“Perhaps.” He sighed. “It’s difficult to see clearly. It’s hard for my dragon to differentiate between us both dying or just one of us. We are one in its mind.”
“You think one of us survived?” She shook her head. “But that’s impossible. We’d still be alive there.”
“You would think.” He urged her to settle against him. “We will learn soon enough, Ava. Until then, let us take this time together before...”
When he trailed off, she met his eyes again but didn’t ask him to finish his sentence. She knew he struggled with what lay ahead. The risk of losing each other.
Her eyes drifted to his shoulder and froze.
“It’s changed again,” she whispered, tracing her finger over it. “Now its one dragon with two heads.” She frowned. “What does that mean?”
“That we are growing closer to the truth.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them, trying to ease her. “It does not mean Skáld is possessing me. My dragon would sense it.”
“You say as much, but it makes me uneasy.” Ava shook her head then regrettably enough, chanted herself back into clothes. She sat up, focused once again on her distrust of his mark. “How can we be so sure your godly blood or even the First Blade is a barrier?”
“Because I have faith in the power that made the Blade and my ancestor’s blood to protect me.” He sat up as well. “Even if his blood weren’t running through my veins, Thor played a part in making the First Blade, Ava. That means something. Though we might not see him, he stands by our side.”
“Like Odin apparently,” she murmured then narrowed her eyes. “Thor is son to Odin, right?”
He nodded.
“So essentially, you’re related to Odin as well.”
“Yes.”
“The same god who finally took notice of love on Múspellsheimr,” she prompted, “thanks to our, your, infected love and your offspring’s spark of life.” Her brow swept up. “Sort of ironic really that this time around you’re related to the god who helped us.”
“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Yet he couldn’t help but wonder too. “Why would he do such a thing? Why would he direct my soul that way?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I think it’s worth keeping in mind, though. Maybe it’s a puzzle piece in all this.”
“Maybe,” he agreed. His musings faded as he eyed her.
Now that the unexplainable grief had passed, all he could focus on were her rosy lips, full from his kisses. Her tousled hair from lovemaking. He truly wished she had not redressed so quickly.
“You should probably get some clothes on too so we can focus and figure things out,” she murmured, her voice not quite right when her eyes dropped to his cock.
“Then chant them on me,” he taunted softly. “If that is what you truly want.”
Honestly, he had no idea how his kin had managed to navigate their adventures if their lust had been this strong. This constant. How they had taken two steps without being inside their mates again. It seemed he wasn’t alone in his need either. So said the catch of Ava's breath and her flaring dragon eyes. Desperate to have her again, he went to kiss her only for their surroundings to change.
The rock glittered red, and the tree was partially aflame.
They were back in Múspellsheimr.
He chanted on clothing and kept her close when they heard talking just beyond their conclave.
“What have you done to me, female,” came a raspy masculine voice. “What have I become?”
“Mine,” came an all-too-familiar voice. “Can you not feel it? Do you not want it?”
Soren and Ava ducked between the burning branches and kept to the shadows though he knew full well they were in a memory.
“Oh, my God.” Ava's eyes widened on the two figures standing so close together. “That’s me in human form so to speak and...”
When she trailed off, Soren growled, “Not me.”
Raging jealousy made his gut twist. What was he looking at? Who was she with?
Moments later, his question was answered.
“What have you done to me?” the man growled, wrapping his hand into her hair roughly. “Why do I...” He struggled to find the right words. “Why do I crave you like this?” His hand trembled as he touched her cheek tenderly. “There is warmth in me when I look at you. A need to care for you until the end of time.”
“Skáld,” Ava whispered, her eyes wider still. “That’s...Skáld. Or at least half of him.”
It seemed when not in dragon form, each head possessed its own body. Something he imagined was solely controlled by dragon magic.
“Three heads on my tattoo symbolized three dragons infected,” he said softly, suddenly understanding. “Now it’s two heads to symbolize the two minds you infected with love. It was never all of Skáld but only half of him. Only one of the double-headed serpent’s heads.”
“Because you were fraternal twins,” she gasped. Her eyes shot to Soren. “Don’t you see, this is what I was alluding to when I told Níðhöggr that something unexpected had happened.” Her gaze returned to the couple. “I never saw this coming because I didn’t know you were twins.” She shook her head. “I never could have known that infecting you would spread so easily to Skáld...it was such an opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?” He scowled, barely able to keep his inner beast in check. “What did you do, Ava?”
“Whatever it was, you knew about it,” she reminded her eyes with his again. “This had to have been what our incarnates were talking about when we had that flashback in the tunnel leading away from the ships. When you told me you had to remain a priority. If I forgot that, all would be lost.”
“No doubt it would be,” he groused, watching the other couple, eager to strangle someone who wasn’t actually there.
“But he is actually there,” Soren said aloud in answer to his own thoughts. “That half of Skáld still exists, Ava and remains with its counterpart. His other mind.” He met her eyes with certainty. “Now that I know precisely what it feels like to love you, rest assured, even if Skáld is only half infected, he will stop at nothing to get to you and make you his.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
AVA WASN’T SURE what to focus on first. The fact that Soren had just declared his love for her or that Skáld was half in love with her too. While everyone had speculated this was a possibility, something about seeing it in front of her really drove it home.
