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“I can’t believe it!You aren’t gonna try to trick me, force me, or guilt me into going.You’re not going to tell me that Desi cares about me and she cares about Hope, and she just wants to see us together.You’re not going to…”

“No, Helly.I promise I’m not.”Leaning forward, she lowered her voice as if there was someone listening or she was telling a secret.“And you better turn around in that chair before you fall.”

“I will.I just need…”

Holding up her hand when Hel was about to keep going, it was Liv who continued to speak.“I’m not going to do any of that.I know better.You are one of the most stubborn, obstinate, and independent people I have ever known.When you decide to dig your heels in, not even the All Father himself can make you move.”With her hand still in the air with her palm facing the goddess, she rocked it back and forth as she continued.“You are also one of the smartest, kindest, and most loving people I have the privilege of calling my sister.So, I know that because you don’t want to go to a party you know is being thrown in your honor by someone you love, it is eating you up inside.You are torn between going and trying not to run from the room like a scared little rabbit the minute you come face to face with old CBW…”

“Yes…”

“…And you know that not going will hurt Desi’s feelings thus resulting in our dear friend freakin’ the fuck out and drivin’ all of us cuckoo for coco puffs.”Shaking her head, her eyes no longer swirling but filled with love and support.“It must suck, and I want to help.”

“Wow.”Getting that one word out had been tough, Hel didn’t think she could get another and was so glad when Liv kept going.

“Yeah.Wow.And you wanna know what else?”

“Absolutely.You’ve blown my surprise outta the water.Keep going.I’m dyin’ over here.”

With a slight pause that told Hel she wanted to know what surprise had been blown out of the water, Liv immediately decided to keep going.“I think you’re right.I think everybody needs to butt the hell right outta your love life.You and Hopper are grown ass adults.Likeall the waygrown up.Shit, you’re a goddess.He’s the Omnipotent Being known as Hope.If you two want to wait till the sun don’t shine, don’t want to be together, or simply don’t give a damn one way or another, then who in all that’s holy am I–oranyone–to say differently?“I mean…”

“It’s not that.”Hel interrupted, unable to keep her excitement under

Scooting her glass, the two liter bottle of Diet Coke, and the canister of crackers toward Hel, Liv moved to the closest chair, sat down, and continued, “Then what is it?What’s up?Now, I’m confused.Tell me who’s ass I need to kick, and I’ll kick it.Point me in the right…”

“No,” Hel laughed.“It’s not that.It’s that… Well, hell, I’m just gonna say it.”Inhaling deeply, she held it for exactly one second before exhaling and saying, “I’ve had a talkin’ to with myself and I’ve made some decisions.It’s time to take the bull, or rather, the Omnipotent Being known as Hope by the horns and stop being one of those whiney women that try my patience like no other, and I’m gonna need your help.”

“You got it.Anything I have is yours, just as it has always been.”Leaning closer, Liv tapped the table with her nails of her right hand as the incredibly light blue iris of her eyes once again swirled but counterclockwise on this occasion.Liv was telling the unadulterated truth, not that she ever lied.Oh, no, the Valkyrie was nothing if not honest.It was the foundation of her Honor.It was more than a belief.It was who she was.

However, there were times when Liv was guarded.Living forever was a heavy burden–one all Immortals shared.One that weighed heavily on each and every one of them.And for the Valkyrie, it was more than a little difficult to handle.To know who would die, who would live, who would go to Lucifer’s Hell, Hel’s Helheim, and who would go to Valhalla was a massive burden–and it was Liv and her sisters’ entire reason for existing.So, more times than not, the Valkyrie just tucked things away and kept putting one foot in front of the other.

But this time, Liv was holding nothing back.She was wide open, both mentally and metaphysically, and she was letting the goddess know with her words and her actions that she was there as nothing more than a friend.A sister.A true confidant.She wanted to help and was willing to do almost anything.

“Damn, Liv, you are something else,” Hel smiled.

“What did I do?”The Valkyrie yelped, her eyes wide and hands up in surrender.

“You always know what to say and when to say it.You are one of a kind.Don’t ever change.”Lifting her legs off the arm of the chair, throwing them to the front, then standing up the split second the balls of her feet touched the floor in one fluid motion, Hel tapped Liv on the shoulder.“Stand up, Goofball.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Yeah,” the Valkyrie nodded, scooting as far back in the chair as she could and looking up at the goddess.With a twinkle in her eye, she threw her hands up in mock surrender and added, “I said it.I said no to the one and only Norse goddess of Death and Helheim, and I’ll do it again.Just ask me and find out.You are actin’ weird and freakin’ me out.So, I’m keepin’ my happy heiney right here in this chair until I know that the Fearies of Fifedom aren’t comin’ to your ass, wrap you up in a straitjacket, and throw you in the DooLally Hotel.”

“Oh, stop it,” Hel huffed, pretending to be irritated.“Just stand up.”

“No.”Liv adamantly and furiously shook her head.“I am not doin’ it.”With her hands still in the air, it was all Hel could do not to laugh out loud.Then the Valkyrie pretended to shake and shiver as she added, “I just know you’re gonna punch me in the gut or smack me across the face or kick me in the shin before the Fearies…”

And that’s when the goddess lost it.Laughing with such force, hilarity, an actual relief, that once she started–she just couldn’t stop.The dam holding back her emotions had been shredded by one of the only people in all the universe she loved like real Family, and she knew loved her back, and there was literally nothing she could do to stop it.

Tears freely flowed from both her eyes.It was hard to breathe.Her tummy started to ache and the muscles in the cheek of her live side hurt like she’d been punched, but she didn’t care.It pushed away the remaining remnants of the black cloud that had been hanging over her head since she’d run out of that stupid ballroom in Fate’s Mansion of the Realms the Halloween past.It also reassured her as not even Carys could do that the end of the world as she knew it was absolutely not dogging her every step.

On and on, her laughter grew louder instead of calming down.From one heartbeat to the next, Carys got in on the fun, and right after that Liv was smiling, cackling wildly, and smacking the tops of her thighs.

The Ravens were flying all willy-nilly, making sweeping dives and barrel rolls that would have made the Blue Angels jealous.Their classic gurgling croak rose in pitch to an almost-break-the-crystal-goblet octave coming from the backs of their throats then dropping all the way to the bottom of the musical staff, growing much deeper, much louder and much more musical.As their melody reached a crescendo, they broke into three-part harmony with some belting out, ‘kraaaaa’ while others gave a booming ‘croooaaak’, and the basses and baritones kept tempo with a staccato ‘tok-tok-tok’.

Their huge, curvy beaks were open as wide as they would go.The long-bristled hairs at the base of their beaks were standing on end, and their long, wedge-shaped tails were twitching so furiously they were nothing but a blur.All of Castle Niflheim was alive, laughing, and having one helluva party.It was the most fun Hel had had in so long that she wanted her home to always be filled with laughter, love, and everyone she thought of as Family.

All too soon, they were only chuckling while wiping the tears from their cheeks.Finally, Hel inhaled deeply at almost the same time as Liv.Dropping back into her chair, she stayed perched on the edge.She knew what she had to do.