Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) (36 page)

“One week without Meemaw’s chicken parm is
pretty much an eternity.” She flung her hand to her forehead and
pretended to faint.

“It’s not good when the one who’s
pre-Med
passes out,” Charlotte observed drily. “Who’s going
to revive her?”

“Seriously, Mia.” Heather sat up. “When are
you coming home? You haven’t, like, moved in here, have you?”

“Moved in? Like permanently? No. It’s way too
soon for that.” I kept my tone light. Brynn caught my eye and gave
a small wink. She’d coached me thoroughly—the less everybody knew
about what was going on, the better. “Truth is, I just can’t bear
to be apart from this kitchen. Every single appliance is
top-of-the-line.”

“Right.” Heather snorted. “It’s the
kitchen
she can’t stay away from.”

Charlotte giggled. “Even I’m not buying that
one.”

“Buy whatever you want.” I picked up my fork
and smiled. “
Bon appétit
.”

“Cheers.” Heather took a bite. “Mmm. So
good.”

“Delicious.” Charlotte closed her eyes as she
chewed.

“Mmm.” Brynn nodded in agreement.

Heather finished chewing and leaned forward.
“It was the sex, wasn’t it? It was so good you couldn’t stay away,
even for one night. And now we might never see you back at the
house again.”

“Heather!” Charlotte threw her napkin at our
friend. “You can’t ask that!”

Brynn tilted her head. “But now that the
question’s out there, how is the sex?”

“Oh my god!” My cheeks may as well have been
facedown on a griddle. “We’re not talking about this.”

“It’s that good, huh?” Heather sighed. “I
knew it would be. Just look at him.”

My arms flew up to cover my head. “Stop
it!”

“I have to admit, I’ve always been a little
curious,” Brynn chimed in. “How big is his—”

“Stop it!!” I giggled, and peeked out from
behind my forearm. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it.”

“You’ve… wait. You guys
are
doing it,
right?” Heather looked confused.

“Uh, no. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Brynn tilted her head in
confusion, and even Charlotte leaned her forearms against the
table, waiting.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “It just hasn’t
been the right time. Can we please talk about something else?
Anything else?”

My eyes met Charlotte’s, and she gave a small
nod. “How about you, Brynn? How’s Henrik?”

Brynn blushed right up to the tips of her
ears. “We’re just friends.”

“You want us to say something to him?”
Heather offered. “Cause I’m sure if he knew you were into him, he’d
be all over you.”

“No!” Brynn waved her hands in front of her
face. “It’s fine. I just, eh, we’re good.”

“Whatever you say.” Charlotte shrugged. “I
just want everyone to be as blissfully happy as our Mia, here. Just
look at her. She’s glowing.”

“I am not glowing.” I rolled my eyes.

“You’d be glowing if you were having sex,”
Heather pointed out.

The tips of my ears probably matched
Brynn’s.

“Oh, this is to die for.” Heather pointed to
her plate as she spoke through a mouth of tomato sauce. “How do you
do
this?”

“I’ll show you next week if you want,” I
offered. “It’s a super-easy dish.”

“Sold.” Heather raised her fork. “I’m at the
clinic on Wednesdays and Saturdays now, but any other evening is
good.”

“You picked up an extra shift? So your
schedules are working for you. That’s great!” I took a bite,
grateful for the subject shift.

“Yeah. Sorry again for blowing up at you
about all that. Turns out micro-scheduling and time blocking was
exactly what I needed. I’m carrying a three-point-five GPA, and the
time at the clinic has helped my coursework click into place. I’m
way more productive than I ever was. So thanks for that.”

“I’m glad I could help.” I reached over to
squeeze her arm. “What about you, Charlotte? How’s your
boyfriend?”

“Fantastic.” She beamed. “I’m going home with
him for Thanksgiving. His aunt lives in Ashland.”

“Ooh. Catching any plays while you’re there?”
I asked. “Or is that off-season?”

“I don’t think Matt’s really the theatre
type,” Charlotte mused. “But it’s okay. I’m sure we’ll find
something to do.”

“I’m sure you will,” Heather teased. “Is
everybody ready for the Spirit of the Redwoods celebration?”

“As ready as we can be.” I covered my mouth
to hide my giggle. Only in Northern California would there be a
festival honoring trees… complete with two days off school to
observe the festivities.

We caught up on the past week while we ate,
and when dinner was over we finished the gallon of my favorite
cookie-dough ice cream Tyr kept stocked for me. Tiny little Brynn
managed to pack in the most, and she clutched her stomach as she
walked to the front door.

