Viking King's Vendetta

by Sky Purington

“Marry me,” she blurted as she stopped short and met his eyes. “We’ve been engaged long enough.” She looked from the demi-god back to him. “Kjar can do it. Right here. Right now.”

  Everyone stopped as well and looked at Sven curiously. Everyone but Leif that is. He kept staring at Sage.

  “You deserve more—” Sven began, but Emily cut him off.

  “I deserve you,” she said. “You are more. You’re everything.” She shook her head and eyed their dismal surroundings before she met his eyes again. “I don’t care where we are. All I want is you. This. What we share. And I want to make it official...” She swallowed hard but said what needed saying. “I want to make it official before we might have to say goodbye.”

  Sven eyed her for a moment before he nodded and glanced at Kjar in question. The demi-god grinned then glanced at Sage. “Do you think we have time?”

  She was about to respond when Håkon suddenly leapt forward and snatched an incoming arrow a split second before it ripped through her neck. Regrettably, as it turned out, time was the last thing they had because moments later, the woodland around them exploded with activity.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  MORE WARRIORS SWARMED them than Sven could count. Årud fighters, they attacked ruthlessly, going after the men first. What in Loki’s Hel were they doing this far north? Yet as he thrust a dagger into one man’s gut and ripped open another man’s throat, he realized this was the enemy’s chosen tribe.

  Not Magnus’ but Skáld’s.

  He was sure Magnus was in charge somewhere, but these men now and the ones they’d been fighting were recruited by the double-headed serpent. These were the vessels the Sigdirs would wage war against in addition to the enemy's dragons.

  “We need to get out of here, Brother,” Davyn said into his mind. “We are far outnumbered.”

  He couldn’t agree more. Especially considering the enemy seemed to be after Sage, Halla, and Emily. Skáld wanted their women.

  “There,” Sage cried, pointing out a raging river. “We need to get in that and not shift. It’s our only chance.”

  He understood why. The water should skew their dragon magic from the enemy. But would it here? So close to Skáld’s Ash? They had no choice but to find out.

  “Come on,” he roared to everyone, eying Emily as he crossed swords with a warrior. She nodded that she was ready when her eyes briefly met his.

  One, two, three more slashes then he swiped his blade across the man’s throat before he and Emily raced for the river. Moments later, they leapt in alongside the others. They might be a strong group, but it was tricky staying alive between the jagged rocks they had to dodge and the weapons they carried. If they could embrace their dragons that would be one thing but it was far too risky unless they had no choice.

  Which, unfortunately, almost happened moments later.

  “Don’t shift unless you have to,” Sven roared, repeating Sage’s words as they raced toward a waterfall then plummeted over. As far as he could tell, Emily was still near him. More importantly, he could still hear her heartbeat.

  The fall was longer than anticipated before they were spit out into a churning cauldron of heated bubbles. Moments later they hit a sandbar of some sort before they drifted under a huge weeping willow and washed up in the first place that had any color around here.

  Panic blew through him when he didn’t immediately see Emily, but moments later she was there, gasping for air as Davyn pulled her up onto a warm, grassy knoll. Then his brother flinched in pain and fell back on his ass. Håkon seemed to be suffering too as he and Leif dragged Sage out of the water.

  “Their tattoos don’t like this place.” Vigdis eyed the shimmering canopy overhead. “It possesses Vanaheim magic.”

  “Good, then we’ve found our safe spot for now.” Sven looked at Davyn and Håkon, concerned. “How bad are your tattoos?”

  “Not too bad,” Håkon muttered despite the pain in his eyes. “Truly, it’s been worse.”

  “Maybe it’s similar to the Place of Seers.” Emily eyed the cave dwellings behind the tree. “The further in we go the less pain they’ll feel.”

  Sven nodded to try that as he and Kjar peeked out from beneath the low hanging willow branches to see if they were being followed. Fortunately, Emily was right, and Håkon and Davyn’s pain did lessen quite a bit the further in they stepped.

