Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (24 page)

Wes came to my desk. “You never called.”

Damn it. I meant to on Sunday, but worrying about Eirik and his sister had gotten in the way. “I know. I was so busy I completely forgot.”

“Are you going to the meeting at seven?”

“Yes.”

“I could pick you up.”

“You’ll be going out of your way, Wes.”

“I don’t mind.” He touched my hand, and a growl came from my left. My head whipped toward it. Eirik’s eyes were slitted, and his nails elongated into claws. Was he really jealous of Wes? I shook my head.

“I can pick you up, so we can have that drink afterward,” Wes added, completely oblivious to Eirik.

“Sure.” It was time I told him that there was no chance of anything happening between us.

“Awesome. I’ll be there at a quarter to seven.” He glanced at Eirik and smiled triumphantly, and I knew he’d been aware of Eirik watching us all along. Zack walked him to his car while Eirik put the last bottles of herbs on the shelf.

“I’m starving, guys,” I said. “I have to eat something or I’m going to faint.”

“You should have eaten the breakfast I cooked this morning,” Eirik said.

“Do you mean your attempt to impress my father? He is not easily—”
Oh crap!
Cringing, I turned and caught Hayden’s eyes on me. She switched the sign on the door to “Closed.”

“He cooked breakfast to impress your father?” she asked.

“Why don’t I get us pizza and you can tell Hayden why I made breakfast for your family?” Eirik interrupted. “Tell her the truth, Dimples. All of it.”

“Really?”

“How else can they visit us without knowing everything?”

I gawked at him. Did he just say “us”? Had I missed something earlier when he was talking before I’d parked?

“It’s you,” came from the entrance, and we turned around. My cousin had just entered the store, and his eyes were on Eirik. “You’re the dude from the sketch Celestia did after she went to that cold castle and almost died. I wondered why you looked familiar. I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember where I’d seen you. She nailed the description.” Zack stopped smiling. “Down to the arrogant way you act and talk.”

“You saw the sketch?” I asked lamely, worried about how I was going to get out of this.

“Uncle Richard showed it to me and told me what you said. He thought I might recognize him.” Zack walked toward Eirik. “She did it. She actually rescued your entitled ass.”

“Yes, she did.” Eirik smirked. “But I take exception to my ass being entitled.”

My face flamed. He was joking while my cousin looked ready to deck him.

“And then she went back a second time and came back bloodied up.” Something in Zack’s voice set off warning bells in my head.

“Zack!” Hayden and I cried out at the same time.

“No, this is long overdue.” My cousin slugged Eirik on his jaw.

Eirik could have defended himself, but didn’t. He even staggered, the reaction so fake I was surprised Zack didn’t realize it.

“That’s for what my cousin went through for you and whatever crap your family is into. And this is for not bothering to visit and check on how she was doin—”

He didn’t finish the sentence because I waved my hand and pushed him aside. He crashed into a display, and I immediately regretted my actions. Hayden reached Zack first since I was too mortified by what I’d done. I’d hurt my cousin to protect Eirik, an Immortal that self-healed. I couldn’t even lie and say I’d been thinking about Zack getting hurt.

“Sorry, Zack,” I said, feeling worse by the minute.

“He deserves to have his face rearranged,” Zack snarled, getting up and straightening his jacket. He moved toward Eirik while Hayden tried to restrain him.

“He visited her, Zack,” Hayden said.

“Like hell he did. I don’t recall seeing him at the hospital or the house.”

“He did.” Hayden blocked Zack. “I saw him.”

“Where and when?” he shot back.

“Zack, stop,” I said.

“He came the night Celestia regained consciousness and stayed by her bedside the entire night. I was there and talked to his friend. The guy with purple eyes who was here earlier.” The look she threw Eirik dared him to deny it. “Believe me, I didn’t want them there either and told his friend.” Her eyes locked with mine. “I didn’t like the way they’d snuck in to see you before you regained consciousness or the way they’d refused to talk to me. He was outside your house the day the chief brought you home and at school a couple of times.”

She was making this up. I glanced at Eirik, and for once, he wasn’t smirking. The way he glared at Hayden said she wasn’t lying. He hadn’t wanted anyone to know he’d visited me. And all this time I was hurt and angry that he hadn’t.

