He kissed her and moved swiftly towards the door as if delaying would make him decide not to go. There was nothing she could say; she knew he was right. He needed to be there for his people. It didn't stop her from feeling selfish and emptily wishing he'd stay with her.
She didn’t' have any pain anymore, just an uneasy feeling. Gianva said she needed to rest for the evening and then in the morning, they were setting out on the last leg of the trip.
“No one was hurt, thanks to you,” he said, “now sleep”.
She did. She slept and only dreamed of the happiness that awaited them when they finally reached their destination.
***
On a slightly hazy evening, Talia stood looking over their new home. They’d gone a good distance from where the civilization had set up their town. They lived in a new place far away from their enemies. They were certain the humans didn’t know where they were, although they knew from news they had received that they were still hunting for them.
She missed Rava and felt it every day, but she knew he was making the world a better place for their children. They were already growing so much, and the little girl had just started to smile.
She walked inside their home and peered over their cradles. There was no doubt in her mind, her daughter was all Rava's. She looked just like her daddy. She had his smile and his same cryptic look. The boy was Gianva's. She could tell by his smile, as well. They had heard some news from Rava, since they'd been in hiding. Chi had somehow managed to get away with not being included in their plot. They were none the wiser that she wasn't just a good little headquarters worker. They were searching for them, but not like they had been before.
She often communicated with her lover, via some form of communication: either letters or an electronic messaging thing she still didn't understand. They had very minimum technology at their new location, so Talia hadn't really learned much about what they used. Rava simply sent messages to her through Chi saying the resistance was growing and he'd come to meet his daughter soon. He was very excited to have a girl and couldn't wait until they lived in a world where they could all be happy together and not fear prosecution from their governments.
"I miss him, G," she said as she looked down at her sleeping tots. They were so peaceful. The place they had moved to was perfect. Although it was far from civilization, Talia had been surprised to find humans and aliens had stayed on the planet far longer than before Sarah and her group had. They'd set the place up where they could all come. Even Sarah hadn’t known it was there and the Klaskian men had kept it a secret, so that if they were caught they couldn’t have it tortured it out of them. Talia had thought that was such a morbid thought, but then she thought of what they'd done to the aliens on her planet, and she wasn't so shocked.
She looked down at her babies and Gianva wrapped his arms around her.
“He’s going to miss them growing up; every new thing they do. Samtia is smiling now, and Ravas will sit up on his own soon. They’re growing so fast.”
"We'll all be together again, love; I know we will," he said.
The world was changing, and news reached them of the surrogacy program’s halting and of fights breaking out all over the Klaskian world. It would be a long hard road, but change was always difficult. She knew Earth had to be hurting, over the program ending and she wondered if Klaskians had stopped agreeing to heal the planet. She felt as if they should, until they could be guaranteed no more experiments would be conducted.
The security measures for their location were fantastic. If anyone tried to sneak up on them, they’d be sorry. She was happy they were safely hidden away until the chaos went away. She could be with her babies, and one of her loves, until the other returned to her and that was really all she could ask for. Content on a planet she never thought she’d be on, with children she never thought she’d love, she was as happy as one could be.
END
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Excerpt:
Erik opened one eye to peek at her and then closed it again. “No.”
Nika laughed and nipped him. He rolled over and grabbed her, pinning her in his arms and pulling her close. His blue eyes were bright when he spoke. “If you’re going to bite me, do it like you mean it.”
She grinned and let her new vampire fangs come down. She snapped at him playfully. He flipped her over onto her back and straddled her, his own fangs pressing to her throat. At the last moment, just before his teeth penetrated her skin, he closed his lips and blew a loud raspberry.
Nika squealed and squirmed in his grip, and Erik laughed, holding her tight. “That’s what you get for being a tease.”
She stopped struggling and grinned up at him. “Mercy, great Huntsman. I am your prisoner.”
He kissed her deeply, and she was all too happy to return the embrace. He rolled onto his side and lay beside her, and she snuggled in, her head on his chest. He stroked her flame-red hair, feeling utterly content.
“Big day today,” he said.
“Mm. Very.”
The Viking exhibit at the museum where she worked as an assistant curator was ending. The artifacts, including the Rune Sword which had brought them together, were going to be packed up and sent back to Stockholm. Erik’s work in America would be over, and he would be going back to Sweden. She had been devastated when she’d heard the news. Now, however, she was happy; she was going with him.
She was going to miss her museum and her friends in the city, but she was ready to move forward. Her life had changed completely in the short time she had known Erik and her old habits and the familiar places didn’t suit her any longer. She was eager for a change, and was excited to see where Erik would lead her; she would follow him anywhere.
“The movers will be here at three to pack up the apartment,” he said. “That gives us a few hours before we have to get out of bed.”
She chuckled. “Why, Mr. Thorvald, whatever are you suggesting?”
He pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly, his lips barely grazing hers, just a tease of what was to come. His hand pressed gently against her flat stomach, then slid up to cup her breast. She put her arms around him and sighed happily.
She loved the feeling of his body pressed against her, of the hardness that pushed against her thigh, of the softness of his hair and the heat of his caress. She reached down and touched the evidence of his desire, stroking it. He moaned softly in the back of his throat and shifted so that he was hovering above her on his hands and knees, one hand holding him up while the other continued to explore her body.
