Gods (15 page)

Trudy made a face. “She’s in her bedroom. She’d asked for a snack and Mama made me take some to her. Like I’m her servant. She was lucky I didn’t throw it at her.”

I pushed the basket of pastries into Trudy’s hand and opened a portal to the rotunda. The same guards who’d grinned while Eirik carried me like I was his pet were still on duty.

They bowed and smiled, until I said, “Where are Einmyria’s quarters?”

Their smiles melted away and they looked at each other, but no one volunteered to show me the way. I had no idea where her bedroom was, but according to the goddess it was next to theirs.

“Can one of you take me to her, please?”

The guards were reluctant, but one nodded and escorted me to the goddess and Baldur’s quarters. For once Litr wasn’t there to open the door. He often anticipated my arrival. Instead, Einmyria opened the door when I knocked.

For a beat, she just stared at me. She was about my height and I found myself staring at her eyes. I tried to see their real color through the contacts.

“Hey,” I said.

She blinked, and I could swear the contacts shifted. “Hey. I heard you were around.”

“Yeah. Eirik kept me busy, but I meant to stop by and see you before I left.”

“Does that mean you forgive me?”

I wanted to say hell no, but the frustrated look in the goddess’ eyes flashed in my head. I nodded. “I guess so.”

“Oh, thank you.” She hugged me, and it was the moment with my mother all over again. I froze, uneasy and not sure what to do. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you. That wasn’t me. I swear.”

I should wrestle her to the ground, pluck those contacts, and expose her for the fraud she was, except, it could be possible to have lighter colored eyes as a child. Besides, the goddess had one blue eye. Anne Marie could
really
be Einmyria.

She leaned back and gave me a shaky smile. “Thank you for understanding. You and Eirik are together, and that makes you my sister now.”

I played along. “Of course. Like you said, we are sisters now.” I wanted to throw up.

~*~

EIRIK

“Where’s Celestia?” I called out when I realized she was gone.

“With Einmyria.” Trudy moved closer, the basket of pastries in her hand. “Please, don’t tell me she’s coming with us tomorrow.”

“She is.” I hadn’t asked Einmyria yet. Ignoring the pouting Trudy, I focused on Rhys. “Sit down with the guy and talk like normal people.”

Rhys scowled. “Echo is the opposite of a normal person. He is unreasonable about many things, and Dev tops that list. He won’t talk to me.”

“How about this. I bring him to the table and you can owe me.”

“My loyalty cannot be bought.”

“Stop being so damn literal, dude.” He was too serious. I studied the tats on his arms and grinned. “You can wear me. Yeah, that’s how you’ll repay me.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

“Add a dragon tattoo to your collection when I bring Echo to the negotiation table. You have space for one more, don’t you?” Rhys stared at me as though I’d lost my mind. I wasn’t surprise he didn’t find my suggestion funny. “Lighten up, Grimnir.” Laughing, I opened a portal to the rotunda. “Come on, Trudy.”

“I already have a damn dragon tat, Baldurson, and it has nothing to do with you.” He yanked his shirt up, to show me one on his left side, right under his ribs. The tat was big, a round Celtic looking symbol with the silhouette of a flying dragon in the center. It was impressive.

“Not bad. Not that I needed the visual.”

His violet eyes narrowed. “Fine. You’ll get your tat. But if you don’t deliver, you will owe me one, no questions asked.”

“Dude, I was kidding.” I was still laughing when the portal opened.

“Why can’t I just wait in the hall?” Trudy griped as she followed me into the rotunda.

“Because I want you to see what forgiveness looks like, and maybe”—I led the way down the hallway to my parents’ quarters—“you’ll stop hating Einmyria.”

A derisive laugh escaped Trudy. “If you think Celestia will forgive what she did to her, you are nuts. I hope she whoops her ass.”

“Celestia doesn’t hold grudges. She’s reasonable and sweet, and a lot more understanding than you, Trudnir.”

