House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,6

besides himself.

“She’ll be okay. It is actually Cai who is taking it harder,” Lopt said. “With both Gretel and Brynlee killed, I expect that he will be overcompensating on the protection of Tara and her brother now.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Leif said. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

“That’s not true,” Erik said. His words sounded more like hurled insults. “We all know whose fault it was. We all saw it.” He turned and glared at the baby in Kemma’s arms.

“It’s a baby,” Leif said. “I’m sure it didn’t know what it was doing.”

“We’ll see.” The tone of Erik’s voice gave inclination that Tannin was well aware of what he was doing, baby or not.

“What are you two talking about over there anyway?” Erik called over to the two of them by the window.

“None of your business,” Baldur shot back.

Erik stood up, and Baldur matched his movement, but Kemma was quick to defuse the rapidly escalating situation. She put her hand on Baldur’s wrist, and her touch surprised him enough to make him pause.

“We were just talking about going to Valhalla,” she said to Erik.

“Valhalla? Why?”

“To see if the witch can tell us more about Tannin and the hex she cursed him with.”

“Good idea,” Erik said. “You should take that baby with you when you leave.”

“Obviously,” Baldur said as he rolled his eyes at Erik.

Brandt eventually staggered out of his bedroom with one hell of a headache. No one said anything to him as he walked over and grabbed coffee from the pot. He stopped after he poured his cup and looked at it.

“That’s weird,” he said. “I just seemed to know where that was.”

“Maybe that’s a sign your memory is coming back,” Kemma said hopefully from the window.

Brandt looked over at her with a blank and unfamiliar stare.

“I’m going to go with that’s a no,” Baldur said as he saw the look her father was giving her. “I don’t think he would be able to pick you out as his daughter from anyone else on the street right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Brandt frowned. “I am trying to remember all of you.”

“Try harder,” Jerrik snarled as he shoved Brandt out of the way to get water.

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose,” Brandt said to him sharply.

Jerrik stopped with his hand on the door to the fridge and turned to look at him. “I don’t care if you’re doing it on purpose or not at this point. What I care about is that your lover was in my bed, crying in my arms all night.”

Everyone in the apartment within earshot dropped their jaw at Jerrik’s remark.

“So, reach into that pretty head of yours and figure it the fuck out.” Jerrik slammed the fridge closed and went back to his bedroom, much to the astonishment of everyone there.

“I don’t think he likes me,” Brandt said.

Erik laughed at that and spat coffee out his nose, which burned a bit. “Sorry,” he said. “I know this situation is far from humorous, but I just found that amusing.”

Helia walked up behind him and slapped him against the back of the head.

“Ow!” Erik shouted. “What was that for?”

“For being an ass,” she replied.

Matt laughed. “See now, that was amusing.”

Jerrik sat in the bed with Brenna for most of the afternoon. They didn’t really talk that much, mostly she just stared off into the distance and he sat patiently and quietly next to her. When there was a knock on the half-opened door, they both looked up to see Brandt standing in the doorway.

“Can I come in?’ he asked.

“What do you want?” Jerrik said.

“I’d like to talk to Brenna.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jerrik said. “Unless you suddenly remember that she’s your mate. Do you?”

“No.”

“Then I think you should leave.”

“Please,” Brandt said. “I just want to talk.”

“It’s okay,” Brenna said as she put her hand on Jerrik’s wrist next to her.

Brandt took a few steps inside the room. “I’d like to talk to her alone.”

“You know what,” Jerrik said as he started to stand up from the bed. “You can just go right ahead and—”

“Jerrik,” Brenna said. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

Jerrik looked at Brenna and then glared at Brandt. Then he left his room without saying anything to either of them.

Brandt came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “If I didn’t know better, it seems like he likes you,” he said to her. “Although, I guess I actually don’t know any better so that was probably a stupid thing to say, sorry.”

“It’s