“I don’t feel anything for him though,” she murmured, certain of it. Múspellsheimr faded, and everything returned to normal. “How is that possible?”
“There are only one of two explanations.” Soren gathered their weapons. “Either the initial spark of infection, that which you shared with me, solidified that we were fated mates.” He shrugged. “Or perhaps, as it clearly took time for the infection to spread from me to Skáld, it was only a matter of time before you felt the same for him in return.”
“That,” he reasoned, speaking before she had a chance to respond, “would certainly explain my warning that I had to remain a priority. If you forgot that, all would be lost.”
She heard the irritation in his voice, not to mention felt the jealousy and rage he barely kept in check. She didn’t blame him. What a shitty thing to learn his mate might have had another. Not just his own brother but the enemy no less. Even worse? That she risked their love for whatever she planned.
While she shouldn’t have to make apologies because all of this happened in another life, her dragon demanded it, and her human half wasn’t far behind. Granted, it was fast, but what had just transpired between them beneath the tree had shown her so much. Despite her best intentions to do otherwise, she had connected not just physically, but very much emotionally with him.
“I had to have had a damn good reason for risking so much, Soren.” She rested her hand on his chest, needing to comfort him. “It was a risk I had to take, we had to take. One that had to have worked because dragonkind made it here...lov
e still exists within our species.” She gestured where the other two had stood. “And whether we like it or not, Skáld getting infected had to have helped...I just know it.”
His eyes stayed with hers for a long moment before he rested his hand over hers and nodded once. “I know you’re right, Ava.” He ground his jaw, his dragon eyes flickering before he pushed his emotions down. “It does not mean I have to like it, though.” His eyes stayed with hers. “There is no worse feeling than knowing there is another dragon out there that shares this sort of connection with you. Or has the potential to.”
“I know,” she said softly and spoke the truth. “I couldn’t imagine.”
“You feel it then?” he murmured. “The connection I spoke about before? It is clearer to you now?”
“Much.” She tried to lighten his spirits, desperate to assure his dragon all was well. That her dragon didn’t intend to go anywhere. Which was a shocking realization but true. “How could I not feel our connection tenfold after what we just did beneath the tree?” She winked. “Just imagine how much more connected we’ll be after more—”
He closed his lips over hers before she could say anything else, his need to claim her, again and again, obvious in his thoughts. It wasn’t so much insecurity as it was a fear of losing someone that meant so much. A connection he never could have imagined existed any more than she could have.
When somebody cleared their throat from the darkness, she stilled, pulled back, and called out, “What is it, Tiernan?”
“’Tis best if you both return to camp,” he said. “Leviathan is restless about the environmental fluctuations around the Realm, and Magnus claims Skáld’s Domain has shrunken considerably.”
She sighed and nodded, sexually frustrated where she should be well sated by now. One kiss from Soren and she was back to square one. By the look of aggravation on his face, he wasn’t much better off.
“Are we assuming Skáld’s closing in then?” Ava asked Tiernan when they joined him.
“Something is changing,” the Scotsman said. “As to what, I couldnae say.”
She glanced at him in concern. “You can’t say because what’s happening is a dragon thing? Or because your magic is off again?”
“A bit of both I imagine.”
“I’m sure it’s just this place,” she said. “Things are crazy here.”
Tiernan nodded and said nothing but she sensed his growing concern. After all, he was what they called an arch-wizard, which meant they didn’t come much more powerful than him.
By the time they got back to camp, the game was already cooked, and everybody had returned. Tess, not surprisingly, took one look at her and knew Ava and Soren had slept together.
“How are you feeling, Sis?” She grinned. “Better?”
“Don’t forget, you’re talking to me, not Shea,” she replied. “That means it’s none of your damn business.”
“Ha!” Tess winked at Soren. “She is feeling better.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “How did you get that out of my response?”
“It’s all in the tone, love,” Tess revealed, sitting on Rokar’s lap. “Then there’s the crazy hair, unkempt clothes that even magic didn’t put back on quite right and of course, the goofy lovesick smile plastered on your face.”
“I forgot how alike you and Shea really are,” Ava muttered, purposefully frowning. She smoothed her hair and scowled at her clothing that really was askew. Her magic had never been so off. Worse yet, she hadn’t even noticed until now where once upon a time she took great pride in a tidy appearance.
“You were in a rush to redress,” Soren reminded her telepathically. “And worried about me at the time.”
He was right. Still. She sort of felt like she was unraveling at the seams but in a good way. Which made no sense.
“It’s called falling in love,” Tess enlightened, clearly enjoying herself. “Nothing quite like it.”
Ava thanked Leviathan when he handed her a skin of mead. She took a few much needed sips then set it aside and welcomed food.
“You are hungry.” Soren nodded at her with approval before a small smile curled his lips. “It seems love is good for you.”
