Viking's Crusade (Viking Ancestors: Rise of the Dragon, #6)
Page 20
DESPITE IT BEING a memory, Soren almost raced to protect his mate when Níðhöggr attacked Ava’s former dragon but held back when the Great Serpent stopped short with his teeth inches from her neck. Clearly frustrated with himself, Níðhöggr roared and tried again, but stopped once more.
“Kill me, Father,” she said calmly, standing tall, not taunting but resolved. “I am ready to die.”
“And die you shall,” he warned yet struggled.
She did as her father had raised her to do and waited with admirable strength and courage for her death. A death that Níðhöggr tried to issue time and time again, whether it be with fire he couldn’t seem to breathe or a slam of his mighty tail that never quite met its mark.
“Kill me.” She addressed him with less formality. “For I deserve it, Great Serpent.”
Níðhöggr reared up, with fresh fury in his eyes then swooped down again.
This time his teeth nearly pierced her skin.
His whole body shook as he huffed smoke and fought a heartbreaking internal battle, his mighty mouth around her neck, hovering rather than snapping it in half.
Eventually, he released an unnatural, strangled sound that their dragons recognized as deep misery and pulled his teeth away.
“I cannot kill you, dragon.” A tremble went through him, and his pupils flared. “I cannot kill you, Daughter.”
He eyed her with a mixture of disgust and agony before he returned to the spring only to find its fire now seared him. He could no longer enter. Something was wrong with him, and his All-Father had turned him away. Keening at the pain of it all, he released a roar of denial so deafening that it shook the ground.
Yet they all knew the only thing wrong with him was that not killing his daughter had sparked an infection of love. Something Odin paid no mind to then but eventually did thanks to the child in Ava's womb.
Moments later, everything faded, and they once again stood in the cave with the others.
“Now you know,” the demon said, “where it all began.”
“And now you’re actually infected with love, demon?” Ava replied, as shaken as the rest of them by what she had witnessed but curious regardless. “Where I was under the assumption your grandfather, who went to Midgard, was not.”
“That is right,” it confirmed, gesturing at the other two dozen or so fire demons with them. “We are all infected with ‘love’ as you call it and wish to go to Midgard and start anew.” His eyes swept over the dragons and demons alike. “As you can see, we get along with dragons. We can peacefully co-exist.”
Soren wasn’t sure what to make of that. Where bringing dragons back to Midgard was one thing, demons were another. “Can you appear differently than you do now?”
“With Magnus’s help they can,” Ava said softly. Her eyes met Soren’s. “I can still hear him, Pierce and Vigdis but no one else.”
“Because they are on the other end of what got us here,” Leviathan said. “How can Magnus be so sure he can help the demons?”
“Demon magic,” she replied. “He can make them look human.” Her eyes met Soren’s. “I trust him. More than that, I’m not about to leave anyone behind who’s capable of love. Not in a world full of so much hate.” She shook her head. “Not when I’m the reason they’re infected, to begin with.”
He understood how much this mattered to her. How she refused to see more people get hurt under her watch if she could help it.
“And I can,” she said into his mind. “I won’t be responsible for more innocents dying, Soren.”
“I know.” And he loved her for it. “We will save any who are infected.”
He looked at his father and relayed their plan. “Getting Skáld off this world and away from his minions is the only way to defeat him.” His gaze went to all present, and he raised his voice. “We must lure the double-headed serpent through the Portal after us. It will be very dangerous, but we have to do it to keep Midgard safe from Skáld in the future.” He shook his head. “Because he will never stop hunting us. He will never stop hunting my mate.”
“We will do whatever it takes to leave this world,” a random dragon said. “And we’ll do it with pride if it means helping those who allowed our ancestors freedom to begin with.” He nodded at Ava with respect. “We would do it for she who left her mate and own love behind so that others might love.” His eyes went to Soren. “And for he who sacrificed just as much.”
“What of your people who are not infected?” Ava asked. “Will they battle alongside you?”
“They will fight if they think it is just another battle,” a different dragon replied. “That is all they can know.”
“Then make haste, rally your people, and regroup near the black roots in the sky,” Soren replied. “Stay close in battle. For like your ancestors, we will move fast when the time comes.” He looked at them in warning. “And we will be flying alongside Skáld himself.”
Everyone nodded and dispersed off to rally others, excited to finally leave this place no matter how dangerous the journey might be.
“I just wish we knew how the Portal is going to close behind us,” Ava said. “How did it close before in our last life?”
“Have faith in the All-Father, child,” Bjorn said. “For He saw you through before and will again.”
“As will Níðhöggr,” Heidrek added. “I do not doubt it for a moment.”
“Yet he grows so weak,” Halla reminded. “His powers dwindle on Midgard.”
“So it appears,” Bjorn said. “But I would not be so sure about that.” He shook his head. “We have seen the Great Serpent do extraordinary things with the power of love, not hate behind him.”
“Then I say we do this.” Tess grinned at Ava. “I’m about ready to wrap up this war and smoke the double-headed dipshit for good.”
Ava nodded and looked at Heidrek and Bjorn. “How long should we give the others?”
“Not long,” Bjorn replied. “Perhaps a few minutes at most.”
