by Logan Jacobs
“Ready now?” I asked Blar after he’d finished his meat.
The little blue dragon nodded and flew up to land on my shoulder.
I grabbed hold of Eira’s hand while Blar closed his eyes and focused. After a few seconds, a portal appeared in front of us, and I stepped through the spinning pool of air into my homeworld of Asgard.
I took a quick look around and saw we were in the woods just behind the castle. It was a lot closer than Blar used to get us.
After he’d discovered his teleportation ability, he had to learn to harness it just like I did with my dragon communication. He was able to make portals, but they wouldn’t always bring us to where we needed to be, and sometimes we were miles from our destination.
“Your ability to control your portals has greatly improved,” I told the little blue dragon with a smile.
“That amulet probably helped a lot,” Eira said as she pointed at the small stone around Blar’s neck.
Kas’ father had made it for him, and the old sorcerer crafted one for me as well. They were intended to help us with harnessing our abilities. They didn’t increase our power at all, simply made it easier for us to control, and the redhead was right, they’d helped a lot.
Blar lifted his little chin and closed his eyes, and he looked incredibly proud of himself.
“Alright,” I chuckled, and I reached up to scratch under his chin. “You’re doing well, but let’s not get a big head here. We have to keep working.”
The little blue reptile rolled his eyes, but then he flashed me a sweet smile and laid down on my shoulder.
“Of course, you’re going to make me carry you for that,” I laughed and shook my head as I started to walk around the castle fence toward the council room. “You know, you’re not as light as you once were.”
Blar just settled in against me and let out a tired little sigh.
“I think it looks pretty badass at least,” Eira chuckled. “You carrying around a dragon on your shoulders, I mean. It’s pretty hot.”
“I’m glad you think so.” I smiled. “Even though to everyone else it probably looks incredibly strange since he appears like a dog.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” the redhead laughed.
Asgard was cast in an orange glow from the sunset, and it reflected beautifully on Eira’s deep red hair and soft, pale skin. Her plump pink lips begged to be kissed, so I softly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me to plant my lips against hers.
Her mouth was as soft as I remembered, and I held my lips against her for a few extra seconds until I heard Blar huff and turn his head away.
“Mmm, that was pleasantly unexpected,” the redhead said after I pulled away.
“Anything to piss Blar off,” I snickered, and the little dragon glared at me.
It didn’t take long for Eira and I to reach the council building, and we ascended the pristine white steps and walked right past the two guards outside. They used to stop me when I’d first started coming to the council room, but now they had orders to let me through without questioning, which was convenient, but also made me feel a sense of importance I’d never had until recently. It felt good to be doing something that gained me the respect of the council.
I pushed open the double doors, and Eira and I stepped inside. The building was just as white on the inside as it was on the outside, save for a vibrant red rug that ran the length of the great hall.
The three council members were all in their seats on the other side of the room, and there was a citizen standing in front of them speaking in a low voice.
Eira and I walked toward the group, but we maintained a respectful distance as we waited for them to finish their meeting.
Preyna, the beautiful blonde sorceress, glanced over and flashed me a smile as the man talked. She was absolutely stunning. Her golden hair fell down to her waist, and the light-green tunic she wore complimented her brown eyes.
It didn’t take long for them to solve the civilian’s issue and send him on his way, and once he’d left the great hall, the council turned to greet us.
“Rath,” Rinbar, the large male with deep black hair and a long beard, said with a nod. Then he looked at Eira and raised an eyebrow. “Eira.”
“Rinbar,” the redhead said coolly, and she flashed him a half smile.
“It is good the two of you are here,” Preyna said, and her golden eyebrows pulled together. “I’m afraid we have news to give you. It’s about the dragons.”
Chapter 2
My heart sank. We were already working on dismantling the dragon trade, what other news could they have about the dragons?
Odin didn’t know the council was working with me, I didn’t even think he knew who I was. That would come later, and then he’d have to explain why he banished the dragons instead of saving them when he had the chance. It was one of his advisors who was originally responsible for the dragon trade, and though Odin sent him to Helheim, he’d banished the dragons from Asgard in the same breath.
As much as I wished to speak to him and tell him what an atrocious decision I thought he’d made, I knew that needed to wait. We had to free the dragons before we could prove to him how intelligent and innocent they truly were.
Odin’s knowledge of our plan would cause more issues than it would help, so all I could do was to hope that wasn’t what they were about to say.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and at the same time Blar hopped down from my shoulders, ran over to Preyna, and climbed up in her lap.
The golden-haired sorceress smiled and stroked Blar’s back, but then she turned back to me with a sad smile.
“Someone recently tried to sneak a dragon egg into Asgard,” she explained.
“What?” The word left my mouth before I even had a chance to think, and my eyebrows pulled together with utter confusion as I stared at the council member. “Who?”
“He was just a citizen,” Rinbar said with a shake of his head. “We looked into him, and he had no military lineage or affiliations with the warbands.”
“How did he try to get the egg here?” Eira asked, and her green eyes narrowed slightly with focus.
