Dom fought a snort.Right.Dominique Acosta—warrior.That was listed right under her name on the “most likely to” list from high school.
But then a thought occurred to her.MC was more than a tool for battle.After her conversation with him, and all his naysaying about where he stood as far as his position in Asgard, he couldn’t hide the fact that he, too, had feelings.
Without thinking, she said as much.“I don’t want to be forward, but MC is more than a tool for Asgard to use only when trouble arises.He’s been an invaluable support to me since you gods decided I was the girl for the job—which I question on the daily, BTW.That insanity aside, he’s also myfriend.”
MC quivered in her hand, maybe in protest to her bold statement, but she tightened her grip on his handle, quietly letting him know he was as important to her on this journey, and not just because he could kill serpents.
Marty and Wanda, sitting out of Heimdall’s vision, silently clapped, while Nina gave her the thumbs-up.
But Heimdall didn’t even bristle at the suggestion MC was her friend.“’Tis a fine thing, this bond you’ve forged with Mjölnir.Indeed, he should be treated as one of us.Now, we’ve no time to quibble about attachments.I have news.News you must heed with great seriousness.Shall I impart?”
Was this a multiple-choice question?
* * *
“Dom?”Harvey called to her where she stood on the balcony of her quarters, overlooking this place that was so magical, so beautiful, but contained so many dangers.
As he approached, his soft footsteps growing closer, she swiped a tear from her eye.She hated that she cried when she was angry, and she was beyond whatever word was bigger than angry.
Livid, maybe?Flabbergasted definitely fit.
The things Heimdall had spoken of were devastating, terrifying.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, Harvey gripped them, and Dom found herself leaning back into his broad chest.“Can we talk?”
Could she talk?After everything Heimdall shared, she wasn’t sure words were a thing she could handle right now.
“About the world’s impending doom?I can’t say it’s something that comes up in my usual everyday conversations, but sure.Let’s talk about Fraggle Rock.”
Harvey’s sigh was deep, his chest expanding into her back before he let it go in a raspy breath.When he spoke, he didn’t even correct her joke about Ragnarök.“I hate that after all the talking MC and I did about how there’d been no threats of impending doom in a long time, we’re suddenly talking about impending doom.You’re frightened, and I hate that, too.”
Turning in his grip, she looked up at him, lifting her chin.“And you’renotfrightened?You did hear what he said, didn’t you?Someone’s definitely trying to tap into some ancient magic, and they’re going to use it to try to get their hands on MC.And just like you said, they’ll use whatever they have to in order to do it—which means they’ll threaten everything I love, like my papa.And then they’re going to end the world.As inkaput.Done.Over.”
How?How was she supposed to warrior her way outta that?
Harvey cupped her chin.“But not if we find the magic first.”
Now she rolled her eyes.“Okay, sure, Jessica Fletcher.Where do you suggest we look first?”
Harvey ran a hand over his chin.“I don’t know, but Heimdall and the other gods will do whatever it takes to locate it.I’lldo whatever it takes to locate it.”
“So thatthingtoday?—”
“You mean the serpent you slayed like a beast?”
She still didn’t know where those instincts had come from, but she was damn glad they’d showed up to the party.“Yeah.That.That’s one of the foes you were talking about?Do they all look like that?”
His eyes gleamed in the lights dotting the landscape of Asgard, crystal clear and filled with determination.“No.They don’t all look like that.They come in various sizes and forms, but the serpent today was from the realm of the giants who want the world to end.”
“And what the heck did ‘don’t let him coil’ mean?”As she had more time to process, bits and pieces of the battle had come back to her.
Harvey’s mouth thinned.“This will probably sound insane, but if allowed to inflate to its fullest size and release its tail, it’s capable of coiling the world.So basically, it would have smothered the world—Midgard included.”
Her mouth fell open.“Theworld…”
Harvey’s handsome, chiseled face contorted.“The world.But you stopped it like a pro, Dom.You did that.You.”
Pushing her hair from her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief.“Pro-schmo.I don’t even know what happened back there.Something just took over and shazam, I was on a table, whacking away at a snake with disgusting teeth who was the size of a prehistoric dinosaur.Do you hear how insane that sounds?”
