A dimple appeared on her cheek as a grin chased away the frown. My heart stopped and then started to pound. That smile. I wanted to capture it with a kiss. The need to shift became almost uncontrollable, but I managed to keep it in check. If this was a dream, it was mine, which meant no dragon. My dragon side was too damn possessive of her.
I stretched my hand toward her. “Come here, Dimples.”
“No,” she said, straightening. “You have a party to attend. A ball in your honor.”
I didn’t like this dream one little bit. I wanted her close. I needed to breathe her in. She always smelled nice. I ran a finger along a ripped section of her jeans. Her skin was warm and silky.
“Come to me, Dimples,” I whispered, sliding a finger under the ripped fabric and tugging.
“Cut that out.” She moved her knee and swatted my hand.
She was never mean in my dreams. “You’re supposed to be sweet and nice.”
“Not after the cold and the magic screwing with my head. I still can’t believe they hauled me here to be bait.”
Okay, this was a bizarre dream.
“Your father wants you to stop fighting your mother, so please get up, get dressed, and go play the dutiful son. She’ll be humiliated if you don’t show up.”
Maybe I wasn’t dreaming. I scoffed at the idea of my mother being humiliated by anything or anyone. The only opinion she cared about was my father’s. And sometimes, even his didn’t matter when she wanted to get her way.
“She’ll get over it. Besides, they are here because of her. And you are here because of me. Always for me.” I caught her hand and threaded our fingers.
“Not willingly. As for your mother, she would have never opened her home to people for the first time in centuries just for her. No, these people have come from all over the realm to meet and honor you. Instead, they’ll go back to their homes and tell everyone that Goddess Hel’s son couldn’t be bothered to meet with them. That the future Alfadir is so full of himself he ignored his future subjects. Worse, you’ll turn your mother into a laughingstock.”
I wanted to kiss her to shut her up. Every time Mother and I knocked heads, I often heard Celestia yapping in the back of my mind like Jiminy Cricket. Usually, I ignored her. This lecture sounded too real.
“You are really here, aren’t you, Jiminy? This is not a nightmare?”
She lifted her chin, obviously hating my new nickname for her. “What do you think?”
“Damn.” I closed my eyes, but my grip tightened on her hand. “Can’t you just crawl into my arms, and I’ll pretend I’m dreaming? You are much nicer in my dreams.”
She laughed and yanked her hand from mine. “Funny, you don’t appear in mine.”
“Then go away.”
“Sorry, not happening. Not until you get up. I refuse to play dress up just because your family is clueless about how to deal with your stubbornness. I’m not your maid or your conscience, and I resent being hauled from my friends, dragged across a portal, almost seduced by the magic in this place, and damn near frozen to death just so I could sweet talk you into attending a stupid ball. So get up and get moving, pal.”
That was the Celestia I knew. Blunt. Snarky. Mouthy. Yep, she was definitely back. And I still wanted to kiss her, damn it. I opened my eyes and sat up.
“Man, I’d forgotten how much you talk and how annoying you get.”
She grinned. “And I’d forgotten how self-absorbed and arrogant you are.”
A regular girl would have been hurt by my words. Another reason I loved having her around. She was full of surprises.
“Welcome back, Dimples.”
She crossed her arms and scowled. “Did I mention I’m here against my will?”
“I missed you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I was at a club, minding my own business when they appeared.”
“You know you missed me.”
“Nope.”
“Did you astral project here?”
She shuddered. “I used the cave portal. Echo and Dread—uh, Syn came for me at a club where I was with Hayden, Zack, and a bunch of friends from school.”
Echo. I might no longer hate the Grimnir, but only one person would dare send him to get Celestia. My mother. My father would have sent Rhys.
I leaned toward Celestia. This was she in the flesh, not her soul.
“Okay, Dimples. Convince me to go to the damn ball because you and I know I’m good at ignoring you when you talk too much. Go for less talk and more action.”
Blue fire leaped in her eyes.
