Chapter Ten
"The Odyssey?"
"Don't judge this place by the outside, trust me, you are going to love it."
Thor led her to the deep blue door and pulled it open.
It squeaked loudly, breaking the silence from within.
The shop smelled of old paper and binding glue, layered over coffee that had gone cold hours ago.
Somewhere deeper in the stacks, a kettle whistled and cut off.
It had been a while since he'd been there, and it was obvious the place had gotten busier since his last venture inside.
He took Elle's hand and led her through a crowded aisle of shelves lined with books.
He steered her away from a pile teetering on the floor and had to actually push a cart out of the way to reach the front desk.
The cart's wheels shrieked against the floorboards.
Books were stacked everywhere. On the counter, under the counter, in towers along the baseboards that leaned like drunk sentries.
A landslide of paperbacks buried the front desk. Their cracked spines showed titles in half a dozen genres. Atop the stack, a brass bell sat, green with tarnish.
He stood for a moment on the hard wooden floor and placed Elle in the center of the shop. Elle's mouth dropped open as she turned in a circle.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"A used bookstore."
The words echoed off close walls. The narrow but deep shop stretched back into shadow, where more shelves crowded together like teeth.
Burgundy rugs, threadbare at the paths, covered the wooden floor between aisles.
Hand-lettered signs in chalk hung from the shelf ends- POETRY, HISTORY, ROMANCE.
A tabby cat was curled on a stack of atlases near the window, its tail draped over a globe the color of old tea.
Elle looked upward, and Thor followed her gaze to where the tops of the shelves reached the ceiling.
"Don't worry, they have rolling ladders if you want to climb up. I thought about taking you to a regular bookstore, but why waste money when I could bring you here? The books here are a fraction of the price of new ones."
Elle's eyes sparkled. "That means I can buy substantially more books."
Thor scratched his head. "Well, that's not exactly what I was going for, but I guess it's true. Does this mean you trust me again after the sushi debacle?"
“Definitely.” Elle squealed with delight and kissed him on the cheek before running to the nearest aisle and starting at the bottom, scanning the books. She pulled one off the shelf and flipped through the pages while inhaling.
"Oh boy." Thor sighed. Maybe he should have brought her on her day off.
After following Elle for close to an hour, with his arms full of books, Thor walked to the lounge area and set the books on a table while he dropped into a plush, cobalt velvet chair.
He sat for a moment, trying to calculate how long it would take Elle to go through the whole store.
At the rate she was moving, they might be done by his three thousandth birthday.
But then she would want to start over because there would be so many new books.
Thor smiled, glad he'd done something for her that she truly loved. It did bum him out about sushi, though. He’d have to take her to Chinese food next time.
He scanned the stack of books Elle had picked. They were all nonfiction books about gems, jewelry-making, and geology.
Elle walked up beaming, arms full of another stack of books. "I've finished the first row."
"Did you leave books for anyone else?"
Elle's eyes narrowed. "Ha-ha."
She set the second stack next to the first and began looking through them.
Thor picked up a book. "Do you really want all these?"
She shrugged. "I want to read them. I'm not sure I want to keep them all, but learning about geology, rocks, and metals on Midgard is fascinating."
"Why buy them if you aren't going to keep them all?"
Her brow knit. "I'm not going to steal them."
Thor shook his head. "I should have taken you to the public library."
"Public library?"
"A place where you can borrow books for free, and when you are done reading them, you return them."
Elle's eyes widened so far he thought they might pop out. "Is... is anyone allowed to borrow the books?" she whispered.
"As long as you have a library card."
Elle stared at him as if trying to comprehend the idea.
"Can we go there next?"
"Sadly, they're closing soon. We need your ID as well. Loki gave you papers, I assume."
She nodded.
"Well, we'll need those. Then you go in, fill out a form, and they give you a library card, and you're all set."
Elle continued to sit, unblinkingly, as if envisioning all the books.
"For free," she mused.
Thor chuckled. "Okay, okay, don't hurt your brain. Why don't you pick out a few books to tide you over until we can go on your next day off?"
