"It's not a mess. She seemed pleased to see you."
"That's because she made her boundaries clear. One night, just sex. Nothing more. And now she's here, in your house, having dinner with me."
"Okay well, deep breath. If it's nothing, then you can just make chit-chat and I'll give you a heads-up next time," she said as she went back to making drinks. "Here, try this." She passed me a glass.
I took a sip and nodded. "It's good."
"It's elderflower, I got it from a shop in the god realm."
"You've been to the god realm?" There was no keeping the surprise out of my voice.
"Yes. Thor took me. Why?"
"Hel told me about a plant that grows there that necromancers use to connect with the dead and suggested I try it for my potion. But I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get more even if I could get it working. But if you go to the god realm, then maybe you can get some for me when I run out..."
She raised an eyebrow. "It must have been some one night stand if you were talking about your potion on it."
"Oh, no. That was after your gallery opening. She talked to me about a few necromancy things to help me."
Daisy gave me a look that I was pretty sure meant that she didn't quite believe what I was saying about it only being a one night thing, and I guessed that I saw her point.
"But sure, I can get you your plant if you need me to," Daisy said as she picked up the tray of drinks. "Or maybe you can ask Hel for more."
I rolled my eyes and followed her through to the living room. Daisy handed out the drinks and sat down next to Thor, leaving the only seat free next to Hel.
I swallowed hard. It was going to be difficult to focus if I was sitting next to her the entire evening.
"How is your potion coming along?" Hel asked as she turned towards me.
"Okay, I think," I said, trying to ignore the way Daisy was looking at me. "I've been researching the veillock you gave me before I started using it. I didn't want to waste what I have."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"And I'm not really sure how to make it focus on the person I want to call into the dream," I said.
"You think of them as you drink it," Hel said. "I'm not sure if it'll work the same for a witch, but that's how it goes for necromancers if we want to communicate with the dead. We take something like veillock to help us focus, and then stare at a photo of the deceased. Or a painting in the time before photos."
"I had no idea that's how necromancy worked," I admitted.
"None of us did," Thor said. "I think this is the first time I've heard Hel talk about it."
"That's because Clara has shown more interest in what I do, Uncle," she shot back at him.
He laughed. "Well, that's me told."
Daisy put a hand on his arm. "If you've never asked, then you can't really complain that she's not told you."
"She's not asked about forging either," Thor joked.
"No, we mostly bond over mead and what mischief my father has gotten up to lately," Hel said. "I heard their latest habit is to crash Jinx parties and try to get people to join in karaoke."
"Can he sing?" I asked.
"Loki prefers they," Thor responded to me. "But no, they can't."
Hel let out a resigned sigh. "One day, they'll cease to embarrass us at events."
"Or not, because they insist the problem is that we don't have enough fun," Thor said.
