Page 77 of God Touched

"You're welcome any time, frostling."

"Do you think he would go to Odin for help?" Arawan interrupted the brewing argument.

"Odin?" Layla squeaked.

"Why would he go to Odin?" Imogen asked. They hadn't seen any sign of the old gods apart from Morrigan and himself.

Arawan laughed. "You really have no idea who Vili is, do you?"

"He's the son of Kvasir," Arne began, but Arawan only laughed louder.

"Oh, you idiots, Vili has fooled you all," he said with a shake of his head. "Vili is Odin's brother. One of the three sons of Borr that slew the giant Ymir and made the world. Vili is a primordial god, and you better hope and pray that he's still fighting with Odin. Otherwise together, they will kick off Ragnärok."

Imogen grinned. "And here we go again…"

EPILOGUE

Layla walked through the halls of Kian's castle, wondering if she should have left Ireland. She had agreed to come and keep David company as he continued his healing with the mages and had needed to see that Imogen was okay.

None of the Ironwood women were keen on leaving David alone. It didn't matter that he had told them he was fine on his own; they were all fussing. He drew the line at them sitting in on his actual sessions because if one of the fae did anything to hurt him, they would probably get smacked in the face. Their father had suffered enough.

Fathers… Layla tried to push out the picture of devastation on Arne's face when Arawan had outed him as Vili's son. None of the others knew elvish, but she had caught the words he had muttered in his native tongue.'He's no father of mine.'

Layla couldn't imagine hating David like that. She was an absolute daddy's girl; all the Ironwoods were, except for Bron, who had always been the most like Kenna. Bron would still protect David with her life. She never would've spat out words so viciously to him; it didn't matter that there wasn't a drop of blood between them.

But Arne wasn't only Vili's son; he was an elven prince, his mother the current Light Elf queen.

And you knocked him back when he asked you out for a drink.

Layla had regretted that since Bron's mating party. She had liked fighting with Arne when Morrigan attacked. She had never seen an elf fight before, and he had moved like a bloody melody.

At Bron's party, he had asked if she wanted to go into the city and get a drink. Layla had been so shocked and nervous that she had stammered out something about needing to look after Moira. Arne hadn't seemed offended, only smiled and bowed.

And that was the last time Layla had seen him. She had hoped he would come back to Ireland to visit so she could ask him out for that drink, and now she would never get the chance. She had blown it.

Isn't it for the best that you did?Layla would never have the guts to ask him, knowing he was a fucking prince and a demi-god.

Layla was so focused on the patterns in the carpets under her feet that she didn't see a side door open, and she crashed hard into someone.

"Layla," a soft Scandanavian accent said.

"Fuck," she squeaked and stumbled backward.

Arne Steelsinger looked down at her with a confused expression on his face. He was dressed in his traditional black elvish armor, his twin swords strapped to his back. His black hair had been pulled back into a messy knot, highlighting how big his golden eyes were. He would've been teenage Layla's wet dream. Hell, he was twenty-six-year-old Layla's wet dream too.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked when she realized she was staring at him.

"I've come to talk to Kian and Bayn," he replied, straightening to his full height.

"Cool, they are in the library. Hope they kick your ass. Bye," Layla stammered, turning around and hurrying away.

"I came to ask you a favor too," Arne called after her.

Layla froze mid-step. "What kind of favor?"

"I was asked by my mother who the best candidate would be to come to the Light and Dark Elves summit," Arne said, coming up behind her. "I told her it was you."

Layla's shoulders hunched inward, physically holding herself back from turning around. If she looked at him, she knew she would give in.

"Thanks for the recommendation, but I don't do favors for liars," Layla replied.

With a shaky breath, she walked away from him and didn’t look back.