“Sorry.”
“You’re apologising because you don’t like the taste of something?” Magnar asked in amusement.
“Well you went to the effort of finding it for me-”
“That was no effort, there’s a tree full of them over there.”
“I’ve never really been able to turn my nose up at food and it feels kinda ungrateful when I know what starvation feels like-”
Magnar frowned as he drew me closer to him. “I will never see you go without again,” he growled. “So if you want to spit out a mango then just spit it out. I’ll find you an apple or an orange or a coconut if you want it instead. You’ll never go hungry while you’re with me.”
My heart fluttered at his words and I leant forward to press a kiss to his lips, grazing my fingers along his jaw as I did so. My family and I had made the most of our situation in the Realm but we’d always been helpless, wishing for the world to be better and surviving against the odds. But when Magnar promised to look after me, I knew he’d do it. I was safe with him in a way I’d never dreamed of being. He’d always love and protect me and I’d do the same for him too.
“Do you two never get tired of each other?” Clarice asked and her tone wasn’t mocking, only inquisitive.
Julius released a low laugh. “You should hear them when they argue. The two of them are as stubborn as each other - I’ve never known my brother to lose an argument before he met this one. But he’s met his match in her.”
Magnar chuckled, taking the bottle of whiskey from his brother and raising it to his lips.
“Well what’s love without passion?” he asked as he offered the bottle to me but I shook my head and he passed it to Clarice instead.
“You think arguing is a good thing?” Clarice mocked as she finished her drink and reached forward to pass it to Julius again. She brushed her fingers against his and he hesitated a moment before drawing away.
“It can be,” Magnar said. “Or are you going to deny the way your blood rises when you bait my brother?”
Julius straightened his spine at the remark and Clarice shook her head in fierce denial.
“I don’t enjoy arguing with him,” she replied. “He’s an arrogant, jumped-up-”
“The two of you should stop dancing around each other,” Magnar said, ignoring her. “Life’s too short.”
Julius frowned at Magnar as if he had no idea what to say. “You can’t seriously be encouraging me to...”
“To what?” Magnar caught my waist and pulled me into his lap. “Be happy? Little brother, I died when I killed Idun. I shouldn’t be here now but I stayed for this woman in my arms. But to remain with her, I have to feed from her. Do you really think I would judge you poorly for loving a vampire after all of that?”
Julius’s gaze slid to Clarice and she fell unnaturally still.
“Loving her?” he asked and I could tell he’d meant it to come out dismissively but his voice was weirdly strained instead.
“Give it up, Brother. It’s written all over your face.” Magnar’s grip tightened on my waist and I leaned against his chest as I tried not to smile.
Julius’s frown deepened. “So you don’t even care that I...”
Magnar shook his head and Julius looked at Clarice again, releasing a heavy breath.
“Fuck it then.” He upended the bottle of whiskey into his mouth and tossed it into the fire with a loud smash.
Julius pushed himself to his feet and crossed the space in front of us in three long strides.
“What are you doing?” Clarice gasped as she gazed up at him.
“Offering you the world apparently. If you want it?” He held his hand out to her and her lips parted as she stared up at him.
The moment hung between them endlessly and I shifted in Magnar’s arms as I worried she was about to turn him down.
“I want it,” Clarice breathed, placing her hand in his.
Julius yanked her to her feet and caught her mouth with his as she coiled her arms around him.
Magnar released a deep laugh and I grinned as he tightened his grip on me.
Clarice moaned with desire and Julius hoisted her into his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands shifted beneath her shirt, pushing the material up at the back and I couldn’t help but laugh as he started to carry her back towards the tents.
I turned to Magnar as we were left alone by the fire and I reached up to cup his face in my hand, grazing my thumb through the stubble I found there.
“You’re a good brother,” I said as I watched the flickering flames reflected in his golden eyes.
“I have my moments,” he agreed with a smile. “Though we may end up regretting that happening.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because now we’re going to have to listen to what they’re getting up to for the rest of the night.”
Clarice cried out in pleasure from the tents behind us and I couldn’t help but laugh as I leaned against Magnar’s chest.
“Well maybe we just need to distract ourselves from it. Besides, you still haven’t fed yet.” I twisted to face him, pressing a kiss to his mouth and I could feel him smiling against my lips.
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Magnar agreed.
I hummed to myself as I woke early and scaled a palm tree at the edge of the beach. I ripped a few coconuts from the top, tossing them down into the sand. Hooking my legs around the narrow trunk, I slid to the ground and scooped up my hoard.
“Are you singing?” Clarice called to me, stepping out of Julius's tent and sashaying towards the embers of the fire. She was definitely wearing his t-shirt.
I fell silent with a grin. “No, I was humming.”
“Humming is a form of singing,” she accused and I shook my head.
“That is wildly incorrect.” I dropped down to sit before the fire, giving her a bemused look. “Did you just walk out of Julius's tent like it was totally normal?”
Clarice bit into her lower lip, her eyes igniting with so much passion and love that my brows lifted.
“Yes,” she whispered, tugging at the hem of Julius's shirt.
