“Valkyrie.” Magnus’s greeting was friendly and cheerfully surprised. “I hoped you’d call.”
Kirby winced at the nickname the other Nobles gave her after she was gone. No one else had used it in a complimentary way. “I promised.”
“You did. You ready to come back?”
Kirby was intently aware of everyone’s focus, and while she loved an audience, this wasn’t working for her. She wandered toward the door. “I need a favor.”
“For you? Anything.”
Though Magnus’s reply was brightly enthusiastic, it also sounded genuine. Was the hurt she had when Kirby had ruined their morning outing real? Kirby had wanted to belong for so long, and finally felt like she did. Was Magnus searching for that same connection, and missing it in the friends she’d had?
Was she sincere?
“Gwydion needs a ride, and there’s no one here right now who can take him,” Kirby said.
“Nope.” Magnus popped on the P. “Not just him. You’re welcome to hang out with your creepy old gods, but if you want me to take one of them somewhere, you have to be there too.”
Kirby glanced back at the room, and the sets of eyes fixed on her. “He’s not creepy.”
Gwydion raised an eyebrow, but he was smiling.
“But I’ll go with you. That’s fair,” Kirby said.
“No.” Starkad’s roar was loud enough to make Kirby wince. “Not without me.”
Magnus sighed. Apparently she heard that. “This isn’t a field trip, and Starkad definitely isn’t welcome.”
It was what it was. “Okay. Just me and Gwydion. Thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Gwydion
The edge of the woods where they appeared was familiar and intoxicating. The air tasted of fresh mead and woodsmoke and whimsy.
Gwydion breathed deep and held the air in his lungs, letting the sensation permeate him.
It felt good here, but that flood of magic—that re-energizing sensation he’d hoped for—wasn’t here.
“This is an in and out gig, right?” Magnus sounded impatient.
Min had been right, she wasn’t nearly so endearing as Dahlia.
A maze of stones stood a few meters away, glowing with a faint sheen some would sense, but few would ever recognize enough to see. He needed to lose himself in those for a few hours. “This may take a while. Feel free to hop into town and grab a beer or something.”
“I’m not a fucking Uber.”
“Please give us some time?” Kirby’s tone was almost demure. “I’m not going anywhere. You have my word.”
Magnus let out a long sigh. “When you’re done with them, can we talk? Just you and me? No tricks, no barriers, no gods at all?”
No.
“Sure.” Kirby nodded. “I’ll call you when Gwydion is done and then you and I can go get actual coffee or something.”
Magnus glared at Gwydion. “You’re not going to tell her no?”
“As much as I’d like to, Kirby’s perfectly capable of speaking for herself.”
“Hmm.” Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I’ll wait for you call.”
When she vanished, a familiar whisper tickled Gwydion’s senses. He’d felt it when they arrived, too, but he assumed it was part of the environment. He was too weak to identify the tainted magic around Magnus, though.
“What next?” Kirby slipped her hand into Gwydion’s.
He squeezed. “I’m not sure. I hoped just being here would help. This has never happened to me before, so I’m making it up as I go along.”
“You know a guy gets to be a certain age, and things change when it comes to getting it up.” Kirby’s teasing was hesitant.
Gwydion laughed. Dick jokes made most situations lighter. He squeezed her hand and pointed her toward the stones. “Sometimes a guy just needs a little extra build-up to find that magic feeling.”
Kirby gave him a look that was all feigned shock. “Are you suggesting what I think you are? Here?”
“When was the last time you fucked on sacred ground? There’s a charge that comes from that.” Gwydion hadn’t meant for teasing to take this turn, but with the tug of the stones and the pulse of Kirby’s aura against his, want spilled inside.
“That’s quite a line.” Kirby’s tone slid toward playful. “You going to buy me dinner first?”
He dragged his nose up her neck, drawing in a deep breath of her scent mixed with earth and magic. “This will be more filling than a meal.”
She relaxed under his touch, and tilted her head, exposing more of her neck. “Not sure if you’re talking about the charge or your dick. Or is one a euphemism for the other?”
“You know I love to brag, but my cock can’t compete with this.”
“But you are needed to complete the experience. Or could I take care of things myself?” Her playfulness was as intoxicating as the hum in the air.
The combination of sensations was like being drunk, without the loss of reason. He could throw that away without alcohol, though. “You could. I love watching a good show as much as participating. But the physical connection is where the real spark comes from.” He danced his fingers lightly up her spine, every tap running far below his skin. “This is sex plus eternal adoration and love, plus magic. The experience will blow you out of the water.”
Kirby raised an eyebrow, as if looking for the right joke to reply with, but he wasn’t teasing this time.
He could drown in the love that flowed between them. It was a tangible caress against his skin, everywhere he made contact and even where he didn’t. It wrapped around them in a faint, shimmering mist.
Gwydion cupped her face and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “It seems so implausible that two beings could have what we have, and that it’s lasted across lives and centuries.” He spoke quietly, needing to be a part of their surroundings rather than disrupting them. “Each time I lost you, each time I went searching for you, I swore I was losing my mind. I was in love with a ghost. But the high each time I found you, it soared.”