Elle nodded and thumbed through the stacks of books. She separated them into three piles and picked up the largest, of about fifteen books. "I'm ready."
"Is your next day off in six months?" he chided.
"I haven't taken a day off since I got here. I'm not sure how often I have them."
"Once or twice a week."
Her eyebrows raised. "Two days a week? To... do what I want?"
"You could work even less if you wanted."
She shook her head. "I need to be of service. I need to repay Lady Frigg."
"You realize Frigg doesn't expect repayment, right?"
"I want to make sure I do my part. That I work hard, and she is pleased."
Thor reached out and took Elle's hand. "Elle, Frigg won't send you away if you make a mistake or want something for yourself."
Elle wouldn't meet his eye.
"Elle, look at me."
She lifted her gaze.
"Elle, no one is going to send you back where you came from. No one is going to get mad at you and tell whoever you are hiding from where you are."
She didn't speak for a moment. "I... I just..."
So, he was right. She was running from someone.
Thor squeezed her hand. "Elle, I understand you are scared of something, someone, but my family adores you. Frigg and Loki wouldn't have helped you, only to sell you out. You are one of us now. We will protect you like we would each other."
Her chin quavered, and she nodded.
Thor touched her cheek, and she smiled at him. Every particle of his body meant what he'd said. Though he'd not known her long, Thor was certain of one thing. He would never let anyone hurt Elle again. No matter what he had to do to protect her.
* * *
Thor helped Elle carry her chosen books into her flat.
"You can put them on the table," she said, setting her jacket down. She glanced around to make sure she'd cleaned her place, but like always, it remained spotless.
Thor set the stack of books on the coffee table. "I like what you've done with the place."
"What do you mean?"
"The neutral colors make the place appear bigger. I like it."
"Oh... thank you. Most of the things I got at a thrift store."
Thor headed to her bookshelf and picked up one of the figurines Val made her.
"Did you make these?"
"No, Val did. She made them for me when I was young, so I'd have something to play with. Probably to grab a small break from having to read to me."
Thor smiled and put it back. He picked up one of her rocks.
"Is this one of your polished rocks?"
"Yes. That is one of the ones which took me a year to complete."
He stared at it for a moment. "You know what this is, right?"
"A sparkly red rock?"
He chuckled. "It's a ruby. They are rare on Midgard. People pay a lot of money for them."
"Do they?"
He held the stone up to the light. "One of this size would net you several thousand dollars."
"What?" She couldn't believe it. The red rocks had been all over Muspelheim.
He nodded. "How did you learn to put all these facets in it?"
"Facets?"
"Yeah, the angles you carved in to be able to refract the light so it looks... glitterier."
"Oh... I saw someone wearing one that looked like it once and I... did it."
He stared at her in astonishment. "You should come back to my shop and work with the tools I have."
She nodded. "I'd love to. Thank you."
Thor put the stone back and checked out the other items and books on her shelf. Elle held her breath, afraid he might find something he would recognize as being from Muspelheim, but after a minute, he turned to her.
"I should let you go so you can sleep."
"Of course." She tried to keep disappointment out of her voice. She wasn't ready for Thor to leave yet.
Thor loomed closer, his presence a magnetic force that pulled Elle into his orbit.
His steps faltered for a heartbeat, the tension in his jaw giving way to a soft sigh before he enveloped her in his embrace.
The warmth radiating from him intoxicating, and Elle found herself sinking into it, her breath hitching as she rested against the solid expanse of his chest.
Her hand fluttered at the small of his back, caught between the desire to clutch onto him and the need to maintain composure. The air around them charged, carrying the scent of ozone and iron- a testament to his power and stability.
Time stretched as they stood entwined. And her magic swirled deep inside her, but not out of fear, out of something else.
Finally, Thor pushed away. His gaze landed on her face and lifted his hand to cup her cheek. "What is it about you?"
Her chest constricted. "What... what do you mean?"
"I don't know. I just... I don't want to leave because when I do, I can't get you out of my head.
I want to protect you, kiss you, and take care of you.
You're like a sweet bird who is so fragile yet so strong at the same time.
I can't put my finger on it. I just... want to make sure no one ever hurts you again. "