As she feared, the enemy focused on that after he ripped a good chunk out of Naðr’s neck then flung the king aside. A blink later the enemy slammed into Heidrek.
It was that moment—that all-consuming moment—when Cybil felt true fear for the first time. She had always thought she’d faced her deepest fear at the thought of harm coming to her family, but this was something new.
This was what people felt when the person closest to them on Earth was about to die.
It was a heart-wrenching sensation that made everything inside turn sluggish. You were afraid to take your next breath, afraid to live the next moment, you were somewhere beyond the scope of life.
A life that might be without them.
As this new, blinding fear seized her, she fell to her knees, only vaguely aware that the sword continued blazing currents through her. Everything snapped into a single tunnel of vision as she struggled to get to Heidrek, to follow him into the afterlife if need be.
Then she suddenly felt physical pain.
A great deal of it.
Pure agony.
But nothing close to the torture and desperation she felt while trying to get to her mate.
After that, everything seemed dreamlike. Warped. Changed. Hazy. When the pain faded, her vision sharpened. She looked down…and down at her feet.
No. Not feet.
Talons.
Her dragon had broken free as well.
Thor’s sword lay on the dock unscathed, the last of its light fading away. That’s when she understood how much the Norse god had helped them.
How his power combined with theirs helped free them.
Though she should have been frightened by the differences in her body, she instead felt free…at long last. Gone from what had long repressed her. Now that the heavy veil had vanished, she could see things very clearly.
When Heidrek’s roar rang across the sky, she didn’t think but let her body take control, let her dragon instincts kick in. Spreading her wings, she jumped, flapped and took off.
The wind shear threw her off at first, and she wobbled, but she quickly adjusted and raced toward the dragons warring in the sky. Spinning, battling, they were having it out, and Heidrek was struggling.
Screw that.
She roared with rage, flapped her wings a few more times, and locked onto the enemy’s back. Infuriated, she clamped her teeth down hard on the side of his neck.
Just like he had done to Naðr.
When he cried out in pain, Heidrek clamped down hard on the other side of his neck. Then they were spiraling.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Wind rushed by her face, but she never let go as they slammed into the ocean. Water boiled around them as they sunk. The enemy kept thrashing, trying to break free from their grasp.
Suddenly, something ripped him away, and he vanished into the deep abyss of the sea. Just like that, he was gone with nothing but a heavy swath of bubbles left in his wake.
They started to pursue when a low keen met their ears.
Naðr Véurr.
“Come, Mate,” Heidrek said into her mind. Hearing him for the first time in this form was indescribable. Untouchable. Perfect.
Cybil followed him, adjusting to the feeling of her long, serpentine body and the ebb and flow of the ocean. While she had marveled for a minute or so at her newfound power, any elation fell away when they spied a large, black body lying on the ocean floor. Blood drifted in foggy clouds above it.
The Viking King.
Her heart clenched as she understood why he was keening. Not because he was dying but because he wanted to be with Megan one more time before he passed over.
Now that she was in dragon form she could feel so much more. Not only Heidrek’s sadness but all of those who cared about Naðr.
Understanding her part in this, she and Heidrek swam along either side, gently scooped Naðr up and headed inland. By the time they reached the shore, his low keens had ended, and he was unconscious.
The fighting was over, and Megan stood on the shore, her stance surprisingly strong as they laid Naðr at her feet. Her lower lip quivered slightly as she fell to her knees and rested a hand on his snout.
Tears fell, but she didn’t sob.
No, she was ever the Queen as she pressed her forehead between his eyes. “You fought well, my love, but you are not gone yet.” She kissed the area. “Not yet.”
Then she pulled away and murmured, “Heidrek, shift him now so he can rest in bed.”
Heidrek touched the King and started chanting. Air swirled with magic until the dragon vanished and left a man’s body wearing nothing but pants.
