When his eyes filled up, I gave him a hug. We stood like that for a long moment, but when his arms dropped from my body, I stepped away and left without another word. He was struggling with his emotions, but I wouldn’t force him to talk, not until he was ready.
Time to power-walk home, knock back that potion like it was tequila, grab a shower, and figure out what the hell Iwas supposed to wear to a den ceremony, besides weapons, apparently.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Loki was visibly delighted to see me, and his trilling antics made me smile. Despite his day of rest, he still looked tired, which made tendrils of worry creep back in. Still, the itching was driving me wild, so I dashed right to the fridge and downed Amber’s potion.
‘Oooooh,’ Loki said with pleasure, his wings instantly brightening. ‘So good.’
I blinked. Now that we were tethered, had my depleted magic become a problem for him as well?
‘Sorry buddy. I didn’t realise my low levels of magic were hurting you.’
‘Not hurt. But give more.’
I blinked. Throughout the day, there had been moments in interview when I barely noticed the itching, and that wasn’t normal for me. Normally, when it arrived, it stayed and gotprogressively worse. I’d put it down to my being so involved in the interviews, but had Loki been sending mehismagic to stave off my fallout?
‘You helped me?’
He bobbed his head.
‘Thank you,’ I said, touched. ‘But next time, just let me deal with it. I don’t want you suffering.’
He flew to me and nuzzled into my neck, saying with actions what he struggled to articulate with words. I related all too well, thinking of those words I still hadn’t told Robbie. I nuzzled Loki right back, stroking his soft wings with delicate fingers.
‘You feeling better now?’
‘Good!’ he declared.
‘Good, because we’ve got a trip to an ogre’s den planned, and I definitely need backup.’ If only for moral support.
Loki’s little chest puffed up like a ball of cotton wool. ‘I come,’ he promised.
I smiled despite my apprehension that he would probably mouth off to at least two ogres. ‘Thanks Loki. I appreciate that. I need to hop into the shower. Do you need anything else first?’
‘I good.’ He took to the wing and flew around the room, skimming close to the ceiling. I left him to his antics and went to blast myself with a cool shower.
As always, Ji-ho had come up good, and he’d called me with a bunch of information while I’d been getting ready. It turned out that Robbie hadn’t been joking about the weapons thing. Part of the blessing ceremony for the den involved all of the occupants promising to protect the den and coming armed was part of that.
I’d be lying if I said the idea of strolling into a den of fully armed ogres didn’t make me nervous. Robbie wouldn’t let harmcome to me, but he’d been open about the numerous challenges he’d faced lately, and while he’d won them all, there was definitely tension there.
And I was a grenade. A human mate.
Not that we were mated, per se, but we were on that path, and his detractors wouldn’t like that.
From what Ji-ho had said, den rules were clear: if anyone attacked me, Robbie was within his rights to kill them. Robbie had declared me to be in his shadow, under his personal protection, and that meant any insult to me was an insult to him. I needed to mentally prepare myself for the possibility that someone might die tonight at Robbie’s hands, and I couldn’t show weakness. Couldn’t show a jot of shock or disapproval, or I’d undermine him utterly.
I dragged a hand through my unruly mop of brown hair. It was going to be a total shitshow, but at least my magic was at full strength, humming under my skin. I was almost bursting with it. A vial of Amber’s special potion worked even better than a full day in the Common realm. It was the magical equivalent of chugging three energy drinks and I felt rejuvenated, if on the wrong side of buzzing.
I put on two daggers, one sheathed on the outside of each ankle, the weapons hidden by the flare of my jeans. I’d need every advantage I could get if things got scrappy. Then I donned more weapons, visible this time. My baton was secured on my utility belt, and my father’s old gun rested on my hip. Since I was trying to be visibly tough, I didn’t bother with a jacket, but I did grab some sunglasses. The sun was still out, and on the off chance the ceremony was outside, I didn’t want to be squinting and miss a weapon flying towards me.
Because I needed just a little pick-me-up, I painted my lips bright red and put on some mascara too. This was as dressed up as I got. I toyed with pinning my hair back into an updo,but ultimately, I was a girl who seldom fussed with her hair, and chances were good I’d make more of a mess of it than an improvement.
There was a knock at the door, but before I could answer it, my ghost picked up Fuck You’s mace and floated it over to me.
‘You think?’ I asked mildly.
The mace moved forward firmly an inch.
