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Astrid giggledwhen Diego stumbled into her. He slurred… something, and she laughed again while trying to keep him upright long enough to get him up the porch stairs. I’d offered to help, but she insisted she could handle him, so I watched the entertainment.
Diego handled the stairs with far more coordination than I expected. Then again, with how much he drank at the feast, I expected a mortal like him to be catatonic. He drank like an immortal.
Ùna opened the front door, where Angel waited to greet us. I was surprised how quiet she was, but given she was becoming a familiar, I wondered if she had some sort of understanding of time now. It was late.
“Tyr,” Carrie said, holding her very exhausted daughter against her. “Would you mind helping me get Raeni to our cabin? I’m worried she’ll trip, and I certainly can’t carry her.”
My eyes lingered on Astrid, whose attention didn’t leave Diego, before I turned to Carrie and nodded. “I can do that.”
I wanted to speak with Astrid about today, see what she remembered. But I could either do that after helping Raeni, or wait until tomorrow if I had to. I wasn’t even sure if Astrid was up to talking.
“Raeni, I’m going to carry you. Is that okay?” I asked her.
She grinned up at me sleepily. “To be carried in your strong arms is a dream come true.”
Carrie roared with laughter, and I shook my head. This girl was entertaining. Lifting her into my arms, I followed Carrie to their cabin.
I’d planned to only go as far as their front porch, so as not to cause Carrie any discomfort, but Raeni ended up falling asleep in my arms. With no other choice, I accepted Carrie’s invitation to enter their home when we arrived, and gently deposited Raeni on her bed.
Carrie kept her distance, watching me carefully, and then she unexpectedly smiled when I turned around. “Thank you.”
There was more meaning in those two words than on the surface. The way she watched me wasn’t as guarded or fearful as the first week I’d been here. She was grateful for more than just my help tonight.
Not sure what to say, I rested my hand on her shoulder for a brief moment before leaving.
I took my time heading back to the main house. I almost went to my cabin, but I felt a need to see if Astrid would be up for talking. But I wouldn’t rush back and make myself seem desperate, even though a part of me was. I desperately hoped today had helped her with memories of our past. She seemed to remember a part of one when we were talking this morning. It might have made me a little hopeful.
I came up short when Astrid came into view on the path. Small lights flickered in and out around her, like fireflies.Like starlight.
She noticed me and stopped. The lights, clearly her magic, flickered around her in the most mesmerizing way, tangling in her red tresses and catching in her skirts. I gazed at my Valkyrie, the ethereal and perfect creature she was. My heart lurched. How was it she was even more beautiful now? I thought she was the most magnificent creature then. I never thought it possible for her to be even more so.
Astrid smiled. “Care to join me for a walk?”
I nodded, finding myself unexpectedly tongue-tied. She was the only woman who had that kind of power over me. No one else had ever come close.
She slipped her arm around mine, pressing her full body against me. I relished the softness of her and noted the differences in how this body felt compared to her previous. Yes, she was the same height as before, but her fuller breasts pillowed my arm differently, and her swaying hips brushed against me more often.
Astrid’s hand wrapped over my wrist, as if it were a hand to hold, and rested her head against my arm. She didn’t flinch or hesitate when most would. She never averted her gaze from my scars, or showed me pity, even after knowing the truth of my missing hand. Warmth built in my chest. She was so perfect—almost too much so. A part of me worried this was all some fevered dream, and at any moment, I’d wake up alone, wandering endlessly until creation took pity and finally put me out of my misery.
Astrid looked up at me. “What are you thinking about?”
“Wondering how someone so small can be so perfect.” And there went my mouth. My awkward courting skills were legendary, according to Aya and Frey. It was honestly a miracle I hadn’t blundered my chances with Astrid back then.
And by the way she was laughing, it seemed I was lucking out again, though by how much was yet to be seen.
“Dad says we only grow until we’re perfect.” She had a bit of a skip to her step. “And I agree. I am a respectable height, thank you.”
I smirked. She barely came up to the middle of my chest. But I couldn’t say she was wrong, either. I was a giant even among men, though not the tallest immortal out there, either. Davyn had a good twelve centimeters on me.
“How are you feeling?” There, that was a normal thing to say.Hopefully, my mouth will function better the longer we talk.
“Okay,” she said, bobbing her head. “It’s been a lot—more memories than I’ve had in a single day, and that’s saying something, considering the memories that came back to me in the first three days of all this happening.”
“Good memories, I hope.”
A demure smile pulled at her lips. “Yes, they were very nice.”
My pulse skipped. Did that mean Aya’s plan worked? She’d pre-informed me of her plans to get Astrid to remember our relationship. It’d been a bit of a risk, since Astrid could have felt too uncomfortable to agree to it on the spot. Luckily, she hadn’t, and my check-ins to make sure I wasn’t pushing too much for her comfort seemed to reinforce her surety of the situation, much to my delight.