Ensnared by the look in his eyes, not quite sure how to respond, she swallowed hard before she continued eating. Did she love him? She was sure she must considering how strongly her dragon felt, but it would still take time to put a label on it. To flat out say she loved him. Mainly because her logical human half thought it was way too fast. Love took time to develop between people.
As they ate, Soren filled everyone in on what they had witnessed between Ava and Skáld in another life.
“So one mind is infected with love,” Leviathan said. “And not the other?” He shook his head. “How is that possible?”
“Mayhap it was only a matter of time before the other head became infected as well, but it never happened because Ava didn’t stay,” Tiernan proposed. “Or perhaps Soren was more connected to half of Skáld on a cellular level when still within the womb.”
“Either way,” Ava said. “I clearly took advantage of the situation in order to get dragons off Múspellsheimr.” She frowned. “I just wish I knew what happened after that. Heck, what happened beforehand, so I know how the Portal was created. That information might come in handy down the line.”
“We will know soon enough,” Soren said, becoming pretty good at that line by now. “Until then, we will continue to follow our dragons’ lead.” His eyes went to the spring. “Mine feels strongly that we are where we are supposed to be. At least for the eve.”
She nodded in agreement. “Mine too.”
They finished eating and went over everything again, but they could only speculate at this point. When it came time to rest, Soren insisted she remain by his side. Truthfully, she didn’t want to be anywhere else. While her human half might not be ready to declare love, both her halves inherently wanted to be close to him. Needed to be.
Though he brushed his lips across hers, he made no further move other than to tuck her against him beneath the furs and wrap his arm around her. While beyond aroused, they were too close to the others. Though she couldn’t speak for him, she knew full well based on what happened earlier just how loud she could be. Which was a first. Typically, she was quiet during sex. But then, she’d never had it like that before. So damn good it was a wonder she wasn’t dragging him off into the woods right now for another romp.
“You must try to think of something else,” he said into her mind, both amused and serious. “Or we will not be resting tonight.”
Fully aware of his erection, she almost replied that he didn’t make it easy but decided even promoting a conversation and hearing his internal voice wasn’t a good idea, so she didn’t respond. Instead, she focused on whatever else she could think of and thankfully, eventually drifted off.
Until she jolted awake to her dragon’s home world.
Her surroundings were the same only Múspellsheimr’s version with flaming trees.
Like before, the others had vanished.
“Look,” Soren said, awake as well. He pointed at the spring. “It’s as Tiernan said.”
“Look at that,” she whispered, awed. “It’s...incredible.”
Just as the Scotsman said, lava ran down the mountain where the dry riverbed had been and pooled in the spring before it continued down the mountain into an eerily familiar ocean. The spring was mesmerizing, a swirling bubbling maelstrom of fire and sparks, but the sea concerned her.
In fact, it made no sense at all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“IT’S THE SAME ocean we saw at the beginning of our journey,” Soren said, alarmed.
“It is.” Ava appeared equally disgruntled. “How, though? I thought that was Midgard? This is clearly Múspellsheimr.”
He shook his head, wishing he knew.
“There we are.” She pointed to the top of the mountain. They were able to hear their dragons conversing despite the distance. “We�
��re back to what we saw earlier. Or just after it by the looks of things.”
“You should return with me to my lair,” his former dragon said as they rubbed their necks against each other. “You will become my slave. Nobody will question it.”
“No.” Her dragon pulled back and narrowed her eyes. “I wish to meet your brother, Skáld. To aid you in the war against my father.”
His eyes narrowed in return. Both were clearly adjusting to their new state of being. He shook his head. “That is not why you are here. You lie to me, female. I can feel it as though I were the one lying. I can feel you as if you are part of me.”
She cocked her head one way then the other, sensing something was off too.
“Yes,” she finally said, peering at him with curiosity. “I feel you too...as though your mind is mine.”
They continued eying one another with a mixture of curiosity and distrust before she rubbed against him and made a dragon-like purring sound. “I think I like it...mate.”
“Mate,” he murmured as though tasting the word for the first time. His pupils flared, and affection lit his eyes. “Yes,” he rubbed his neck along hers, “you are my mate.”
“I remember that moment,” Ava whispered. “How elated I felt to put a word to the sensation. In a way, it allowed me to understand how profound our connection really was.”
“I feel it too.” He slipped his hand into hers, as always, needing to touch her. “It was almost like a new state of being.”
“It was,” she agreed.
He sensed her thoughts. How she almost said is but bit her tongue. He, in turn, did no such thing.
“It is even now,” he said softly. “Who I am, my very essence, seems different since I met you. Better.”
While he knew she agreed, she remained silent, her attention drawn to his former dragon when he lifted his head sharply as though he heard something.
“My brother calls,” his dragon informed. “I must go.” He looked at her, hesitant at first before he came to a conclusion. “I will introduce you to him but not yet...not as we are.” He seemed to struggle with how to phrase things in his new state. “I fear he would recognize the infection in us.”
Viking's Crusade (Viking Ancestors: Rise of the Dragon, #6) Page 14