“Ha. That’s what you think. I’m sure we’ll find them at each other’s throat. I bet on Celestia. As for your sister, she needs to stop treating me like I’m her servant.”

“She does not.”

“She’s the one who needs to prove herself around here and someone needs to tell her who I am.”

I sighed. Dealing with women was exhausting. I entered the main room ahead of her and found Celestia hugging my father. I liked that my parents were fond of her. It was going to make things easy for me when I told them how I felt. Einmyria watched them from across the room, a weird expression on her face. The second she noticed me, she grinned and started toward me, the look gone. Maybe I’d imagined it, or maybe Trudy was getting to me.

“Celestia and I talked. Everything is okay between us.” Her eyes narrowed when Trudy joined us. “What are you doing here? We didn’t ask for food,” Einmyria said dismissively.

“Told you,” Trudy murmured as she walked past me, then she paused to give Einmyria a tight smile. “These are for Celestia. Mama is sending her home with some of her best pastries since someone knocked her out and she didn’t get to eat properly for three weeks.”

“Girls, that’s enough,” Father said, letting Celestia go and putting an arm around Trudy’s shoulder and the other around Einmyria. He pressed a kiss on Trudy’s forehead and studied her with a gentle smile. “Little one. For years, you complained you didn’t have someone your age to do things with. You two should be best friends, not fight over the past. Celestia understands that Einmyria was under Angrboda’s influence and has forgiven her. Can you do the same, for me?”

Trudy stared at Einmyria, then Celestia before she nodded.

“Thank you. Einmyria, Trudy is a member of our household. She will play a big role in Ragnarok and we are honored to have her here. So, you two must learn to get along.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Wonderful. So I hear tomorrow is a big day for all of you. Trudy is visiting Celestia for the day.”

“And going shopping at a mall and watching a movie in a real theater just like Mortals. Mama and Papa said it was okay after Eirik promised he’d take good care of me,” she added quickly, when my father frowned.

“Be careful out there. All of you.”

“I’m not going, Dad,” Einmyria said. “I have all I need here and Maera is making me more clothes.”

“Then you’ll help make sure the men finish demolishing the floor so they can start on that pool.” Father’s glance swept us before stopping on Celestia. “I’m happy you came to see us,
dýrr
. Don’t let my son keep you to himself whenever you visit.”

“I won’t.” Our eyes connected when he hugged her again. Her eyes grew bright. She could be such a girl about hugs. She left his arms for mine and sunk into my side. “Let’s go home.”

“Will you be home for dinner?” Einmyria asked before we left.

“Nope. I’m joining Celestia’s family for dinner. Maera gave her all my favorite foods.” I took the basket from Trudy and peered inside. There were two apples in the top basket, then another cloth under it covering the pastries. I was happy I wasn’t the only one worried about Celestia getting hurt again. She needed her artavo and the sooner the better. “Dad, I’ll stop by for a chat when I return. I want to ask your opinion on something.”

“Sure, Son. Celestia, pass our regards to your father. I promised him a rematch of our favorite game, and I’m ready this time.”

“What game?” Celestia asked the moment we left my parents’ quarters.

“Chess. Your father brought a board and taught Dad how to play. He caught on fast, but your father deliberately loses to him, and we both know it.”

“And you are a terrible partner, so he needs her father,” Trudy added.

“Let me guess. He let his father win, too.”

“No. He trounced him every time. I’ll see you tomorrow, Celestia.” Trudy and she hugged then Trudy
went her way.

“Don’t listen to Trudy. Dad prefers it when I beat him because it helps him get better. He’s improved a lot the last week.” Echo and several young Grimnirs left the hall at the same time as us. He smiled at Celestia, shamelessly flirting with her, and completely ignored me. A few months ago, I would have been jealous. Not anymore.

“Did you two fight?” she asked, after Echo and his trainees disappeared through a portal.

