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I showed her how to store them, something she picked up on oddly fast, given her previous issues with magic.Maybe our talk helped more than that single attempt she made.
Astrid gasped and jumped back. It triggered my need to protect, and I summoned my axe, turning to face the intruder. I relaxed when I came face-to-face with a tall man with long, dirty blond hair and a dark-haired woman wearing all black.How the hell is she not boiling in that outfit?
“Frey?” Astrid said tentatively.
He gave an awkward smile and gestured to the black, shadowy weapon-shaped objects hovering in the air around him that I hadn’t noticed until now.That color…“I’m glad to see you too after all this time, Astrid, but would you mind not pointing those in my face? While I’m not opposed to a little knife play, I’m sorry to say, I’m not interested with you.”
Astrid let out a slow breath and the magic faded, allowing me to relax and dismiss my weapon. This place should be safe from unwanted intrusion, thanks to Aya’s magic wards, but my instinct to protect her was even stronger. “Try not to appear suddenly in front of me, and I won’t accidentally proposition you.”
He smirked and opened his arms. Astrid smiled and embraced him, like the old friends they were. She hadn’t been close with Frey back then, but they certainly weren’t strangers.
“It’s so good to see you again,” she said.
He pulled away and touched the tips of her hair and her shoulders while giving her a once-over. “You as well. I dare say reincarnation is quite becoming on you.”
She wagged a finger at him. “Careful. I’m not easily impressed and swayed by pretty words in this life.”
Frey’s eyes flicked to me. “That must be extra difficult for you, given how often you’re known to be tongue-tied around her.”
I grunted, and Astrid laughed. While he was right, he didn’t need to call it out like that.
Astrid turned to the woman who’d come with Frey. “You must be Dahlia.”
I jumped back when she exploded in what sounded like a happy shriek, and bounced like one of those excitable small barking dogs. She threw her arms around Astrid. “I’m so excited to finally meet you! Are you a hugger? I hope you’re a hugger, because I am.”
Astrid and Frey laughed while I blinked and listened to this woman ramble at the speed of sound.
“Fen and Frey have told me so much about you since you two reconciled, and I really wanted to meet you and get to know you. It sounds like you two are close, like brother and sister, which is a lot like my friend Magnus, who I see as my sister. And that would make you family, and I really like having a bigger family now.”
Astrid squeezed her. “I’m glad you’re a hugger, because so is this family. And if you’re part of this family, you have to get used to hugs.”
I shook my head. “You understood her?”
Astrid cocked her head. “What, like it’s hard?”
Frey laughed. “I knew the two of you would get along.”
Astrid then went to rambling, just like Dahlia, as if she were emulating the woman’s bubbly nature. “I’m excited to get to know you. Fen hasn’t shut up about you, in the most adorable ways. He’s like a lovesick puppy. I don’t have any siblings in this life—Aya is the closest I’ve got to a sister, and Kirby and I haven’t connected the same way as we had in the past, so I don’t know how that’s going to play out, but I’m more than happy to have another sister. Same with Magnus, if she wants that. Kirby said Magnus is another Valkyrie, so I need to meet her anyway, meaning we can see if we click. My dad won’t say no to another daughter or two… or five.”
She squinted. “That’s if you want a dad… or another dad. I don’t know what your family life is like. Fen doesn’t talk about it much. I gathered it was a bit of a touchy subject, but if you want to talk, I’m willing to listen, and offer advice if you want it. But only if you want it.”
She suddenly stopped her emulated ramble and jerked her attention to the forest. “Oh hey, they’re back.”
Everyone turned as Aya and Diego strolled into the open.
Astrid raised her voice to call out to them. “Where the fuck you been? Burying Fen’s body?”
Aya cackled, and Diego shook his head. A moment later, Angel barreled out of the trees at top speed, an enormous wolf charging after her.
Fen chased the happy shepherd, digging up the ground every time she forced him to pivot quickly.
“You’re fixing the lawn when you’re done, Fluffy!” Astrid called out.
Fen ignored her, enjoying playing with the dog instead. Angel barked and growled in her play, even nipping at the large shifter god without fear. Even though Astrid had trained her to be a therapy and SAR dog, Astrid didn’t seem too concerned by this behavior.Dog has to be a dog sometimes, I guess.Even after learning Astrid was passively turning her into a familiar, which would make her more intelligent over time than other dogs, Angel would always be a dog at her base nature.
“Oh, and you have visitors,” Astrid added as an afterthought.
Fen skidded to a halt and gazed up at us, his tongue lolling.“You two showed up finally.”