Her brows shot up. “Really?”
“Yes,” Heidrek confirmed. “Dragons and demons alike rally to war very quickly.”
“And you will be joining us, yes?” Rokar asked them, hopeful. “It is time to leave Múspellsheimr?”
“Yes,” Bjorn confirmed, smiling. “We did all we could here and hope for Skáld’s swift demise so that we might return to our bodies...and our wives.”
“I’m sure they feel the same.” Tess flinched. “That had to be a trip when it first happened.”
“Thankfully there was no sex,” Halla stated bluntly. “That might have proven very awkward in the end, yes?”
“Yes,” Bjorn and Heidrek responded at the same time, not shocked in the least that Halla would mention such a thing.
Bjorn was about to say more when he stopped, cocked his head in alarm and narrowed his eyes. “There is movement to the north.”
“We need to go,” Ava said at almost the exact moment Soren sensed it too.
Skáld knew they were here.
“How though?” she barely got out before a ferocious roar boomed so loudly the ground and walls shook.
“Because his mate is here,” Soren ground out. “He’s coming for you.”
“He will not be able to get her in here,” Heidrek said. “Yet we will be trapped.”
Seconds later, a dragon out of anyone’s worst nightmare crashed down at the cave’s entrance. It was so large, they could only see halfway up its monstrous legs. Two heads bent down, and one eye appeared on either side of the legs, peering inside. So powerful it was immune to Halla's power to make them invisible, one eye focused on Ava, and the other swept over everyone else.
“There you are, mate,” one head growled at Ava, lust obvious in its fiery orb. “You have come home just in time to join me as I destroy Midgard.”
“Then we will destroy you two very slowly and painfully,” the other head sneered, focusing on Tess and Rokar with disgust before locking on Soren, venom dripping from every word. “Broth
er, it has been too long.”
All the old hatred he had felt for his sibling bubbled up. Not just how he felt after he was infected, but before that. There was never fondness, just obligation to serve his brethren.
Battles to be fought.
Wars to be won.
Soren grabbed Ava’s wrist when she began to drift toward Skáld’s other head, lured by the thin thread of love they had shared. He turned her away, cupped her cheeks, and looked into her eyes. “He is trying to lure you back to him, mate. You must remain focused on why we are here...on your love for me.”
“Love,” she murmured, a little lost.
“Yes, love.” He made sure her eyes stayed with his and spoke within the mind. “If you do not acknowledge the love you feel for me and give in to it, you remain vulnerable to him.”
“But I do love you,” she whispered. “That’s why he can reach me.”
“She’s right,” his father said. “Skáld would not be able to influence her if she did not truly love you, Son. You are the conduit between her and your former brother.”
Though on some level he knew she loved him, it meant so much to finally hear her say it.
It also made everything clear.
She had power over Skáld because of this. Ava could take advantage of the double-headed serpent’s love for her if push came to shove. So though it was difficult to support, he had to encourage her. Otherwise, she might hold back for Soren's sake.
“Use that, mate.” He brushed his lips over hers and met her eyes again. “Use the love you feel for me against him. Use it as a weapon.”
Her eyes stayed with his, and she seemed to understand what he alluded to. How they could use this to their advantage.
“I don’t mean to break up this romantic interlude.” Tess joined everyone’s telepathic conversation. “But I have an idea about how we might be able to get out of here. A way we can bypass the front door so to speak and avoid getting our asses handed to us by Skáld.”
What is it?” Leviathan frowned at the countless enemy dragons landing behind Skáld, ready to attack the second they got the chance.
“Rokar and I frequented the cave attached to this one a few times in our last life,” Tess said. “One of the memories we witnessed involved an ally.”
“The elves,” Rokar murmured, backing up what Soren had sensed when they first arrived here. “How do we know we actually accessed them via that cave, though?”
“We don’t, but it can't hurt to check it out.” Tess’s eyes went to Heidrek, Bjorn, and Dahlia. “Unless you guys know of another way around the monster outside.”
“No.” Dahlia looked at her father. “If she is right and you can get out of here with the elves’ help, I could probably distract Skáld for a very brief time.”
Bjorn nodded, a flicker of sadness in his eyes that he could not tell his daughter to be careful and stay safe because she was already deceased.
“Okay then, let’s go,” Tess said, already heading that way with Rokar right behind her.
Meanwhile, Skáld roared in fury when they vanished deeper into the cave. Not only had he lost sight of his enemies, but the female one of his dragon heads loved.
“It was in a cave near the one with the waterfall,” Tess said aloud. “Though sort of hard to pinpoint considering the storm that plagued us at the time.”
“Do you think the storm was necessary to your connection with that particular elf you spoke with?” Ava asked.
“If it was, then we should be all right.” Tess glanced over her shoulder at her sister. “After all, you and Soren are carrying around our storm in your blades, right?”
“At least in Soren’s,” Ava conceded. “We’ve had no solid proof as to what’s going on with mine...I mean, Emily’s blade. Other than it rocks in battle.” She slowed then stopped, evidently communicating telepathically with Pierce. “Pierce says we’re on to something. He feels...connected to something...them.” She looked around at the cave they’d entered. “Is this the place, Tess?”