“Okay, now that we are on the same page, who wants pizza? Dimples, you come with me. Zack”—Eirik touched his jaw and flexed it—“nice hook. Hayden. Very observant. Or maybe I was careless.” He started for the door. The other two stared after him. He opened the door and stared at me. “Come on, Kewpie. I’m starving.”

I hated that nickname. “You are an arrogant ass.”

“No, you got that mixed up. Mine is entitled.”

“Stop talking.” I reached for my bag from behind the counter and glanced at my cousin, who was obviously re-evaluating his position. Hayden looked unapologetic. Why hadn’t she said anything about Eirik, especially after I’d told her and Tammy that I couldn’t remember anything? Things didn’t add up.

Eirik and I headed north. The nearest pizza place to TC was Fredrico’s. We walked in silence. A quick glance at Eirik found him staring ahead, oblivious to the attention he received from the people we passed. Men like him would always draw attention from women. It wasn’t just the body, the black T-shirt hugging his arms, and the badass tattoo of his mace. There was something in the way he carried himself that set him apart. Then there was that face. He wasn’t Baldur’s son for nothing.

“Why did you come to see me?” I asked.

“I was worried about you.”

I shook my head. “I told you to stay away from me that night, Eirik. I was mean.”

“You were in pain. You got hurt on my watch and had every right to push me away. I respected that, but at the same time, I just couldn’t stay away.”

“So you came anyway but made sure I couldn’t see you. I wish you hadn’t cloaked.” I stopped, and he did too.

How much had he seen? His face didn’t say. I’d cried a lot those first weeks, especially at night. A few times at school, I’d had meltdowns because of something someone had said. I couldn’t even remember what was said, but I’d gone back to being the weak and pathetic girl I’d been in middle school. Always looking over my shoulders and scared of shadows. This time, I’d been worried I might be soul-napped by another powerful Witch.

“Don’t,” Eirik whispered, cupping my face. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.” I blinked rapidly until I had my tears under control again.

“Talk to me.”

I didn’t want to discuss the past. Not anymore. I had the present to worry about.

“Let’s just get the pizza,” I whispered.

“Not yet.” He took my arm and pulled me into a portico of a store. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

I shook my head. “But you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who was wrong that night. In my pain and fear, I associated you with everything that had gone wrong in Hel. Zack shouldn’t have punched you.” I reached up and touched Eirik’s cheek. The bruise was darkening. “Why aren’t you healing?”

He covered my hand with his. “And miss this?”

Heat crawled up my face.

“Besides, girls dig guys with a shiner,” he said.

As if he needed a bruise to attract females. “Heal it, please.”

“You sure? The line at Fredrico’s is usually long and there’s a certain waitress there who likes me.”

Show-off.
“So you’ve been around here before?”

“Once or twice.”

“So basically you’ve been stalking me.”

“Exactly.”

He had no shame, and I was touched when I shouldn’t have been. I couldn’t believe I’d been hurt because he hadn’t come to see me. The need to come clean washed over me.

“Everything changed after that week in Hel,” I said. “My life sort of crumbled. I was scared all the time. Seeing Grams and hearing that she knew about my mother’s premonitions turned me off practicing magic, and without magic I’m nothing.”

“Don’t ever say that. Magic doesn’t define you.” He covered my hand, making me realize I was stroking his bruised cheek.

I smiled. “Yes, it does. Without magic, I’d be a nobody. Uninteresting. Just your average teenager doing average things.”

Eirik growled, and my eyes widened. I pulled my hand from underneath his.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to shift. Don’t ever say that you are a nobody,” he ground out. “You are kind and generous and fierce. You defended me against your cousin when he could have killed me.”

I laughed. “Right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

He took my arm, and we continued toward Frederico’s. “I need to hear this. I promise I’ll behave.”

“Coming to your realm changed me, and I didn’t know what to do or who to tell how I felt. I would have liked to talk to someone. Part of me wishes you’d shown yourself, but another part knows I would not have wanted to see you or talk to you. Sounds crazy.”

“Sounds conflicted.”

“I was a walking mass of contradictions those few weeks.” We stopped outside the pizza place. “Still, I’m sorry I told you to stay away.”