“The Bifrost,” Preyna answered, and she pursed her lips.
“Does Odin know?” I asked through gritted teeth.
The Bifrost was well-guarded, and the guard on duty definitely would have reported the incident to Odin and the council.
“No.” Preyna shook her head. “Thankfully, it was one of my trusted guards who was on duty at the time. Unfortunately, the man who had the egg didn’t survive the incident, so we have no way of interrogating him and figuring out what realm he was coming from.”
“Kas recently showed me a spell,” I said. “She’s able to use something that belongs to a person and figure out where they’ve been. Perhaps we can do that here? I can go get her.”
“I know the spell well,” Preyna said, and her small smile reminded me she was a master sorceress.
“Oh, of course.” I frowned.
“He took preventative measures,” she explained. “Though the spell you speak of is powerful, it can only be used if the person’s whereabouts weren’t hidden beforehand. This man knew I’d be able to track him, and he took measures to stop me from doing it.”
“Smart,” Eira said. “It would make the most sense if they were bringing the egg back from Alfheim. That’s where the largest dragon trade is.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “But then, why hide where you’ve been?”
“Maybe they wanted to throw us off,” the redhead suggested with a shrug.
“That’s feasible.” I shook my head and reached up to rub the stubble on my chin.
The majority of the dragon trade was in Alfheim, or at least, that’s what I’d assumed since dragons were more easily accessible there. However, this had me rethinking that suspicion. Perhaps the trade was even larger than I’d previously considered.
“We’re going to continue to look into the incident,” Beyer said, and h
is deep blue eyes regarded me with respect. “We will let you know our findings.”
“I appreciate that,” I told him with a nod. “And the egg?”
“It is safe,” Preyna assured me. “I’ve put it in the room with the others.”
Dragon eggs could remain dormant for centuries, and the council had been collecting them from incidents like this, or other realms during battles, since the dragons had been banished. They’d accumulated quite a few at this point, and I’d personally seen them up close. Each one was more beautiful than the last, and part of me wanted to hatch them all, but that was out of the question for the moment.
One day, though, I’d bring them to life. They didn’t deserve to stay in their eggs forever. They deserved to live.
“Thank you.” I smiled softly.
“We will always do what we can to help you and the dragons,” Preyna told me.
The little yellow dragon made a small cooing noise then, and she peered out from behind Eira’s long, elegant neck.
“Speaking of dragons,” Rinbar laughed in his deep, booming voice. “It seems you have a new addition.”
“Yes,” I chuckled. “We freed at least twenty dragons from a dealer today, most of whom were babies. She was with the group, only she didn’t have a home to go back to.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” Preyna frowned.
“She’s alright.” I smiled. “She seems to have really taken to Eira.”
“I can see that,” the golden-haired sorceress said. “May I come see her?”
“Of course,” I said, and I turned to the little yellow reptile. “Are you up to meeting some friends?”
The little girl looked at me with hesitant pink eyes, but then she took a deep breath and nodded.
I waved for Preyna to come down, and Beyer and Rinbar followed. All three of them were obviously excited to meet our newest baby, and I couldn’t blame them. Puppies were cute and all, but there was something so incredibly adorable about a baby dragon.
I suspected part of it was that dragon’s grew to be huge, magnificent creatures, and to see one so small and vulnerable sparked a natural instinct to care for the little beast.
A wide smile spread across Preyna’s face as she approached Eira and the little dragon. Blar laid down at her feet once she stopped, and she absentmindedly brushed her toes back and forth to pet his belly.
“Aren’t you just the most beautiful little creature?” Preyna cooed, and she held out her hand for the little girl to sniff her. “What’s her name?”
“Svass,” I said. “Eira named her.”
“And a fitting name, indeed,” Preyna said as she turned to flash Eira a smile. Then she turned back to the little yellow dragon. “You are a sweet girl, aren’t you?”
Svass let out a little coo and rubbed her head against Preyna’s hand.
“Don’t hog all the dragon love,” Rinbar chuckled, and he playfully bumped into Preyna and held his hand out for the little girl to smell. “Hello, Svass. I’m Rinbar.”
The yellow dragon’s eyes widened slightly, and she looked to me nervously, but I simply smiled and nodded to reassure her.
Rinbar was a large man, so of course this tiny creature would be somewhat intimidated at first, but there was no reason to be.
The council member had earned a reputation for being quite ruthless over the years, both on and off the battlefield, but I’d yet to see that side of him since I’d been working with the council to free the dragons. The large man was easy to laugh, and Uffe seemed to really like him. To me, he seemed just as soft as anybody else. Then again, most people didn’t get to see him interact with baby dragons.
Svass bumped her head into Rinbar’s fingers, and he laughed and scratched under her chin. Her entire body lifted up for a second from the force of him pushing on her jaw, but it was brief, and she sneezed and let out a little coo that sounded like a laugh.
“I think she likes me,” Rinbar said, and his laugh echoed in the great hall.
“May I?” Beyer asked, and he held out his hand palm up for the little girl.
