Rise of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 1)

by Sky Purington

  Cybil remained silent for several contemplative moments before she spoke. “You want me to stay.” Her eyes never left the fire and her voice was just above a whisper. “You want me to rule your people with you.”

  “I do,” he confirmed. “I believe you are blessed by the gods and sent here for a reason. Given how powerful you’re becoming and how fierce a warrior you are, you would be a good choice for…” The words died on his lips when he realized who she would be replacing.

  “I could never replace Megan,” Cybil murmured, putting voice to his thoughts as her eyes finally met his. “And I could never be Queen to a King who is more interested in entering into a business arrangement than a true marriage.”

  Yet again, it seemed he had not properly conveyed his thoughts…the way he felt about her. So he made damn sure he did.

  “I desire you and want a true marriage with you, Cybil.” Yet he was to become King. That meant she deserved logic as well. “There can be little doubt that our family’s fates are interwoven. As such, they would only find strength and cohesiveness through our partnership and leadership.”

  Before she could respond, he continued. “And while yes, I am wary of love in some regards, it is something I have long sought. Something I wish to find with you.”

  “I see nothing of our future,” she said. “Any more than you do.” Their eyes held for a long moment. “Wouldn’t it make more sense given your upcoming position to be with someone your people already like? Someone you know would make a good queen?” She shook her head. “Surely they wouldn’t want an outsider.”

  “Was Megan not an outsider when she became queen?” he reminded, a spark of hope kindling because she had yet to flat out refuse him. “And look how beloved she is now.”

  “I suppose,” she said softly, giving him equal logic. “Even if I was to agree, and it would only be because I think you’re right about my sisters and your family, it wouldn’t matter. Kjar was clear. It’s up to the gods.” Her eyes returned to the fire. “Your gods.”

  “It is.” He tilted her chin until their eyes were aligned again. “Will you become my wife if the gods wish it, Cybil?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” Her pupils flared as she fought deeper emotions. “I never planned on getting married, let alone to someone from another time. The choice has never been mine. And now that it might be, I’m not sure I want to do it without love despite how noble the cause.” Her brows drew together, and she frowned. “But then there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my sisters safe. So maybe a marriage of convenience has been my destiny all along.”

  Though tempted to say it would be otherwise, that whatever lay between them was more than that, he wasn’t willing to risk saying it wrong. He wasn’t willing to risk losing her altogether.

  Not when he nearly had her.

  “Night has fallen.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come, Cybil. Let us journey together and see where Fate takes us.”

  “Might it be kind,” she murmured and took his hand.

  When Vigdis floated out of the forest in response to his silent summons, he said, “We leave soon. You will lead the way.”

  “I will,” she confirmed, her eyes again roaming over Cybil.

  “And you will no longer eye my woman as you do now,” he said.

  “Your woman.” Vigdis pursed her lips, clearly unconvinced as she turned her eyes Cybil’s way, murmuring, “And do you like being called his woman, Celt? Is it true I wonder?”

  Cybil’s response was unexpected. “It is true enough for now.”

  While pleased by her answer, he realized her intent when he saw the way she looked at Vigdis. She did not trust the seer. As such, she would let the woman speculate about how devoted Cybil really was to Heidrek. Just how strong their bond was in case the seer was somehow in league with their enemy. Yet again, he felt great pride in her. How could she not think herself qualified to be a Viking queen when she already thought like one?

  “It will only get colder as we travel.” Heidrek wrapped a fur around Cybil’s shoulders. “Though you feel warm now, it is only because your body is adjusting to what you have become.”

  Her eyes rose to his as he stepped closer to adjust the strings. Despite the heavy discussion moments before, lust flared between them. Lying with her hadn’t abated his passion in the least. If anything, it had only grown stronger.

  “We must go,” Vigdis said. “The way is long and the nigh far too short.”

