Viking's Ransom (Viking Ancestors: Rise of the Dragon, #4)

by Purington, Sky

  Things she would not be facing alone. Not if he had any say in it.

  As Shea sobbed softly, Eirik took Kenzie from Rokar and simply held her on his lap for a moment as he gathered himself. Now was the time for detachment and emotional numbness so he could do what he needed to do.

  “Why can we not sense her?” He met Vigdis’ eyes. “Her body is broken not her mind, right?”

  “She is passed out and in shock right now,” Vigdis explained. “When she awakes, you should be able to communicate both verbally and telepathically with her again.”

  He nodded once then strode in the direction of the port, not surprised when Floyd leapt onto his shoulder then cuddled down on Kenzie’s lap, clearly distressed. It was a wonder the cat didn’t drown, but he could only be grateful for Kenzie’s sake. Nobody said a word but followed him as he made his way back up another mountain toward an entrance that led to the ships.

  Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as hoped, and they were attacked about three quarters of the way up by a rogue group of Åruds. Worlds seemed to be shifting in and out of each other far too often and allowing them too much room to move.

  “Loki’s cock,” he ground out as he ducked behind a boulder and set Kenzie down gently before he stood guard over her and fought any who headed their way. He whipped a dagger into the throat of one and an ax into another before they ever got close.

  Though there were only about twenty or so warriors, all of which they ended swiftly, he was in a fouler mood than ever when he took down the last of them with a dagger to his gut.

  They did not have time for this.

  Kenzie did not have time.

  Hours later, descending the long twisting tunnel to the harbor, they finally arrived in the cave where the ships were docked. Though they had intended to head for Skáld’s Domain from here, now they had much further to go as they sailed down the coast rather than up it. But he would go to the ends of Midgard and beyond to give Kenzie back what was taken from her. He just wished they could get there faster.

  “I will stand guard here and make sure no one follows,” Rokar said as they began boarding the ship with Eirik’s dragon face carved into the prow. “Then once you are gone I will travel home by foot through the Cave Catacombs.”

  “That will take you many days,” Eirik replied but knew by his cousin’s expression that facing the ocean in a nightmare was as much as he could handle right now.

  “I know routes that will get me there faster.” Rokar’s concerned eyes went to Kenzie before they returned to Eirik. “You will be safest on the sea.”

  In all truth, they probably would be if the weather held up. Though Leviathan grumbled something about Rokar needing to put family first, Eirik would not ask such a thing of his cousin until he was ready. He had done his best to help Kenzie, and he was eternally grateful for that. So he embraced Rokar and told him to stay safe. Then he tucked Kenzie in some furs and took to oar until they had safely navigated out of the tight entrance to the ocean.

  “We remain very lucky with the weather,” Leviathan said a while later, as he sat beside Eirik who once again, held Kenzie on his lap. His friend’s eyes dropped to her, both sad and distressed before his jaw stiffened and he nodded. “King Sven will heal her. I do not doubt it for a moment.”

  “Yes,” Eirik agreed because he could not imagine it any other way. Yet he would if he had to. He would care for her until his dying breath if Sven could not help.

  As a rule, he found it better to proceed forward realistically rather than to dream, but that was not so easy in this case. Mainly because he could not imagine such a kind hearted person remaining in such a state. No one deserved such a thing but Kenzie? Never.

  And all because he could not protect her.

  “You cannot protect what you cannot see, old friend,” Leviathan said, following his thoughts as they reconnected. As they became the brethren they once were. “Kenzie was beyond your grasp. Beyond all of our grasps.”

  “I do not understand why she is being pulled into Helheim so much,” he murmured, running his finger along her soft cheek. Part of him wished she would awaken but another, more merciful part, hoped she remained at rest until Sven healed her so she would not be frightened. “Dagr warned me...” He shook his head, pushing against emotion once again as he recalled seeing his son...hearing him. “Then she was just...gone.”