“There,” Megan whispered and kissed Naðr gently though he remained unconscious. “Let’s go home now, my King.”
When she pulled away, Kjar lifted Naðr, and they headed toward the gates. People parted and bowed their heads. Many cried. Some fell to their knees and lowered their heads. Others held their weapons up in respect as they passed.
Sad beyond belief, Cybil had no idea she had shifted back until the people started looking less tiny and Heidrek wrapped a warm fur around her shoulders. He was human again as well. As their eyes met, his sorrow became hers and vice versa.
“Thank you,” he whispered and pulled her against him. “Thank you so much.”
She wanted to stay here with him and hold him forever. Revel in the fact he was still alive. But they couldn’t do that right now. They needed to follow their king. They needed to be with him. So she pulled away, took his hand and they did just that.
This time, every warrior held up their weapons in respect and looked not only Heidrek but Cybil in the eyes as they passed. It was an unbelievable show of support.
That’s when she knew without a shred of doubt.
Heidrek was about to become the next Viking King.
And she, the next Viking Queen.
Chapter Seventeen
FOUR DAYS HAD come and gone since the battle and though the King’s heart still beat, many wondered if he would ever awaken. Though exhausted and weak, Queen Megan never left his side. Furious with circumstances and unable to cope with her father’s condition and her sister’s possible death, Svala was raining hell down on anyone and everyone foolish enough to be around her.
But it was Bjorn that Heidrek worried about most.
He kept to the base of the mountain at the backside of the fortress and made rare appearances. When they happened, it was only to stare from a distance at his parent’s lodgings. He was truly haunted, enraged beyond belief, and nobody could get through to him.
The brown dragon had been driven off and the black dragon, presumed dead.
Heidrek and Cybil spent long hours talking about what they had become. All that they were now and what that meant for them and their kin. The conclusion they came to was unanimous and just as it had always been.
They didn’t want to separate but would if it meant keeping their families safe. Their lovemaking only intensified but there was always a heaviness in their hearts. Not only over the fact they might eventually be separated but because of Naðr’s condition.
Yet on the eve of the fourth night, everything changed. Not only did Naðr awaken but Samantha finally shared something.
“It’s strange how it all happened at once like that,” Cybil whispered against Heidrek’s chest as they lay on a fur in front of the fire.
“It was as if it was meant to be,” he murmured, stroking her hair as he recalled his Aunt Megan’s cries of joy.
Naðr had opened his eyes. He was awake. But deathly ill. While a remarkably strong dragon-shifter, his wounds were created by evil and those were the sort you rarely recovered from.
All except Bjorn had come to his side when he was coherent enough to appreciate company. It was then that he said words that would reverberate through history.
His eyes met Heidrek’s, and he took his hand. “You have made me very proud, Nephew. I now declare you king of our peop
le. May you rule wisely and never forget all you have learned.”
Heidrek nodded and swallowed back emotion. His king needed to see strength right now. “I will always do as you taught me, my King.”
Naðr held his gaze for a long moment before he said, “You understand that it is unlikely our enemy is defeated.”
“Yes.” Heidrek nodded. “I am making plans, and will be ready should they return.”
“Good,” Naðr whispered and turned his attention to Megan, who sat on the other side. His eyes were full of love. “Wife.”
“Husband.” Her eyes glistened. “I’m here.”
“Yes. You are here.” He wrapped his hand around hers. “But you cannot be anymore. It’s time for you to go home and fight your illness.”
When she shook her head and started to speak, he put a finger to her lips. “You need modern day medicine. With it, you can fight what ails you, and then come back and help those here. You can aid our children and kin in ways nobody else can. You know this place, how it works and its people even better than I do.”
“No,” Megan whispered, tears sliding free. “I can’t leave you.”
“You can.” His brows perked. “Because I will be leaving you soon. The difference between us is that you can be there for our children. Our people.” He cupped her cheek. “So promise me you’ll find a way back to the future.”
