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I searched for Cri and found he was not by the fire.
I spotted him dancing with a man and a woman who both appeared infatuated by him. He seemed to return the favor as he kissed the man while the woman grinded against him. Cri didn’t seem to care about anything except for the couple dancing with him.
Their swaying reminded me of the waves in the ocean. Each of their bodies moved as smooth as silk through the night, in unison. It was mesmerizing.
“Cri likes men and women?” I said.
Ales tilted his head to look at what I was watching. “Cri believes desire, pleasure, excitement, they don’t discriminate. He is… open to life, whoever it comes from.”
I nodded and turned to look at the fire. “Have you and Cri ever…?”
Ales choked on the wine he had just swallowed. He swiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he coughed down the rest.
“No. Cri is what you call brother, to me.”
I nodded and thought about Ales being with someone else. Ales didn’t seem to be with Lana, but maybe he had another. If Ales searched worlds for Valkyries, maybe he had a different lover from every world. Jeez, that would be a lot of women… or men.
My light flared, almost painfully inside my chest.
Calm down… he isn’t yours or mine. He can have many lovers, whenever he wants.
It threatened to burn my guts to ash.
Ha! Jealous, are we?
“Do you prefer men and women, too?” I asked casually, strictly as an anthropologist, an unbiased, third-party observer.
The Valkyrie might strangle any non-existent lover he laid eyes on, but I could try to remain passive.
I’m in control tonight, remember?
“Why so curious, Valkyrie, are you interested in what Cri is doing?”
“No!” I blurted out a little too quickly. “I was just trying to understand the customs of your culture.”
The thought of Ales and Logan circled in my mind. Having both would be… not even possible.
Why wish for something you can’t have?
Ales didn’t seem to believe my story as he continued to smile. His silver eyes swirled and pulsed so brightly, they almost contended with the moons.
Ales bent forward slowly and purred in my ear, “I only prefer women, elskan mín.”
I clamped down hard on the Valkyrie to keep my breathing even.
That doesn’t mean he wants you.
He probably preferred someone from his world, someone who shared his silver eyes. Maybe he was only attracted to women from his world with bronze skin. I couldn’t imagine how beautiful those women must be, if they looked anything like Ales.
Was he disappointed to find the Valkyrie he’d been searching for in the body of such a plain earthly human? I thought Valkyries were supposed to be the most magnificent women, akin to goddesses in their appearances. Certainly wasn’t the case here. Cri thought my powers were weak; maybe Ales thought the same about my appearance.
A light nudge prowled against the back of my mind. It felt familiar, perilously strong. I tasted citrus and nectar with a hint of something… darker… on my tongue.
Ales.
I whipped my head up so fast, I spilled a few drops of wine onto my arm. “Stop it. If you want to know what I’m thinking, just ask,” I snapped.
Ales’ lips tightened into a line.