Svass looked at me and then sniffed Beyer’s hand before she stepped off Eira and onto the council member’s palm.
“You are magnificent,” Beyer said in his soft, serious voice. He smiled and reached his other hand up so he could gently stroke her head with a single finger. “Svass. A sweet name for a sweet dragon.”
Svass cooed again, and then she yawned, turned in a circle, and laid down in Beyer’s hand.
We all shared a laugh, but Beyer just pulled her close to his chest and curled his hand around her so she could sleep soundly for a moment.
“And I thought she liked me,” Eira said, and her voice was tinged with a playful hint of jealousy.
“She does,” I chuckled. “But it seems she likes Beyer, too.”
“He has a very calming presence,” Preyna said, and she patted her fellow council member’s shoulder. “I’m sure this little girl appreciates that right now. She’s been through a lot.”
“She has.” I nodded.
I watched Beyer look down at Svass with total adoration. As much as he liked the other dragons, and they liked him, too, it wasn’t the same. Whenever we visited the council, both Inger and Blar would immediately run and jump into Preyna’s lap while Uffe made his way over to Rinbar. None of the dragons had taken to Beyer the way Svass seemed to, and I was happy he would now have a dragon to sit with him when we visited.
“While we’re here,” Eira said, and the council members looked up at her. “I’d like to speak with you about replacing me indefinitely.”
“Indefinitely?” Preyna asked, and a worry line appeared on her forehead.
“That’s right.” The redhead nodded. “We can’t say for sure how long it will take us to save the dragons and put an end to this nasty trade, but however long it takes, I don’t want to miss a second of it.”
“Eira is an incredible warrior,” I added. “And she is an invaluable asset to our team. She has been extremely helpful over the past few days.”
“Of course,” Rinbar said. “She didn’t earn her position by being weak.”
“If you’d like to stay, then I don’t see why you shouldn’t,” Beyer said, and his blue eyes locked on mine. “We know this has been, and will continue to be, a long, difficult process. We appreciate everything you are doing, and we will provide all the assistance we can, including replacing Eira for the time being.”
“I’m sure we can find some arsehole eager to take over for a while,” Rinbar joked. “Maybe we’ll give the position to Hagar.”
Steam nearly came off Eira’s head with that comment. Hagar was the biggest, dumbest man in our warband, and I knew the thought of him leading her crew made her want to strangle someone.
“You so much as tell Hagar the position is open, and I will personally skin you myself and wear your beard as a hat,” the redhead said in an eerily calm voice.
“Ha, ha, ha!” Rinbar’s resounding laugh filled the hall again, and he reached out to pat Eira on the shoulder. “This is why you’re my favorite warband leader. Everybody else seems like they’re scared of me.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I chuckled.
“Yes, you are quite intimidating,” Preyna giggled and picked up a piece of Rinbar’s wild hair to display how unkempt he was.
“You’d think you could afford a brush on a council member’s salary,” Eira teased.
“Why would I want one of those?” Rinbar asked with a grin.
I shook my head at his ridiculous comment, but then I felt a hand on my arm, and I looked up to see it was Preyna’s.
“Rath, may I speak to you privately?” she asked while Eira and Rinbar continued to go back and forth.
“Of course.” I nodded, and my stomach turned in anticipation.
I followed the beautiful golden-haired sorceress over to the hallway that led to her private office chambers, and she quietly led me inside the large room and shut the door behind us.
&nbs
p; The smell of her filled the air, and my body reacted with a raised heart rate and sweaty palms.
I didn’t know why she wanted to see me privately, but right then, I didn’t care. I was just happy to be alone in a room with her.
Of course, I had Kas, Asta, and Eira. They were my women, but we had an understanding. They knew I’d never do anything to hurt them, and they’d already given me the go ahead to pursue Preyna, though with her status, that was easier said than done.
The council member seemed to want me, too, though nothing had happened between us yet. I often caught her looking at me with eyelids heavy with desire, and her sweet stares never failed to make my stomach flutter with hunger.
As a council member, though, Preyna was considered incredibly high up in the hierarchy of Asgard. Not only that, but she was also Odin’s personal sorceress. She handled any magic business he needed her to, which only made her that much more unattainable.
I’d thought she was stunning from the moment I saw her, but I never expected to want her so badly. Even still, she was out of my reach, and I knew I had to keep my wits about me.
“What did you need to speak to me about?” I asked as I sat down on the deep green-colored couch.
“I have a gift for you,” she said softly, and she walked behind the desk across from me and opened the drawer.
“A gift?” I asked, and my eyebrows pulled together. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“I suppose it’s not a true gift, per se,” Preyna chuckled in the sexiest way, and she walked back around the desk with something in her hand. “There is a purpose to it, after all.”
“What is it?” I asked as she sat down.
Her golden hair pooled all around her, and a large section of it fell onto the couch to tangle around her hips and thighs.
“Here,” the sorceress said, and she held her hand out and opened it.
Inside her palm was a small white crystal. The smooth rock was attached to a long silver chain, and as I looked at it, it began to glow a golden color that reminded me of Preyna’s long locks.