“Don’t be. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

I hoped so. I might keep telling myself he was from a different world, but I wanted him. He would make the perfect boyfriend. We entered the pizza place and the face of the blonde behind the counter lit up when she saw him.

“Hey, stranger. We haven’t seen you around in weeks.”

“I’ve been busy.” Eirik glanced at me as though I was the one who’d kept him busy. The girl sized me up, her gaze lingering like she was trying to place me. I was at the pizza place at least once a week and she wanted to feign ignorance? She dismissed me and flashed Eirik a smile.

“So what can I get you today?”

Eirik looked down at me, reached out, and caressed my cheek. His touch was light and intimate, and when he spoke, his voice stroked my senses.

“What do you want to eat,
stjärna
mín
?”

I didn’t care about pizza anymore or that he’d told me to date someone else. I didn’t even care about his grandmother and the damned dragon kiss. I wanted a real kiss.

EIRIK

My attempt to show the lady behind the counter that my love interest was right beside me just got interesting when I reached out and touched Celestia’s cheek. She shivered and her breath caught. Her luminous eyes drew me in, and the urge to kiss her grew until it was all I could think about. I lowered my head, and her lips parted in invitation.

“What will it be,
Eirik
?”

Celestia turned her head away, her face turning pink. I wanted to take her away from annoying Mortals and show her how much I wanted her.

“We’ll have a deep pan veggie, a meat lovers, and a Hawaiian with extra pineapple,” she said in an unsteady voice, eyes glued to the menu board. She glanced at me. “Do you want to add something?”

From her expression, she was determined to be sensible. I hated when she was sensible. Deciding not to push, I faced the blonde who’d interrupted us. My annoyance must have shown because she blushed. She’d flirted with me before, but I’d never reciprocated.

“My usual,” I said.

“So another deep pan meat lovers, fried calamari, onion rings, and hot wings.”

“Make that two orders of hot wings.” I pulled out my credit card.

“I’m paying for part of that,” Celestia insisted.

“No.” I didn’t explain, and I was happy she didn’t argue. In the mood I was in, I would have kissed her to shut her up.

We carried our lunch back, the silence between us stretching. Focusing on my obsession to kiss her only messed with my head, so I went over the things she’d confessed, the pain in her eyes as she’d talked about what she’d gone through after leaving Hel. If I had pushed, we would be together now.

“I want you to tell Hayden and your cousin about me today,” I said before we entered the shop.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Keeping secrets is terrible.” My mother had lost it last night because of one.

“You were right about how much to tell a non-magical person like your father. A little at a time is better. I can’t say the same for Hayden and Zack.”

“What if the Norns hear about it?”

“I don’t care.” The one thing the Norns feared the most was being exposed. They erased memories of those who’d dealt with Grimnirs and Valkyries to ensure that. I was about to blow open the door to the supernatural world.

“Eirik?”

I glanced down at Celestia. She didn’t just sound worried. She looked it.

“Don’t worry about the Norns. I’ll deal with them.”

“How? I do not want them messing with my memories.” She shuddered.

“They won’t. I’m going to keep them so busy they won’t have time to focus on you and your family.”

“I have a bad feeling about this. You can’t take on the Norns and remain unscathed. Even your mother couldn’t fight them, and she is one scary lady.”

“I don’t intend to lose.” I pushed the door open and waited for her to walk ahead.

“We’ve had this conversation before, haven’t we?”

“Oh yes. In fact, something you said four months ago gave me an idea on how to deal with the Norns.”

“What? I said a lot of things four months ago.”

“I’m not telling you. You might jinx it. Besides, someone’s gotta take the blame if my plan falls through.”

“You’d blame me?”

“Yep. I gotta keep my record clean. If you haven’t noticed, I’m awesome at everything I do.”

“And the dragon is the show-off?”

She laughed as we entered the séance room. Her eyes twinkled and those adorable dimples stayed on her cheeks. The sound sent longing through me. I wanted to hear her laugh every day. Watch her eyes light up as she teased me. Capture her smile in a kiss. Damn, now I was back where I’d started, obsessing about kissing her, claiming her, showing her she was mine.

The smile disappeared from her lips, and she went pale. I glanced over my shoulder to see what had caused her reaction. Her cousin and Hayden stood in the doorway.