“Next time, cut me off after two bowls,” she
moaned.

“No way. Life’s short. Eat the ice cream.”
Heather opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. “Well,
hello, hotties.”

We stepped out behind her and saw Tyr and
Henrik getting out of the Hummer. Henrik shot us a grin as he
walked up the front steps. “
Hei hei
, ladies.” He threw an
arm around Brynn’s shoulders. “How was girls’ night?”

“It was great,” she trilled. “There are
leftovers in the kitchen. Mia made way too much.”

“She always does.” Tyr came up on the porch
and planted a hard kiss on my lips. “
Hei
baby,” he
murmured.

“Hi.” The word came on a breath. “You guys
have fun?”

“Always. But we’re starving. You really have
leftovers?” Tyr’s hopeful tone was absolutely adorable.

“Heaps. Help yourself. I’ll be in in just a
minute.” I kissed him again, and he and Henrik walked into the
house. Brynn and I walked the girls to Charlotte’s car and said our
goodbyes. Then I turned to Brynn with a sly smile. “You coming back
in?”

“No.” Brynn sighed. “Henrik needs to work,
and I need to watch Charlotte and Heather. One of our scouts in
Svartalfheim said there was some weird stuff going on outside a
closed portal. We don’t know for sure, but in case they’ve reopened
it, I want to make sure the girls are protected.”

“You’re a good friend.” I gave her a quick
hug.

“So are you. Now go in the house before I
leave. I promised Tyr I’d keep an eye on you.”

“I’m good now. Tyr gave me a space gun,” I
boasted.

“You mean a nano-molecular particle
accelerator?” Brynn corrected.

“Space gun sounds more fun.”

“And where is your space gun right now? Do
you have it on you?” Brynn raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, no. It’s in the closet.”

“Exactly. Get inside. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Brynn blew a kiss as she lowered herself into her car.

“Night, Brynn.” I waved, and walked into the
house. When I’d shut the front door behind me and peeked out the
window to wave again, Brynn started her car and drove off. Henrik
jogged by me, headed upstairs as I made my way down the hallway.
“Good night, Henrik. Have fun working.”

“Night, Mia! I’ll have Fred functional soon.”
Henrik didn’t stop running as he spoke.

“You need some help?” I called after him.

“Nope. Just have fun with our boy. See ya!”
Henrik reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner.

“See ya.” I smiled to myself. As I walked
into the kitchen, I held back a giggle. Tyr sat at the counter,
eating the rest of my chicken parm straight from the serving
platter. “You enjoying yourself, mister?”

Tyr looked up, guiltily. There were only a
few bites left. “Mmm-hmm. That was delicious.”

“You missed a spot.” I scooped a dollop of
sauce onto my finger and held it in front of his mouth. Tyr raised
an eyebrow and parted his lips, sliding my finger between them and
sucking gently. His tongue slid along my knuckle, licking the
remains of the sauce away, and sending goosebumps ricocheting
across my arm. As he drew the finger out of his mouth, he swirled
it one last time with his tongue for good measure. He didn’t break
eye contact the entire time.

Oh hot bejeebus.

“Get over here, Miss Ahlström.” Tyr pushed
the stool back from the counter and patted his lap. I stepped into
him so that his long legs straddled mine. His hands palmed the
small of my back, pushing up my shirt, while mine flew to his hair.
I ran my fingers through the disheveled strands as Tyr leaned
forward and brought his mouth to my neck. He massaged my skin with
the warmth of his tongue, then moved up to nip my chin. When he
reached my bottom lip, he raked it between his teeth, then sucked
gently, running his tongue along the sensitive skin at the same
time.

Good Lord …

“He’s back. You need to leave.”

In my peripheral vision, I saw the kitchen
door fly open and a towering figure stand in the doorway.

“Henrik!” I squealed, tugging at my shirt
while Tyr chuckled. “I thought you were working.”

“Well clearly.” Henrik gestured to my top,
which I hurriedly straightened. “But not anymore. Fenrir’s back.
Get to the safe house now.”

Tyr’s laughter disappeared. “Where?”

“At the rear entry. He’s trying to break
through the enchantments. You two have got to get out of here.”
Henrik tossed a bag at Tyr, who caught it in one hand. “Here’s the
ingredients from the safe. Take them with you. And get them to the
dwarves as soon as you can.”

