Page 31 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal (Kennedy Rain #4)

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through with this now. She didn’t look like a killer anymore. She was again the overly eager, too energetic version of herself, now bouncing on her toes in anticipation of doing anything but standing still.

“I will let you know if someone arrives,” Eli said. He bowed his head, then departed.

Thordis didn’t glance his direction.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Mostly because I don’t want you to go all lethal assassin in front of my friends.

” Also, because I needed to know what had just happened.

I’d never seen her look so vicious, not when she faced an opponent at fight night and not when she and Phedre trained with me.

Was that because we were outside the Null?

Was it something else? If her emotions ramped up that quickly, I couldn’t introduce her to Carrie.

“No need to worry,” Thordis said cheerily. “Just lead the way.”

Uncertainty kept me locked in place. Thordis was unpredictable. She might claim I shouldn’t worry, but if something triggered—

“You’re here!”

I cringed when Carrie’s voice carried down to us. Craning my neck, I spotted her leaning over the metal balcony, grinning.

I managed a tight smile. It was either go up or go home, and if I left now, I’d never be able to explain it away.

Half-heartedly, I lifted my hand to wave, and another figure popped up at the rail.

“Alex?” The surprise in my voice was genuine, and my reluctance instantly vanished. Several weeks ago, Alex had moved back home to be with his sick mom. I hadn’t expected him to be here. Hopefully his presence meant good news.

“Hey, stranger,” he called down. “You coming up or not?”

“On my way!” I turned to Thordis. “Normal human, remember?”

“Yep!” she replied with way too much energy. Energized Valkyries inevitably led to mischief.

I’d deal with it.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I hurried up to the third floor. Carrie, John, and Alex stood in the breezeway. I strode directly to the latter and wrapped my arms around him.

Alex returned the hug.

“Carrie didn’t say you’d be here.” I stepped back, and my smile turned cautious. “Your mom?”

“In treatment, but the prognosis looks good,” he said. “She threatened to hang Paw Patrol underwear from our trees if I didn’t come back, so…” He splayed his hands to his sides in an I’m here motion.

He’d been present during the unicorn fiasco. Laughing, I punched his arm. “It’s so good to see you.”

“What about me?” Carrie asked. She stood behind Alex with her arms crossed.

Still smiling, I walked over and gave her a tight hug. “Of course I’m happy to see you. You too.” I turned to John and hugged him as well.

“The gang is back together,” Carrie said. “Plus one?”

Right. Thordis. She took a big stride forward. Before she could introduce herself, I jumped in. “This is… Tory.”

It wasn’t the most elegant delivery, but I hadn’t had a name ready. If I’d called her Thordis, someone would ask questions about her name, where she was from, did she have siblings, et cetera. Given her exchange with Eli, it was best to keep questions to a minimum.

“Hi friend,” Thordis said, shooting forward and extending her hand.

“Alex,” I said. “His name is Alex. This is Carrie. And John.”

Alex’s brows rose as she shook too enthusiastically. I semidiscreetly slapped her arm, and she let him go.

Carrie’s hands went to her hips. “You’re lucky you showed up tonight. I was seconds away from submitting an application to your sex resort.”

“Oh, God no,” I said, exaggerating my genuine horror.

I freaking missed her and the guys—missed this life—but I also accepted that my future had taken a sharp, abrupt left turn.

I couldn’t have this. I’d tried to distance myself, but I’d done it too quickly.

This breakup would have to be gradual and intelligently timed.

“Come sit,” Carrie said.

“I’ll grab another chair,” Alex said, ducking into his apartment.

The breezeway was exactly as it had been when I’d lived there, less shared walkway and more hodgepodge campsite.

The same four canvas chairs were opened up and facing each other, and the old side table we’d found last year by the dumpster still sat in its usual spot, although it looked like it had a few more water rings than before.

A smile tugged at my mouth when I noticed the decorated railing. Carrie had gone full summer mode on it, twisting faux greenery through the bars and hanging clusters of plastic lemons and tiny metal suns. She’d even tied little pinwheels to the rail.

I headed to my usual chair. Carrie and John did the same, and Alex reemerged with one of the folding chairs from his kitchen table.

“Have a seat,” he said to Thordis.

“Ooh, hotness and manners,” she said. “I like you.”

Alex laughed. “Thanks. I think.”

A crumpled-up paper ball hit his temple.

“Don’t be so welcoming,” Carrie said, a mock glare on her face.

“Kennedy’s trying to replace us with friends from work.

” She opened the cooler beside her, took out a beer, and handed it to Thordis.

“No offense. This is all on Kennedy, and I’m sure you’re…

” Her gaze flickered down to Thordis’s boots, then up to her loose black tank top. “Fun.”

“The funnest,” Thordis said with a grin that stretched across her face.

“You’re from work?” Alex asked.

“Kennedy is my best friend’s employer.” She opened the can, lifted it to her lips, and drank. Alex and John watched her way too closely.

I cleared my throat. “Are we sitting?”

The guys blinked, then nodded in sync and much too quickly. Carrie’s gaze met mine, and we both smirked. Thordis was sexy and exotic in a way Carrie probably couldn’t describe, but I definitely could. I just hoped deadly didn’t get added to that list of adjectives tonight.

Alex sat across from me, John across from Carrie, and Thordis set her folding chair facing us in the exact center of the breezeway. It also happened to be between me and the staircase, which I was sure wasn’t an accident.

John reached inside the ice chest and took out two beers. He held one out to me.

“No, thanks,” I said. “I’m driving home tonight.” And if a Valkyrie and elemental weren’t enough of a deterrent for Canyon, I wanted to have a completely clear head.