My lips hooked up at the corner and as I opened my mouth, she cut over me.
“Don't you dare say I told you so.” She pointed accusingly.
“I wasn't going to.” My smile broadened. “I was going to say I'm thrilled for you. He makes you happy, right?”
She nodded eagerly. “So happy.” She half moaned with some memory and I pursed my lips.
“I don't need the details,” I added.
She sighed dramatically. “A thousand years with no sister to talk to, Erik. Only brothers. You always listened to me before.”
“Yeah, but this is different. Mostly you were just complaining about how no man can satisfy you. But the look in your eyes says your going to tell me something else. And I'm not sure I'm prepared to hear it.”
She crawled closer across the sand with a wild grin. “Come on...you're one of the few people in the world I get to share my secrets with.” She snatched my hand and I tilted my head with a small laugh.
“You can talk to Montana and Callie, you know,” I said.
“Alright,” she huffed and fell quiet. She glanced back towards the tents, her feet digging into the sand as she fiddled with her hair.
I sighed, knowing she was dying to say something. “Go on then,” I encouraged.
She lurched into my arms and pressed her hands down on my shoulder. “He's everything, Erik. By the gods – argh! - what he did to me-” She moaned again and I fought my instincts as I tried not to grimace.
“You know he can probably hear you right now,” I pointed out with a bark of laughter.
“I can!” Julius called from his tent. “Please keep going.”
Clarice laughed and I dragged her into my arms, squeezing her tight. “It's good to see you like this.”
Montana and Callie exited the tents almost simultaneously. Sometimes, they seemed so similar. They were
weirdly tuned into each other, like two halves of one being.
They hurried over and sat either side of me as Clarice dropped back into the sand.
“Morning.” I leant in to kiss Montana and she smiled giddily.
I cracked one of the coconuts against my knee and it broke in half. Callie eyed it with wide yawn and I passed her half of the fruit.
She frowned deeply as she took it. “What the fuck is this? It looks like a hairy-”
“Ballsack?” Julius offered as he stepped out of his tent.
Callie and Montana burst into laughter and I passed my wife the other half of it.
Clarice jumped up and eyed him as if she was unsure if he was going to approach her. He closed the distance between them in half a second, snaring her waist and dragging her into a kiss that was bordering on pornographic.
When they were done with their ungodly display, they dropped down side by side and their hands remained in one another's. “You didn't finish your sentence,” Julius teased her. “What exactly is it I do to you?”
Montana watched them with a grin, sharing a look with Callie as they fell into stifled giggles.
Clarice brushed her fingers down Julius's face with a teasing smile. “Eight orgasms in one night.”
“Clarice,” I hissed, my brow furrowing. I did not wanna hear that.
Julius smirked, glancing at the horizon where the sun was just cresting. “We have time to make it nine.”
Clarice giggled, shaking her head at him.
“What is this?” Callie changed the subject as she gazed down at the fruit in her hand.
“It's a coconut,” I said with a chuckle. “Fruit. You can drink the milk.”
“Fruit milk...” Montana wrinkled her nose and I nudged her. “Shouldn't we keep this for Callie and Julius?”
“There's plenty for everyone,” I said. “Try it.”
She took a swig and Callie mimicked her. Their eyes lit up at the same time and I grinned in satisfaction.
“I want!” Julius lunged toward us, kicking up sand over our knees. He took his sword from his hip, swinging it down in a fierce arc and slashing another one of the coconuts in half.
“You're spilling it.” I snatched up the two pieces before any more was lost to the sand and handed him one.
He drank deeply and I sipped from my own, the sugary taste floating across my tongue.
Magnar appeared from his tent as Clarice moved to pick up the other coconut, breaking it open on her knee.
“Ah...I remember these.” Magnar took a half as Clarice offered it. “We ate many when we first came upon this land.”
I eyed him intently, thinking back on those days. “It can't have been far from here.”
Magnar nodded, his jaw tightening. “Remember the first time we found one?” he asked Julius.
Julius laughed, nodding enthusiastically as he rounded on the group to tell the story. “We made camp on the beach and Aelfric slept under a palm tree. A coconut came right down on his head in the night and he had a welt on his brow for days.”
Magnar laughed then looked out across the sea. “I miss him...all of them.”
“I'm sure they had a wonderful life,” Julius said, his eyes growing dark as his gaze swung to me. “So long as none of you got your teeth into them.”
“We avoided the slayers for a hundred years after Valentina brought news of your deaths,” I said. “No more of your friends died at our hands.”
“That's something at least,” Magnar grumbled.
“Where are Fabian and Chickoa?” I glanced around the camp, wanting to change the subject.
“They haven't come back since they went to talk last night,” Clarice said.
“They seem to be getting along better,” Montana said with a smile.
I grinned at her tone, hoping Fabian had found a resolution with Chickoa. It had only taken him a thousand years...