  “The weather is fair enough and the wind strong.” Leviathan eyed the sail they had unfurled a while back and tried to offer Eirik some peace of mind. “We will travel quickly and get her help in no time.”

  He nodded, in agreement as his eyes drifted to the green dragon face on the sail. Though every sail thus far had matched the tattoo on a Sigdir’s arm, or Skáld’s Mark, they were always signs of protection on these ships. Some theorized they might even be Heidrek and Bjorn’s way of foreseeing something. A prophetic warning to help their kin.

  “Thor’s cock,” Leviathan whispered when the image on the sail suddenly changed.

  The single dragon turned into not one fiery little dragon face but two. Seconds later, they faded, once again replaced by the big dragon as it sizzled against a verdant shield.

  “They were the exact shade of Kenzie's eyes,” he whispered in awe.

  For a split second he got the overwhelming sensation that through those eyes, her eyes, they were supposed to see something. More so, remember something they had seen that they never should have forgotten.

  And it seems he wasn’t alone in his unusual reaction.

  As if she sensed the same thing, Kenzie’s eyes suddenly shot open, sizzling fiery green before they whipped to the sail and she did the unexpected, chilling his soul to its core.

  She screamed Dagr’s name in tortured, heartbreaking agony.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  AS SOON AS she screamed Dagr’s name, Kenzie knew it was too late and began to cry silently as the fiery green dragon on the sail sizzled then settled. She blinked several times as everything blurred before she saw Eirik’s face staring down at her.

  “I couldn’t keep him safe,” she choked out. “I wasn’t strong enough.”

  Confusion lit his eyes before he seemingly looked through her mind’s eye, witnessed what happened and understood. He blinked away obvious pain that his son had been in such danger and cupped her cheek. “You did the best you could. You were very brave, Kenzie.”

  “Is he alive?” she whispered, feeling the tears trickling down her cheeks. “Please tell me he’s alive.”

  “He is.” He wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “I would feel it otherwise.”

  She nodded, and eyed their surroundings, trying to get her bearings.

  “Are we on your ship then?” She tried to sit up only to realize something wasn’t quite right.

  She wasn’t moving.

  The next thing she knew Shea was sitting on one side of them and Leviathan the other as her eyes shot back to Eirik and panic blew through her. A blink later she remembered the flash of searing pain her dragon had felt at the cave before everything went black.

  “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to move anything besides her head. A finger, wrist, shoulder, leg, toes...anything.

  “It’s okay, Sis,” Shea assured. “This isn’t permanent. We’re getting you help.”

  She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as her heart began racing. When a warm hand cupped her cheek, she opened her eyes to Eirik’s. Though concern flickered in his gaze, there was also a level of calm she very much appreciated.

  “You will be able to feel again, mate,” he said softly. “I will take care of you this time.”

  Though she had never been more terrified and frightened in her life, something about staring into his steady eyes brought her strength she knew she wouldn’t have had otherwise. And in that strength, she focused on what she felt was more important.

  “Do you know what happened to Dagr?” She swallow
ed hard. “Please tell me he’s with Hel again.”

  “He has to be.” He kept gently wiping away more tears that she couldn’t seem to stop. “As I said, if he were gone, I would know it.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s safe though,” she whispered.

  “None of us are safe,” he reminded. “But we are all strong. Dagr is strong. And as you said, he is smart.” He nodded once firmly. “Thanks to you, he will be all right, Kenzie.”

  She nodded, grateful she could at least do that before she settled her head back and tried to remain calm. Tried to think clearly and not dwell on the fact she couldn’t feel a damn thing from her neck down. “So I take it we’re heading back to the Fortress? Back to Sven and Emily?”

  That would be the most likely course of action considering Sven was a healer. Not to mention they were heading south rather than north.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, patting Floyd absently as her cat remained curled on her lap.

  “Look at you voluntarily touching a cat now,” she joked before she finally looked at Shea, and showed her the strength she clearly needed to see. “Who would’ve thought, eh, Sis?”

