“You know, if it’s the new girl’s fault,” Chloe went on, “I can send her to another Crow Clan. Maybe in Japan or something. And she can give them nightmares.”

Erin shook her head. “Chloe, that’s stupid.”

Their leader nodded. “The thing is, Erin . . . I know that. And yet I’m too tired to care.”

“I need to teach you how to combat roll out of a landing,” Vig told Kera as he picked up his empty plate and carried it to the sink. “If you do it right . . . you can roll right into a battle stance, weapons in hand, ready to fight. Scares the piss out of people sometimes.”

“I’ll worry about combat rolls when I can land on something other than my face.”

Vig took Kera’s plate and also placed that in the sink. “Don’t let it get to you, Kera. I can’t tell you how many times I flew into buildings, trees, cars, before I figured out how to land properly. And let me tell you, Elder Ravens really hate when you crash-land into their Maseratis. That they just purchased the day before.”

“How did the Ravens teach you to fly?” she asked. She was sitting at his kitchen island . . . naked. Sipping a glass of milk and watching him. And hopefully she was watching him because he was naked, too.

“They threw me off an eight-story building. I have to say, the landing was unpleasant.”

Kera’s mouth dropped open. “My God, how old were you?”

He shrugged. “Thirteen . . . fourteen . . . nope. Thirteen. I was definitely thirteen.”

“How is that not child abuse?”

“Because we’re Ravens.”

“I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse.”

“That’s just how it is. They taught my father by throwing him off the Royal Opera in Stockholm.”

“You know, these stories of yours do nothing but freak me out. And I have to tell you, Vig . . . I don’t freak out easily. I was stationed with a Marine who worked at a morgue in Detroit for a summer. He always had a story to tell. Yet yours still freak me out more.”

“I never said being a Raven was easy.” He leaned on the other side of the island, rested his chin on his raised fist. “It’s just worthwhile. At least for me.”

“How did they teach you to fight?”

“Rigorous training from the day I got here. Yes, it was brutal and yes, it was worth it. But it’s been that way in my family since the first Raven was born. My ancestors still talk about surviving their training as children.”

Kera’s head jerked. “You talk to your ancestors?”

Ooops. He was getting too chatty. He had to be careful. There were some things that were for Vig and Vig alone to know. Okay, and sometimes his sister, but it was hard to hide anything from a Valkyrie.

“Sometimes.” He finishedoff his glass of milk and asked a question he’d always wanted to ask. “Why did you join the Marines?”

“To get away from my mother.” She said it quickly, with no pause. She didn’t have to think about it. “It was either that or get married to my high school boyfriend, but he didn’t want to move away. As a Marine, they sent me all over the place. I was stationed in bases in Japan, New York, Virginia, then my two tours in Afghanistan. I didn’t see her again until just before she died.”

“What about your father?”

“Former Marine. A really nice guy. Too nice. He didn’t know what to do with my mother, so he didn’t do anything. She became my problem.”

“What was wrong with her?”

“Lots of things. She was diagnosed bipolar with a paranoid personality disorder for added flavor. The sad thing was she really loved me, but that only made her crazier. And she didn’t like her meds because they made her feel out of sorts.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kera shrugged. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault really. Not even hers.” She studied her empty milk glass before announcing, “I need a job.”

“Right now?”

She snorted. “Soon. But I don’t know what I want to do.”

“Anything you want.”

“Bank robber?”

“The Crows actually had a bank robber once. But she came to them after she died in a shoot-out.”

“What happened to her?”

“You’re on her Strike Team,” Vig said with a smile. “It was Leigh.”

Kera’s mouth dropped open. “Her?”

“She didn’t tell you yet? It’s usually the first thing she tells people.”

“I’m just the new girl at this point.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll earn your way out of that.”

Kera didn’t know how true that was, but she didn’t want to bitch about it right now. Not when Vig was staring at her, a small grin on his handsome face.

“You still hungry?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Then get your luscious ass in the bedroom.”

“Okay!” Kera spun around on the bar stool and walked toward the bedroom. She’d just reached the beginning of the hallway when she sneezed, and her wings shot out of her back, the power making her stumble. She crashed into Vig, who was standing behind her.

“Not a word,” she warned him.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But you were going to.”

“Probably.”

Kera started walking again, but Vig’s stupid house had a stupid narrow hallway that her stupid wings couldn’t get through.