“I thought you couldn’t remember a thing from your experience, Celestia,” Zack said.

“Dude, back off,” I warned.

Zack rounded on me. “I know you have something to do with this. Did you tell her to lie to us?”

Hayden took his hand. “Give them space, Zack. Can’t you see how difficult this is for her?”

Zack grabbed the chair across from mine, sat, and watched me like I was Hel’s spawn, which I was. He had every reason to distrust me, but his attitude wasn’t going to mean jack when it came to Celestia and me. Hayden opened the fridge and removed cans of pop and iced tea. No one spoke as we settled around the table.

Ignoring everyone else, I focused on Celestia and demolished my food, including the appetizers, which they’d declined.

“Don’t they feed you where you come from?” Zack said.

Zack was looking for a fight, but I wasn’t giving him one. Last time, I’d let him land a punch. That wasn’t going to happen again.

“Let’s see,” I said. “This morning, I had a basket of pastries before leaving for my morning flight. Afterward, I had five servings of pancakes, eggs, sausages, and bacon. I have a healthy appetite. I need it for my shifts.” Celestia covered her mouth to hide a smile. “Then I was at Celestia’s where I cooked breakfast for her, your uncle, and my two guards.”

“You cooked for my uncle?”

“Yep. He trusts me, so better get on the bandwagon, junior. I’m here to stay.”

From the twinkle in her eyes, she thought I was a hoot and a half, and that was all that mattered. I wondered what she’d found funny—my claim that her father trusted me or calling Zack junior? He, on the other hand, studied me like I was a bug he wanted to crush.

“Why aren’t you fat?” Hayden asked. The girl was blunt to a point of rude. Like Trudy. The two would probably get along. “I’d be if I ate like that.”

“I quickly burn whatever I eat.”

“You play ball?” Zack asked. I had a feeling he wanted to challenge me just so he could trounce me.

“No, I fight.” My eyes met Celestia’s. “Boxing, wrestling, street fighting, weapons training… you name it, I do it. I also fly.”

Celestia choked on her drink. I reached out to pat her back. The look she shot me would have stopped a lesser guy.

“You okay, Dimples?” She nodded. Zack’s eyes narrowed with annoyance. The man really didn’t like me.

“You fly?” Hayden asked.

“Yes. But not on a broomstick.”

“An airplane?” Zack asked.

“Nah. I’m faster than a plane. I can pull maneuvers a jet pilot would envy, and I can cloak. That ability is not available to everyone.”

Zack sneered. “You’re full of crap. Want to show me some of your fight moves?”

“Sure. Now?”

“Eirik!” Celestia looked at her cousin. “Let it go.”

“I’m just asking. Looks like he hits the gym quite often, so maybe he and I…”

I stopped listening when I noticed the discoloration on Hayden’s arm. A section of her skin had a weird texture. I adjusted my eyesight and saw the half-moon mark. It was faint and blended well with her darker skin. If I didn’t have dragon eyes, I would have completely missed it.

Someone pushed on my knee, but I didn’t pay attention. My hand shot out and stopped Hayden from reaching for another slice of pizza. I lifted her arm to see the underside. Similar scar, less recognizable unless you knew what to look for.

“Dude, what’s your problem?” Zack snapped. “Let her go.”

I dropped Hayden’s arm and raised my arms. “Sorry. Your scars, where did you get them?”

Hayden frowned and hid her arm under the table as though feeling self-conscious. “I don’t have them anymore. My mother used herbs and spells to make them disappear.”

“What scars?” Celestia asked.

Hayden stood. “It’s nothing.”

“Are they half-moon scars?” Celestia asked.

Hayden hesitated and then nodded. “I
had
them on my arm when I was young.” She peered at her skin and rubbed the area. “My mother did everything she could to get rid of them. I don’t know why. I just know she hated them.” Her eyes flew to Celestia. “It’s funny. They kind of look like the one you have on your—”

“Foot,” Celestia finished, her face pale.

“How the hell did you notice Hayden’s scar?” Zack asked. “I’ve kissed every inch—”

Hayden covered his mouth. “You’re done eating, mister. I’m putting you on shop duty for the next thirty minutes.”

“The shop is closed. It’s”—he glanced at his watch—“damn! My dad was expecting me an hour ago. I’ll call him and explain. He’ll understand.”

