“Rath!” Kas gasped as she sat up and grabbed my arm. “Are you okay?”
Blar huffed and rolled back over, but Inger and Uffe didn’t even stir.
“What’s wrong?” Asta asked as she gripped my other arm.
“There was a dragon,” I said through ragged breaths. “He was in trouble.”
“You saw him in your dream?” Kas asked, and her violet eyes widened as she stared at me.
“He was in a cell, and he was terrified.” I shook my head. “Somebody came to get him, and they threw this torch into the room, but it was burning some sort of herb. It made me sleepy, and I fell over.”
“It’s okay.” Asta frowned and rubbed on my arm. “You’re okay. We’ll find the dragon somehow and save him.”
“Do you know where he is?” Kas asked, and anger flashed like lightning in her eyes.
“I don’t know.” I swallowed and ran a hand through my sweaty hair.
“You said you were in a cell, right?” the strawberry-blonde asked. “Or rather, the dragon, he was in a cell?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Was there anything else around you?” Kas pushed. “Think about the small details you saw. What stood out?”
I thought back to being inside the cell. I could still see it clearly, but I didn’t see any markings on the wall, or anything that would tell me where I was. I couldn’t even be sure if it was night or day since I was in a dungeon of some sort, probably underground.
I focused on the footsteps, and my hand clenched when I thought about the terror the dragon had felt. That didn’t help me, though. I needed to figure out where he was, so I pushed my anger to the side and focused on what I saw when the man arrived. He was just a black shape at first, but then something came into view.
“I know where he is,” I said grimly.
Chapter 17
“Where?” Kas asked. “We should go save him.”
“He’s in Asta’s homeworld,” I answered. “But I don’t know where in the realm he’s at.”
“How do you know he’s there?” the strawberry-blonde asked.
“The man who came to get me,” I explained. “At first, he just appeared to be a black figure since the light was coming from behind him, but when I focused back on it, I realized his ears stuck out. I didn’t notice at first because I was so focused on the terror the dragon was feeling, but he had elf ears.”
“I’m not surprised.” Asta frowned and lowered her eyes. “My realm has put the dragons through a great injustice. My people are not all good.”
“Not your fault,” Kas said softly, and she reached out and placed her hand on Asta’s.
“She’s right,” I told the white-haired elf girl. “None of this is your fault. You’re not responsible for the actions of your people.”
“I know that.” She nodded. “But it’s hard to be proud of what I am and where I come from when I carry this burden with me. I’m just glad I’m here with you. Now, I can help free the dragons so they can live free as they should.”
“That’s your destiny.” I smiled and lifted her chin up so her yellow eyes met mine. “It doesn’t matter what your people have done, it only matters what you do. I’m glad you’re here with me, too.”
“We will make this right.” Her bright-yellow eyes bored into mine, and I leaned down and gently pressed my lips against hers.
“It’s getting light out,” Kas said, and I looked to the window to see she was correct. The faint blue light of dawn was just barely visible through the glass. “We should head to my father’s shop.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. The sooner we got the amulet made for me, the sooner I could figure out how to use my powers of my own accord.
“It’s good your powers worked when you were sleeping.” Asta smiled. “The amulet will help even more.”
“It is good,” Kas chuckled. “But if it continues, I don’t know if Rath will be getting much sleep.”
“Oh.” The elf girl frowned. “This is not good.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her with a laugh. The elf girl still hadn’t gotten accustomed to our teasing each other just yet.
“Should we wake them up?” Kas asked, and she looked at each of the little dragons.
Uffe was still at our feet curled up into a ball. His little back rose and fell with his deep breaths, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sweet little earth dragon.
Inger laid sprawled out next to Asta with her neck and head strewn across the elf girl’s thigh, and she lazily opened one eye, saw me looking at her, sighed, and closed it again.
Blar still laid between Kas and me, and his long body took up half the length of us. He laid on his back with his little feet in the air, and his head was cocked to one side. His little mouth was half open, and I could hear his little snores. As I watched, his front paws twitched, and his mouth formed an O as if he were breathing fire in his sleep.
“Blar,” I chuckled and poked the little lizard softly. “Wake up.”
The little blue dragon snorted and startled himself awake when I poked him. He looked at me with a disgruntled expression and then closed his eyes again.
“Blar,” I said, more sternly this time. “We need to get going.”
