over.
“May I join you?” he asked, his voice rolling like thunder.
Elle found her wits and nodded.
The chair across from her pulled out and creaked under the weight of his heavy frame. His hand clunked against the tabletop as his various silver rings hit it.
She recognized one of the rings, and her gut clenched.
Terror flooded over her like a bucket of ice.
The urge to flee rooted inside Elle as her heart hammered.
It couldn’t be. This could not be happening, and yet it was.
There was no mask in all the universes that could hide his identity.
Ozone. That was his scent. Ozone and electricity, like a lightning storm.
And his eyes… those bright blue eyes and blond hair… He could only be one person.
Thor Odinson- God of Thunder.
Lady Frigg and Loki had gotten her out of Muspelheim, but somehow seeing Thor, her father's immortal enemy, made her want to run back.
Word had it he hated both fire and ice giants alike.
That he would rather kill them than breathe the same air they did.
But here she sat, a half fire giant, across from the one man who possibly hated her more than her father did.
Her magic rose in her veins, and she clenched her fists tight to keep it from unleashing. She'd only ever used it when training with Val, and her magic was unpredictable at best. Plus, she had no intention of disrespecting Lady Frigg or her home by setting it on fire.
They stared at each other in silence for a long moment before he asked, "Do you have a name?"
Her throat dried, and she couldn't make her lips move.
A slight smile creased the corner of Thor's lips. "Shy? That's new. Most women here can't wait to tell you everything about themselves. Is this your first time?"
Elle nodded, and again they spent a moment staring at each other. Dressed in a black leather coat and T-shirt, his face sported some blond scruff. His square jaw and intense eyes were a perfect balance of handsome and terrifying.
"You're aware the purpose of this masquerade is to talk with new people and get acquainted, right?"
Masquerade?
She shook her head.
His eyebrows creased. "You aren't here for the masquerade?"
She lifted her hand but put it back down and chewed her lip instead, unsure how to answer.
Thor nodded and chuckled. "Ahhhh… so you got tricked into coming as well? Okay, so here’s the deal. You see all the beings here? They are here to look for a mate or a companion or something… someone."
What? It was a potential mating gathering? She scanned the room as terror swept over her. That's not why she'd come. She'd come to procure papers. Papers to help her blend in on Midgard. Not to find a male companion. Did Val know that’s where they were? Why hadn’t Lady Frigg said anything?
Thor peered over her shoulder. She followed his gaze to the table where Val talked to a long-haired man wearing a horse mask. Loki.
Loki and Val seemed to be having an animated conversation. Maybe she found out where they were, too. Had Loki tricked them into coming for some reason?
"Hey." Thor reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
She pulled away instinctively, and he raised his palms in defense.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that.” He watched her for a moment. "You look like this might not be your kind of party. If you don't want to be here, I'll be happy to see you home. My mother will understand the mix-up."
Elle looked over her shoulder again at Val and Loki and then back at Thor. What did she do? Should she go to Val? The papers were important, she didn’t want to interrupt them, but…
"Look,” said Thor. “If you don't want to have dozens of males come try to talk to you, you should let me take you home.
" He held out his hand. She didn't want to go with him, but when a man in an eagle mask with deep red skin and pitch-black eyes spotted her and smiled, she involuntarily gripped Thor’s massive calloused hand.
A pulse of heat passed between them and rushed up her arm and down into her belly. He looked down at her hand in his and then into her eyes. Confusion played over his features.
Elle yanked her magic back inside her, but it wasn’t her magic that had heated their hands.
Elle jumped from her seat and glanced at the man with the eagle mask again. Thor followed her gaze and pulled Elle into his side. The eagle man stopped and inclined his head to Thor before heading in a different direction.
Relief filled Elle, but then nervousness gripped her again as Thor pressed his palm into the small of her back and escorted her toward the exit. Thor stopped and handed his mask to Fulla. A smile crept across her face, and she winked at him.
Thor led Elle through the throng awaiting to be let into the party. Elle should stop him. Move out of his grasp, but all she could concentrate on was the warmth of their connected hands, pulsating through her body.
* * *
Thor didn't know why he needed to help the timid, beautiful creature, but he couldn't help himself.
Seeing her sitting at the table like a newborn doe had made his chest clench.
Soft eyes wide with trepidation. Beautiful, thick auburn and ginger waves cascading down her back like a cloak of modesty.
Slender fingers clutched together and trembling.
He had no idea how she had ended up at the masquerade, but he was sure of one thing- she didn't belong there. Especially not while wearing a short, tight black skirt and sleeveless cream blouse. Both showed too much for his liking and, again, not enough. Either way, the clothes didn’t seem like something she would normally wear.
He saw her more in something soft. Flowy and feminine, then in something so…
Midgardian. She seemed more like an innocent beauty that should be lazing in a meadow of flowers in Valhalla, instead of in the ashy grayness of Helheim.
He'd thought for a second she was a mortal, but the moment he'd touched her hand, he'd felt the power she carried within. A mortal didn’t carry power like that. Perhaps she was a witch like Frigg. She definitely wasn’t a succubus. Fae perhaps? Though he hadn’t seen her ears to be able to tell for sure.
He pushed his way through the exit, and as soon as they stepped out the door, she took a deep breath and leaned against the stair railing as if it was the only thing holding her on her feet.
