The woman who thought to overrule Hel in her own world?
He could speculate on and on, but it would do no good. When it came to the gods and their games, he was just a pawn. As was his son, it seemed. That thought got him motivated. It was time to go.
“We will head back up the way we came then travel north,” Matthew said after they were packed and set to leave. “I know a route that will bring us out on the backside. That way will lead us along the northern side of the mountains beneath the cover of trees.”
He would have preferred to keep them on the south side. It meant less risk of being seen by the enemy. But it also meant severe winds, lower temperatures, and far more perilous drop-offs. So instead he would have to depend on the trees and what limited coverage they offered. But if you knew what you were doing, how the snow fell, how the winds blew and even how shadows fell, it was possible to stay out of sight.
At least for a band of warriors.
He sighed as they grabbed torches and made their way back up through the mountain. He wasn’t traveling with a band of seasoned warriors but a child, a twenty-first century human and a woman who had never embraced her dragon. Those were poor odds considering his current handicap that disallowed him to shift as well.
The only solid protection they had were Kadlin, Kodran, and Sven, who were determined to stick with them. And, as he had felt from the beginning, the thought of having to depend on his young nephew to protect them just didn’t sit well. Sven was far too young for such a dangerous journey. Not to mention he had only recently embraced his dragon.
Matthew sighed again and wondered why he hadn’t pushed harder to make Sven stay behind. But then he hadn’t seen straight since all this began. For that matter, he hadn’t seen straight for a long time.
As they traveled, Kodran took the front and Kadlin the rear. It made sense. They were the strongest dragons. Out of those who could shift anyway. If Matthew were able to, he wondered if any of them would be here right now. Because if he could spread his wings, he would have already been raining fire down on anyone he felt might be a threat. And he would have ripped the knowledge of his son’s whereabouts from the mouths and hearts of anyone he considered an enemy.
Cameron stayed behind Kodran, followed by Sven. Much to his pleasure, Shannon and Emily remained just in front of Matthew. That’s exactly where he wanted them. Though some might say the little girl was staying on Sven’s tail, he liked to think she was remaining closer to him. That maybe they had made some sort of connection back there.
“You did make a connection,” Shannon’s words whispered through his mind though she never looked back. “Thank you, Matthew.”
“You should not thank me,” he responded, not just aroused but contented by the feel of her words in his mind again. “I was unable to stop Hel.” And just so she fully understood what they were up against. “I will never be able to stop Hel.”
“Maybe not,” she said. “But you don’t run from her. You’re not afraid of her. You stand by those you care about. And I think that’s something to be proud of.” She remained silent for a minute before she resumed speaking. “And I think that’s something my daughter’s proud of too. She finally got to see a glimpse of the real you.”
He liked the idea of Emily being proud of him. Far more than he expected.
After that, nothing more was said between them. By the time they made their way to the northern entrance, there were only a few hours left until sunup. It was a good location protected by heavy pines on one side and several small interconnected caves on the other.
“We’ll camp here for the day.” He eyed the sky, pleased. “Snowfall comes, but it will be light. Just enough to blanket the pines and create more cover.”
Emily came up alongside him and eyed the sky as well, her expression somewhat impressed. “So how exactly do you know that?”
Was she mimicking his facial expression? More so, did she really want his take on things? Because nothing outside of finding his son would make him happier. Again, he was surprised by how much he hoped to gain her approval.
“Well.” He pointed out the way the clouds rolled over the mountain tops. How they lightened then darkened in certain areas. How that was telling for those who lived in these parts. They could discern by the smell of the air, even the way it sometimes tasted, what the clouds would produce and for how long.
“Then there are our dragon senses.” He crouched and held out his hand, palm down. “This is the best position to gauge the weather for dragons.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” She cocked her head. “It seems to me you can’t feel anything at all with your hand like that.”
“You can feel everything with your hand like this.” He made a gesture. “Go ahead, hold yours out just like I am.”
“Okay.” She held it out, not convinced in the least.
“Now close your eyes and feel the way the air moves beneath your hand,” Matthew said. “Pay very close attention, because it’s important. Is it very light, gusty, or barely there at all? What direction is it coming from?”
Emily eyed him warily for a second before she did as he asked and closed her eyes. At first, she said nothing before she cocked her head again. “I think it might be just a slight breeze. From the left.”
“Just slight?” he said softly. “Are you sure?”
Her eyes shot open and widened when a little dragon made of snow took off from her outstretched hand. Emily smiled as it rose higher and higher until it flipped once, twice, landed on a pine limb then swung upside down before vanishing in a burst of snowflakes.
A giggle erupted before she promptly shut it down and resumed being as stern as she was capable. “You were just teasing me.”
“No.” A grin tugged at his lips before he was back to being serious as well. He showed her his palm. “Our hands are the single most important things we dragons have. They turn into talons that allow us to gauge everything from the wind shear to incoming weather. If we don’t pay attention to what they tell us, we might end up in trouble.”
She pushed her lower lip out and folded her hands behind her back as she eyed him. “What kind of trouble?”
He didn’t miss that she was trying to act calm like her mother but doing so in a style all her own.