  “The Årud won’t come this way unless they have to,” Sven murmured, not sure how he knew that but was convinced of it. “Not unless one of them is marked to kill Emily or me.”

  Kjar nodded, in agreement. “Even so, someone should keep watch at all times.”

  “Go rest and see if there’s food to be had,” Sven said. “I will keep first watch.”

  “Yes, but before that...” Kjar gestured for Emily to join them. “Davyn, you look out while I see them married.”

  When he envisioned marrying Emily someday, this scenario was the furthest from his mind. They were supposed to be surrounded by kin celebrating. Not beneath a Vanaheim willow sopping wet as they hid out from Årud warriors and marked assassins.

  “Well, why not?” Emily murmured with a small smile, following his thoughts. “It’ll be one heck of a story to tell our kids someday, won’t it?”

  That statement alone made this moment more perfect than any other. Talk of future children. Not just that but the simple fact they were here together, not centuries apart. He brushed a dripping lock of curly hair back from her face and smiled. “Yes, it would make a good story. One that we will tell our children someday.”

  She had never looked more beautiful with her big blue eyes sparkling against the vibrant green of the tree. Her skin was luminous and her pink lips tempting. Truthfully, it wouldn’t matter where they were. She made their surroundings perfect. Her beauty, both inside and out.

  “You two have done things a little differently with Sven already giving you that ring,” Kjar began before Emily interrupted.

  “Yes, I already wear my ring.” She stood on her tip-toes, cupped Sven’s cheeks then pressed her lips against his softly before murmuring, “Now it’s time for me to offer you yours.”

  Caught somewhere between extreme arousal and denial, he bent over so she could untie the leather cord around his neck. Then she unsheathed her new blade, held its point to the sky between them, put his father’s ring on the tip and met his eyes.

  “I have loved you since the moment we met, Sven Sigdir, Son of Bjorn and Samantha,” she said softly, her eyes moist. “Our love has changed and grown over the years. It’s now something brand new but old all at once. Something irreplaceable that I believe has been with us since the beginning of dragon kind and will be with us long after.”

  Their eyes held for a moment before she continued, her voice softer. “Marry me, Sven, as my best friend, my true love and who you are meant to become next. My king. Make your father proud by filling his shoes and seeing to his people. Not by proxy but in truth.” He could feel the love and pride she was pushing into his mind. “Rise up, dragon. Accept your responsibility so I can accept mine alongside you.”

  He got the oddest sense as his eyes fell to the ring, that his father was here too. That in some small way, he spoke those last words through her. More than that, he felt the sad truth of his father’s absence from this world. How final things might be.

  At that moment, surrounded by danger at every turn, his eyes returned to Emily’s, and he understood that destiny had led them to this moment. That there was no turning back. Yet as Kjar began speaking the words that would bind them and Sven removed the ring from her blade, he knew this path was meant for him. For them.

  He was always meant to be king.

  And she was always meant to be queen.

  Something made all that much more obvious when she slid his father’s ring on his finger, and Kjar said the final words that bonded him and Emily together as man and wife. According to Vigdis, the ring glowed a soft golden color, but he never saw it as he pulled Emily into his arm
s and kissed her. At last, they were together as he had dreamed they would be.

  He wasn’t sure how long they stood there kissing before she eventually rested her cheek against his chest. Then they just continued standing that way, content in a way they had never been before. Though some might say this wasn’t the best way to go about remaining vigilant, his mind felt clearer and sharper than it had since this whole journey began.

  As they soon found out, nighttime came faster than normal in this place, which made Vigdis suspect perhaps it had been that way in Níðhöggr’s Realm too.

  “So maybe Bjorn didn’t make those ships on another world?” Emily said. “But right there in that cave?”

  “Anything is possible if the rival dragons used magic from another world,” the seer replied.

  He had noticed since they entered what Emily was calling Skáld’s Domain, Vigdis and Halla seemed less amorous again. The men, however, appeared stirred up, their eyes on Sage more often than not. If he didn’t know better, he would swear she was in heat but knew she wasn’t.