She leaned into his touch. “When you found me this time, the first time we met again, I was losing my mind.” The conversation sounded somber, but it wasn’t bad. This was another degree of how Kirby connected with Gwydion. They could be anything they needed with each other. “Because I’d just seen a ghost,” she said.
“Brit.”
Kirby nodded. “You weren’t supposed to be there that day.”
“I was never supposed to know where you were. I couldn’t stand waiting anymore, and Min took pity on me.”
“If you’d stayed away... If you hadn’t found me in that hotel bar... I don’t know what would have happened.” Kirby moved her hands to his chest, and gripped his shirt with both fists. “It terrifies me to dive into that possibility, knowing the outcome would’ve been bad.”
“You don’t have to dive in, though. A wise woman once told me that playing the what if game leads to insanity.”
She rested her cheek against his ribs, over his heart. “That’s not was I was talking about, and it’s not quite what I said.”
“But the lesson is the same.” He trailed his fingers through her hair. The magical light caught the highlights, making them look like real gold. “Dwelling breeds madness, and between the two of us, we already have enough crazy.”
“Not sure if you’re talking about—”
“My dick or my life?” Gwydion teased.
Kirby laughed and pulled her head back to look him in the eye. “I love you. Not just for anchoring me but for being you. Strong. Funny. Smart. Loyal.”
“Well hung?”
“Are you bored with being serious?” She sounded amused rather than upset.
Gwydion searched her face, smiling softly. “I’ve never been more serious about anything—anyone—than I am about loving you.” His voice came out gravelly. “Never doubt that. If you do, ask me and I’ll remind you.” He brushed his lips over hers. “I love you so completely. I’m your loyal servant
, for all of eternity.”
He kissed her again, tenderly, marveling at her soft gasp and the distinct spark that flowed between them. The moment, the place, and the woman drew him in, and he deepened the kiss, diving his tongue into her mouth. Pressing her back into a nearby stone, so their bodies molded to each other.
Magic swelled inside, replenishing him, but at this moment it was the last thing he cared about. He was connected to Kirby, and that bond was tangible. Their kisses blended into a flurry of desperate hands, stripping away clothes so they could be closer. So skin could meet skin.
The more of her he felt, the stronger the bond grew. The more he swore he could sense everyone she was connected with. Starkad. Min. Brit. The tug of their presence was ethereal. Potent.
As Gwydion drank in her body, Kirby’s wings were extended, stark and stunning against her pale skin, and she literally glowed. He did too. The light cocooned around them.
He felt other threads too, spreading out from her. Faint. Tied to people he couldn’t name. A dozen or more. But it wasn’t the same kind of bond. It was an unrealized love, but not physical or romantic.
Gwydion and Kirby’s feet no longer touched the ground. She draped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, and he swallowed her sighs of joy.
He brushed her hair from her face. “I love you more than should be possible,” he murmured against her lips as he slid inside her.
She arched into the penetration. He understood the meaning behind her drawn out moan because he felt it too. That sensation of being complete mixed with ecstasy.
Nothing was purer than this.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Kirby
This was the first time Kirby had ever seen literal sparks during sex. But this was more that fucking. This was belonging. With Gwydion buried inside her, the air rushing around them, they were one.
A torrent of magic spilled through her veins, coming from him, flowing to him, and laced with him. Flying during sex wasn’t new for them, and she loved the weightlessness, but this was more.
Kirby wrapped herself around him as tightly as possible as he thrust, pushing her desire and pleasure higher, farther. Being this close, this intertwined, shouldn’t be enough. But the way their souls, hearts, energy, and bodies were intermingled, it was everything.
Gwydion slammed into her harder. Faster. Murmuring I love yous in half a dozen languages against her skin, bathing her in kisses and ancient words, and she replied in kind.
As she drew closer to climax, the sensation was new. This wasn’t the high of endorphins that she’d sought in pain for so long. That she still dove into with Starkad and lost herself in. This was something she didn’t have the words for in any language. Incredible felt too tame.
Her body flushed and shuddered and tingled with the wash of orgasm, and she let the pleasure flow. Like this, she could be anything. She could conquer or save the world. Nations would fall at her feet and she would serve them in kind.
None of that mattered when Gwydion came, spilling inside her, filling her. The people she loved, who loved her, were her only thought. With this power, she’d never lose them.
That security was the ultimate high.
Their gasps and moans slowed to heavy breathing as climax ebbed, and they sank back to the ground.
Kirby was intently aware of the grass tickling the bottom of her feet, and then her shins and knees as she and Gwydion sank to the ground, still wrapped in each other.
Gwydion pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you,” he said softly, in English this time.
“I love you too. For eternity.” Kirby was everything and nothing at the same time at this moment.
“Told you it was a rush.” A familiar playfulness slid into Gwydion’s voice.
She needed that. To be eased back into reality. “A girl could definitely get addicted.” As the words passed her lips, she half expected him to reply with to my cock?
“A guy could get addicted to you. Wait, hang on... Too late. But you’re a habit I’ll never break. I’ll never even try.”