Tyr flew upstairs and returned seconds later,
holding a suitcase. Had he found that thing and packed it in the
time it took me to fix my shirt? “Where’s Elsa?” he demanded.

“Forse and the healers took Elsa to the
northwest compound. Brynn’s setting protections around the Daffodil
Drive house so Fenrir can’t go after Charlotte and Heather, and
then she’s going to the safe house to be with Elsa.” Henrik handed
each of us a space gun. “You might need these on your way out.”

“Seriously?” My mouth opened.

“You bet. Do you want to be unarmed when that
breaks through?” Henrik pulled the curtain back on the window and
we looked outside. The feral wolf leaped at the invisible
shield.

“
Skit
,” Tyr wrapped an arm around my
waist and tightened his grip on the suitcase.

Henrik nodded. “I’ll meet you there at dawn.
I’ll bring the rest of your things.”

Just then, the snarling outside stopped. A
crash against the back door confirmed that Fenrir had breached the
boundary. My heart leaped into my throat as an enormous wolf came
barrelling through the kitchen window. Henrik raced for the weapons
closet while I undid the safety on my space gun and gripped it in
both hands. I’d thought I’d lined up a good shot, but when I pulled
the trigger the white beam only grazed Fenrir’s hind foot. He
snarled, but the blow didn’t slow his trajectory as he raced for
us, using only three legs to push off countertops.

Tyr held up a hand and an orb emanated from
his fingers. It formed a bubble around us, stopping Fenrir’s drive
as he leapt from the counter. He let out another snarl and bit at
the orb. It disintegrated in a shower of pale blue sparkles, its
remains sprinkling the kitchen in a glittery glow. Fenrir took a
step back and prepared to strike, and without thinking, I took aim
and fired again. And again. I kept firing until the space gun ran
out of magic. It never occurred to me the stun setting might not be
enough to protect us. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t think to
switch it to implode. Thankfully, a series of white lights shot out
of the weapon, striking Fenrir in the head with enough force to
knock him on his back.

“Nice shots,” Tyr murmured.

“Oh thank God.” My heart thumped wildly and
my hands trembled as I lowered the weapon. “I was afraid he was
going to—”

“
Skit
.” Henrik returned wielding a
crossbow as Fenrir climbed unsteadily to his feet. The animal bared
his teeth in a furious roar. “Whatever dark magic they’ve laced
into Fenrir, it’s counteracting the effects of the accelerator. You
two get out of here. I’ll deal with the dog.”

Tyr stepped between the wolf and me. He
wrapped his arms around me and squeezed, then used his super speed
to run us out the back door and into the woods. “Heimdall,” he
shouted, “open the Bifrost.”

A multicolored ray shot through the trees,
punctuated by a deafening roar. I threw my arms around Tyr’s neck
and held on tight, praying the wolf would stay put for just a few
more seconds. A wind whipped around us, and I buried my face in
Tyr’s chest as we were sucked through an invisible portal. I heard
snarling in the distance, and I prayed that Henrik would be able to
take care of himself. My stomach churned, my head spun, and before
I knew what was happening, I blacked out.

The last thing I remembered was Tyr’s voice.
For the first time it betrayed a hint of fear. “Heimdall, take us
to the northwest compound.”

“
COME ON, BABY. COME
back to me.”

Everything was black. I had no idea where I
was, or what was happening. The only thing I was able to register
was the cool hand stroking my forehead, and the soft surface
beneath my body. There was a salty tang to the air, and… was that
the smell of fish?

I forced my eyelids open. Everything around
me looked hazy, but as the seconds ticked by, Tyr’s face came into
focus. His brow was furrowed, wrinkles lining his forehead. He
knelt on the floor, hovering over me. As I blinked up at him, his
shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Thank Odin,” he exhaled.

I tried to sit up but immediately fell back.
“Whoa.”

“Stay down. Transports aren’t easy for gods.
I can’t imagine what it feels like for a mortal.” He held up a
glass while he cradled my head in one hand. “Drink.”

I rolled to one elbow and did as instructed.
The water disappeared quickly. Tyr helped me lean back on the couch
cushions, and I looked around—I was in a living room. It was big,
maybe forty feet deep and twice as many feet wide, with a
twenty-foot ceiling that stretched over the staircase leading up to
the second-story landing. The room was done in creams and whites,
with wainscoting covering the bottom of the walls and climbing the
wooden staircase. I was on one of two cream couches positioned in
front of a stone fireplace. Large windows let in filtered
moonlight, and the sound of lapping waves
almost
soothed my
nerves.