“What?” Carrie gave me a sad face, then looped her arm through mine, almost pulling me out of my chair. “Noooo. You have to stay. Please? You need a break. Alex needs a break. You can go home first thing tomorrow.”

“She can leave if she wants,” Alex said.

“Yeah,” John agreed. “It’s fine if we’re not cool enough to hang out with anymore.”

“You know that’s not it. I’m—”

“Busy,” all three said in unison.

“Come on,” Carrie continued. “You need to relax.” She cocked her head, and curious speculation swept across her face. “Unless you’re getting enough relaxation at The Rain?”

A laugh burst out of Thordis. “She should, but she isn’t.”

Heat rose to my cheeks. Whether it was from irritation or embarrassment, I wasn’t sure.

I opened my mouth to give them a different excuse.

Closed it when I couldn’t come up with one.

That’s when I realized they were right about the need to relax.

I couldn’t remember the last time my shoulders didn’t feel tight and my lungs didn’t feel too restricted.

Maybe it had been at Beltane? I’d deliberately allowed Blake’s magic to influence me as a way to counter the fey’s revelry, their ability to make those around them drop their inhibitions for a time.

It had been liberating and fun, and Blake had been well behaved.

It might have been something close to a perfect night if we’d stayed together, if Cyrielle hadn’t pulled him away for a dance, and if I hadn’t moved from the place where he’d left me.

I haven’t been with anyone since before Beltane.

Damn it, I needed Blake’s voice out of my head, needed to stop dreaming and thinking about him. Maybe this was what I needed. A day to be the old me again. To forget about The Rain, my bargain, Garion’s token, and all the paranorms in my other life.

I looked at Thordis. Well, most of the paranorms at least.

“You really do need a break,” Thordis said. Her expression was too thoughtful for someone who threw daggers for fun. I didn’t need her permission to stay, but her words made me feel seen—vindicated—like maybe I wasn’t overreacting to how hard life had become.

“I can throw something together for dinner,” John said.

My mouth watered immediately, and my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten anything besides an unsatisfying protein bar that morning.

John should be in culinary school or at least pursuing a business degree instead of computer science.

He’d “thrown together” some of the best meals I’d ever eaten.

“I have been persuaded,” I said matter-of-factly. “We’ll stay overnight.”

My friends and Thordis whooped and celebrated as if I’d just promised them an open bar with no consequences.

I laughed and accepted the beer John offered before he went inside to do his cheffing.

Alex briefly went inside, too, but only long enough to open the window to the breezeway.

He came back out with the remote for their TV, which had always semipermanently faced outside instead of inside to their living area.

Just three clicks and he had a baseball game on.

I popped the top on my beer and sank into my chair.

I’d never watched baseball before moving in here.

It still wasn’t my favorite sport, but at that moment, I loved it, the evening, and being with my real-life friends.

It took some effort, even with Thordis doing her best to act human, but I managed to push away all thoughts of The Rain and the paranormal world.

I wouldn’t get many more moments like this.

I should take advantage of this time. Etch it into my memories.

Once I made that decision, it felt like I’d never left. Like I hadn’t returned to The Rain or lost my parents or had blood on my hands. I was just me.

We talked about school, mutual acquaintances, a guy Carrie thought was definitely/maybe into her, and plans for the rest of the summer, hers and John’s and Alex’s.

I said I’d think about their suggestion that I finish my degree in the fall, but only so we could move on from that conversation.

We watched the baseball game, with John popping in and out of his apartment to join in on booing the Rangers, Alex’s favorite team.

At the top of the seventh inning, dinner was ready, and the Rangers had a solid lead on their opponent.

We sat in the breezeway with plastic forks and knives and thick paper plates, which held a meal that should have been served on china.

John had “just” air-fried some frozen yellowtail, sautéed leftover bok choy, crinkle-cut a few carrots, and then drizzled a simple citrus butter over everything.

So. Freaking. Delicious.

“You promise to cook every night, and I’ll move back in permanently,” I said.

John smiled. “Glad you like it.”

“Mmmmm,” Thordis said beside me. If the first two seconds of that sound had been it, everything would have been fine, but it continued and changed, becoming a long, low, sultry moan. “Can I have sex with you?”

“Thor— Tory!” I said.

“What?” she asked, her eyes almost as wide as John’s.

“We don’t sleep with my friends.”

She blinked. “We don’t?”

“I’m not objecting,” John said with a laugh. He probably thought she was joking.

“Yes, you’re objecting and no, no friends.” I held Thordis’s gaze until she understood, which took way longer than it should have.

Her expression turned disappointed. “Fine.” She picked up her fork and tried to hide her mouth behind her hand. “Later,” she whispered.

That’s when John realized she might be serious. His posture changed, becoming more alert, his body angling toward the Valkyrie.

“John—”

Carrie lightly backhanded my arm. “Chill, girl.”

You don’t understand. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but if I said them, I’d have to explain them.

Since I was determined to be a normal human tonight, I held back my objection.

I didn’t have to be responsible for anyone other than myself.

John was an adult. Thordis was… Thordis. They could make their own decisions.

“Sorry. I just wanted to… make sure you know where she works.” Smooth, Kennedy. Real smooth.

Other than that blip, the rest of the night was perfect.

Thordis even managed to mostly fit in, and I was able to relax again.

I would have loved for the hours to stretch on forever, but our unpredictable summer weather changed again, and a thunderstorm rolled in just before eleven.

We folded down our camp chairs and shoved them against the walls where they (usually) didn’t blow away in the wind.

Carrie and I were renting a furnished apartment, so my room still had a bed, nightstand, and dresser. I tucked a flat sheet beneath the bare mattress corners, did the same on the couch for Thordis, then I crashed into bed with a thin blanket and a throw pillow under my head.

I slept hard. Until the storm passed and something woke me up.