Page 86 of Valhalla is Full of Hunks
Is that…?
“Lower your weapon, serpent.”
My gaze shot straight up, eyes widening as I found what looked like an oversized falcon hovering directly above me. It had ochre-colored feathers, with wings forged from razor sharp metal. Even its beak was edged with bronze—resembling a weapon. I tensed, but the talking bird didn’t attack. It simply continued to observe me, waiting to see if I would obey.
I probably should.
Fen growled, shoving me behind him as his body began to half-shift into a wolven form.
Can he do it that easily now?
“Oh, that’s interesting…” the bird spoke, its beak creating an unpleasant metallic scrape as it did. “The vision Iola sent didn’t mention anymates.”
Wait.
Iola… sent a vision?
She wouldn’t!
Fen experienced a similar thought. “You lie!” he snarled. “Iola would never contact anyone behind our backs. And who the fuck are you?”
Ignoring Fen’s question completely, the bird tilted its head back and released an ear-splitting caw—like a signal.
Or a battle cry.
I gripped Laevateinn tighter, determined to defend Fen if this creature attacked, and vaguely wondering ifIcould just as easily access my true form, if need be.
Luckily, the enormous falcon simply drifted down to land in front of us before shifting into a man himself. His feathers morphed into ochre skin stretched taut over a muscular form, while his all-black irises softened to include flecks of bronze. The razor-sharp wings still rose from his back, and I got the sense he was in complete control over how much of him was human versus other.
By Odin…
He’s one of us!
Only naked…
“This is Iola’s doing, hmm?” He casually gestured at Fen’s wolfish features, drawing my curious attention away from fixating on whether he had a cock hidden insidehisfrontal hole as well. “Her proximity feeds the beast, you know. And if you’re able to shift between forms so easily, I’m assuming you’ve also solidified the mate bond at this point.”
“How do you… know all this?” Fen began when a deafening roar shook the ancient pines lining the beach.
When I raised my gaze again, I truly felt like a medieval knight of old—because the creature circling us now was one I’d only read about in fairytales.
A dragon.
How cool!
The strange bird-man didn’t seem surprised, so I assumed they were together. And when the dragon gracefully landed on the beach, I noticed three figures riding on its back.
A green-haired woman and two men.
One of which was the Kraken, Vann, in his human form.
Oh.
“All right, assholes, where thefuckis Iola?!” The green-haired woman had barely been lowered to the ground by the dragon’s tail before she was stalking toward us with murder in her eyes. “And which one of you creeps isFen?”
“The blond one,” Vann helpfully interjected as he slid off the dragon's back, followed by a dark-haired man with brilliant green eyes.
“Stand down,Strategos.They mean us no harm.”Bird-man grabbed the woman before she could reach us—chuckling as if her hotheaded, violent behavior was an everyday occurrence.