Megan curled her cheek into his touch, clenched her jaw and nodded. “I will do whatever you wish of me, Husband.”
“Very good,” he murmured, his eyes still on her. “I refuse to risk connecting with them telepathically so tell my brothers, Raknar and Kol, that I love them and look forward to feasting with them in Valhalla.” Emotion churned in his eyes. “If what the enemy said is true and I meet my beautiful Meyla there, then tell my brothers it is not their fault. That I know they did everything in their power to protect her. They need no forgiveness from me. It was her time, and she now drinks with Odin.”
Megan blinked back tears. “I will tell them.”
His eyes roamed over everyone before they landed on Cybil. Nothing needed to be said between them. Everything was there in the way he looked at her. Thanks. Pride. Complete faith in her abilities to fill Megan’s role and listen to her advice.
He offered a few simple words, though. “You did your people proud, Dragon Seer. Continue to fight well, Viking warrior. And never lose touch with your humanity, Dragon.”
Cybil nodded. “Never.”
By the time his gaze found Svala, his daughter was furious, her eyes blazing at the idea of him dying.
“Oh, my little Dragon.” He managed a weak chuckle. “How I wish I could meet the man that finally tames you.”
Svala’s eyebrows shot together. “No man will ever tame me.”
“God’s willing,” he murmured. “Because a spirit such as yours should not be tamed but appreciated. In truth, that’s the man I’d like to meet.” He winked. “But the only way that will happen is if he can tame you enough that you appreciate it, my daughter.”
Svala blinked away angry tears that had nothing to do with a man taming her and everything to do with losing her father. She spat a stream of curses and left.
“I do love that girl.” Naðr chuckled again which only led to racking coughs and bloodstained bandages. Though the king asked for his son, Bjorn was nowhere to be found.
It was soon after the King fell into a fitful rest that Vigdis told Heidrek that secrets were being kept from him. That something had happened to Samantha when Naðr was struck down by the enemy. She could only tell him that Cybil’s sister had fallen to the floor in convulsions before she murmured over and over, “I can get her home.”
So he and Cybil questioned Samantha and discovered the truth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Samantha said. “I truly thought it was nothing, and then there was so much sadness…and Bjorn…he just…”
When she trailed off, Cybil searched her eyes. “He what, Sam?”
“He’s so angry and lost,” Sam whispered. “Pretty soon, he’s gonna climb up that mountain and never come back.”
Cybil squeezed her hands and studied her sister’s eyes. “Tell me what you saw when Naðr got hurt. Please.”
“First, this thing started burning.” Sam massaged her tattoo. “Then I saw the ash tree at home through some kind of tunnel vision. I went through it and stood in our yard. Lauren was there, and I swear she saw me then…” She shook her head. “I woke up on the floor with the weird seer over me, worried I guess, believe it or not.”
“So you think you can return to the future?” Heidrek said.
Samantha stared at them for a long moment before she nodded. “I do.”
“Good. That’s really good.” Cybil smiled. “It’s a start.”
Sam went deadly serious, clearly sensing something. “You need me to bring someone back with me, don’t you?”
Cybil didn’t seem surprised in the least by her sister’s insight. Her eyes met Heidrek’s then Samantha’s. “Yes, we need you to take Megan back so she can get medical treatment.”
As if everything had just clicked into place, Samantha released a long breath and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I’m not supposed to go back alone. One person should be with me.”
They asked her what she meant by that, but Cybil’s sister had no idea how to respond except that she sensed it wasn’t Cybil. Which naturally distressed her until Cybil managed to convince her all would be well.
So now here Heidrek and Cybil were lying in front of the fire that same night, still pondering the oddities of everything. Most especially, Samantha’s unusual behavior.
“Whatever is happening inside of Sam doesn’t feel negative to me,” Cybil said. “It feels more desperate than anything.”
