"No." Torin studied my face then glanced at the door. As though he could read my mind, he added, "Do you want to see it?"

I nodded. He didn't ask why I wanted to see the room and I didn't explain. I wouldn't know where to start. Sure I was taking the coward's way out by not telling him about my visions of Eirik now, but I would once I figured out why and how. He still felt threatened by my relationship with Eirik. He tried to hide it though.

Eirik's room was far enough from the main part of the house that it might have been meant for a housekeeper. Or maybe it was once part of the pool house and the original owners decided to connect it to the main house. Might explain why the kitchen's back door opened into hallway instead of the pool deck.

Funny I hadn't really thought about all that until now. But then again, Eirik had spent most of his time at my house, so we rarely hung out here for me to notice or care.

Torin and I didn't speak again until I was inside Eirik's room. Nothing had changed, even his bed was unmade. "Looks like someone slept in here."

Torin's eyes narrowed. "We told Mrs. Willow not to disturb this room. The bed should have been made."

"Where does Blaine sleep?"

"Next door, but his room is smaller. I don't think he'd sneak in here. That's just not his style."

Eirik's cameras were on the table and I found myself counting them. One was missing. Had he taken it with him to Asgard? He didn't have a camera when he'd come back and helped us fight Grimnirs. Maybe he'd taken it to Hel. I'd been too distraught to notice anything that day. He might have come back in here and taken it before leaving.

I studied the pictures on the wall. Most of them were of nature, but he had quite a few of me and Cora.

"You miss him," Torin said in a subdued voice.

"Yes." I glanced at him, and for the first time I didn't see the flicker of annoyance. "But I worry about him more. He was a part of my live for so long I can't help it." Tell him about the visions, a voice urged at the back of my mind. I ignored it and studied the room, noticing things that didn't make sense.

What to tell him and what to ignore?

Should I find a way to contact Eirik first? If he was the one working with Torin's father, he might need help. When his dark side took over, reasoning went out the window. On the other hand, look at what hiding my visions about Torin's father brought us. Nothing. Instead, I had doubted Torin and he'd spent days searching for his mother and hoping she was an Immortal.

Torin took my arms and turned me around. His eyes were shadowed as he lifted my chin and stroked my face. "Today has been rough on you, hasn't it?"

Just like that, everything was clear. This was Torin. The man I was madly, truly and insanely in love with. Keeping secrets from him was beyond stupid. I tried to swallow, but my throat was tight with guilt and anger at myself.

"Eirik is back," I said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Torin glanced around the room and smiled. "Because of the unmade bed?"

"That's part of it. I saw him in my vision, Torin. He's working with your father."

Torin frowned. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "This just confirms it. His closet door is open and there are clothes on the floor. Unless someone slept in here, his room shouldn't be this messy. His mother... the Immortal who raised him was a neat freak. She couldn't have left his room like this. And a camera is missing. A Nikon. It was his favorite."

Torin walked to the closet and looked around. He picked up a shirt from the floor and sniffed it, then dropped it. He pivoted on his feet and entered the bathroom. When he reappeared, he was holding a towel.

"It's wet. How could he have been here without me knowing?" he asked.

Of course, he shouldered all the blame. I was sure there was a name for people like him, but someone needed to tell him he wasn't a god.

"You don't live here, Torin, so of course, you missed him. You've also been busy chasing your father."

He dropped the towel and closed the gap between us. "And missed something right under my nose. You're really not helping."

"Ego check, Valkyrie. Eirik could have come in and out during the day while you and the others were at school or in the middle of the night while they slept and you are at your place. This house is huge and his room is way over here."

"Mrs. Willow would know if he's been here. Come on." He caught my wrist.

I dug in my heels. "You can't go to her place now."

"Why not? We need answers." He tugged at my arm.

"Quit manhandling me, you Neanderthal. People just don't fall in line and do your bidding because you demand it."

He smirked. "Actually, they do."

"Not this time. One, it's late to be paying Mrs. Willow a visit. Two, it's her home and I'm sure she values her privacy. Three, you don't need proof. You already have my word that I saw him in my vision." His eyes narrowed. "He might also be the one making messes in the kitchen."

Torin let go of my arm, his eyebrows disappearing under the curly mass of hair on his forehead. "Explain."

"You really need a haircut." I reached up to touch his hair.

He trapped my hand and growled. "Are you deliberately trying to drive me insane?"

I grinned. The fatigue I'd felt earlier was gone. Fighting with him often energized me. "Ingrid told me someone's been making messes in the kitchen with leftovers and the others deny they did it. I also heard weird noises in the kitchen the other day but when Ingrid checked, there was no one. Eirik is here." I bet he was the one watching me before I used the portal.

Torin made a face. "No one tells me anything."

"That's because you intimidate people. Especially poor Ingrid."

"What's your excuse? Why didn't you tell me about Eirik when we talked earlier? It's obvious he's the one feeding my father information about you. The traitor."

"Eirik would never betray me."

"Then why is he working with my father?"

"I don't know. I just know he wouldn't betray me."

He made a derisive sound, somewhere between a chuckle and a snort. "Back to you keeping secrets. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I, uh... He looked different in my visions. Buff."

"So he's been bench pressing in Hel, that's not an excuse." He tilted his head to the side and studied me as though weighing my words. "What is really going on, Freckles?"