  He nodded and rallied everyone. Jackie would stay with Kjar as they traveled and Heidrek would keep Cybil close. At first, he was not surprised by their route. Winding up through the thickly forested lower mountains, it was a journey he had made before. As expected, it grew more windy and colder.

  Cybil remained silent for a long while before she finally said, “I never did learn what happened with Matthew. How he woke up.”

  “He awoke when I did after the dream you and I shared,” Heidrek said.

  “Is he able to shift again?” she said. “Is Bjorn?”

  “We do not know.” He frowned. “Kjar said it would be unwise to try shifting until we better understand what infected them.”

  “So he thinks they might still be ill?” Cybil frowned as well. “That they have some sort of virus?”

  “Though my connection to their dragons has returned and everything seems normal, it is best to assume that things might not be as they appear.” He steered her closer as a cloudbank finally lifted, and bright moonlight poured down through the branches. To his way of thinking, it made them far more visible.

  “Understandable.” She glanced at his brother who walked ahead. “Did Matthew mention why he said my name when he woke up? Did he remember dreaming while so close to death?”

  “No,” he said softly. “All he recalls is a close tie to you and another. A bond of sorts that helped pull him back…that helped his dragon.”

  “Did he say who the other was?”

  Heidrek had hoped she would not question him further about this but should have known better. He would have done the same in her position. “The other name he gave was Shannon.”

  “What?” Cybil’s eyes shot to him, and she stopped walking. “That’s one of my sister’s names.”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “I am sorry I did not tell you sooner, but there was no need to upset you further. Not until I understood what it meant.”

  “I deserved to know, Heidrek. There shouldn’t be secrets between us. Not if you truly want me to become your wife…your equal.” She scowled and searched his eyes. “How did I not sense this in your thoughts?”

  Good question and one he had been mulling over. He shook his head. “I do not know, Cybil.” He took her hand and kept walking. “Maybe my mind is opening to yours in degrees. Or perhaps a part of you is still unwilling to see how likely it is our kin will be coming together.”

  Cybil gave no response, but he knew her thoughts spun with questions.

  Vigdis appeared alongside them with her otherworldly eyes to the moon and her voice a whisper on the wind before she vanished again. “Wise it be to keep the moon free. Woo by day to damper his play.”

  Cybil pulled her hand away as they walked. “What did she mean by that?”

  “That I should embrace Thor’s power and keep the moonlight shining as much as possible. Apparently, our enemy does not like it,” Heidrek said. “Then by day, use clouds and storms to hide the sun.”

  “So our enemy might just come out at night but not if moonlight touches him,” she said. “Then by day, he craves sunlight and is less likely to chase us in stormy weather?”

  “So it seems.”

  “Strange,” she murmured. “Evil that prefers sunlight and hates moonlight. What Norse god would feel like that and whose offspring would inherit the same sentiment? And what of dragons and sunlight versus moonlight?”

  “I do not know but imagine the god at play here is somehow connected to Loki, for he is at the heart of all things affiliated with trickery and
darkness,” he said. “As to what dragons prefer, it varies. Some like the night, others day. Some have no preference. It depends on their personality and which gods they’re most drawn to.”

  He was about to say more when a long, eerie whistling began.

  “What is that?” Cybil whispered seconds before Heidrek realized what was coming and pulled her close. Within moments the air warped around them and bent the trees, curved the sky and twisted the moonlight. Reality itself mangled before snapping back into place.

  “It will be all right,” Heidrek murmured and eyed their new surroundings. “We now walk somewhere no mortal has been before.” His eyes met hers. “We walk in the Place of Seers.”

  Chapter Twelve

  CYBIL EYED THE long narrow corridor ahead. Lined on both sides by sheer rock, a canopied archway of verdant leaves created a cathedral-like ceiling far overhead. Moonlight cut through foliage in endless blades of silver and dappled splashes of white on the ground.

  “The Place of Seers,” she murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so mystical.” She was relieved to see everyone still with them. “So we’re all in this place for the first time?”

