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“Eight-legged horse, and the stallion was a unicorn.”
My eyebrows rose high on my forehead. “A unicorn.”
“A shifted unicorn in human form, more specifically. And they’re nothing like the sunshine-and-rainbow portrayals told in children’s stories.”
“Right, and why would Loki screw a… unicorn?”
Tyr shrugged. “A dare. Fuck a unicorn that wasn’t caged or restrained for one’s safety. And the asshole will do almost anything once, so he shapeshifted into a woman for the hell of it, survived the encounter, and ended up having to carry a unicorn to term.”
I pursed my lips. There he went again, acting like he was there.And why am I not calling this out as a grand, made-up story?It was even more unbelievable than the myth. Or it should be. And yet, a part of me seemed to believe him.
“And how about the story of Fenrir and Tyr? The Norse gods were so afraid of a prediction that the giant wolf-god would kill Odin that, instead of talking things out, they up and tricked him into imprisonment? And for the betrayal, he bit off the hand of the one god he trusted, who also betrayed him?”
“That’s what the myth would say, yes, but what if that story is a twisted truth? The truth was, many of the gods mistrusted the wolf because of a prophecy that foretold he’d be the end of Odin. But the wolf and war god were friends regardless of such claims—not that the war god cared, because he had little love for the All-father. But one day, in battle, the wolf turned on his friend and stole everything he ever cared about. Then people twisted the story to suit their needs.”
My gut churned. There was something about the story of Tyr and Fenrir that never sat right by me. The back of my mind, a thought always screamed,“That’s not right! They’re friends. They’d never do that.”And now, with Tyr putting perspective to one possible origin of that story, those thoughts reared up again.
A sharp whistle cut into our conversation, stealing my attention.
Diego stood at the top of the hill by the house and waved. “Hey! I got something you’re going to want to see.”
He disappeared around the house before getting a response. I glanced to Tyr. “You up for finding out what surprise awaits, or are you gonna keep splitting wood?”
Tyr leaned the tool against a stump. “I could use a break.”
He hadn’t gotten much done since I’d come down here, but I wasn’t going to point that out.
We walked up to the house. Diego had already disappeared inside. Angel paced by the door, whining.
“Aww, Angel, was Diego a jerk and shut the door on you?”
She looked at me and barked before spinning in excited circles. My brow lifted. This was odd. She got excited when Diego or my dad came home after a trip into town, but never this excited. This was usually reserved for me when I had to leave her home, even for just five minutes.
My back straightened. There was one person, however, who got the same reception as me.It couldn’t be.
I grabbed the door handle and flung the door open, rushing in with Angel right beside me.
Diego stood by the island, speaking with a tall woman with fair skin. Her long, blonde dreadlocks cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. She wore ripped jeans and a graphic t-shirt on her well-toned body. A large fluffy cat in a harness perched on her shoulder.
“Aya!” I shrieked.
She turned, her bright blue eyes sparkling, and threw her arms out. “Surprise!”
I sprinted to her, Angel beating me. The cat on Aya’s shoulders hopped onto the island where another huge cat lounged.
Aya managed to greet Angel for a moment before I threw my arms around my friend’s neck. “I missed you.”
She laughed and hugged me back. “I missed you, too. I’m so glad to be home.”
Home.Her saying that felt so right. I called her my friend, but Aya was more like my sister. We had this special bond that just sparked the moment I met her.
I pulled away and punched her in the arm, making her wince. “That’s for lying to me, you bitch.”
Diego belted out a hearty laugh, which only worsened when I tagged him a few times, too. “And this is for being in on it.”
Diego shot me one of his brilliant, heart-stopping smiles. “I have to keep you on your toes, Cielo.”
“Ooh, we’ve moved into pet-name territory finally, have we?” Aya teased, a wide, shit-eating grin pulling at her cheeks.
