Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) (45 page)
Read Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) Online
Authors: S.T. Bende
Tags: #urban fantasy, #coming of age, #adventure, #paranormal romance, #young adult, #teen, #mythology, #norse god, #thor odin avengers superhero
“Brynn’s not allowed to date. Not for a
while, anyway. If you want to push anyone, my money’s on Forse.
He’s had a thing for my sister forever. And he’s way more impatient
than Henrik.”
“Want to bet on it?” I checked the contents
of the refrigerator. Meemaw’s dark chocolate cheesecake was cooling
nicely, so I pulled the heavy whipping cream out and brought it to
the standing mixer. “If Henrik asks Brynn out first, you owe me a
really, really good back rub.”
“I do that anyway. You should have asked for
something bigger.” Tyr came up from behind and wrapped his arms
around me. He took the cream from my hands and opened the carton,
then poured the contents into the mixer and set it on high. “And if
I win? If Forse asks Elsa out first?”
“Well, then you get to pick your prize.”
Tyr set his hands on the counter, one on each
side of me, so I was boxed in. He lowered his mouth to my ear and
whispered in a gravelly voice, “I was hoping you’d say that.”
I turned around and smiled up at him. “Want
to do me—”
“Yes.”
“A
favor
?” I narrowed my eyes as I
continued.
“Yes.” His eyes absolutely burned with
desire.
“Go take a shower? You smell like
dragon.”
Tyr chuckled and kissed the top of my head.
“As you wish,
prinsessa
,” he called as he jogged up the
stairs.
I smiled as I closed the refrigerator door.
By the time Tyr walked back into the kitchen, wearing dark jeans
and a blood-free Henley, I’d started to peel potatoes. And for the
next hour, I prepared a proper Southern supper with my Norse god
boyfriend, while he told me all about his day relocating dragons
and negotiating with dwarves.
I’d landed myself a completely crazy, utterly
unbelievable life, with a man—a god—who I loved beyond logic or
measure. It was a far cry from Mama’s fairytale
happily-evah-aftah.
It was even better.
This was
my
happy. And I loved every
single minute of it.
**Reviews are huge for indie authors, and
your feedback means a ton! If you enjoyed Mia and Tyr’s story,
pretty please consider leaving a review. Even a few words help, and
the Norse crew and I truly appreciate it!
Mange takk!
**
**
The Ære crew will return in
Perfekt Control
(
The Ære Saga: Book Two
). Sign up for
my
READER’S
GROUP
to get a
free
copy of the Elsker Saga
novella,
Tur
, and stay up to date on sales, release info,
giveaways, and the latest happenings from our crazy Norse crews.
And be sure to swing by my website at
www.stbende.com
, and say
hei hei
.
Skål!
–S.T.**
TAKK!
Mange takk
for reading the first book
of
The Ære Saga
. I hope you enjoyed reading Mia and Tyr’s
adventures every bit as much as I enjoyed writing them. (Seriously,
I had a blast!) It’s been an epic adventure getting to share these
crazy Asgardians’ stories, and it wouldn’t be possible without the
support of truly amazing readers. I am incredibly grateful for you.
Tusen takk
for dreaming across the realms with me!
Skål
y’all!
Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia,
S.T. Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s
Coffee) and Europe . . . where she became overly fond of McVitie’s
cookies. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient
Norwegian teacher inspired the books of
The Elsker Saga
and
The Ære Saga
. She hopes her characters make you smile, and
she dreams of skiing on Jotunheim and Hoth.
Find S.T. on her website (
www.stbende.com
), or over on the
RagnaRockstars
Street Team
- her readers’ private Facebook group!
OF THE NORSE CREW?
Find out what happens to our favorite Norse
gods in
THE ÆRE
SAGA
.
THE ÆRE
SAGA: PERFEKT MATCH (Coming 2017)
THE ÆRE SAGA:
BOOK 5 (Coming 2017)
And meet the
other
Norse crew
(including Henrik’s brother Gunnar!) in
THE ELSKER
SAGA: TUR (a novella)
THE
ELSKER SAGA: COMPLETE BOXED SET
And the bonus Elsker/Ære crossover novella
…
SUPERNATURAL
CHRONICLES: THE ASGARDIANS
The Norse crews and I love to connect with
readers! Find us online at
Website:
http://www.stbende.com/
S.T. Bende on Twitter:
@stbende
Tyr Fredriksen on Twitter:
@tyrfredriksen
Ull Myhr on Twitter:
@ullmyhr
Inga Andersson on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/IngaAndersson/
Want more information on upcoming books?
-and-
Join the RagnaRockstar Street Team
– my readers’
private Facebook group!
See
what happens when the valkyrie next door faces her ultimate
challenge, in
Rule the realms.
Brynn Aksel is a valkyrie—a battle goddess
tasked with protecting both the God of War and the future of
Asgard. She fends off giants and dark elves with an iron fist, a
glossy smile, and no less than
perfekt
control. She’s
focused one-hundred-percent on rising through the valkyrie ranks,
and not at all on her lifelong crush on Henrik Andersson—the one
guy in all the realms who could be her undoing.
Henrik serves as War’s other bodyguard, and
he’s too focused on protecting their shared charge to realize that
Brynn’s a girl. When an unprecedented surge of darkness abducts the
Goddess of Love, Brynn’s already-steely focus is singularly
directed on her new assignment—accompany Henrik to recover the
realms’ source of light before the cosmos descends into chaos.