  Shea didn’t answer, just nodded, her eyes brimming with moisture.

  “Stop that,” she said firmly. “No tears. Not until we know if there’s a need for them.” She gritted her teeth. “And if there is then that’s that. We get me back to the twenty-first century and set up with home care...”

  That’s all she managed to get out before she had to close her eyes again and focus on breathing. This shit happened to people, and they lived full lives. It would be hard. Different. But she would do it for her family and animals because they needed her.

  “I will care for you wherever you want me to,” Eirik confirmed.

  She frowned and opened her eyes. What the hell was he talking about? “Excuse me?”

  “I will take care of you, Kenzie—” he began before she cut him off.

  “The hell you will.” She shook her head, blissfully content to focus on his foolishness rather than the stark terror of never moving again. “You can finally be around people without making them sick. So figure the odds of me letting you care for my sorry ass the rest of your life.”

  “Jesus, Kenz—” Shea began before Eirik cut her off.

  “Your ass is not sorry but arousing, Kenzie,” he stated so bluntly it was humorous. “And if Sven cannot heal you, I will care for you until the end of my days.” He shook his head. “I would not want to be anywhere else.”

  “Yeah, you say that now but damn, Eirik,” she started before she narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you feel the need to do this because I protected Dagr?”

  “No,” he replied, again so blunt she knew he truly meant it. That he wouldn’t budge on this. “I would do it because I love you, Kenzie. Because I am in love with you.”

  Though tempted to snap back that he ought not to be considering what he might be facing, she knew stubborn when she saw it. There would be no talking him out of it. Not a noble, stand-up guy like him.

  “Shit,” she muttered under her breath, closing her eyes again. “Let’s just worry about this once we know if there’s something to worry about.”

  “Agreed,” he said softly.

  “Agreed,” she said just as softly, meeting his eyes again because, in all honesty, she didn’t want to be anywhere else. Anywhere but staring into the soul of someone who made her feel safe. That loved her like he did.

  Meanwhile, Shea wiped away more tears, her eyes darting between them as she murmured, “My Cupid has never been so right about a couple.”

  It didn’t seem to matter that Kenzie had not declared love in return. Her sister saw what she wanted to see and that was it. Or so she kept telling herself as Eirik wrapped her tighter in the fur and cuddled her closer.

  Though a storm bubbled in the distance, sunshine shone down on her and broke the chilly wind some. Not that it mattered all that much. Like most, her dragon did just fine in the cold.

  “There were two small dragons on that sail, weren’t there,” she murmured, catching Eirik's thoughts as her eyes drifted to the sail. Two small sizzling dragons had been there. But why? She swallowed hard at the implication. Had they lost two children in their previous life?

  She was about to say more when the world suddenly grew crisper, and they shifted into Helheim. “Oh no...”

  “Hel is close,” he whispered, looking to the south as the wind picked up. “She is helping us.”

  “I don’t think she’s the only one,” she murmured, her eyes still on the sail. “Look Eirik.”

  Though it was nearly impossible to see, two small ghostly dragons sizzled on the sail and appeared to fly alongside each other. As if they were steering the ship along. As though they were making it move far faster than it possibly could.

  Yet as soon as they spied them they vanished. But not before the world returned to normal and they saw something truly unexpected on the horizon.

  “It’s the Fortress,” Davyn declared, grinning as he shielded his eyes against a sun that now sat much lower in the sky than it had mere minutes before. By the looks of it, they had been shifted through space and time.

  Eirik wasted no time telepathically communicating with Sven. “She needs your help, Cousin...please help her...”

  Though he assured Eirik he would do his very best, Kenzie didn’t miss the concern in Sven’s eyes as they headed up the dock toward the Fortress a short while later. Rather than dwell on that she focused on her surroundings, again impressed by the place.

