Page 77 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

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.Maybethiswas 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 friendsand Thordiswhooped 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 morealert, 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.