Kirby’s smile grew. That was far sweeter than what she’d expected. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat mingle with her pulse. “I feel energized. But also exhausted.”
“It takes the body a little while to process this kind of power. Close your eyes. Relax.”
SOMETHING WARM AND damp nuzzled Kirby’s shoulder and her eyelids fluttered. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she felt incredible and better rested than... ever in this life.
Was that a snout? She forced her eyes open.
A horse stood next to them in the clearing, fur blue-black and glistening in the moonlight.
“You’re gorgeous, aren’t you?” Kirby kept her voice low, and swept her gaze over the horse. Correction, those were wings. “Oh.” She couldn’t hide her awe. She knew Pegasus were real, but had never seen one, not even in her first life.
Pegasus were something the older Valkyries had told stories about. The winged creatures had hidden themselves long ago, not liking the direction gods and humans were taking the world.
“Someone has a fan,” Gwydion said softly.
Kirby laughed. “Yes she does.” She stroked the creature’s nose.
The Pegasus flattened her ears against the side of her head and reared back, hooves stomping impatiently. She unfurled her wings and took flight.
“You scared her away.” Kirby watched in awe as she vanished into the night sky.
Gwydion jumped to his feet, his nudity stunning, scarred and glorious. “That wasn’t me.”
Instinct overtook Kirby before her mind caught up, wrapping her in Valkyrie armor.
The air whipped around them, and a dragon landed in front of them. Unlike the other day, this one was white and platinum, like a knight before battle.
“There’s another one?” Kirby’s heart sank.
“There are three. Isn’t this the same one— Fuck.” Tendrils of vibrant green coiled around Gwydion, highlighting his form making him look terrifying.
A focused stream of flame struck the ground where they’d been standing, but Kirby was already in the air, looking for an opening. She needed Gwydion to be all right, but she had to survive long enough herself to check.
The air next to her whistled, and a wooden stake as large as her flew past, slicing through the dragon’s wing. The beast’s roar of pain was ear splitting and terrifying, but Kirby’s relief overrode fear.
Gwydion was fine.
There was no struggle here to maintain shield, armor, weapons, and wings. Kirby might feel the drain later, but right now being in this form was energizing. She ducked under a swipe of a tail, soared straight up, and plummeted in a controlled dive toward the dragon’s back.
“Enough.” The voice that filled Kirby’s thoughts was that of another dragon.
Fuck. They couldn’t even hold off one. She didn’t deviate from her vector, and plunged her sword into the first creature, where wing met shoulder.
It howled with a fury that made her teeth chatter. She let the sword vanish, rather than pull it free, and summoned it again.
“I said stop.” The new arrival spoke aloud this time. The second dragon had vanished, and a woman stood next to Gwydion. She was as pale as the moonlight, as though she’d been cut from marble.
“I won’t let her be.” The man’s voice in Kirby’s head must be the other dragon.
The woman rose in the air without moving, and placed herself between Kirby and the dragon. “Then you’ll go through me to get to her,” she said.
What the...?
“Then I’ll return when you’re gone. We’re not done, Valkyrie.” The white dragon vanished.
Kirby hovered in the air, sword at the ready, facing the woman down. This didn’t make sense, which was exactly why she couldn’t drop her guard.
“I won’t hurt you.” The woman floated back to the ground, gaze never leaving Kirby’s.
As her feet touched
earth, Gwydion knelt in front of her and bowed his head. “My lady.”
“No, really, what the actual fuck?” Kirby shouted. She descended as well, still on full alert. “She attacked me—us—earlier, and you’re bowing to her? My lady?”
Though under any other circumstance, Kirby might do the same. This woman was pale with a faint glow, as though she’d been carved from moonlight, and so beautiful it was impossible to believe.
“You said you fought a dragon.” Gwydion rose and looked at Kirby. He put any Greek statue to shame right now, her stunning warrior, proud and unashamed in nothing but his glory.
“I did. She attacked me.” Kirby pointed.
He frowned. “I thought you meant Lance... Guinevere?”
The names clicked in Kirby’s thoughts. She hadn’t been in that part of the world when it happened, but history had remembered their names in myth. “Guinevere? Lance... alot? You’re...”
The woman nodded. “We’ve had many names through history. That’s the one people remember most, but you know me by my original name. Urd.”
Kirby lowered her sword into an attack position and flew straight toward Urd, fury and centuries of frustration propelling her.
Gwydion stepped between them.
Kirby pulled up short and stared at him, unable to hide her hurt. “I don’t fault anyone for the gifts they were created with, but she wrote those visions down. She drove centuries of death and quiet war. And she tried to fucking kill me less than a day ago.”
“Once upon a time, we worshiped them the way humans worshiped us,” Gwydion said. He moved out of Kirby’s way and stood by her side instead. “And our gods treated us just as poorly as we did our followers.”
Kirby’s smile was bittersweet. She shouldn’t have doubted for a second that Gwydion would side against her.
“I’m sorry.” Urd sounded sincere. But a lot of people did when they believed they were in the right. “I wasn’t trying to kill you; I wanted to push you toward your destiny. Or rather, I needed to know you were worthy.”
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