Page 138

Thane crossed his arms and leaned up against the brick wall of the alley. “Have you spoken to Evalyn recently?”

“I have,” Valeen answered. “I saw her a couple days ago.”

“And you told her about… everything?” He glanced down at Hel and Valeen’s clasped hands.

She cringed inside at the thought of telling her aunt she was with the elf she knew as the Black Mage. With a shrug, she tried to play it off nonchalantly. “I planned to do that today.”

“Oh, this will be good.” Leif laughed and strutted past them. “Better get the ale going now.”

Piper hurried to catch up to him. “I can’t wait to see her reaction.”

Fennan bumped into Valeen and raised a brow. “You’ve never told her about Hel?”

“Not yet.”

He started laughing too. “Who wants to take bets something gets thrown?”

Adjusting his golden glasses, Presco shook his head with a sigh. “Don’t listen to them, my queen. I’m sure your aunt will understand.” Good old Presco, he was always on her side, but he did shoot Hel a glare. “Even if your mate is difficult to get along with at times.”

“I did it for your own good, Presco,” Hel drawled. “You can thank me later.”

“Wait, I want to bet! What are we betting? Chocolate? Wine?” Tif jumped up and down, holding her hand in the air.

Katana, Thane, and Presco were next to file into Nerium Oleander, leaving her and Hel alone in the alley.

Valeen wasn’t sure she’d ever felt this nervous before. Fighting and battles, she knew, but as a goddess she never had parents to introduce her husband to, and Aunt Evalyn was the closest thing to a mother she ever had.

Aunt Evalyn also hated the Black Mage as much as anyone. It wasn’t as if this was a simple introduction. But she wanted Hel to be fully a part of her life, and that meant meeting the woman who raised her.

“You’re nervous.” Hel’s voice sent a tingle down her back.

“A little,” she confessed.

He half smiled and ran his rough hand along her jaw. “Look, we can do this another time. I need to go anyway.”

“No.” She grabbed his hand. “No, I want you to meet her. You said three days before we march on Pricilla. I don’t know when we’ll get this chance again.”

“Three days to get my army here. Not go get them in three days.”

“Mathekis can lead them to the portal.”

“Val, they need to see their true commander.”

“Then give me one day. Just one day without talk of war and fighting. I need to forget about the underrealm. I can still feel the evilness of that place like a coating on my skin. The screams are still echoing in my mind. And your mother is weighing on me. I know we can’t go there now but… I can’t imagine how she must feel.”

He frowned and pulled her in closer. “I don’t even know if that was truly her. Like you said, it could have been an illusion.”

“It’s going to bother me until we know for sure.”

He nodded. “But for tonight we don’t talk about it. Or war or fighting.”

She blew out a slow breath. “Alright, let’s go in.”

“I will be a perfect gentleman. I promise.”

“You better be on yourbestbehavior, Mr. Black.”

He chuckled and happily followed behind her until she pushed through the door and the bell chimed. Valeen spotted her friends lined up at the bar top with Aunt Evalyn behind it pulling a bottle from the shelf.