I finished the remains of my coconut, rising to my feet and starting to pack up our gear. The clouds were out today so at least we wouldn't have to carry anyone to the holy mountain. From the ring's assessment I'd estimated we were thirty miles or so from its location now. I remembered these lands well. The swamps were our next challenge, but we'd come this far and so long as we continued to avoid Valentina, we should be fit to make it within the day.
I was sad to be leaving the beach behind, a part of me wanted to remain here and bask in its beauty a while longer. But we had a task to do. And it was time we completed it.
Four hours was all it took to reach the swamps. The heat in the air was thick and wafting, a dampness clinging to our skin. Julius and Callie were the ones who had to weather out the discomfort of it. If we did break the curse I knew we were all going to have to face these trials on our way home too. But I would have taken any heat, any sweat and blister or bruise just to feel human again. To have my heart beat solidly in my chest, promising me growth and change with every thump. I wanted to age, strange as that was. But I'd been this same being for so many years and it was unnatural. I yearned for mortal flesh that tanned and burned and bled human blood.
With every stride we took, that longing in me grew more fierce. It was close now. Closer than it had ever been. To think I could ever have found the answer to the prophecy another way was delusional. It was always meant to be this way. Montana and Callie were supposed to be in our lives. And maybe the slayer brothers were too. I was bound to those two men, our fates had been entwined our entire lives and I was glad we finally walked the same path. No longer enemies, but friends. And I was starting to think I'd never want them to leave when this was over.
None of us had discussed what we'd do if we truly broke the curse. Would we part ways? And if so, I didn't think Montana and Callie would choose to separate from each other for the sake of Magnar and I...
I gazed at the back of Magnar's head as we charted a path through the swamp, vines hanging everywhere and dipping into the water we waded through. The persistent call of cicadas filled the air and it reminded me of the time I'd lived in a village south of here. The one we'd named ourselves after. Bel Vedere.
I moved to Magnar's side and he nodded as he noted my arrival. The rest of the group had fallen behind but I was grateful for a moment alone with him, feeling it was time to voice my thoughts on our futures.
“I've been wondering...when this is done, what will you do? Where will you go?”
Magnar grunted, not looking at me as he used one of his swords to cut a path through the vines hanging over the murky water. “Wherever Callie goes.”
I rested my hand on his back and he stilled, turning to me. I gave him a slanted smile. “I just want you to know, you have a home owed to you. From me. Anywhere you want. It's done.”
He eyed me curiously then placed a hand on my shoulder, nodding in affirmation.
“I suppose we'll not see so much of each other after this,” I said vaguely, wondering if he was going to contradict me, and kind of hoping he would.
He chuckled deeply, squeezing my arm. “Who knows, Belvedere. Maybe we'll be neighbours.” He started striding away and I followed after him with a grin.
“You'll be my brother-in-law when you marry Callie,” I said teasingly.
He glanced back over his shoulder, his eyebrows lifting. “I never thought of that...we'll be family.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And if Julius marries my sister, you will be her brother-in-law too.”
Magnar released a laugh. “Damn, how am I to avoid it?”
“Do you wish to?” I asked.
He remained quiet in thought a moment and I wondered if my jibing had gone too far. Maybe the slayer could never bear to join my family.
“Perhaps I'm starting to see you as a brother already, so it won't be much different,” Magnar mused at last and I released a breath of laughter, unable to believe how far we’d come from pledging to kill one another.
“I'm not sure I'll mind that at all,” I said, the amusement falling from my tone.
; Magnar stilled, turning back to me with his brows pulled sharply together. “Me either, Brother.”
The day slid by and I took every final moment of our journey to delight in Montana's company. With each step we took now, instead of hope, doubt was blossoming inside me. What if this was all some big joke by the gods? Or what if we found the mountain and instead of the answers to our prayers, we only found more riddles and prophecies to drive us mad?
We'd reached drier land at last, moving through a forest so thick that the sun couldn't penetrate it, even if it had been out. But the sun had started to set and we hadn't stopped. We were too close. A mile or less now. And there was no going back, no more nights under the stars, no more delaying the inevitable. The mountain was waiting for us and it was time we faced it.
Montana walked at my side, my hand around hers as we traversed the path that seemed to guide our feet, as if we were fated to walk it. And perhaps we were.
“I haven't said I love you today,” I murmured, gripping her fingers tighter.
“That's true,” she said with a teasing smile. “You'd better say it then.”
I brushed away the hair from her ear, leaning in so my mouth was right against it. “I love you.”
She released a slow breath as if my words caused a physical reaction in her.
“I love you too,” she said, her expression serious as she turned to me. I sensed a tension growing between us and I bopped her on the nose to break it. No point dwelling on the impossible pressure of our situation. I just wanted to soak in her smile, her laugh, all the light in her.
“I don't want to see a single frown on your face today,” I ordered and she giggled softly, her shoulder knocking into mine.
Callie glanced back at us from where she was walking with Magnar and I sensed they were having a similar conversation to ours. All the words that needed to be said...just in case.
“We're going to call our first child Miles,” Montana announced and my heart ached at her words.
“What if it's a girl?” I asked.
“I quite like Warren for a girl,” she mused.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 183