Grinning, I went for the kill. “Kiss me and I’ll go.”
She threw me an annoyed glance and scrambled off the bed. “That’s never going to happen. Get up and get dressed or I’ll drag you there myself using magic. Then you’d be humiliated and your mother would take it out on me.”
I dropped back onto my bed, but my eyes followed her. My day just got better. “Never is such a long time. I could make you eat those words right now.”
Pink tinted her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. From her expression, she was getting pissed and probably thinking up ways to make me hurt. Too bad. I needed to reconnect with her, desperately. Maybe I shouldn’t wait to explore this bond between her and my animalistic side. Since the flamboyant nitwit was a part of me, I had to know if I was part of whatever special thing they had going on.
Celestia sighed. “Eirik, please, stop being stubborn.”
She could make me agree to anything when she looked at me with those soft eyes and spoke in that breathless tone. I couldn’t believe she was in my home. After months of sneaking into hers and watching her from afar, she was actually here. Best part, she didn’t appear to hate me. This felt like old times.
“Okay, forget the kiss. I’ll settle for a hug,” I said.
“Seriously? We don’t have time for these silly games.”
“This is not a game. We always had time to cuddle. A hug or Mommy Dearest will be humiliated and it will be your fault, Jiminy Cricket.”
“You are such an ass.”
“And you’re scared you might like it too much and stop hating me.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Prove it.” I extended my arms and gave her my most charming smile. “My arms have missed you.”
“That’s so corny.”
She was wavering. “That’s because I know you can’t resist me for long. I mean, I know I’m charming, but I’ve been working out, so it’s okay if you want to cop a feel too.”
She laughed. “In your dreams.”
She had done that and much more in my dreams.
“And I saved your life from my power-hungry grandmother. That alone should give me a hero’s…” She stopped smiling and a haunted look flashed in her eyes. Damn, I shouldn’t have brought up my grandmother. “Come here, Dimples.”
She swallowed and looked at my hand, but she still didn’t move. This was demoralizing. Before, she had no problem hugging me. Now I had to beg her for it.
“Chicken. If I shift and start roaring and snarling with disappointment, guess who will be running out of here, screaming because they hate dragons?”
“I’m not worried about your dragon side. He’s my hero. Your human side, on the other hand, is an egotistical opportunist. If you so much as cop a feel, as you so eloquently put it, you’ll need to shift to escape my wrath. And FYI, I’m only doing this so I don’t have to dress up like some debutante and attend the stupid ball with you. First, they lure me here under false pretense, and now I have to deal with you. Why me? What did I do wrong to deserve this?”
Man, could she talk. The moment she crawled onto the bed and slipped into my arms, everything ceased to matter. I didn’t even care that she talked too much. She could yap all she wanted now. But the best part was her reaction. She trembled, telling me she was affected by our close proximity. I felt invincible.
I wrapped my arms around her, and tucked her under my chin. I didn’t care what reason she g
ave, I was finally holding her while she was awake. I could feel her warmth. Hear her breathe. Inhale her scent. This was worth all the begging in the world. I buried my face in her hair and a sigh of contentment rose from deep inside me. It came out as a purr.
Whatever special connection Celestia shared with my dragon form, it extended to me. I felt it in every cell in my body. Felt it when she released a shaky breath. When our bodies touched and she trembled. She might fight me, but she belonged in my arms. In my home. In my realm.
“Dimples?”
“Hmmm.”
“Welcome home.”
I expected her to say this wasn’t her home. Instead, she nestled and sighed, her breath brushing my skin. Heat shot through me. The hug wasn’t enough. I needed more.
“Say something,” I said.
“You complain that I talk too much.”
Not when her breath warmed my skin like that. That I liked.
“I love the sound of your voice, not the things you say. Big difference. So yap away.”
“So you can hear me without really listening to me?”
“I knew you’d understand.”
