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Chapter 11

VALEEN

“Exactly what Hel said. Aldrich almost killed you, and kept you locked in the tower,” Thane said, standing at the base of the stairs leading up to his throne. Hel sat on the bottom step, watching her glide into the room with a mischievous look in his eye.

“I’m less afraid of Aldrich than I am of a lamb.” She smirked at him. “Primordial goddess, remember? And even if I wasn’t, I’d still beat that little prick’s ass.”

Thane chuckled. “Do what you want. I won’t stop you.”

“Of course you won’t. You can’t.”

“She’s feisty today,” Hel said to Thane and rose to his full height.

“She usually is,” he said back. “Quite the temper on that one.”

“Like a feral, hungry cat.”

“Alright!” Valeen crossed her arms and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. “A feral cat? I think I liked it better when you hated each other.”

They laughed and warmth bloomed in her core at the joy between them. As difficult as it was with the three of them together again and the past hurt lingering in Thane’s eyes, shehad hope that they could all be… happy. The three of them had been inseparable for many years.

“She must need something to eat. She’s angry when she hasn’t eaten,” Hel said, still talking to Thane. “Scones sound good.” He winked at her.

“Oh, or woodland elf wine,” Thane replied. “She gets nicer when she’s had a glass or two. Before you woke up, we had a party, and she wore a flower crown?—”

Valeen cut him off with a glare. The last thing she wanted was for him to bring up her straddling him in a chair in front of the elves telling him how she wished she could sleep with him. It was much too soon to bring up anything like that, if there was even enough time in existence for that to be appropriate.

“So we’re not teasing now?” Thane purred.

“Not about that.”

“Well now I must know, and by the look on your face I’m going to need a smoke.” Hel took out a civar and put it to his lips.

Hel would see it as a threat or a jab, not as playful banter. And Thane might even want to take shots at him. It was hard to know what Thane was feeling. Playful, by the smirk, but his brows were tight and there was a tenseness to his shoulders. There must be part of him that was jealous of Hel, and she didn’t blame him. Part of her wanted to wrap her arms around him and ask if he was alright. But the friendship between Hel and Thane would be fragile for a while and she wouldn’t see it shatter again.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Valeen snatched the civar and took a puff herself. It immediately calmed her thumping heart and eased her racing thoughts about being in the same room with the two males she loved. No wonder he liked these things. “Unless you want to start rethinking about what life was like before I remembered you, before I ever knew you existed at all.”

His brows rose watching her blow out smoke. He looked more shocked she’d taken his civar than anything. “I’ll pass, little rabbit.”

Thane chuckled. “She mustlovethat nickname.”

“Sheis going to kick both your asses in a minute.” They laughed again, and Hel slipped behind her and hugged her waist. They were as bad as she and Katana together. The nickname instantly flamed her cheeks. She wasn’t the little rabbit anymore, but it still pissed her off. “And I swear, Hel if you don’t stop saying that?—”

“Maybe I missed the way it made you want to attack me. There’s just something about that dark side of you that does it for me.”

Thane pressed his lips together and his gaze flicked down to Hel’s arms curled on her waist.

“You have a bit of blood on your neck, Hel.” Thane gestured and sauntered up the stairs to his throne and sat.

Twisting out of his arms she saw the dried blood. “What’s that from?”

“He punched me. Twice. Nasty temper.”

Valeen looked between them. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or not. Thane just rested his head nonchalantly on the palm of his hand.

“Did you punch him?” She asked.

“Yep.”