Their eyes held, and the connection forming between them only grew stronger before she nodded. “Yes, Heidrek. I’ll see you soon?”
“You will,” he confirmed, wishing to Hel he could swing her into his arms, bring her to his lodge and vanish for a fortnight or so. Yet he could not. His people must come first.
“I know,” she whispered as she stood on her tip-toes, and pulled his lips down to hers. The kiss was brief but more than enough to see him through the next few hours until he laid eyes on her again.
By that time, not surprisingly, Bjorn was nowhere to be found, and Samantha had already become quite popular in their community. She was mingling in the great hall, dancing, and spending a great deal of time with those he knew had recently left their spouses or had divorced. Oddly enough, she did not seem to be trying to mate with them but…counsel them? Yet they were smiling and laughing so perhaps he was wrong.
Cybil wore a smile as he joined her at the head table. Grateful to be by her side again, he pulled her hand onto his lap. “Your sister adapts well, does she not?”
“She does,” Cybil agreed, her eyes leaving Samantha to meet his. “How are you doing? How are your people? As far as I can tell, everything’s okay here yet Kjar’s still on high-alert.”
“I am well. As are our people.” He kissed the back of her hand and never pulled his eyes from hers while speaking. It was nice to share his thoughts with a friend. His woman. “But it was not easy to tell my kinsmen that their family members had stayed behind. That their journey is longer than mine and their peril greater.”
“I know,” she whispered and did something no woman had done before. She cupped his hand, brought his closed fist to her lips and kissed each knuckle as her eyes held his.
When finished, she murmured, “Some might say your strength lies in your fist, but I know better.” Cybil cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead between his eyes. “It all lies right here.” Her eyes met his again. “In your mind and soul.”
Even though he had trained himself to be a certain person and a particular type of leader, she completely disarmed him at that moment. She allowed him to relax and enjoy the simple company of someone he didn’t have to be on guard with.
“Nothing more can be learned or gained from this night, Nephew,” his King said, interrupting his reverie as he squeezed his shoulder.
When Heidrek’s attention turned his way, Naðr’s eyes were knowing if not uncharacteristically sentimental. “Samantha will be safe with us. You have my word. You and Cybil need rest from your travels, do you not?”
“We do but—”
“No, Nephew. Go. All is well enough for now, and my brothers protect those at the dragon lair. Release your worries for the night.” Naðr’s eyes stayed with him, his voice firm. “Take Cybil to your lodge.” His eyes went to Cybil. “Let her finally sleep at the heart of what I hope she will someday call home.”
Heidrek nodded. He would like nothing else so did just that. Cybil said nothing but kissed Naðr on the cheek before they left. Naturally, she found her way to her sister first and made sure it was okay. Samantha only smiled at them both before her eyes met his. “Just make sure she has fun, okay? Because God knows, she deserves it.”
Not entirely sure how to respond to a woman so jovial despite all she had been thrust into—not sure how to respond to a woman like Samantha in general—he nodded. Did she not realize her life was in danger? That they were facing a threat the likes of which they had never known? Could she so smoothly push past such strife?
“Come,” Cybil said into his mind even though he was leading her outside. “I know she’s safe.”
Though he knew her sister was never safer in her twenty-first century life than she was here surrounded by his kin, he wondered and stopped short when they exited. He might be inside Cybil’s mind and sense her thoughts, but it was impossible to know how much he was truly privy to.
Before she could speak, he pulled her close, put a finger to her lips and spoke, his breath coming out in frigid puffs. “How are you so sure about Samantha given all you’ve seen? She is your sister, one of several you have protected all your life, yet still you would leave her with perfect strangers.”
“I told you I trust your family.” She kissed his finger. “But I understand where you’re coming from. You protect the ones you love as much as I do.” Cybil pulled his face down until her lips grazed his. “That’s something we’re always going to have in common and the strength behind everything we do. Now I know I’m not the only one looking out for my family, and I hope you realize it works both ways. I’ll protect your family too.”
They were a team.
That’s what she was saying.
Though tempted to search her mind for how deeply she felt that, he didn’t need to. It was all right there in her eyes. Everything he needed in a single gaze.
More than ready to take Naðr’s advice, he swung her into his arms and headed for his lodge. There were still questions to be asked. Things to be understood. But it all faded away as he laid her down in bed.
His bed.
A place in which he had so often wondered if they would ever lay together.
“Heidrek,” she whispered before their lips connected and everything else faded away.
While she might someday leave, now it was more and more likely she would stay to see her sisters through their turmoil. To face an enemy that he would gladly help destroy. A nemesis that he would kill with his bare hands if it meant keeping Cybil and her kin safe.
Having rushed before, he started to slowly remove her clothes, but she shook her head and tugged at the top of his pants. So he obliged. He yanked off his clothes, tossing them in a pile on the floor and watched in appreciation as she did the same.
When the scent of her arousal hit his nostrils, all intentions of taking it slow vanished. He wanted to drown in the feel of her and claim her as his own…no, more than that. Slamming her fists beside her head, he realized he wanted it both ways.
He wanted to mark her.
And he wanted her to mark him.