“No, he won’t.” Hayden’s voice was firm. “Go help him. I’ll fill you in later.”

He lowered her hand from his mouth. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”

“Yes.” She kissed him. “Go.”

“If I wasn’t so crazy about you, I’d be insulted.”

“I know, but this is Witches’ business and you’re not officially in yet.”

Zack scoffed at the idea. “You want to tell me
he
is a Witch?”

“I am,” I answered before Hayden could.

“What’s your gift, your royal highness?”

“Zack,” Celestia cut in. “Leave him alone.”

Cute. She still believed I had zero magic.

“It’s okay, Dimples. I got this.” I extended my arm, engaged the right runes, and flexed my hand. The mace became alive, shifting under my skin and lifting until it separated from my body and leaped into my hand. Zack mumbled a curse, the look on his face priceless. Hayden’s jaw was down. Celestia wore a smile that said she knew I was showing off. I kind of loved the mace and people’s reaction to it.

“This is
Gunnlögi
, my battle blaze. Want to try to hold it, Zack?”

“Eirik,” Celestia warned.

She was right. I didn’t need to humiliate her cousin. I whipped the mace in the air, let it coil around my arm, and blended with it. Silence followed, and I went back to my pizza.

“You deliberately allowed me to punch you, didn’t you?” Zack asked, his voice cold. His dislike of me just shot up.

I smiled without responding, but he understood.

“I bet anyone can get one of those where you come from,” he said.

“No, they can’t,” Celestia said. She glared at me and smiled so lovingly at her cousin I was jealous. “Go home, Zack.
Gunnlögi
is his. No one can bond with it or fight with it, let alone lift it.”

“It didn’t look heavy,” Zack protested.

“Let him try, Dimples. Please.”

“Stop it.” The look that accompanied those words said Celestia was close to pulling a Witch move on me. No one could lift the mace except me. It was made of a special metal and forged in the ambers of a dying star by Dwarves. “Don’t encourage him. If that weapon hurts him, I will hurt you.”

“It moves on its own?” Zack asked.

Celestia sighed. “No, it doesn’t. Just go home, Zack.”

Her cousin studied the tattoo, then me. “Next time, right?”

“Sorry. She’s the boss, and she says no.”

He picked up his drink and left the room with Hayden. Celestia played with her bottle of iced tea, her eyes distant. I wanted to know what she was thinking.

“Sorry about teasing your cousin.”

“Zack knows he shouldn’t mess with magic or magical objects. Unfortunately, he can’t resist a challenge. Do you think Hayden is one of the orphans? That would mean she’s an Immortal.”

“Ask her.” It wasn’t my place to tell her the truth about her best friend. There had to be a reason Tammy had tried to get rid of the scars. Had she found a way to sever the blood bond using spells? I rather liked the idea of Celestia falling in love with me and our love destroying the bond.

Hayden entered the room. “I hate keeping secrets from Zack, so I promised to tell him everything tonight.” She threw me a weird look. “I hope that’s not going to be a problem.”

“Not with me.”

“So you can’t keep secrets from Zack, but you can from me?” Celestia asked.

Hayden cringed as though Celestia had slapped her. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you an Immortal?” Hayden stared at her, a stricken expression on her face. “Don’t answer that. It’s written all over your face.”

Hayden sat. “Celestia, we all have secrets we keep from each other for reasons only known to us. Mine started way before I met you, and it wasn’t mine alone. It was also my mother’s. Keeping it was the only thing that kept us alive. It still is.”

“I’m not judging you,” Celestia said. “I just wish we didn’t have to keep secrets from each other. I’ve wanted to tell you about my time in Hel so many times.”

Hayden reached for her hands. “And I’ve wanted to tell you I was an Immortal too, but I couldn’t. Mom warned me to never ever tell anyone what we were or what we’d gone through all these years.” She glanced at me before adding, “So you astral projected to Hel?”

“Yes. Eirik is really Hel’s son and his so-called ‘guards’ are soul reapers. Oh, your mom… she wasn’t alone when she left, Hayden,” Celestia said. “Noises woke me up, and I went to look. She and some guy in an expensive suit were talking in whispers. Then the lights went out and they were gone. I think he was an Immortal, too.”