She laughed silently. Suddenly, I was aware of her chest pressed against mine. My heartbeat spiked, and the need to kiss her shot up with it. I wanted to touch her, but her jacket was in the way. I looked down and noticed it had ridden up and left a thin layer of skin bare. My hand found her skin despite the high-wasted jeans and her top. I stroked it.
She grabbed my hand and moved it, squeezing it hard, but not before I heard the tiny catch in her breath and felt the shiver. I loved it when she reacted to my touch. Sure, it often happened while she was asleep, but it was nice to know she couldn’t control it while awake too.
“Don’t push it, mister,” she warned, but her voice lacked heat.
“So what’s this about you attending the ball with me?”
“Your mother expects to use me as bait. Obviously, she hasn’t changed.”
She lifted her head so she could look at me. It was something I’d noticed she liked to do. She couldn’t just converse while facing any direction. She had to stare into my eyes. Not that I was complaining. I liked those baby blues locked with mine. Besides, it was endearing.
“She’s still moving people like chess pieces and expecting them to stay put until she moves them again. Thank goodness your father is the voice of reason. He asked me to talk to you instead.”
Now, she was talking faster, her voice slightly unsteady. I liked to think it was our closeness throwing her off, but I could never tell with her.
“He’s really worried about the tension between you and your mom. And before you say you don’t care about making her happy, watch for the nose, Pinocchio. You do.” She started to wiggle, and my arms tightened.
“Where are you going?”
“Enough hugging.”
“You’re really not going to kiss me? Not even on my cheek?” She scowled. “At least admit you missed me.” Her expression became mutinous. Stubborn girl. I let her go, and she sat up.
“Are you ready now?”
“No.” All the shuffling around had messed her hair. I pushed the lock from her face, my hand lingering on her skin. She didn’t dislodge my hand. “I’d missed this. Talking to you. Your crooked smile.”
“I don’t have a crooked smile.”
“Do too. It’s sexy.” She rolled her eyes. “That too,” I added. “You’re the only girl I know who looks cute rolling her eyes.”
She laughed. “You’re so weird. Did you find her?”
I rolled a lock of her hair between my fingers. “Find who?”
“Your sister, silly. Who did you think I meant?”
My grandmother. I didn’t want to think about her.
“Did you know that it took Rhys and Nara nearly seventeen years to exhaust their leads? And that is despite the fact that they can siphon memories.”
“Siphon memories? What’s that?”
“Tap into scrambled memories and find relevant information. They had to work even harder to sift through Immortals’ memory banks because the Norns were involved. In the last few months, I’ve learned how Rhys and Nara infiltrated most of the private clubs, business, and mentoring program for the younger Immortals left behind when their Immortal parents died, or when some idiot Valkyrie or Grimnir turned one.”
She frowned. “So what are you saying? You need more than sixteen years to find your sister?”
Direct and to the point, that was Celestia. I’d missed that. “I hope not. I wanted to do it weeks ago, but I’ll settle for a week. Her birthday is coming up.”
“Why do you think your sister is on Earth with the Immortals?”
“The Norns hid me there, so chances are they did the same with her.”
Celestia frowned. “The Norns took her from Ironwood Forest?”
“No, they didn’t. She was never there.”
“Your grandmother told me she abandoned her in Ironwood Forest when she found out your sister didn’t have the dragon strain.”
I sat up, resigned to discussing my grandmother. Despite all the great things she’d done for her clan, she was my family’s skeleton. “She never mentioned Ironwood Forest or dragon strain to me. She said she kidnapped Einmyria to punish my parents, bragged that she knows where the Norns took her, and plans to call her when she’s ready.” Celestia went pale. “Sorry. I really didn’t want to discuss her.”
“It’s okay. So you think she bit your sister?”
“Yes. That’s why I must find Einmyria before my grandmother calls her.” Or find my grandmother and make a deal with her. Somehow, I didn’t think ordering the old Jötun to tell me where my sister was would work.
“If your sister is on Earth, do you think she’d respond to a call from your grandmother?”
“I have no idea, but I hope not.”