When he thrust deep inside her, she arched and released a ragged scream of pleasure. He liked the way she shuddered then urged him on. The way she met his intensity with her own, a feral gleam in her half-mast eyes. When they began to glow, and her tattoo appeared to twist and turn in equal pleasure, he went wild…wanted more.
She felt the same as she writhed against him, moving her body in ways that allowed him to thrust even deeper. Sweat-slick, her skin glistened in the firelight, almost sparkling as her passion intensified. His dragon recognized hers in the gossamer sheen that flickered over her shoulders, breasts and down her stomach.
Something unfamiliar was happening.
Something that had them both growling and struggling to get closer.
It was when the sheen made its way down her hips and legs, that their lovemaking became almost surreal. He vaguely understood what was happening. Their dragons might never be able to surface, but they had found each other and were mating.
Fast.
Hard.
Relentlessly.
Flipping her onto her knees, he took her aggressively. The more she moaned in pleasure, the more his dragon responded. Fervid, impassioned, it brought a whole new level of bliss and euphoria.
The more their dragons surfaced, the more they responded to one another. The alluring coppery sheen of her skin drew forth the pale silvery gold of his.
When she bucked and roared her release, he gripped her hips tightly and did the same.
He held her that way for several minutes, determined that she receive all he had to give. When satisfied, he pulled her into his arms and rested back against the headboard. Sated but still quivering, she rested her cheek against his chest and remained quiet for a while as her heavy breathing evened out.
“That was…incomparable,” she finally murmured. “That was our dragons, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “And us as well.”
“I see that getting addictive fast.”
“I agree.” Because he was already addicted. “We will make sure to feed our addiction as often as possible.”
A smile curled her lips as she leaned back and met his eyes. “If that’s the case then you might be right about adding more windows to this place.” She fanned her face. “It’s gonna get hot.”
“Many windows,” he promised with a slow grin.
Her fingertips trailed over his dragon tattoo. “Though I’m glad our dragons have each other, it’s sort of sad that they never really get to surface.”
“It is.” He stroked her silky hair. “But as you said, they are not lonely. Not anymore.”
“It’s interesting that we could make a dragon-shifter child if we,” she whispered and trailed off, emotion in her eyes.
He knew her mind had revisited that glimpse into the future often since they had been in the Place of Seers. His had too. “It is not an impossible future now.” He cupped her cheek. “If anything, knowing what we do now, that your sisters will be coming here, it becomes more and more likely.”
“Do you know that’s the only solid vision of our future I’ve had?” Her eyes stayed with his. “Any thoughts why that is?”
Heidrek shook his head. “I do not know, Cybil. Perhaps our future has too many variables. Or perhaps the gods show us favor and give us mystery where we had none before.”
“Yet they showed us our unborn child.” Her eyes grew a little distant as she stared at the fire. “I gave up on having kids years ago. There was no possible scenario that included something so…special.”
“I too did not see children in my future.” He turned her chin until her eyes met his. “Now I do, and it is a vision that I mean to see come to pass. You will be my son’s mother, and he will make us very proud.”
Her eyes glistened as she nodded and whispered, “I’d like that.”
He cupped her cheeks and kissed her as though she would break. She had become very important to him in such a short period of time. More important than anyone else.
“Now that we’re alone, I need to tell you something.” She fingered the bear pendant. “What I learned when this protected me.”
Curious, he nodded for her to continue.
“I wasn’t alone when the dragon tried to attack me. Though ghosts, there were animals on either side of me,” she said. “A dog and a bear. Your dog and bear, Heidrek.”
Warmth uncurled in his chest. “Guardian? And the bear that has watched me over the years?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “They’re your spirit guides and will always protect you to the best of their ability.”
“And they protect you as well,” he murmured.
“Yes,” she said. “This pendant tells them that I’m part of your life path.”
He didn’t know what to say he was so humbled and thankful.
“The bear has been with you lifetime after lifetime,” she continued. “Guardian is new, welcomed by the bear when she…when she passed on.”
“How did I not know this?” he said.
“That’s the thing with spirit guides. They rarely make themselves known,” she said. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, and they had no choice.”
“And I will be forever grateful to them for protecting you,” he whispered. “That they understand my heart so well.”
A comfortable silence fell between them as she rested her cheek against his chest again. Though at first he thought she dozed off, she hadn’t. Her hand began to wander, caressing him to the point of distraction.
Eager to be inside her again, he repositioned her until she straddled him. When she braced her hands on his shoulders and sank down, tremors rippled through him.
Slow and methodical, she used her hips and inner muscles in such a way that she kept him on the edge for a remarkably long time. Even after he found release, they continued well into the night.
Over and over.
She was as tireless and driven as him. Sometimes they would rest and sleep, but a single movement by either sparked desire and their lovemaking would continue.
Eventually, in the pre-dawn hours, slumber finally found them. When next he awoke, she was standing in front of the fire. Her skin was sheened, and her eyes were catlike as she looked in a Northerly direction.
He sat up, alarmed. “What is it, Cybil?”
As though in a trance, she never looked his way when she responded.