I started to shake my head then sighed. "I was hoping for proof first because I don't trust my visions."

"So far you've been spot on," he said. He cupped the back of my head and pressed his forehead against mine. "Okay. It's been a long day and I'm sure you're exhausted. I know I am. So let's do this the right way. Whatever is going on, we can deal with it together. I promise not to get mad."

"I was making out with Eirik."

Torin's eyebrows flattened. I expected a vow to snap Eirik's neck. Instead he laughed, his breath fanning my face. I could never focus when he was this close.

"You and Eirik? Not going to happen."

I frowned. "I saw it, Torin. Three times. One time he was in the shower asking me to join him."

Torin stopped smiling and lifted his head from mine. "That's impossible. Someone is messing with your head."

He was so arrogant he believed he knew everything. "Listen, Einstein. I know what I saw and it bugs me. If you're not going to believe me, I'm going home." I walked away.

"Whoa. Stop."

I glanced back. "Why?"

"When I found out you were a Seeress, I talked to Lavania to find out about Seeresses, to learn what you can and can't do. I figured I could help you if I knew what you were facing."

He really was the best boyfriend ever. I walked back and took his arm. "Thank you."

He flashed his I-know-I'm-awesome grin. "Lavania told me over and over again that Seeresses can't see their own future. It's just the way things are. Someone planted those scenes in your head, Raine. A witch. D-"

I covered his mouth. "Don't say it. One more bragging about how right you were will get you kneed hard."

"I wasn't going to. Do you remember the first time you saw Eirik?"

"At the shop. The witches were crowding me. Some wanted to shake my hand while other just wanted to touch me."

"And you didn't see Eirik among them?"

I wrinkled my nose. "No. You think Eirik is doing this? He's not a witch."

"It's in his blood. Both Odin and Frigga practice Seidr. And Loki is just like them too. All bloody witches." He placed his arm around my shoulder and led me out of Eirik's room. We could hear the others arguing in the kitchen as we approached it. The hallway portal was to the left of the kitchen.

"Told you so... told you so..." Torin sang softly.

"Shut up." I bumped him with my shoulder.

The portal responded to us and opened into my living room. Voices reached us first, but a familiar laugh had me looking at Torin with wide eyes. I ran into the kitchen.

CHAPTER 18. TRUTH HURTS.

"MOM!"

She turned, pitch black curtain of hair flowing down her back. Her green eyes grew shiny with tears. "Sweetheart."

Fighting tears too, I ran to her and would have knocked her over if she weren't so tall and fit, and of course, a Valkyrie.

She threw her arms around me. "I've missed you."

I squeezed her back. I'd missed her and worried about her and even got a little angry with her. Just a little because I'd tried to understand. "I heard the gods were deliberately delaying your return."

She leaned back and studied my face "Where did you hear such nonsense?"

"Norns."

"She can hear them by wishing it," Torin said.

"Really?" I couldn't tell whether she was pleased or not. She planted a kiss on my cheek then the other, leaned back, and studied my face. "I'm back now, honey. We'll deal with them together."

Just hearing her say that made me feel better. Did that mean she was officially back as a Valkyrie? Before I could ask, her gaze shifted to Torin.

"Come here, you wonderful man." She enveloped him in a hug. "Thank you for watching over them while I was gone."

Mom mothered everyone. Flamboyant. Generous. She had a big heart and even bigger personality. Looking at her, you'd think she was a throwback from Woodstock instead of a powerful Valkyrie with Norn abilities.

Torin wore a weird expression on his face, like he was surprised and wasn't sure what to do. For nine centuries he hadn't had a family, except Andris as a companion and annoying younger brother, and had closed himself to love. Mom was welcoming him into ours and he didn't know how to deal.

I crossed my arms and mouthed, "Hug her back."

He did, tentatively as though he expected Mom to push him away. If only he knew. She was a hugger. A rock-sideways-squeeze-tighter hugger. A spasm crossed Torin's face as his arms wrapped around her.

Smiling, I turned and hugged Lavania. "I'm so happy you're back."

She chuckled. "When I left you were getting tired of learning about runes."

I'd been eager to see visions. If only I'd known. "That was before the witches and the mayhem."

"That bad?"

"Oh yes."

"Then we better start working tomorrow." Like Mom, she liked long flowy dresses, although she could rock some high-end designers. Unlike Mom, she looked about twenty-two despite being several centuries older than Torin.

Mom was thanking Torin when I turned around. They both had luxurious pitch black hair, but while Torin had smoldering blue sapphires eyes, Mom's were green. I wish I'd inherited them.

"FYI, Mom. I took care of myself with very little help from him," I teased, joining them.

Mom arched her eyebrows. "I know you did, honey. Come here. I want to hear everything." I took her hand. It was nice to have her home. She had a way of making big things appear, I don't know, insignificant.

Lavania joined us and we told them everything that had happened since they left. When we stopped, Mom was staring at Lavania with lips pressed into a pinched line.

"Tell them, Lavania," she said.

My eyes volleyed between them. Confusion flickered in Torin's eyes. Femi nursed her cup of tea as though she wasn't listening, but I was sure she didn't miss a thing.

"Tell us what?" Torin asked.