Free Perfekt Control (The Ære Saga Book 2) by S.T. Bende

I’d completely and totally mutilated any
chance I ever had at preserving the single most important
relationship in my world. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.
    “I… I…” I turned to run, but Henrik’s grip
was too tight. He held me in place, refusing to let me escape the
horror of my gross misjudgment. “I am so sorry,” I whispered.
Forget the time freezer; the next invention on my list was a time reverser . I’d have given anything to erase the last sixty
seconds of my life.
    “Don’t be sorry.” Henrik’s sympathetic gaze
was beyond humiliating. Dear Mother Goddess of Alfheim, in whom
I previously did not believe. Sorry about that. If you’re
listening, pretty please open up the ground and swallow me whole.
’Kay? Skål, Brynn.
    “I’m sorry,” I repeated. Henrik kept looking
at me. Now would be a great time for that earth-swallowing bit,
Mother Goddess.
    “Don’t apologize for doing that. Ever.”
Henrik spoke very calmly, like he was afraid he’d spook the crazy
girl who just mauled him. “But you know we can’t, Brynn. You’re a
valkyrie. If Freya found out we kissed, she’d withhold your true
love come promotion time.”
    Heat prickled my skin as blood rushed to my
face. “I don’t care. That’s the stupidest rule I’ve ever
heard.”
    “You may not care, but I do.” Henrik kept his
eyes locked on mine. “Listen very carefully, Brynn. You’ve got a
lot riding on keeping that vow. If you maintain your purity until
you reach rank—”
    I threw my ponytail over my shoulder and
glared. “Do you hear how archaic it is? Maintain my purity? What is this, Victorian England?”
    “It’s the valkyrie code. And it’s important
to you.”
    “Not as important as some things,” I
whispered. The tears pooled anew. This time I didn’t try to stop
them.
    Henrik’s expression softened and his eyes
turned another shade darker. He shook his head and took a step
back. His hands released my arms, and I felt the divide grow
between us. Oh gods. No, no, no. “Listen to me, sötnos. I’ve known you your entire life. And I love you
enough to remind you that as a valkyrie, that code is the single
most important thing in your existence. I know it’s hard. I
followed the same code at the Academy. The difference is, Odin gave
me a squadron of assassins to oversee for holding up my end of the
bargain; I didn’t get rewarded with my perfekt match like
you will.” Henrik’s mouth turned down in a frown.
    “I don’t care,” I muttered. I’d given up hope
on the whole ground-swallowing thing. Now I just wanted this
mortifying conversation to end, and for everything to go back to
the way it was.
    “You should care.” He spoke fiercely, as if
he were trying to convince us both, but I was too humiliated to do
more than stare at my boots. That Mother Goddess was going to have
a lot of explaining to do, if she existed anywhere in this realm.
Or anywhere at all.
    “It’s not like anyone would know. Freya’s not
here,” I muttered to my feet.
    “Freya’s not here?” a musical voice called
from across the pond. The notes carried on a warm breeze, light and
lilting… and devastatingly ill-timed. “Pity. I was so hoping
we could catch up, one love goddess to another.”
    Henrik’s spine straightened. “ Perfekt timing as always, Finnea.”
    Curiosity body-checked mortification, and I
followed Henrik’s gaze. A shiny-haired, long-legged fairy made her way toward us. Lavender curls cascaded to her obnoxiously
small waist, while two transparent wings framed her body like a
pale indigo halo. She wore a strapless mini-dress that barely
covered her irritatingly ample assets, hugged her nonexistent
belly, and flared into a tulle tutu that stopped halfway down her
thigh. Shiny leather boots in the brightest of purples covered
calves that looked like she must have spent her developmental years en pointe . Their heels added another four inches to her
already nearly six feet of height, which meant that by the time