“It is.” Rokar kept Tess close and looked at the ceiling. “This is where it happened.”
“Yes.” Ava nodded, clearly listening to Pierce. She looked at Soren and pulled out her own blade. “Get your blade ready. Something’s happening.”
Trusting her completely, he readied his sword only for lightning to zigzag all over it. The same happened to hers. Moments later, light flickered above then grew brighter and brighter until the rock vanished and a tunnel of sparkling roots opened up.
“All one tree,” Leviathan whispered, awed. “Connecting all Nine Worlds.”
“There’s no time to admire it.” Ava launched into the air and took off. “Time to go!”
As they soon discovered, going meant far more than they anticipated.
It meant Ava discovering a truth she had long needed to hear.
Chapter Thirty-Three
AVA HAD EXPERIENCED a lot of strange things since the prophecy started unraveling but nothing as bizarre as what happened when she entered Alfheim, World of the Light Elves. Except for Soren, her fellow dragons seemed suspended in time, caught in a tunnel of magical roots of elven design. Roots so enchanting they inherently brought a sense of peace.
“What’s happening?” Soren wrapped a wing around her and kept her close. “Why are we stuck here?”
“Because of him,” she murmured. A tall bright light drifted closer, and the shape of a man became clear. “I know him.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she took in his glory. “You.” She cocked her head, overwhelmed with emotion. “How do I know you?”
“You know me because I have stood between you and your dragon your whole life.” He stopped in front of her. “I am what allowed you to be what you craved then failed you in the end.”
Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Yet somewhere deep down, looking into his eyes, she did.
“Yes, you do,” he said softly. “For it was you who struck the final bargain that ensured elven aid in the Portal.” He shook his head. “What your sister Shea did protecting us from dragons with light was not enough any more than Tess’s valiant attempt to convince us.” His eyes stayed with hers. “In the end, it was you, Ava. Your inherent need to put others first. In that life, you saw to your fellow dragons even after you lost your mate. In this life, you put humanity first.” He considered her. “Doing for others, putting them before you, is the epitome of love is it not?”
She shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around what he implied.
So he showed her.
Her former dragon materialized beneath a sparkling ash tree that hadn’t been there moments before.
“We are running out of time,” she said to the same elf Ava spoke to now. The pain in her eyes was obvious. “If you do not agree to help us, all will be lost. Dragon love will be destroyed forever.”
“I am yet to be convinced it should not be,” he replied.
“Despite what my sister did for your people?” She clearly tried to keep her emotions in check. “She protected you from dragons for all eternity. Surely that means something to a compassionate, loving, and forgiving race. Surely that means something to a culture that promotes peace? That celebrates it?”
“You have a way with words and keeping your emotions at bay, dragon,” he said softly, considering her. “Your infection suits you.”
“Love suits me,” she countered gently. “As do a people who stay true to themselves and what they believe in.”
She considered him and spoke with heartfelt passion. “You have a chance to see positive change happen where no one ever thought it could. The ability to free dragons from oppression. Would you not be lessening your moral character if you turned from them now? If you willingly chose to suppress love rather than give it a chance? Especially considering that a dragon already showed the same moral character you so value when she helped protect your people from her own kind?”
“You make several good points,”
he conceded. “But that does not make forgiving dragons, whether capable of love or not, for their vast sins, any easier. For their foul natures and the havoc they have wreaked on so many for so long. There is a reason the All-Father keeps them chained to their world. A reason why they must be blocked from other worlds no matter the cost.”
“Yet here you stand conversing with one,” she reminded. “Safe because of yet another.” She took a moment and contemplated him. What he sought. What he needed. “Tell me, what can I say to change your mind? What can I do to free my people?” She remained completely honest because he would appreciate it. “What can I do to free the child in my womb?”
“Mean your words, dragon.” He shifted closer, searching her eyes for truth. “Mean what you say. Do not just say them as a means to an end.”
“I do not just say them for that,” she said honestly. “I speak them because I know what you value. How could I not when I have the ability to love? Have experienced the glory of it firsthand?” She cocked her head. “What more can I give you?”
“Conviction.” He kept searching her eyes, haughty in his arrogance. “Prove to me that you can be strong when you need to be. Prove to me you will always seek peace on behalf of others. Unity.”
“I will,” she vowed. “Gladly.”
“Will you set aside your dragon to do it if necessary?” he asked. “Will you embrace your other half if it means proving to me your nature is true?”
Though an odd request, she nodded. “I will do whatever it takes if you will help me free my people from Múspellsheimr.”
A strange, sad sort of calm washed over her as the scene of her former dragon talking with the elf faded. Now she stood before him again, and he hadn't aged a day.
“I saw through your request, didn’t I?” she said softly. “That’s why I repressed my dragon for so long? Why I became a diplomat?”
“Yes,” he said, just as softly. Awe lit his eyes. “I never thought when you were reborn that your spirit would remember, but it did and kept its promise. Love sparking inside you was a true treasure to many worlds, dragon. You have a soul-deep need to make other lives better, and it came through very much in this life. So it was easy to see your vow through .”