The dragon let out a deep sigh and rolled away from me.
“You know, his attitude is getting out of control,” Kas laughed.
“You come here,” I chuckled and grabbed the little lizard. He tried to scurry away, but it was too late, I already had a hold of him.
I pulled him to my chest and held him close for a second while he wriggled and tried to get away. Then I pushed him up into the air, and he caught himself with his wings and hovered above me for a second before he landed on the counter and glared at me.
“At least he’s up now.” Asta grinned.
“Problem solved,” I snickered before I got up, got dressed, and let the girls wake up Uffe and Inger while I picked some fresh fruit for us for breakfast. I wasn’t going to bother cooking this morning since I wanted to get to Ramir’s as soon as possible, but I knew Blar would be mad if he didn’t get something to eat. The little reptile was always ravenous, especially in the mornings.
I gathered some peaches and apples for us and filled my water pouch up for the walk by the time the girls made it out to me.
Asta wore a short dark-blue dress I’d never seen before cinched around her tiny waist, and it was a stark contrast to her bright-yellow eyes and vibrant white hair. Her pale skin looked beautiful against the deep blue of the dress, and the skirt part was short on her long legs so plenty of her thighs showed for me to look at. She had her boots on and her sword on her hip, but she hadn’t bothered to put her armor on since we were only headed to Ramir’s. Her long white hair was pulled back into a large braid, and two smaller braids hung down in front of her ears.
“Asta, you look beautiful.” I smiled. “I’ve never seen that dress before, when did you get that?”
“It’s your tunic,” the elf girl laughed. “I found it in the cottage, I hope you don’t mind.”
My eyes widened, and I took a second look at the dress she wore. Upon closer inspection, I realized she was correct, the tunic was definitely mine. It was one of the ones I used to wear with my warband, but it looked much better cinched around her slender body than it ever had on me.
“Of course not,” I chuckled. “It fits you well.”
“Kas helped me,” Asta said. “She used her illusion magic to make it fit tighter around my breasts and hips.”
“Kas will have to use that illusion magic more often,” I teased.
“I had never really thought to apply it to clothing.” The Valkyrie shrugged. “It was all Asta’s idea.”
Even though the strawberry-blonde wore the same white tunic she had the day before, she still looked utterly beautiful. Her long curls hung around her face in a wildly sexy way, and her full, pouty lips were pink and parted ever so slightly. The white fabric of her tunic was nearly see-through, and I had no
trouble imagining what was underneath it. Her greatsword on her hip made her look fierce, which only made me want her that much more, and with Uffe on her shoulder, it completed the badass look. She was definitely someone I’d want in my warband.
“You look beautiful as well,” I told the strawberry-blonde.
“Thanks.” Kas blushed slightly and looked down at the fruit I’d set on the ground. “Are we ready to go, then?”
“I think we are.” I nodded, but then I looked around and realized there was something missing. “Where’s Blar and Inger?”
“Blar, come on,” Kas sighed and threw her hands up in exasperation. “I’m not coming back in there to get you.”
I waited but didn’t see the little dragon or his female counterpart, and I was about to step toward the door when Kas yelled and startled me.
“Blar, you get your little blue butt out here, or no breakfast for you!” the Valkyrie shouted.
A second later, Blar and Inger appeared in the doorway. The little blue dragon’s eyes were narrowed to slits, and he stomped his way over to the group and sat down, but he made sure to make a show of specifically not looking at Kas.
Inger yawned and followed Blar over to us. The little red dragon was clearly still sleepy, but she wasn’t about to miss breakfast, either.
“Whoa, Kas,” I laughed.
“He can be mad all he wants,” she huffed. “But we need to get going.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blar turn around and stick his tongue out at the Valkyrie.
“Hey!” Kas shouted as she spun toward him, but he’d already turned away and was pretending nothing happened. “Ooohhh.”
Kas narrowed her eyes and seethed, and I stifled a laugh. She and Blar loved each other, I could feel both of their emotions, so I knew it was true, and even though they weren’t the same species, they seemed to bicker like siblings. I’d never actually had a sibling to compare it to, but I’d known a few brothers in my warband, and Kas and Blar’s playful arguing reminded me of the way the brothers had fought with each other.
“Alright,” I laughed. “Let’s go.”
The sun was fully up when we left the house and walked toward town. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect. The sun shone and splashed warmth onto my bare arms, but a slight breeze kept me nice and cool.
