Loki muttered something, and the woman apologized and dimmed her eyes until they resumed their pale gray, making her appear even more striking, those irises like ice contrasting against the dark blue-black of her brows and hair. The woman stood only a few inches shorter than Loki, dwarfing Hecate.
Something about her felt important.
Loki, unfortunately, refused to let Hecate study her further. He flicked his hand at the warrior woman, who sighed and rolled her eyes again, this time in front of the god.
“Fine. We’ll be waiting. Come on, Frey-Frey.” She and the cat walked away, disappearing down a corridor until they vanished from sight.
Loki stared at Hecate, his fury on display for all to see. Suddenly, the area around the speakeasy emptied of everyone but the two of them. “What did you to with my son?”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Too bad Hecate hadn’t gotten her drink before Loki had scared everyone away. Even Catherine had departed. Damn it.
“Let’s not play games. You’ve been telling everyone for years that some great catastrophe is coming to end our worlds. You’ve meddled with the vampires—for which I highly congratulate you. Even I wouldn’t stoop so low to create chaos. But you managed it. I silently applauded. But getting my son to go along with you is a step too far.”
“Again, I don’t follow. What are you talking about?”
He studied her. “You’re telling me you have no idea where Jörmungandr is?”
Hecate froze. “He’s dead and sitting in some Norse afterlife, or so Hel once mentioned when I asked.”
“Well, not exactly.” Loki’s pleased smile alarmed her. “He wasalmostdead after his skirmish with Thor during that time people thought the world might end.”
“So the first Ragnarok was just a test drive?” she snapped.
“Exactly. Thor isn’t dead, and neither is my son. But letting the gods know that wouldn’t help anyone. They get so testy about my boy’s bad behavior. But don’t worry. My wife has been working with him about his behavior.”
In Hecate’s opinion, Angrboda was just as bad.
Loki continued, “Jormy’s been hanging out in Niflheim with his sister, working on his anger issues.”
“Loki, he nearly ended the world once.” Of Loki’s three well-known monstrous children, the giant serpent had nearly conquered the world. He’d lived under the waters of the earth’s grand oceans, so large that he fit around the entire world. He slept with his tail in his mouth—the original ouroboros—a circle with no beginning or end.
Prophecy said that Jörmungandr would kill Thor with his venom and nearly poison the world, falling prey to Thor in theirfinal battle. Did the Norse gods know the great serpent lived? Studying Loki, she thought not.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because if you don’t have him, someone else does. And that someone is hiding him, because even the Norns can’t find him.”
The fates couldn’t find him? A great foreboding made the back of her neck tingle in a very bad way.
“I swear I don’t have him.” Her Night Bloode was powerful, and she was pretty sure she could stir most of the gods and magir into joining her crew to battle an entity that wanted nothing but disorder and death to them all. But not if she couldn’t gather the Bloode Stones in time.
Now to learn that one of the most destructive forces in the world wasn’t dead? Was in factmissing?
Loki sighed and shrugged, a gleam of mirth in his eyes. “I have a feeling we’re in for a wild time. You know, Hecate? Maybe all your ranting about chaos and demons and the Darkness That Comes might have some teeth after all.”
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Val wantedto kick the arrogant vampire by the time they reached his laboratory.
The ease with which Khent maneuvered her was embarrassing. Especially because she couldn’t stop noticing how nicely they fit together and how oddly good he smelled. Like a mix of ash and incense peppered with power over the dead.
Sandalwood and spice, and nothing else nice. Dumbass, keep your eyes off his broad chest and full lips and try to act with some dignity!Her inner self felt no shame in pointing out her own stupidity.
“Get off, fanger,” she grumbled again, not pleased when he smirked and hugged her tighter, letting her feel all that strength.
“Nice catch there.” A large male with pointed ears, pitch-black skin, and long white hair up in a man bun met them in the basement. He cocked his head and studied her. “What are you?”
