And then, it was over. The snow had protected the grass, mostly. One of the vanir moved over to the burned patch, knelt, and it became green again.
She overdid it slightly – it was a small patch of spring in winter – but I recovered my breath and cleaned my sword.

“Thanks, Freya.”

“Get out of here,” was all she said, but with a smile.

She had a point. I walked away, Kanesha falling in next to me.

“Do you feel better?” she asked, almost thoughtfully.

“Not…not really,” I admitted. “I think the real reason revenge is best served cold is that it tastes better in anticipation.”

She managed a laugh at that. “You almost scared me.”

“I almost scared myself,” I admitted. “I mean…” I liked being good in a fight, I enjoyed it, but… “But I didn’t go berserker.”

“Good. I think one of the others did.”

I shook my head. “Giants are prone to it, I suppose. But I kept control. And Freya kept things contained.”

If Monica had really been there she was gone now. Which worried me. Either she was mad with me or…

Yeah, I was worried. “I need a drink,” I muttered.

“Thruor would probably sneak you one.”

“She probably would, but Mike would be mad with her. Best not to push it.” Which was true. I didn’t want to start a fight. “I’ll settle for hot chocolate. We have that.”

“We do.”

And as much as I wanted to sneak something into it, if I was living here, I had to play by the rules. And not let a valkyrie get me a fake ID.

Even if I was probably a lot older than the seventeen I saw myself as. In real terms. In actual maturity terms?

I’d admit to being a kid.

“Hot chocolate and packaged mac and cheese?” Kanesha suggested.

“That sounds good.” I didn’t want to deal with anybody else right now and, besides, I didn’t want to be seen with them until we were sure nothing had sneaked past Freya’s glamor.

Except maybe Freya. But she had vanished almost immediately. Back to whatever had been keeping her so busy, I supposed.

Being a goddess had to be a lot of work.