Trouble With Trolls

Three fated lovers: a shieldmaiden, a Troll Queen, and a Valkyrie. One price: the fate of all Midgard. Turiel is crown princess, but from the outlawed Northern Holds, bloodbound to Troll Queen Jarngrimr, and best friends with the stablelass Yolanda, her first love - until her poison kiss turned Yola into a Valkyrie, and whisks Yolanda from Turiel's grasp. Now, Turiel has been stolen into wily Queen Jarngrimr's realm, with only the goddess Skadhi and Yola - back from the dead! - to guide her. Lussi, the Snow King, craves a bride - and it is Dia's troth alone. Dia, the last blood mage from the line of the Isa, is all that is left of Turiel's legacy. Dia has been raised as Lussi's Magdalene - his ritual Bride - and ritual Slayer - for the past three years. Every Winter Solstice, Lussi can die, and Dia must kill him. But as Dia falls deeper into Lussi's sexy web - and in love - her heart is on the line! Other works and Ko-Fi: linktr.ee/avnelson

Jason Hart's mother, Victoria Hart, suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and during her manic episodes, I was the only person she would recognize or tolerate. Today, as Victoria tightly clamped her fingers around my wrist, refusing to let me leave, Jason looked at me with an expression of profound, agonizing conflict. "I already paid for the VIP amusement park passes," he sighed. "I guess I'll just have to let Jake take your spot. What a waste!" I stared down at Victoria's iron grip on my skin, feeling drained. It had become a clockwork routine: the moment Jason and I planned a romantic date, she would suffer a sudden, debilitating medical emergency. Because I felt morally obligated to stay behind and care for her, our mutual friends took turns stepping in to accompany him so his plans wouldn't fall through. My best friend went with him to catch the sunrise up in the mountains. His brother, Jake Hart, accompanied him to Disneyland. His buddy went with him on a weekend camping trip in the wilderness. But today, I accidentally discovered a group chat on Victoria's phone. It was called "Susan's Guardian Crew." Susan Jennings was Jason's ex-girlfriend. I tapped into the logs and saw the latest message. Jason: [Susan's doing a lot better. Mom, thanks for keeping Ellie occupied with those episodes.] Victoria: [Don't worry about us. Just focus on keeping Susan happy. I've got things handled here.] She then proceeded to tag the entire group: [Everyone, keep your stories straight. Do not blow our cover!] All the familiar people replied: [Got it.] My hands shook as I set the phone down. Hot tears splashed onto the screen, reflecting my pathetic expression. For five years, every date that belonged to me had gone to another woman. And the most humiliating part? The entire world was in on the joke, while I was the only clown kept in the dark.

I was in the office bathroom stall when I heard them trash-talking me. The intern I'd trained for three months whined, "She's a heartless witch—like a robot with zero brain cells." I was about to swing the door open when another voice jumped in, laughing. "Documents incomplete." "Receipts don't match." "No signature? Denied." "Seriously, we've all memorized the freaking rulebot's script!" Once they were gone, I headed back to my desk. The intern stormed in and slammed a fat stack of reimbursement forms in front of me. "Don't go on another power trip and block everyone's claims." I skimmed the obviously fake receipts. Normally, I'd tear into her. But this time, I just smiled. "My head's killing me. Can't read the fine print."

In the middle of the night, my smurf account gets added into a group chat called "lucky draw group". The rule of the group chat is rather weird. Whoever gets their hands on the lucky draw that's titled "lucky winner" must reveal their deepest and most shocking secret. I intend to watch the entire drama at first. But that's when a female user named Evie Sachs suddenly posts in the group chat. "My husband has always thought that he's the children's actual father. The truth is, he's not." Everyone in the group chat is quick to spam the chat with laughing emojis. "Miss, you can't just come up with a story that far-fetched without any logic!" "That's a really ridiculous story! Do you seriously take for all men to be idiots?" "We demand photos as proof!" Evie uploads a few photos of her sleeping with other men as well as the dates of her children's birth. The moment I glance at the birthdays, my hand goes slack, causing the milk bottle to fall to the floor. My daughters actually share the same birthdays as Evie's children!

On April Fools' Day, Seth Sterling, the campus heartthrob whom I have a crush on, invites me to a karaoke lounge bar to have some fun. But when I arrive at the private room, I find out that all three of my roommates, who I'm enemies with, are there. One of my roommates is about to leave when she pauses in her tracks and turns back to look at us. "Did you guys see the words floating in the air?" The next thing we know, the lights go out in the private room. A scream rings out afterward. When the lights are back on, the roommate who has spoken up earlier is gone. "Where did she go?" I swap looks with the other two roommates quietly. Then, I stand up and pretend to look for the missing roommate when in reality, I'm trying to sneak glances at the live comments in the air. The commenters are cheering with each other. "I told you so! Someone in their dorm can see us!" "No wonder the male lead keeps flaking out on the female lead! A filthy slut who's capable of seeing the live comments must be seducing him this whole time!" "Let's kill her! That way, she won't be able to affect the lovey-dovey relationship between the leads!" Kill? Did my roommate disappear because she could see the live comments? I tremble violently at the thought. My first reaction is to open the door and get out of this place. But that's when the live comments grow more agitated. "Hang on! Someone else in this room can see us!" "We must find her!"

As soon as my neighbor, Shirley Lambert, walked past my house and peeked inside, her eyes lit up. "Mrs. Fisher, this place is huge. It has great lighting too. It'd make the perfect playroom for my son. "You live alone anyway. Just move into our living room. A two-bedroom apartment has more than enough space. "Since we're neighbors, I'll let you stay for free. No rent." I felt so irritated that I nearly gagged. She actually shoved past me into the house and started pointing around like she owned the place. "This crappy couch has to go. The living room would feel way bigger without it. "Oh, and the whole floor needs carpeting. That'd make it safe for my son when he runs around. "Also, why don't you have an air-conditioner? What if my precious boy gets a heat stroke? Could you even afford his medical bills?" She suddenly turned around and glared at me. "Mrs. Fisher, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf? Haven't you got any manners?" Anyone who didn't know better would've thought I was her servant and not her neighbor. I snorted. Clearly, she had no idea about my reputation as the neighborhood menace. "Well, I see you've got plenty of money, and I've got deep pockets. Why don't you hand all your cash over to me for keeping? "And if you like other people's houses so much, I'll write that for you in my letter to Santa this Christmas!"