  Endless ships were tied off on too many docks to count, and people dressed in Viking garb went about their business. Backdropped by towering mountains, a massive gated wall protected a vast village of lodges with roofs that nearly went to the ground. As it had been when she was here so briefly before returning to Winter Harbor, she truly had the sensation of traveling back in time. Mainly because this wasn’t a lair full of dragons but a community right out of a history book.

  “Hey there, Sis,” Sage said, hiding her worry well as she smiled warmly at Kenzie and walked alongside. Emily and Håkon were there moments later, the expression on their faces just as supportive as Sage’s. Then even more family members joined them offering their support though she had no idea who they were.

  “Bring her in here,” Eirik’s mother Shannon called out from a lodge toward the rear of the village that was set apart from the others. “She will heal best surrounded by my son’s scent.”

  While some might have found that a damn odd thing to say, they were, after all, dragons, so she got it as Eirik ducked into a lodge that was definitely his based on the overwhelming feeling of home she experienced. It was clear considering his scent wasn't as strong as she would like it to be, that it hadn’t been used in some time. Nonetheless, taking into account the crackling fire and fresh furs, Shannon had gotten it ready in record time.

  “What can I expect of your Gemini?” Sven asked, his tone firm but his eyes kind.

  “It seems to have calmed down some,” she replied, trying not to be embarrassed with so many in the room. It wasn’t easy feeling so helpless.

  As if she sensed her thoughts, Eirik’s mother’s eyes swept over the room before she started issuing orders. “The only ones that should be in here are Emily because she strengthens Sven. Eirik because he strengthens Kenzie.” Her eyes went between Sage and Shea. “And her sisters because she needs them.”

  Kenzie nearly teared up she was so grateful to Shannon right now. This time, she knew Eirik’s mom was catching her thoughts as she kissed her cheek then whispered in her ear, “Not half as grateful as I am to you for bringing my son home.” Her eyes met Kenzie’s. “Stay strong, dragon.” She nodded once firmly, completely confident. “You can do this, right?”

  “Yes, I can,” she said because hell if she was going to let her mate’s mom down.

  “Good girl.” Shannon kissed her cheek again then ushered everyone out except those she had declared should stay.
>
  “Because your dragon took the brunt of your injury, Kenzie,” Sven continued, urging Eirik to lay her on his bed. “I think it would be best if I allow Eirik’s dragon to assist in the healing process.”

  “You’ve never done that before, Sven.” Emily’s worried eyes went between her brother and husband. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “It is,” Sven answered, honest as his eyes met Kenzie’s. “Do not take offense to this, but from what I understand, up until a few days ago, your dragon has been much like a wild animal, yes?”

  “In a way, yes,” she agreed.

  “But Eirik somewhat tames it, does he not?” Sven continued. “He brings comfort to your inner beast so that it does not feel the need to lash out or take over against your will?”

  Though she inwardly flinched at the word ‘tame’ she could admit it suited the situation. Eirik did tame her inner beast in a way. Or better yet, brought it a sense of peace and contentment.

  “Yes, Eirik brings my dragon comfort,” she confirmed, her eyes going to Eirik. “And if he’s up for it, of course, he’s welcome to help.”

  “I will always be up for it, woman,” he grunted as his eyes went to Sven. “What do you want me to do, my King?”

  “Call me Sven, to begin with,” Sven muttered. “Or even brother because we are by marriage.”

  “What do you want me to do then, Brother?” Eirik said, not missing a beat as he kept her hand in his. A hand she couldn’t feel in the least.

  “Your dragon will need to hold hers, Eirik,” Sven informed as he sat beside Kenzie and urged Eirik to do the same. “Her case is similar to something Emily went through, and it was best, I found, to wrap my dragon’s wings around her within the mind.”

  As Kenzie looked from Emily to Sven, she knew their situation had been remarkably different. Emily had been on the brink of death where Kenzie was not. He was just saying what she wanted to hear. Trying to soothe her by any means possible.

  “You don’t think this is gonna work, do you, Sven,” she said softly, pinning his eyes with hers. “And don’t lie to me. I don’t deserve that.”