Standing outside Frigg’s home, shrouded in moonlight, he wondered what the hel he was doing. He'd not been a savior of damsels in distress in centuries. But somehow, he couldn't help but want to protect the fragile creature who stood next to him.
"Where can I take you? Where do you live?"
She glanced up. "I... I'm not sure how to get there." Her voice came out so softly he'd almost missed it.
"Are you new to Helheim? I've never seen you before."
"I... I've been here about a month but... not down here."
"You live in Midgard?"
She nodded.
He realized that though she clutched the railing with one hand, their other hands still connected.
Power radiated from her fingertips like a warm pulse of energy.
He wanted to ask her what she was, but didn't want to pry.
The way she looked at him made him think that one wrong question or stern word, and she might crumple.
His appearance wasn't at its best, he had to admit, but she looked at him like he was a void dragon about to swallow her whole.
"Do you want me to take you back to Midgard? Can you find your place from there?"
"If... we go through the Raven Weaver."
His eyebrows scrunched together. "Frigg's place?"
"I... work there."
It wasn't possible. He'd been a bouncer at Frigg's weekly almost since the beginning, and he'd never seen her.
"How long-"
“Get out of my way!” A blonde beauty with storm gray eyes and a deadly expression stomped out the front door. She pulled a long coat around her shoulders, spotted them, and strode toward them.
"Elle!" she scolded. "What are you doing out here? I told you to wait for me."
Elle? The beautiful creature’s name was Elle.
Elle wrapped her arms around herself. "But... I was supposed to talk to different men. It was a mating party."
The woman retracted the blade at her wrist and stepped up to Elle, tore the mask from Elle’s face, and tossed it to the ground, where it promptly disappeared. She pulled Elle from Thor and looked her over as if checking to see if Thor had hurt her.
"Hey," he protested. "I was helping her. Who are you?"
"Val," said Loki, jogging down the steps to join them.
Val glowered at Loki. "I am more than capable of answering and taking care of myself, thank you."
"So you've told me. Twice already." Loki smiled broadly.
Val rolled her eyes. "We should go." Val wrapped an arm around Elle’s shoulders and propelled her down several steps.
"Wait." Thor reached for Elle's hand again but missed.
She turned, and he got a good look at her face for the first time.
The sight made his gut clench. A smattering of delicate freckles scattered across her porcelain skin, like stars on a moonlit night.
Her eyes, ensnared him with an intensity both all-consuming and unnerving.
High cheekbones, sculpted as if by the chisel of a divine artisan.
Her lips, full and lush, beckoned him to linger a moment longer.
As he stood before her, haunted by ghosts of a past too painful to relinquish, he found himself drawn to the enigma she presented.
Each feature spoke of a sorrow masked by serenity.
The air around them thickened with tension, a tangible cloak that draped over their shoulders.
He fought for something more to make her stay, but he couldn’t find words.
Val pulled on Elle's once more. "No waiting, Odinson. We are leaving."
Thor wanted to say something else, but had no idea what the relationship was between the two women; if it had been anything untoward, Loki wouldn’t have stood by. Even he wasn't that bad.
Elle stared at him for a moment and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Thank you for your kindness, Thor Odinson."
The way she said his name shot him straight in the heart.
"When do you work next?" he asked without thinking.
Val scowled, took Elle by the hand, and propelled her forward.
Elle turned over her shoulder. "I work every day."
Val said something to her, and Elle continued across the lawn toward the outer gate and into the mists beyond.
Every day? Well then, maybe-
It was too late. They’d disappeared into the mist.
Thor stared at where they’d just stood. Who was Elle, and why did she need a caretaker? Why was she in Helheim? He rubbed his fingers together, remembering the strange warmth that had stirred within him at the touch of her soft, delicate hand.
Loki chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Has the mighty Thor finally found a match?"
“Who is she?”
“The blonde?”
Thor growled, making Loki chuckle harder. “Easy. Her name is Elle.”
“I got that. Elle who?”
Loki shrugged and looked away. “Just Elle.”
Thor’s gut told him Loki was lying. “Why was her friend talking to you?”
“You know I can’t tell you that, privilege and all.”
“That’s stupid human B.S. You don’t even believe in it.”
Loki sighed. “They needed some papers to live on Midgard. Human stuff. I helped them out.”
“Where are they from?”
Loki held up his hands. “If you want any more information, go ask her yourself. I’m not a messenger or information god. Herm is the one you want for that.”
Thor eyed him. "You seemed in unusually banterous form with her blonde friend, Val. I thought you said you were happy with your rotating bed partners."
Loki gritted his teeth and focused on the direction the women had gone. "Val is business, nothing more."
Thor snorted. "I saw how you followed her out. How you looked at her.”
“I was simply making sure she found her friend.”
Thor snorted. “You keep telling yourself that, cousin.”
Loki’s eyes flashed icy, and for a minute, Thor thought he might say something more. Instead, he gave his ever-annoying smug smile, removed his suit jacket, and loosened his tie.
“Are you fighting tonight?" Thor asked.
"Yes." Loki removed his cufflinks and put them in his pants pocket. "I promised Baldur a rematch. Again."
Thor nodded. "Then I'll see you at the Throne."
Once, just once, he wished someone other than himself would hand Loki his pompous ass in the fight ring. But if he couldn’t get that, maybe getting out some of his own pent-up energy in the ring would be as good.
He lifted Mjolnir and jumped.