  “So why do you suppose there’s seer magic used here?” Emily asked Vigdis. “Are we thinking maybe Skáld harnessed some of the mountain’s magic too?”

  “No.” Vigdis shook her head and eyed the willow beyond the cave exit. “Though diluted some, this Vanaheim magic derives from the seers’ home world itself.” Her eyes went to Sven and Emily. “I get the sense that this is much like the Place of Seers but has been here far longer. I think it was once a place of refuge.” She shook her head. “Not for seers from Midgard but Vanaheim.”

  Emily cocked her head. “But not anymore?”

  “No,” Vigdis murmured. “Now it is a place of safety for Sigdir dragons in the heart of the enemy’s lair.”

  “Then we can only be grateful for this Vanaheim Willow.” Emily nodded at Vigdis. “Though it might not be of your choice, your people are really coming through for us.” She offered the sort of easy smile only Emily was capable of. “Once we get all this sorted out, we will take care of you. You and your people always have a home and shelter with us.”

  “Thank you, child,” Vigdis murmured before Sven swept Emily up and stole her away. Davyn had volunteered to take first watch instead so they could have some time alone.

  The seer had pointed out where the willow’s protective borders ended, so he took her as far as he dared then set her down. It was a small but cozy alcove still safeguarded by the tree but far enough from the cave in which the others took shelter.

  “We’re finally alone, Husband,” was all Emily got out before he cupped the sides of her neck and closed his lips over hers.

  “No more talking,” he murmured into her mind. “Though I like the sound of husband on your lips, Wife.”

  She groaned aloud, clearly pleased with being called that as they began yanking off their clothes. If they hadn’t lost their satchels in the river, he probably would have ripped them off.

  He could not touch her soon enough.

  He couldn't be inside her fast or deep enough.

  In full agreement, she leapt into his arms and wrapped her legs around him seconds before he braced her against the wall and thrust deep. Hot and receptive, she met his thrusts with equal zest.

  He wrapped his hand with hers above her head and rode her with as much passion as she did him. On and on, endlessly, they writhed against one another as they barreled closer and closer to fulfillment. He wanted her to scream, to roar, but knew she shouldn’t. That they couldn’t take any chances.

  Yet neither could stop their moans or grunts of pleasure as he drove her up the wall. As they raced toward a pinnacle that had her shaking in his arms. When she gasped and locked up against him, he pressed deep and followed.

  “Sven,” she whispered, trembling against him.

  He knew. He understood. And he felt the same as he held her close and spent himself. She wanted to hold onto this feeling forever. To never let go.

  Yet they might have to.

  They might have to let each other go to see this through.

  “In some ways I’m terrified,” she murmured as he held her on his lap later that night. “In other ways, I’m so excited I can’t stand it.”

  “I know,” he murmured, understanding both emotions. What lay on the morrow could very well mean their end but what lay beyond that if they survived would be a whole new world for them. A life they were eager to begin.

  He knew she wanted to talk about the children they would have. How she looked forward to having two boys and two girls for starters. If she had her way, a whole fleet of little dragons. She wanted to talk about where they would live and what life would be like.

  But she didn’t talk about any of those things. She wouldn’t risk it any more than he would.

  Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder, and they sat in silence. A peaceful quiet where they remained grateful they still heard one another’s heartbeats. Where they appreciated these moments alone when there might be so few ahead. Though their dragons still weren’t mated, they didn’t care. They had everything they ever wanted right here in each other’s arms.

  At some point, they dozed off and dreamt of one another. He knew their minds merged and that they experienced this together. Much like they had when he dreamt they had lain together for the first time.

  Except this time they weren’t laying together.

  And they were not human.

  “I think our dragons are trying to tell us something,” she said into his mind, her little black dragon close to his.

  “Yes.” He eyed their surroundings and for her sake tried not to be alarmed. Full of noxious gases and sulfur, the world was fiery, hot with burning lava that flowed in sluggish streams around them.

