The club was absolutely heaving with people; gods and humans were rubbing shoulders, drinks were being spilled, women were being hit on, and Mason had to keep his eyes moving and his instincts sharp. Being able to hear people’s thoughts had always seemed to be some kind of burden, but right now, he saw the fucking silver lining. With the recent events involving Bryn and the other Valkyries still hanging over his head—weighing on his conscience—Mason listened out for any information that might fill in the blanks Bryn had refused to.
When he started to hear the thoughts of—what he’d later found out had been—gods, he knew he was in for a whole world of pain. The only way to get away from the cacophony of sound was to concentrate on not hearing anything, like hitting the mute button on a remote control.
Slowly, the buzzing began to die down until all he was left with was the sound of the gods’ actual voices, mingled with the human voices, chattering in his ears. Letting out a relieved breath, he focused on Bryn sitting at the bar. Her eyes were on the glass in her hand, her mind obviously far away from what was happening around her in the Eye.
Mason refrained from listening in to see what was bothering her, finding the violation distasteful. Instead, he busied himself by scanning the crowd again. A brunette sidled into his line of sight, the whisper of a smile on her lips.
“Hi, handsome,” she said, her voice rolling out in a guttural purr that only a three-pack-a-day smoker could pull off. Mason’s eyes flicked down to her cleavage, which was proudly on display in a low-cut blue and white paneled jersey dress. After getting a good long look at the goods, his eyes returned to her heavily made-up face.
“Can I help you with something?”
She smirked like she’d just gotten exactly what she’d wanted. “Bathroom?”
Jerking his chin in the direction of the back corner of the building, he said, “Back there, past the black curtain.”
Looking pleased with herself, she touched his forearm lightly. “Thanks.” Turning, she swaggered away, her hips swaying and holding Mason’s attention for a little longer than normal.
“I thought you preferred blondes,” Bryn said behind him. Mason turned around to see his boss standing there, her arms folded loosely across her chest. The golden sword tattooed on the side of her neck reflected back glimpses of their surroundings.
Mason laughed. “I don’t discriminate when it comes to women.”
The Valkyrie snorted at him and shook her head, a small grin on her face. “You always know what to say to make me slightly feel better.”
Of course, Bryn hadn’t had a lot to smile about recently. The light that had been in her eyes a few moments ago was now gone.
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked, touching her shoulder.
Her blue-ringed eyes rose to his face. “I’ll be fine.”
“You still haven’t told me what happened to you.”
She took a step away, looking down at the ground, her hands curled into tight fists. She refused to meet his eyes. “Some other time, Mason.”
He wasn’t going to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be there when she was ready. “I’ll hold you to that,” he replied, letting her hear his conviction.
She got busy surveying the customers in the bar to avoid his concerned stare. “We’re swamped tonight. Better keep your eyes and ears open.”
He nodded roughly. “Yeah, you got it.”
A month had gone by already. Mason hadn’t heard any more about what had happened, other than Bryn had been taken by a god who was convinced she was the key to killing Odin. He didn’t know how much longer he could wait to hear the whole story. Whatever it was, it had broken something inside her.
And that broke something in him. Mason would have killed for Bryn. He should have been looking out for her, but it had always been the other way around. She’d given him a job when he’d really needed one. Mason had known she was different right from the start. Apart from her stunning looks, and the golden tattoo on her neck, she gave off an almost palpable vibe of “otherness”.
Mason returned to watching men come in, carefully looking them over before allowing them access to the higher levels of the club. If they weren’t wearing the right thing, or hadn’t made a prior booking to be there, he refused them entry. The Eye could afford to be that exclusive.
He was just letting the last group past him when he felt a deep thrum in his blood; the deep thrum that was Korvain, calling him, searching him out. Mason couldn’t feel it all the time—only when Korvain was actively looking for him. He turned his head just as the Mare pushed into the club from behind the “Staff Only” door. Even though Mason was technically Korvain’s boss, he knew who was top dog and when to follow orders. Mason hadn’t survived the marines without learning that important lesson.
Fear instantly gripped Mason, a shiver traveling down his spine, setting his fight-or-flight instincts on high alert. As the guy prowled into the room, humans and gods scattered, trying to get as far away from him as possible. Mason knew what he was—a Shadow Walker, and also the last full-blooded Mare in existence. The bastard was powerful. Mason had tasted that in his blood when he’d taken a blood oath and bound himself to the male. Hell, he could taste it even now as if it hung in the air.
“Mason,” Korvain rumbled, his dark brows drawing down over shadow-filled eyes as he glowered at those who stared. Mason looked up and noticed the three-foot exclusion zone Korvain had inadvertently created.
“What’s up?” Mason asked, meeting the guy’s eyes. Mason liked the Mare, mainly because he had Bryn’s back. They were definitely on the same team when it came to protecting that Valkyrie.
Korvain moved his body closer to Mason, herding him toward the wall, blocking him from view and shielding their conversation. “I just need to reiterate the fact that you need to keep what you know locked down. Nobody can find out what you know. Feel me?”
Mason swallowed. Korvain would kill him if he ever breathed a word about the other world of gods and goddesses. “I told you before I wouldn’t. Besides, I thought our blood oath took care of that?”
Korvain smiled unpleasantly, baring his fangs. Up close, they looked at least two inches long, gleaming despite the low light. “That blood oath isn’t a gag order.”
“I wouldn’t talk about Bryn and the others. They’re too important to me.”
Korvain kept up the threatening smile, but the hardness drained from his eyes. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” He looked at his watch and moved his big body away. “I have to go, but keep your ears open tonight. If you hear the name Darrion, I want a report as soon as I get back.”
Mason let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “You got it, but where are you going?”
“I have to go get one of the other Valkyries from work. Bryn doesn’t want any of her girls traveling without muscle.”
“Until Darrion is caught?” Mason asked, piecing the puzzle together all on his own. He had no fucking idea who Darrion was, but he was on Korvain’s shit list, which couldn’t have been a good place to be.
“Yeah,” Korvain said. “Keep your ears and eyes sharp.”
Mason looked out over the crowd. Every single set of eyes was on them. As Korvain strode from the room, those eyes followed him. When the door slammed shut behind him, the whole room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yeah, Mason knew exactly how they felt.