While battling demons, dragons, and the
not-quite-dead, it becomes clear that immortality does not equal
invincibility. And when Hel herself puts a hit on Brynn, the
valkyrie has to decide if staying in control is worth losing
everything… or if it’s time to rule the realms.
And now, a sneak peek at the next chapter in
The Ære Saga
:
THE ÆRE SAGA: PERFEKT CONTROL
CHAPTER ONE
“
STUFF IT, BRYNN,” TYR
muttered as he
pulled a smoking pan from the oven. The God of War stood in our
open kitchen. His girlfriend’s frilly pink apron popped against his
standard uniform of jeans and a Henley. He glared at me as he
dumped the blackened contents of the pan into the sink, where it
blended with a sea of similarly situated peers. Our kitchen had
morphed into a veritable cake graveyard.
“I didn’t say anything.” I held up my
hands.
“Didn’t have to.” Tyr threw the empty cake
pans at the stovetop, where they clattered loudly in protest. “Your
obnoxious little laugh speaks volumes.”
I forced my face into a neutral position and
tilted my head at the lacy fabric tied around Tyr’s waist. “Your
cooking attire took me by surprise. That’s all.”
Tyr pulled the oven mitts from his hands and
threw them at me. Hard. My fingertips stung as I plucked them from
the air.
“Was that really necessary?” I asked.
“Was cackling like a caffeinated hyena
necessary?” Tyr countered with an eyebrow raise.
Harrumph
.
“The apron’s Mia’s. I thought if I wore it
while I cooked, maybe this time I wouldn’t burn her
förbaskat
birthday cake.”
I waited in silence while Tyr scrubbed the
big silver bowl clean, pulled a box of cake mix out of the
cupboard, and turned to me. With his narrowed eyes and tight-lipped
frown, he was the picture of resignation. “Apparently, this apron’s
not the reason my girlfriend’s such a great cook.”
“No, it’s not.” I bounded across the kitchen
to rescue the cake box from Tyr’s hand. He was squeezing it so
hard, I thought it might need saving. “Fred’s going to make the
packet explode,” I pointed out.
Tyr clung tighter to the box with his
prosthetic right arm. Mia, Henrik and I had developed it under the
guise of an engineering project, and it had saved his life when the
homicidal wolf Fenrir bit his original arm clean off. Now, Fred
served proudly as Tyr’s right forearm, attached by biomechanical
medicine, Asgardian magic, and just a touch of fairy dust.
When poor Mia discovered her freshman lab
project was actually the saving grace for an Asgardian deity, she
thought we’d led her straight to the psych ward. But crazy was the
name of the game when you were tasked with protecting the God of
War.
Apparently, diplomacy was the name of the
game when you were trying to help him bake.
“Okay, fine. Kill the poor mix.” My tone
softened when Tyr’s shoulders drooped. “Look, Mia’s a great cook
because she loves it. She likes taking care of us. She especially
likes taking care of
you
. And the last thing she’d want on
her birthday is for you to beat yourself up over something as silly
as a birthday cake. You can always order one from the bakery. Want
me to call them?”
“No, Brynn. I’m making my girlfriend a
förbaskat
cake. If you’re not going to help, then get out of
my kitchen.”
“I share kitchen custody, you know.” I
elbowed past him and opened the refrigerator. I pulled out the
carton of eggs and set them on the counter, then closed the door
behind me. “When Mia started spending weekends here, her bodyguard
did, too. Remember?”
When Asgard’s resident war god fell for
Redwood State University Engineering undergrad Mia Ahlström, I’d
been reassigned from my valkyrie post to protect the sweetest
mortal this side of Midgard. And when the evil wolf Fenrir made a
hit on Tyr’s life, Mia and her newly christened bodyguard started
spending a lot more time at War’s impeccably decorated cabin in
Arcata, California. Instead of collecting fallen soldiers for Odin
and Freya as I’d done as a battle valkyrie, these days I attended
Engineering classes, workouts, and study sessions with my charge. I
also got to weekend with the uber-uptight war god, and the hottest
bodyguard in the history of the realms, Henrik Andersson.
Immortal life was looking good.
“
Ja
, you stay here sometimes
.
”
Tyr ran his hands through his dark blond hair. The normally tousled
strands now looked downright disheveled. “But you’re useless in the
kitchen. I need someone who can fix this. Where’s
my
bodyguard?”
As if he’d heard Tyr’s summons, the front
door slammed, and Henrik’s footsteps sounded in the hall. A moment
later, the tall frame of the guy I’d had the hots for since
kindergarten filled the kitchen doorway. I bounced on my toes—the
movement usually distracted me from the unavoidable stomach
flutters I got whenever I looked at Henrik’s chestnut hair, easy
smile, and thick, muscled arms. But there was no avoiding the
twinkle in his grey-blue eyes as he looked around the kitchen.
He grinned at the brooding war god stewing
over the stove. “Having trouble, mate?”
Tyr let out a growl that echoed across the
cavernous kitchen.
“He’s trying to make a birthday cake for
Mia.” I pointed to the sink, now overflowing with blackened
culinary rejects. “But it’s not going so well.”
“Well, did you offer to help him?” Henrik
asked.
“We all know Brynn can’t cook,” Tyr
retorted.
“I can too cook!” I threw a nearby dishtowel
at Tyr. He plucked it out of the air before it could smack him in
his surly face.
“She can cook,” Henrik agreed. He walked
around the big island in the center of the room and slung an easy
arm around my shoulders. An army of angsty butterflies took flight
somewhere beneath abs two and three. If I hadn’t had
my whole
entire life
to get used to hiding my emotions, I probably would
have giggled.