“Well, what kind of trouble do you think a dragon would get into if they didn’t pay attention to what the weather was telling them and took off?” he said. “In many ways, our talons are like our instincts. A built-in radar meant to be trusted.”
“Then I will be sure to trust mine.” She kept contemplating him before her eyes flickered from the sky to his hands. “But how can you trust anything if you can’t even make talons anymore?”
“Emily,” Shannon chastised. She might be helping Sven build a fire, but she was very in-tune with her daughter.
“It’s all right.” Matthew shook his head. “Until I can fly again, I will be okay without my talons. Because I can still access my inner dragon to lend me wisdom along the way. There are always two parts to us, Emily. The dragon and the human. And they rely on one another for balance.” He looked at the hands she kept hidden. “Someday, when you shift for the first time, you will understand.”
She shrugged. “I’m sure I will.”
“Me too.” Another unexpected curl tugged at his lips, and he almost smiled. “Maybe when that day comes, you might let me help you?” He offered her a respectful look. “Only if you need it, that is.”
“Maybe. We’ll see.” Emily twisted her lips and looked between Sven and him. “Though it’ll probably be Sven.”
When she shot Matthew an I’m-sorry-that’s-just-how-it-has-to-be look, Shannon stopped her dead in her tracks.
“Say thank you to Matthew, Emily,” she warned.
“But he hasn’t done anything yet—” she started before Shannon stood and planted her hands on her hips. “Where we are and all we’re facing might be scary, but you’ll keep your manners.”
“At least when
it comes to dealing with the good guys,” Matthew said out of the corner of his mouth and winked at Emily.
Emily’s lips twisted again as she bit back a smile, nodded and managed a quick, “Thank you, Matthew,” before she plunked down beside Sven.
Shannon offered Matthew a small smile before she resumed talking to Cameron. Her look of approval made him feel something he hadn’t in a long time. Not since Håkon was very young and he and Sigrunn exchanged those sorts of looks. Yet he could admit the way he felt now wasn’t quite the same. There was more to it. From the way Shannon made his blood rush to the unerring sense of familiarity he felt when their eyes met. It was a unique connection. One that told him their dragons were wholly involved.
“This is a good spot you chose,” Kodran said as he crouched beside Matthew and watched him build a spit. “Why not make life simple and use dragon magic?”
“You know very well why,” he mumbled. “The less magic we use, the better. You never know how close the enemy is.”
Kodran’s brows shot up. “Yet you just used magic to show a child a trick.”
“A lesson,” Matthew countered. “And it was very brief.”
His cousin offered him an amused look before his eyes went to the mountains. “I’ve never been this far north. And I am not fond of being in uncharted territory.”
“Then crawl inside my mind at will,” Matthew murmured. “I know every crevice of these woodlands and mountains.”
“Just like Bjorn, I’m sure,” Kodran said.
“Likely.” Matthew shrugged. “But it was with Heidrek that I first came this way.”
Kodran eyed him curiously. “I cannot recall a day that Heidrek explored so far beyond the Fortress or a day you brothers did it together.”
“That is because you are too young to remember,” Matthew said.
“I am but a few winters younger than you.”
“But young enough.” Matthew managed yet another smile, and it felt good. “It is Heidrek who grows too old.”
Kodran chuckled and nodded. “Yet his ripe age doesn’t keep him from taking such a beautiful queen, no?”
He said nothing to that. Cybil was beautiful. So were Lauren and Sam. Incomparable. At least that’s what he had thought until he laid eyes on Shannon. Now he knew there was a more alluring, striking type of beauty out there.
And Heidrek really wasn’t all that old. Only eleven winters or so his senior. But then he had time-traveled often to Scotland, so though he was at least in his thirty-eighth winter, he appeared only slightly older than Matthew who was nearing his twenty-seventh. Nonetheless, Heidrek would always be his big brother.
And once, way back when, his best friend.
“Yet another thing we need to talk about,” Shannon said as she joined them.
“What’s that?” Kodran offered his most charming smile.
“Heidrek.” Her eyes met Matthew’s, and she said the very last thing he expected. “More so, if I need his approval to officially take you as my dragon mate.”
Chapter Seven
SHANNON WASN’T SURPRISED by the quickly masked shock on Matthew’s face. She didn’t blame him. Her question was sudden and only worked against all the feelings he was trying to fight. His attraction to her. The fondness he was beginning to feel for Emily. He was determined to remain devoted to Sigrunn, and Shannon all but proposing was not good.
She looked at Kodran. “Might I have a few moments alone with Matthew?”
Kodran nodded, a mix of disappointment and curiosity on his face as he left.
Shannon sat on a small log and kept rallying her courage. It hadn’t been easy to take this step. “I’ve given it a lot of thought. Based on how much each of my sisters grew and strengthened when they partnered up with a Sigdir, I think it would be wise for us to do the same.” She took a measured breath and kept going. “We’re going to need to become all we’re capable of becoming to protect our children. Not to mention, if we do, maybe your dragon will surface again.”
When he said nothing, and simply stared at her, his expression unreadable, she went on. “It would be platonic, of course.” Though tempted to look away, she held his gaze. “A friendship formed to better protect our families. An alliance to help us win this war.”