“I agree.” He brushed his lips against her temple and though he didn’t want to say it, he did. “If you wish to return to the future with her, I will not try to stop you. I will support your decision, Cybil.”
“I know.” Her eyes met his and he heard the conviction in her voice. “Samantha was clear. She saw one person traveling with her, and I believe that person should be Megan.” Before he could respond, she dropped a kiss on his lips and said, “Besides, I feel my place is here for now. With you.”
“As my queen?” he murmured.
“Yes, Heidrek,” she whispered. “As your queen.”
A surge of happiness shot through him, a contentment he had never felt before.
Cybil smiled, rested her cheek on his chest and trailed a lazy finger over his taut muscles. “I can’t help but wonder how much Samantha really wants to go home, though. Have you seen the way she leans against the back of her lodge, constantly watching those mountains?”
“Yes.” Their eyes met. “She is taken with Bjorn perhaps?”
“Maybe.” She frowned. “I’ve never seen her act like this. It’s totally out of character. I mean, she barely knows the guy. No offense because Bjorn’s great.”
“Perhaps they are fated lovers like us,” he said. “And must travel their journey to find one another.”
“Maybe, but you don’t know Sam like I do.” She shook her head. “She doesn’t mull over a guy but goes after him. She does what she wants and takes no prisoners.”
“Then she kills all those in her path,” Heidrek said. “I approve.”
When Cybil’s eyes rounded at him, he offered a grin. “A small joke to lift your spirits, yes?”
“That was kind of an ill-timed joke…if you want to call it a joke at all,” she said and nuzzled closer.
He smiled and rested his cheek on top of her head. “I have been told that joking is not my strong point.”
“Maybe not.” Her hands wandered lower. “But you have other strong points to make up for it.”
That ended all conversation for the night.
Though the next day dawned drearily, Samantha and Megan seemed optimistic when they came to their door.
“I s
ee the ash tree very clearly,” Samantha said upon entering. “I see the Yggdrasill.”
“Sit. Please.” Heidrek urged them to sit by the fire and offered them drinks. Both refused. “Tell us what you mean.”
“It started last night. The tree kept appearing on the cliff behind the fortress,” Samantha said. “Up where Bjorn keeps disappearing.”
“Do you think he has something to do with it?” Cybil asked.
“No.” Samantha’s eyes went to the fire. “Not directly, I don’t think.”
“What do you mean—” Cybil started, but Megan cut her off.
“We’re here to tell you that Samantha and I are going up there now.” She squeezed Samantha’s hand. “I trust that since she sees the tree, it’s time.” Her eyes met Heidrek’s. “I’m going to do what Naðr asked of me then I’m coming back with medicine that might save him.”
Heidrek frowned. “After you take care of yourself, right?”
“Yes,” Megan confirmed. “I’ll do the radiation and chemo then I’ll return.”
“Knowing how much time might pass here?” Heidrek said softly.
“Yes.” Megan’s eyes held his. “I have absolute faith that Naðr will not die while I’m away.”
Heidrek had no idea what to make of that because everything he was now, dragon, seer, and god alike, felt the absolute truth and conviction in her statement. It seemed Cybil felt the same because she spoke up.
“I have faith too, Megan.”
Megan’s eyes met hers and she nodded. “Thank you.”
“We have to go soon.” Samantha’s voice was a little distant. “As the sun hits the new day…where the most energy lies.”
“At dawn,” Cybil whispered.
“Yes.” Samantha’s eyes met hers. “Soon.”
Their eyes held for a long moment before Cybil inhaled deeply and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Do you want me to awaken the others?” Heidrek asked his aunt as he wrapped an extra fur around not only her shoulders but Cybil’s and Samantha’s.
“No.” Aunt Megan shook her head. “I need to do this now.” Moisture glistened as her pained eyes met his. “If I don’t, I might never. There is no feeling comparable to this. Leaving your soulmate behind. The love of your life. Not to mention your children.”
Rise of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 1) Page 25