He smiled at me. “I should be the one thanking you. And I would like to do it again sometime.”
Surprise rippled through me. He doesn’t mean that. He’s just saying it to be polite. “Our home is always open to you, Týr.”
The god nodded and walked off toward the woods, disappearing before my very eyes. Had I not been familiar with magic, I might have been startled.
I shook this moment from my mind and set a path for home. It was fun while it lasted.
Chapter Three
Týr
Water lapped at the shore. I stared out over the river, my mind restless. Blood clung to my armor, clothes, and skin, and although my wounds had healed, my body ached.
Steel clashed and warriors cried. The coppery scent of blood clung to the air.
I blinked slowly. The events of the battle lingered in my mind, tangling with my other thoughts. Loss of mortal life on both sides. Gods and immortals joining and switching sides.
Thunder cracked. A blinding light stole my vision. Jolting, excruciating pain raced through my arm and into my body.
I wince when my arm ached—a reminder of Thor turning on me. I couldn’t fathom what had gotten into him, the asshole. But he’d turned on the wrong gods. Both Fenrir, a wolf god of war, and Baldr, a war god of courage, were nearby to back me up. I could always rely on them in battle.
We’d won in the end, but at what cost?
Grass shifted behind me and a waft of herbs assaulted my nose before a familiar voice spoke. “Týr?”
I turned to see Astrid standing a few paces off. I smiled, unwilling to fight off the warmth that came with her appearance—a ray of sunshine in the darkness that surrounded me. “Astrid.”
Her gaze slid over me, and I found myself doing the same, but for a very different reason than I guessed her to be. This dress she wore, perfect for these warmer days of Sólmánuður, hugged her body like it was part of her. It was nicer than what I’d expect her to wear out. And she even wore more makeup than usual. She’s done up her hair, too.
My body hummed, cock straining against my now too-tight trousers, craving a reward after a hard-earned fight.
I could request her. I could have anything from her family as debt, including her if I so pleased. But I wouldn’t ask that. I couldn’t—she was mortal. To become attached to someone who would be gone in a few decades, if not sooner... I shook the thoughts from my mind. I needed to be careful around this woman, or I’d make a mistake I’d soon regret.
“You’re covered in blood,” she said. “Are you hurt?”
Her concern was touching. I shook my head. “Not anymore.”
She stepped closer. “But you were.”
“I am a god, Astrid. We heal rather quickly.”
Her concern didn’t evaporate. She closed the distance between us and knelt. “Do you hurt anywhere?”
My brow lifted, my interest piqued. “Are you offering to heal me?”
A mischievous smile slipped up her face. “Perhaps I can. You’ve been gone for some time.”
It’d been a good month or so since I’d last seen her. She could have learned something new with her magic in that time.
I’d wanted to come back, make good on what I told her, but hesitated. I knew becoming attached to this woman would be unwise. I still didn’t understand why she, of all out there, tempted me to be that idiotic.
“What have you learned since I’ve been gone?”
Her smile remained. “Do you have any bruising?”
I did. Wounds healed fairly quickly in most cases, but the body felt the aches and pain a little longer. It sometimes resulted in lingering bruises.
I offered her my arm not injured by Thor. A nasty purple bruise took up most of my bicep. “I think I have one or two you can show off your magic on.”
