He nodded. “You shared a profound glimpse of all that you hold dear. It was a valiant gesture, and I will not forget it.” Closing the space between us, he took my hand and placed it on his chest. Beneath the rent in his shirt, I could feel his heart beating. I could sense the deep stillness within him. He gazed at me with his ice-blue eyes, his pupils stable, calm, and perfectly controlled, centuries of patience behind them. “It is as I have said. There are things I could teach you. Methods to ward your formidable emotions, even from the likes of me. We could help each other, you and I.”

It felt good, too.

Maybe too good. And definitely not comforting. At least what I felt for Cody was familiar territory. What I felt for Stefan scared me.

My tail twitching with suppressed desire, I curled my fingers into the fabric of his torn T-shirt. “There’s a part of me that wants that, Stefan,” I whispered. “But I’m not ready for it. I saw you die tonight.”

“I have died many times,” he said in a formal tone. “The result is always the same. One day, perhaps it will be different. Perhaps it is you and I together that will make the difference, serving notice to heaven and hell alike that matters have changed.”

God, he really was ridiculously good-looking.

I opened my hand, releasing the bunched fabric. “One day, maybe. But not today. Okay?”

Stefan inclined his head. “I can wait.”

Chapter Forty-one

Forty-one

In the days that followed, things happened.

The press release from the county sheriff’s office did a lot to put a damper on unrest in the media. Warned by the sheriff that the details of their son’s death would cast Thad in a highly unflattering light, the Vanderheis went silent and ceased to exert their influence. Accordingly, the protesters in downtown Pemkowet vanished.

Everyone breathed easier for it.

Hel summoned me to deliver what felt like unearned praise. When I protested that I’d temporarily lost dauda-dagr and nearly botched the entire affair, she merely fixed me with her baleful ember eye and her compassionate eye alike until I got sort of squirmy.

“You upheld my order, Daisy Johanssen,” Hel said in her sepulchral voice. “In the end, it is all that matters.”

I took the hint and thanked her. Beneath Yggdrasil II’s roots, the oldest Norn winked at me on the way out.

Mogwai was less forgiving, treating me with disdain for ignoring his covert bristle-furred warning not to trust Johnny. Privately, I agreed with him.

Sufficiently intimidated by Lurine’s threat, Jerry Dunham chose to keep his bones intact and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and assault charges. I breathed a sigh of relief at that, too.