  “Something is coming.” Though tempted to take her and flee, where would they go? Because dream or not, this was Múspellsheimr. A place he knew nothing about. So he tucked her against his side and wrapped his wing around her, protecting her as best he could as it approached.

  “I can’t make it out,” she said, peeking around his wing. “Wait a sec...is that?”

  When she trailed off, he finished her sentence.

  “Yes, Emily,” he said. “That is King Heidrek.”

  “No, Son,” came a familiar telepathic voice. “It is not Heidrek but me, your father, Bjorn.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  EMILY HAD NEVER experienced a stranger encounter than this one. “Uncle Bjorn?”

  Though clearly Uncle Heidrek’s dragon, Bjorn was definitely in there just like they had been forewarned.

  “I am glad you finally put on the ring, Son,” he said to Sven who was rattled but trying not to show it. “And I am glad you are king.” His eyes slid to Emily. “With such a queen by your side.”

  “I am only king until—”

  “No,” Bjorn cut him off. “You are king. That is final. And time is running out.”

  “Where are you, Father,” Sven began again but had no luck finishing that time either.

  “Where I am is where I must stay,” he said. “And you must make sure of that. You both must. Now!”

  His roar was so loud they jolted awake at the same time.

  “What just happened, Sven?” she asked as they leapt to their feet and began yanking on their clothes. “Did your father just ask us to make sure he stayed in Múspellsheimr?” She shook her head. She couldn’t imagine Bjorn staying in such a place. It made her sick to her stomach. “Truly?”

  He pulled her after him, just as upset. “Come, we must find Sage. Perhaps she has some answers.”

  As they soon discovered, she didn’t have answers, but she had already awoken the others, her tone urgent as she warned that their window of opportunity was nearly here. When she learned of Bjorn’s warning, she nodded. “I’m surprised he was able to reach out like that. It speaks to his and Heidrek’s combined power.”

  “You mean both of them were responsible?” Halla frowned and shook her head. “How is that possible?”<
br />
  “Anything is possible when tarnished by that double-headed bastard,” Sage spat, seemingly back to her all-knowing self.

  “What do you mean, tarnished?” Sven asked through clenched teeth, eying Håkon and Leif as everyone gathered themselves. She didn’t blame him. The men were downright beasts as they eyed and stalked Sage much like the ancient dragons had done to Emily when they sensed she was in heat.

  “Stop it, Brother,” she chastised Håkon, ready to bat him upside the head if that’s what it took for him to stop being so rude. Sage, interestingly enough, didn’t seem so aloof now but more aware of how the men were acting toward her.

  “I know this isn’t easy to hear, but your father and uncle have been tarnished by Skáld,” Sage explained in answer to Sven's question. “According to what I’m learning from my slowly activating Níðhöggr DNA, once infected, it’s too late. If they’re not corrupt yet, they soon will be.”

  Emily frowned. “What exactly do you mean by corrupt?”

  “Just like it sounds,” Vigdis murmured as her hazed eyes turned in the general direction of Skáld’s Ash. “If they are not already controlled by the double-headed serpent, they soon will be.” Her eyes cleared again as they met Sven’s. “Meaning they belong to the enemy. They will be enslaved by him. Working for him.” She shook her head. “Gone to us forever.”

  “Gods,” Emily whispered as she met Sven’s eyes. “We better get moving then.”

  “Is it daylight out yet?” Halla peered beyond the cave, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes at the possibility of another adventure.

  “Almost,” Sage said. “But we have no time to wait.”

  That said, they headed out.

  All was eerily silent as they made their way north. Though they sensed they were being watched, nobody approached. It was almost as if they were welcome today. As if they were expected. Which would make sense if Bjorn was caught communicating with them. Or maybe he was already corrupt? Maybe they were being led to slaughter?

  The air grew warmer and the environment more lackluster as they traveled. In some ways, the land began to look like it might before a volcano was getting ready to erupt. Tell-tale signs that nature wasn’t doing so well.