“He fought with Rhys, and I put a stop to it.”

“Oh. The two Grimnirs you mentioned. I thought you might have fought about Cora.”

I chuckled. “Why? Cora is his problem now, not mine.”

“What do you mean?”

I opened a portal to her living room. Her father was home early. He was on a stool in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. “Cora is high maintenance. Comes from being an only child to an older couple. They made her the center of their attention, homeschooling her because they were educators, giving her whatever she wanted. She becomes impossible when she doesn’t get attention.”

“She sounds a lot like you.”

“Hey, I was deprived of attention, hugs, and kisses. Not the same thing.”

She grabbed my chin and planted a kiss on me. “You’re a hoot and a half, but we both know Raine’s family made up for whatever your Immortal guardians didn’t give you.” She went through the portal. “We are home.”

Panic flashed in Chief Deveraux’s eyes. His reaction didn’t make sense, until a woman we hadn’t seen entered our line of vision. I recognized her from a website Celestia had been scrutinizing a month ago. She was the city council woman her father dated. Rosalie Perkins.

“I didn’t hear you drive up, Celestia,” Mrs. Perkins said and even glanced out the window before studying me, her eyes not missing my coat, Celestia’s cloak, or our gloves.

“We came on a boat,” Celestia lied smoothly and rubbed her arm. “Brrr, it’s cold using jet skis so late in the day, but Eirik loves them. We brought dinner from Maera, Dad.” She placed the basket on the table, removed her gloves, and smiled at the woman as though she had nothing to hide. Her father looked like he’d swallowed a frog. Celestia introduced me as a friend from New Orleans without saying I was her boyfriend. We hadn’t discussed exactly what we were to each other, but I planned to remedy that.

“Nice to meet you, Eirik. What is Maera? A new restaurant.”

Celestia chuckled. “No, Eirik’s family chef. She makes the most amazing pastries. If she were to open a restaurant, I’d eat there every day. Try one of the buns.” She removed the top tray with the apples and lifted the cloth covering the pies and buns. “The bigger pies are filled with chicken and steak, but the smaller buns have cream and fruit.”

How brilliant. Celestia had completely distracted the woman and saved the moment. No wonder I was crazy about her.

“Hayden dropped off a pile of papers for you,” the chief said.

“Those are my homework packets. Eirik and I will eat later, Dad. He’s going to help me with math.” She grabbed my hand. “With the door open, in case you were about to remind me.”

“I wasn’t,” her father said with a straight face while Mrs. Perkins chuckled.

“Yeah, right.”

“My father would like a rematch, Chief,” I added. “He’s improved since your last game, so hopefully you won’t have to work hard at letting him win.”

“Who said I let him win?”

“He did, sir. After I beat him several times.”

Just before we disappeared into the hallway leading to Celestia’s bedroom, we overheard Mrs. Perkins say, “What a nice young man.”

“Did you hear that? I’m nice, so why didn’t you introduce me as your boyfriend?”

Celestia grinned over her shoulder and caught me closing the door. “We promised to leave that open.”

“I’m not that nice. About your intro…”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to claim you yet.”

I couldn’t tell whether she was serious or not. Then her dimples flashed and she started to laugh.

“Take that back.”

She hopped on the bed and tried to get to the other side but I was faster. I caught her, one apple slipping from her hand. I tried to forget the world outside her door, but it wasn’t easy with her father around. I wished she were staying at my place, so I didn’t have to sneak in and out of her room when he was asleep.

She stopped playing, went to her desk, and opened her homework packet. I settled on her bed, propped my head, and watched her. I loved watching her. She had an expressive face and tended to show what she was feeling. I knew something was wrong when her eyebrows slanted downwards and she bit her lower lip. Instead of starting on her homework, she started drawing squiggly lines on a piece of paper. It was obvious something was bothering her.

“Talk to me, Dimples,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “Have you ever heard of homes where Immortals send their children when they have mental problems?”