  “Yes.” Heidrek gestured for his men to continue walking. “It is a place of great and unique power. An unknown and far faster route to Mt. Galdhøpiggen only spoken about in tales and folklore.”

  The air smelled of spruce and potential snow, and the whistling she had heard before was wind whipping through the tunnel. Perhaps twenty-five feet wide, moss covered rocks and patchy grass lined the pathway. The roots of white birches and silver ashes climbed down the walls as if the trees were trying to step in out of the elements.

  “Aren’t the seers risking an awful lot bringing us here?” she asked.

  “Aella is the head seer, and there is nothing she would not do for Kjar and his people,” Heidrek said as they continued walking. “Her people. That you and I are also seers makes for allowances as well.”

  Vigdis walked a good distance ahead with her hips swaying seductively and her arms raised in the air as if summoning something or someone.

  “Aella has some very strange apprentices.” Cybil glanced at him again. More so, his pocket. “Why is Vigdis under the control of whoever has those stones? What happened to her?”

  “That is a question that has long been asked,” Heidrek said. “Some say these stones and bones are from the firepit that took her partner against his will, and she is forever enslaved by the love she felt for him.” He shrugged, his eyes shimmering blue in the lunar light. “Others say she set flame to her lover to end it, and his soul enslaves her within the vengeance of his mortal ashes.”

  “My God,” she murmured. “Both scenarios sound awful… and super creepy.”

  “Every seer bears their burden,” he said softly. “As you and I well know.”

  No truer words were said.

  She fell into a contemplative silence as they continued traveling. A lot had happened in a very short period of time, and she was still trying to figure out how to handle it all. Her sisters and their connection to this place. Their upcoming fates and how she might best be able to protect them. That thought, of course, kept leading her back to Heidrek’s proposal.

  Marriage.

  The idea both thrilled and terrified her. How could she ever lead these people? Would they ever truly respect her like they did Megan? After all, Megan had married Naðr after he had been king for years where she would be joining a man who was yet to be king. But then Heidrek seemed as well-respected and admired as Naðr. It was clear his people loved him.

  But what of her leadership skills? She had none outside of managing her sisters over the years, and that really had more to do with manipulating, assuaging and being strong when they needed it. Beyond that, she was a loner and happiest when left to nature and the creativity found behind her camera lens.

  Governing and overseeing a tribe as large as Heidrek’s would mean embracing the opposite of all that. Could she? Yes, she made a point of accomplishing anything she set her mind to. But would she do so at the expense of her happiness?

  Then again, true happiness had never really been hers to begin with. Not while she continually worried about her sisters’ dragons emerging and having no idea how to handle it if they did. And especially not when it came to men and any sort of fulfilling life with them.

  She glanced at Heidrek yet again and tried to imagine being married to him…spending her life with him.

  In truth, that was the part of all this that gave her any thrill at all. And it was that…a spark of anticipation. Excitement that surpassed her worries and fears. That made her cheeks warm, and her chest tighten. A concept that she could admit intrigued her. To imagine an unseen, unpredictable future with a man she was so attracted to was something she had stopped hoping for a long time ago.

  Heidrek squeezed her hand but remained silent. She had left her mind open to him as they traveled. Unless it was under dire circumstances, Cybil decided she would keep it that way. If he was determined that she hear his thoughts, then she would reciprocate. It was the first step in ensuring the equality he sought…they both sought.

  There were still some shadowed areas in their telepathic connection, things they couldn’t sense about one another, but she knew that would change as they came fully into their own. Whatever they were supposed to be.

  As the climb grew steeper and moonlight faded with the distant rumble of thunder, she felt Heidrek’s tension rise and with it, his power. He was pulling forth the godliness in his blood and drawing a storm to usher in a new day. Shunning the sun before its first rays could touch them.

  “So our enemy can reach us even in this unknown place?” she murmured.

  “He is a dragon and demi-god.” His eyes glowed pale blue as he looked at the sky, held up Thor’s sword and summoned magic. “So it is hard to know how far his reach is.”

