Night after night, I dream the same thing: I am pursuing Tamsin and she flies away before I can reach her. Kenzi tells me to wait for her to cool off, that I need to give her time, but time drags on and I fear I can't stand to wait any longer before I see her again. Then Massimo forces her hand by breaking into the clubhouse and stabbing Hale. I arrive home to find Kenzi crying hysterically as the dark patch of blood on his tank top spreads steadily outward.
"Take my chi and give it to him. Like you did at the Dawning, with Dyson," she begs.
"I can't Kenzi. I had a room full of people to draw from before, you don't have enough chi to revive him-"
"Take it!" she shrieks, shaking me by the shoulders. The look in her eyes tells me she'll never forgive me if I don't do as she asks. I take a pull of her chi, probably more than I should, and give it to Hale. It's not enough.
"Take more!" she demands.
"I can't, it'll kill you," I plead. I look over at Hale; the siren is fading before my eyes. We could take him somewhere but we don't have time, he'll be dead in minutes.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the door fly open and there is Tamsin. She strides toward us and kneels, her wings folding back into her shoulders. "Take mine," she calmly instructs, and I do as I'm told. I draw her chi out in a long stream and it is even stronger than before, more powerful than any life essence I've ever encountered. I feel drawn toward her like a magnet but I don't dare get close enough to kiss her for fear of crossing a line. I breathe the chi into Hale's mouth and after an incredibly tense minute, he coughs and opens his eyes. Kenzi slides his top up to reveal the wound is gone and gasps with relief. The siren folds her into an embrace and as they lay on the floor whispering, I sit back and study the Valkyrie, who is gazing at Kenzi with an affectionate expression on her face. I took a great deal of chi from her but she doesn't look fazed.
"Tamsin, how did you know?" I can't help asking.
"I know when my kin are in danger," she says tersely. Her tone is cold but her aura betrays her. I'm comforted to see it's as bright and pure as ever, a crown of light that extends around her whole body.
"This was Massimo, wasn't it?" she asks. I nod silently. The blonde leans in and touches Kenzi's shoulder, "I'm going to take care of that fucker. I'll be back soon, okay, Kenz?"
The human pulls her into a hug and she reciprocates.
"I'm going with you," I announce.
"No, you're n-" she starts, but Kenzi interrupts."Please Tammers, let her go with you. I'll worry if you go alone."
"Fine," she concedes, knowing now is not the time to argue with the human."But this isn't going to be like last time; I'm going to kill him and you aren't going to stop me."
"No, I won't," I reassure her. I have no mercy left for the druid, not after this.
Massimo is waiting in his studio, gun in hand. "It had to be done, Succubus," he whines. "It was for the fate of the fae."
"A shitstain like you has no place meddling with the fate of the fae," Tamsin hisses as she scans the room. He appears to be alone.
"Where's the twig of Zamora?" I demand. I step forward, my eyes flashing blue. The druid panics and waves his gun toward me, but Tamsin's wing is suddenly wrapped around me. Shots ring out but don't touch me. She lunges forward to disarm him.
"And Death shall come to you on swift wings, you little shit." Soon she is pummeling him, unleashing a torrent of what I can only assume are Norwegian curse words as her fists slam into his face over and over again. I interrupt her and pat him down until I find the twig in his jacket's inside pocket. The Valkyrie then continues, overcome with rage though her target is long past subdued. There is blood all over his face and her knuckles. Tears stream down her cheeks and she keeps punching him for several minutes, cursing all the while. When she finally stops, he's clearly dead. She steps back and his body disappears.
"Where did he go?"
"I sent him to Helheim, which is basically hell," Tamsin says, her voice barely above a whisper. Her face is red; she avoids my gaze as she wipes her tears away. She looks embarrassed. Tamsin was always a fierce fighter but very, very controlled. Now she seems totally unhinged.
I look over at the blonde's blood tinged wings and realize that this is where I first saw them, the day Massimo kidnapped her for her hair. I can still hear her words, echoing in my head. You despise me... That's what love feels like. She is quiet and I wonder if she's remembering the same moment.