He ran his fingers down her abdomen, slowly dragging them along her skin until he reached the welcoming moisture between her legs. She gasped when he touched her, electrified, her body tingling. She closed her eyes and arched into his touch, silently asking for more.
He put his knee between hers and gently eased her legs farther apart. She opened for him willingly, her hand on his heat moving faster, her other arm pulling him closer. He looked into her eyes, and she saw a glimmer of the green Draugr light in their blue depths. It was enchanting.
“Love me, Erik,” she whispered.
He kissed her, this time hungrily, his mouth and tongue seizing possession of hers. He lowered himself down on top of her, sliding slowly inside of her. She moaned at the feeling, completely fulfilled, and he broke the kiss to throw his head back with a look of ecstasy on his face.
She gripped his shoulders as he began to move, feeling the hard muscles shifting beneath his skin, thrilled by his strength and his masculine scent. She was his.
He kissed her again, and then kissed his way down her jawline to the throbbing pulse point in her throat. His lips pressed against the vein, and she felt him harden even more inside of her. She brought a hand up to cup his head, burying her fingers in his golden hair, urging him to continue.
His sharp teeth extended and slowly, gently slid into her flesh. She shuddered with delight and moaned. The feeling of his mouth and tongue,
soft and insistent, coupled with the penetration of his teeth was the most erotic thing she had ever felt, and it sent her over the edge.
He drank from her as she quaked in his arms, and her pleasure brought him to his climax. He trembled with the force of it, his eyes shut, his fangs still buried deep in her vein though he was no longer drinking. They stayed that way well into the afterglow, connected in every possible way. When he finally released his hold on her neck, he swiped his tongue over the wounds he’d left behind, healing them closed.
She clung to him as he shifted to lie beside her. He kissed her sweetly, his eyes filled with love.
Chosen, he said to her in her mind.
She smiled and responded with a telepathic voice of her own.
Chosen.
***
They were dressed and presentable by the time the movers arrived. The apartment was small and there were several people trying to pack up her belongings, so they needed to get out of the way. They went to the museum one last time.
The special gallery was still closed for repairs, but the exhibit itself had been moved to a side gallery, replacing the usual display. The replica dragon boat figureheads flanking the entrance were standing guard over the new location, and the last tour group was just heading inside. It was the last chance to see the archaeological wonders, rescued from their long rest in a Viking chieftain’s grave.
Well… that was the story, anyway. What the public didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
They walked hand-in-hand through the display, following the boat-shaped path that was laid out on the floor. The path took them past ancient textiles, jewelry and pottery, ultimately leading to the main attraction, the Rune Sword.
The sword stood in its special case once again, quiet in the pinpoint spotlights the museum was using to highlight the runes etched into the blade. The ancient Norse markings were once again a mish-mash of meanings, saying nothing at all. The days of messages on the blade had come to an end.
Nika stood before the case and looked up at the Sálsteinn, the soul stone, set into the cross piece of the hilt. It was dull and lifeless, emptied of its dangerous cargo.
“Hardly looks like the same weapon, does it?” Erik asked, his own gaze on the stone.
“No, not really.” She leaned into him. “Hard to believe.”
He smiled. “What a difference a few weeks make, eh?”
It was dizzying when she thought about it. Less than a month ago, the Draugr, ancient Norse vampires, had attacked the exhibit and stolen the sword. The Soul Stone had once housed the soul of their fallen leader, and they were trying to get him back. Nika and Erik had found themselves united in stopping them, and in the process, they had encountered death and eternal life.
The public had been told that a group of daring thieves, led by the former curator from Stockholm, Astrid Sigurdsdottir, had cut through the floor and ceiling in broad daylight to steal the priceless artifact. Erik and his Special Forces unit were credited with recovering the sword, and Astrid was wanted as a fugitive. His brothers in arms had died as heroes.
Nika and Erik knew the truth. Astrid was no fugitive. She and the rest of the Draugr who had tried to resurrect their leader with dark magic had been destroyed. The authorities could search until the end of time, but they would never be found.
While they were studying the sword, Howard Rowan, the chief curator at the museum, came into the gallery. He let out a surprised sound when he saw the couple and walked directly to them.
“Miss Graves! Captain Thorvald!” He smiled broadly. “I am so glad to see you. I can’t thank you enough for recovering this piece. It would have been a terrible tragedy if the thieves had been allowed to keep it.” He sobered. “I’m… I’m so very sorry about your team, Captain Thorvald.”
Erik offered a handshake, which the other man accepted. “Thank you. They will be sorely missed. They were good men.”
“It just such a terrible thing that the thieves destroyed the chieftain’s remains. I will never understand what would make someone do such horrible things.”
Erik and Nika looked at each other, remembering well that the body in the boat had not been as dead as people believed. He spoke for them both. “Yes, it’s too bad. It’s hard to understand why people do the things they do. There’s so much history that has been lost because of thieves and vandals.”
Rowan turned to Nika. “Speaking of things we’ve lost, we’ll be missing you when you leave. A good assistant curator is hard to find, but Central City’s loss is the Royal Museum of Stockholm’s gain.”
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