“Me too.” Celestia looked at her watch. “Oh crap! I completely forgot. We shouldn’t be talking.” She scrambled off the bed. “Your parents want you by their side to receive the guests. Man, I’m an idiot.”
“No, you’re not. We have some catching up to do.” Going to the ball meant less time spent with her. “Come with me. You can meet my new friend, Karle. He’s a Jötun dragon shifter and the sappiest person I’ve ever met. You’ll probably like him.”
Celestia shook her head. “I can’t. I left my cousin, Hayden, and Officer Sullivan at the club, and I don’t know how long Syn can keep them distracted. Just get dressed and make an appearance, Eirik. One hour and then leave if you hate it.”
“Do you know why they want me to attend the stupid ball in the first place? And don’t start lecturing me about Mother being humiliated or people coming to honor me. Those are not the real reasons they are here.”
She grinned, and just like that, the fog lifted. Karle was right. A smile from your girl packed quite a punch. And Celestia was mine even though she’d laugh in my face if I dare say it.
“Your mother wants you hitched.”
Okay, that wasn’t cool. She was supposed to be jealous, or at least pretend to be, not enjoy my predicament.
“It’s not funny. You sure you don’t want to come? You’re going to miss out. You could help me choose my future bride.”
“Get dressed, doofus,” she snapped and started for the door.
I was in front of her before she reached the door. “Where are you going? What if I change my mind after you leave? You have to stay here and personally escort me to, uh, wherever they’re holding the party.”
“I’m not holding your hand, Eirik.”
“Then I’m not going. Stop by my parents’ quarters and tell them you failed.” Instead of going to the closet, I headed for the bed. “I can go back to sleep and dream. Like I said, you are much nicer in my dreams.”
She groaned. “You are the most annoying guy ever.”
“Bye. See you next time they haul you in here to manipulate me.”
“Fine. I’ll wait here while you cha
nge.”
I did a U-turn and walked toward her.
“And FYI, this was a one-time deal. Next time, I’ll say no. Echo or no Echo.” Her arms crossed, she glared at me. Damn, she looked adorable when she pouted, and her lips were tempting. I moved in to steal a kiss, but she pressed a hand on my face and pushed me away.
“No kiss, huh? Okay. At least, smile. You’ve done the impossible and gotten me to agree to this farce of a party. If I end up with a troll bride, it’ll be your fault.”
The corner of her mouth twitched. By the time I entered my walk-in closet, she was seated on my bed.
“So what have you been up to, Dimples?” I asked as if I didn’t already know.
Silence greeted me.
“Still pouting?” I called out.
“I don’t pout.”
“Then talk to me. What did I miss? Are you dating anyone? Is he treating you well? If he’s not, I can take care of him for you.” Her sweet laugh reached me first, and my chest tightened with feelings I couldn’t explain.
“Well, now that you asked, there’s this really nice guy…”
“Ditch him. Nice is boring.” What the hell was his name? I’d seen him stop by TC. It was time to have a little chat with Stubby. He was a little on the short side. “Tell me about school.”
“You sure you don’t want to hear about Wes?”
She was too damn chipper, probably enjoying my reaction. She also sounded like she’d moved closer to the walk-in closet. “Does Wes have a last name?”
“Lyons. He’s really sweet. And if you hurt him, I’d never forgive you. I wasn’t sure about dating him, but I could see myself doing it now.”
And I could see myself dropping him from five thousand feet to his death. “Sweet is not for you, Dimples. Sweet is nauseating. You chew and spit out sweet guys because they are wusses. When are you graduating?”
“In two months, so I’m busy making sure I enjoy the little time I have left in high school. Then there’s the prom. I plan to attend, of course.”
With Wes? Over my dead body. “And when not doing school-related stuff or hanging out with Wuss, what do you do?”
“Wes, not wuss,” she corrected. “And FYI, I love sweet guys. When not with him, I work on spells. And you? When not accepting challenges from other dragons or hanging out with Immortals, what do you do?”
Heroes (Eirik Book 2) Page 6