"Thank you for saving me from yet another bullet," I sigh, unsure of how to break the tension. She looks into my eyes and nods uncomfortably.
"You have a knack for attracting bullets, don't you?" she retorts with a weak smirk.
"It would seem so," I take a step toward her. She turns and walks away before I get too close.
"Come on succubus, Kenzi will be worried."
After verifying that we've returned in one piece, Kenzi retires to her room to cuddle with Hale. The Valkyrie goes to clean herself up while I mop up the blood still puddled on the kitchen floor. Tamsin emerges in one of Kenzi's t-shirts and an old pair of her pyjama bottoms; I hope this means she'll stay the night.
"Oh no, your hands." Her knuckles are swollen from punching Massimo. I reach out to touch them but she shrugs me off.
"No big deal, they'll heal in no time."
I grab some vodka, pouring myself a shot and handing her the bottle. She smiles when she sees the other dozen bottles of vodka sitting in the cupboard. "I see you've stocked up."
I blush a little. "I wanted to be prepared in case you ever came back."
Her expression softens and I can tell she's touched by the gesture.
"How... have you been?" I venture timidly. She looks me up and down and I can tell she appreciates that I know just how badly I fucked up.
"I'm alright. Back at work, new truck..."
She wants to keep it light but I can't resist asking. "How did you know we were in trouble earlier? You were here within minutes like you had some kind of Valkyrie bat-signal."
She sits down on the couch and I settle at the far end to give her some space. "Valkyries have a preternatural ability to sense danger and... when our loved ones are in danger we can sense that too. That's why Acacia said love will get you killed. I'm more vulnerable now that I'll do anything to protect Kenzi."
I'm stunned, I hadn't expected her to acknowledge something she knows I saw in her memory so frankly. "And me," I add.
She raises her eyebrow, surprised that I dared to say this. "And you," she finally concedes, taking another swig from the bottle.
"I'm not really used to it," she admits, "you saw me back there, I flipped the fuck out. I fucking cried."
"You just need time to adjust," I pause, trying to find the right words. "I don't think love will get you killed, Tamsin. You're kind of invincible, in case you hadn't noticed."
She smiles and shakes her head.
"Are you kidding? If you hadn't been here today Hale would be dead. I can't even imagine what we would have done..." Tears are rolling down my cheeks now. I've almost never felt as powerless as I did sitting there, just hours ago, watching Hale bleed out, watching Kenzi's heart break.
For a second she looks conflicted, and then to my surprise, the Valkyrie moves closer to me and takes my hand in hers. "But I was here, and he's fine."
"I know, but-"
"Massimo is gone," she whispers, slowly pulling me into a hug. All evening I have observed the strength of her aura and now I can almost feel it wash over me, calming my nerves. She holds me until we drift off to sleep.
I wake up the next day on the couch still nestled in Tamsin's arms, my head resting on her chest. Even in her sleep her aura is glowing. I sit for a few moments, listening to her heartbeat and reveling in her familiar smell. "God, I missed you," I sigh without thinking. I feel her body stiffen at my words and I look up to find a very awkward expression on her face. Comforting me last night might have come naturally but in the light of day her embarrassment seems to have flooded back to her. Luckily, the moment is interrupted by Kenzi loudly descending the stairs.
"I've got to go… supposed to be at the precinct by 8…" the Valkyrie mumbles as she gathers her jacket. She avoids eye contact with me, stopping to hug Kenzi before she races out the door.
The human casts a suspicious look at me. "What went on last night between you?"
"Nothing, we had a real conversation and we cuddled, but I guess she got spooked again."
"Bo, you're my favorite person in the whole world but if you hurt my baby Tam-tam I will never forgive you." Her protective instinct is touching.
"I won't Kenz-"
"I know you've missed her but you need to check yourself before you hurt her even more. Do you even know what you want?"
"Her." The word comes to me with such ease because underneath, I've known it all along. "I just want her."