  Clouds churned in response to Heidrek’s magic as Vigdis spun on her heel and sauntered back in their direction, dragging her hand along the rock wall as if she caressed a lover. Her eyes slipped over Cybil before they met Heidrek’s. “It would be best if you returned the Highland woman before we resume our journey.”

  Cybil’s eyes went to Jackie, who was talking quietly with Bjorn and Tait.

  “And how do I do that, seer?” Heidrek said.

  “Hmm.” Vigdis gazed at Jackie before her slippery eyes returned to Heidrek and the corner of her lips curled up. “You could try kissing her again, Viking. Perhaps the power of love will once more separate you two through time?”

  They had kissed? Cybil inhaled deeply and watched Heidrek’s reaction yet knew deep down it wouldn’t matter. Any jealousy she had felt was truly gone. What she sensed inside him and what she felt developing between them left no room for another.

  With that knowledge firmly in hand, Cybil responded before Heidrek could. “He’s no longer in love with Jackie, so I suspect another kiss won’t work. Any other ideas, Vigdis?”

  The seer’s grin dropped when she didn’t get the reaction she had hoped for. While Cybil knew Vigdis was tempted to look at her when she responded, she did not. “The two of you might also be able to do it if and only if Heidrek’s heart is truly devoted to you alone, Cybil. In this Place of Seer’s, only unfettered love can harness such power. Perhaps love from both of you.”

  Cybil pressed her lips together and kept frustration from her face. The last thing either of them needed right now was this kind of test. “Is there any other way?”

  Vigdis made a great show of mulling it over before she shrugged. “You could take the Highland woman with us to Galdhøpiggen’s peak, but you risk much. Her life could be taken by the enemy or even by our gods depending on how much anger they harbor.” She pouted and shook her head. “And if death found her because you risked so much when you had another option, the Scottish MacLomains would be displeased indeed, would they not?”

  “Cybil and I will see her returned from this Place of See
rs.” Heidrek’s unwavering, confident eyes met Cybil's though he responded to the seer. “Tell us what we must do.”

  “Such faith,” Vigdis murmured softly, “in something as fleeting and undependable as love.”

  “Perhaps so but it still possesses great power, does it not?” Heidrek replied and took Cybil’s hand. “Or so we will soon find out.”

  Though wary, Cybil had no choice but to join him if it meant possibly getting her friend back to Scotland safely. Jackie eyed them with interest as they shared what they just learned.

  “True love between you?” Her eyes flickered from Heidrek to Cybil before she nodded. “Yup, I can definitely see it being a possibility.”

  That sounded suspiciously vague.

  “You doubt it then?” Cybil said.

  “Not in the least,” Jackie replied. “I just know that accepting and embracing love can be an emotional rollercoaster when you’ve both been trying to keep it at arm’s length.”

  Cybil thought Jackie would mention how Heidrek had loved her not that long ago. Could he truly love another so quickly? Did love like that happen twice in a lifetime? But she said nothing of the sort. Instead, she met Cybil’s eyes then Heidrek’s. “I think if anyone has a shot of finding love under pressure, it’s you two.”

  How romantic. Not. But under the circumstances, romance had no place in any of this. No, what Heidrek had said about a mutually beneficial partnership seemed to be what made the most sense.

  “Thank you, Jackie, for everything.” Heidrek gave her a quick hug then stepped back. “You will always be my friend and have a place amongst my people.”

  “Thank you. Anytime. It was the least I could do for you.” Jackie smiled. “Take care of Cybil, all right?”

  “You have my word.”

  Jackie’s eyes turned to Cybil. “I’m glad we got a chance to connect, no matter how brief and…well, let’s just say it was dramatic.”

  “To say the least.” Cybil snorted and shook her head, growing serious. “Thanks, Jackie. Not only for bringing Bjorn back but for making me see things a little more clearly. I needed a good mental shove to take a leap.” A small grin hovered on her lips. “Literally.”