Matthew continued to eye her for what felt like forever before he shook his head. “While your reasoning is sound, Shannon, we cannot simply become dragon mates because we decide to. From what I’ve heard and seen, it does not work that way.” His eyes returned to the spit. “And though your intentions are honorable, we both know friendship would not be enough.” He sighed. “Not to mention, what you’re suggesting could not happen without me betraying my wife. And you know I wish to remain devoted to Sigrunn.”
“Of course,” she murmured, embarrassed but at the same time glad she had presented the idea. Despite what he said, she suspected he would think about it anyway. While she could remind him that it was not good remaining so devoted to the dead, she would not. Because after what she just asked him to do, it would be inappropriate.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly as his eyes returned to hers. “As we travel, I will teach you how to use a weapon and perhaps even embrace your dragon so that you feel stronger, yes? Better equipped to protect Emily.”
Shannon nodded. “Sure, that sounds good.” But she knew they didn’t have much time for that. What she needed was the power behind being mated. Though she had a feeling Emily was right about Matthew being her dragon mate, she obviously needed to keep her options open. So her eyes went to Kodran. He seemed interested in her.
“Maybe Kodran then,” she whispered absently as she stood.
Matthew stood as well, a heavy scowl on his face as he growled, “No.”
Her eyes widened on him. “Why?”
“Not Kodran.” His voice was gruff with emotion. “He is not the right dragon for you…or for your daughter.”
Shannon nearly asked why again, but she already knew the answer. Matthew was jealous. He might be determined to stay faithful to his dead wife, but he was every bit as attracted to her as she was to him.
Maybe she was going about this all wrong.
“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?” she said into his mind. “Where Emily cannot hear us?”
“Yes, follow me.”
When she told Sven she’d be right back, he nodded. She probably shouldn’t leave her daughter, but she knew Emily was in good hands with the boy. Not only that, Kadlin and Kodran were always close.
She and Matthew didn’t go far, just around the bend to an area cushioned on one side by a mountain and on the other, by drooping, snow-caked pines. Though it wasn’t necessary because snow barely fell here, she kept her hood on as she leaned against a tree trunk and thought about the best way to phrase what was on her mind. Finally, she sighed and just came out with it.
“As you know, my husband died violently too.” Her eyes met his. “What you don’t know is that, like Sigrunn, he hasn’t crossed over either.” She swallowed and worked hard to keep her emotions under wrap. “He continues to haunt me, Cameron and Emily. He was the one who told Cameron that we traveled back in time.”
Matthew’s expression was hard to read. Maybe surprise mixed with curiosity and empathy. “I’m so sorry, Shannon.” He shook his head. “I cannot imagine what that is like. Or should I say what it is like to see your loved one in such a way.”
“It’s not easy,” she confessed, unable to keep the sadness from her voice. “At the beginning, he was often confused, unsure where he was and why. Lately, he seems improved, but he still has his moments.”
“What do you tell him when he’s confused?” he murmured, leaning against the trunk beside her.
“The same thing I tell Sigrunn,” she said softly. “That everything is okay. I never tell them that they’re dead or what caused their death. With Sigrunn it’s a little different because Freydis materializes with her. Likely because they died at the same time.”
Matthew said not
hing for a stretch, just stared blindly before he looked her way again. “Thank you for being there for her, Shannon. For both her and my sister. Especially considering you’ve been trying to comfort your husband as well.”
“Anthony,” she whispered. “And you don’t need to thank me. I’m glad I could be there for them.”
“Anthony,” he repeated. “He was a good father to Emily, yes?”
“Yes,” she managed. “Always.”
“I suppose I did not need to ask considering Emily herself. It’s clear she is well loved.” His voice grew soft. “Sigrunn was also a good mother. Håkon was very important to her.”
“I know he was.” She squeezed his hand in comfort. “She speaks highly of him and her memories of their time together remains strong. Love like that will not lessen once she passes on. She will take it with her.”
“She cannot be pleased by the distance I’ve put between Håkon and me.” A tremble went through him. Emotions he quickly contained. “I thought I was keeping him safe, but all along I was making her more upset. I was holding her back.”
“But not anymore, Matthew,” she said. “And she was never upset with you just worried about Håkon. Outside of murder victims, that’s how it goes for spirits caught in between. And while Sigrunn and Freydis were technically murdered I get the sense it’s different for those who die in battle. They accept death as a possible outcome. They don’t typically have anger, just concern about the ones they’re leaving behind, whether or not they know it. Or at least that’s my take on it. The truth is, outside of a few soldiers who died in skirmishes overseas, I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with spirits who died in battle.”
“So these soldiers’ spirits were not angry like Freydis?”
“No, not really. Not as intensely anyway. But Freydis is half dragon,” she reminded. “My guess is her behavior has something to do with that.”
There was no missing the pain he felt at her words. In fact, his emotions suddenly hit her so hard she put her hand on her stomach when it twisted in a knot.
“Are you all right, Shannon?” Alarmed, he made sure she was steady with one hand on her waist, and the other cupping the side of her neck. “Something feels very different about you.”
Fury of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 4) Page 11