“He is angry…so angry,” she murmured before her eyes snapped to his and his dragon tattoo burned. “And will take a life for those lives denied him.”
Chapter Sixteen
CYBIL HAD NO recollection of Heidrek dressing her, or of when Kjar and Aella joined them. One second she had been cozy next to Heidrek in bed, relishing the afterglows of sex. The next moment, she was sitting by the fire with the others. According to Heidrek, she’d been under some sort of spell.
His aunt and uncle wanted to get a sense of what had happened to her and weren’t pleased with what they discovered. The enemy had somehow used her as a conduit to deliver an awful message. He intended to kill someone close to them and seemed so determined that the whole place was already on lockdown. Those still at the dragon lair were ordered to stay put and be vigilant of threats.
“This is not good,” Kjar grumbled. “The King worries for those at the lair, most especially his eldest daughter, Meyla. She is but a mortal.”
She’d heard about Bjorn and Svala’s sister. In her forties now, she had long ago married a Scotsman named Valan, who traveled through time.
“Meyla is a fierce warrior, Uncle,” Heidrek said. Though there was assurance in his voice, she didn’t miss the flicker of worry in his eyes.
Kjar only grunted a vague response, his troubled gaze on the flames.
“Might you tell us how Heidrek’s bear pendant stopped the enemy,” Aella said to Cybil. “Perhaps it can aid us in what is to come.”
“I wish I could say I thought it would beyond Heidrek and me.” Cybil shook her head. “But it’s doubtful.”
Cybil’s eyes went to Heidrek. “Are you okay with me sharing?”
“Of course.”
So she did then said, “See what I mean? I’m fairly certain it’s just a talisman attached to Heidrek’s spirit guides, and their reach doesn’t go beyond him…and now me.”
Heidrek looked at Kjar. “You told me it helped connect me to Cybil and would protect her. Did you know of these spirit guides then?”
“I sensed positive, protective energy affiliated with it.” Kjar shook his head. “I did not know it was connected to spirit guides.”
“It is interesting that this spirit guide who has followed you life after life is a bear,” Aella said softly as her eyes met Heidrek’s. “Given that the patriarch of your family’s lineage was named Bjarke, which means ‘bear’.”
Clearly only now making the connection, Heidrek’s brows rose. “You can’t mean to imply that my guide is my ancestor?”
“I can and am,” Aella said. “It says much for your soul, Nephew. How important its role is to your people.”
Humbled, Heidrek lowered his head. “Might I always do right by them.”
“You will,” Aella murmured. “Never doubt that.”
Heidrek nodded before he continued. “Now I must ask the same thing Cybil did earlier to perhaps better protect my tribe.” He looked at his aunt. “Would you share why Kjar was so upset over the enemy at Galdhøpiggen’s peak?”
Kjar grumbled something under his breath as Aella nodded. “I will. You see, the godliness that the enemy derives from was once my husband’s rival. They fell in love with the same woman. If Kjar ever hoped to be with her, she had to go into hiding, and their paths had to separate. It was the only way.”
“Who was she?” Cybil murmured.
“Me,” Aella said softly. “A spell was cast upon the demi-god that shrouded his memory until I was but a figment of his imagination.”
; “Then why did you say he was a figment of your imagination in the cave?”
“Because that is what we refer to him as in order to keep the spell locked,” Kjar said. “A figment of your imagination.” He scowled. “I wish he would have stayed that way. Yet now it seems his bloodline is determined to find its way back into our lives.”
“Who was the demi-god he was related to?” Heidrek asked.
“Surprisingly enough, he’s of the god Tyr’s seed,” Aella said.
“Who is Tyr again?” Cybil said.
“Born of Odin, he’s a war god who lost his hand to the wolf Fenrir,” Kjar said.
Heidrek frowned. “But Tyr is not evil.”
“No,” Aella said. “But it is impossible to know how a god’s seed will interact with dragon blood.”
“So maybe that’s why the enemy prefers sunlight? Because of the godliness in his blood that might still be connected to good?” Cybil said.
“That is an astute guess,” Aella said. “But I cannot confirm whether or not it’s true. It could just as easily be his dragon blood.”
A heavy frown settled on Heidrek’s face, and she felt his turbulent thoughts before he voiced them. “So my enemy and I share Odin’s blood as well as his war-inclined sons. Does that not put us on equal ground? Have I now lost the edge over my enemy that I had hoped for?”
“In some ways, yes. In other ways, no. You have something your nemesis does not.” Aella’s eyes went to Cybil. “Her. And Cybil has the backing of not only her gods but ours. Such a thing is unheard of and can only work in our favor.”
When Heidrek squeezed Cybil’s hand, and worry flashed in his eyes, she said firmly, “It’s okay. I’m okay. And I’m ready to fight this bastard every step of the way.”
Heidrek’s eyes stayed with Cybil’s for a moment, searching out any fear she might be repressing, but found none outside of her concern for her sisters and his people. She was ready, and she was strong. He nodded his approval, immensely proud of her.
“Unfortunately, you might be fighting the enemy sooner than expected,” Aella murmured before her eyes snapped to the doorway. Seconds later, Naðr and Megan entered.
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