Uffe rode on Kas’ shoulder until we got to town, but Blar and Inger walked ahead of us the entire way. Once we got to the market, all three of the little dragons ate up the attention they received from the children and adults alike.
Dogs weren’t very common in Asgard, so everyone always wanted to stop and pet them. I suspected it was because they weren’t originally from this realm but were instead brought from Midgard on various missions. My neighbor’s dogs had come from Midgard as a surprise from her late husband. She’d told me how he’d found them after a battle and knew she’d love them, so he’d brought them home.
Apparently, in Midgard dogs didn’t live very long, but my neighbor had an enchantment placed on her dogs so they’d live a full Asgardian life instead of the measly ten or twenty years, or however long it was they’d live on Midgard.
It was funny to watch everyone get worked up over the little dragons when I could see exactly what they were. Children rubbed their faces against Blar’s horns, and adults offered them food and rubbed behind their nonexistent ears. If only people could see what they were really giving their attention to, I wondered how many of them would still eagerly run up to pet the little creatures.
By midmorning, we’d made it to Ramir’s shop, and the bell chimed as I opened the door and stepped through.
“Father,” Kas called out as she stepped through the doorway behind me. “We need you to-- oh.”
Kas’ sentence fell short when she saw Eira standing at the counter and her father on the other side.
“I’m so sorry,” the Valkyrie apologized. “I didn’t realize you were with a customer.”
“It’s quite alright,” Eira said, though I didn’t think Kas had apologized to her so much as her father. “We’re nearly done here.”
“Does Eira usually come to your father’s shop?” Asta whispered.
“I’ve seen her here a time or two,” Kas answered in hushed tones. “But not for a while.”
On the counter was a silver chain with a deep red pendant shaped like an owl’s head.
“What are you getting?” Asta asked with a sweet smile, and she stepped up to look at Eira’s wares.
“A necklace,” the warband leader said, and she cocked an eyebrow at Asta’s invasion of her personal space.
“Oh, it’s beautiful.” Asta picked up the necklace and turned it over carefully in her hand.
“It’s enchanted,” the redhead said. “To give me owl vision in battle.”
“It will look wonderful on you.” Asta smiled. “Would you like help putting it on?”
“Uh, no,” Eira murmured, and her cheeks flushed the faintest bit like she was slightly taken aback by Asta’s offer. “I think I’ll just take it with me.”
“Are you sure?” the elf girl pushed. “It’s no trouble, I’d love to see it on you. The red will look so pretty with your hair.”
“That’s okay,” Eira said, and she slammed a couple of silver pieces on the counter and shoved the necklace into her pocket.
I thought it was odd Eira was acting so strange about the necklace, but then I thought about how I’d never actually seen her wear any kind of jewelry. If she used enchanted jewelry in battle, I figured I would know since I’d fought with her so often, but I’d never seen her wear anything except a tunic and her armor.
Even now, all she wore was a short light-pink tunic, and as I looked her over, I couldn’t help but notice her beauty.
The redhead’s long hair hung in waves down her back, and the blush color of her tunic complimented her locks and pale skin beautifully. The outfit revealed a large portion of her muscular and creamy thighs, which was new. I usually saw her with pants on under her tunics, but today her skin was on display, and it looked so soft I wanted to reach out and touch it. Her cleavage was also showing, and I had to contain my excitement when I realized I hadn’t seen much of it before. Her curves were always visible no matter what she wore, but today she looked especially sexy, and I had to blink and look away so I didn’t continue to stare.
“We’re here for jewelry, too, actually,” Asta laughed. “Isn’t that funny we’d bump into you here looking for the same thing?”
“Eira’s been here every day this week,” Ramir said from behind the counter.
“Oh,” Kas said, and her violet eyes widened. “My father’s enchantments are quite powerful, you might want to be careful.”
“I’ve already warned her,” Ramir assured his daughter, and then he smiled playfully at Eira. “But it doesn’t look like she’s using any of them anyways. Collecting them now, perhaps.”
“Perhaps,” Eira said through gritted teeth, and she glared at Ramir.
I was confused for a second, but then I realized the old man was dropping hints for me. He was trying to tell me Eira had been there waiting to see us again.
At least I thought that’s what he was saying. I didn’t want to flatter myself, but I’d never seen Eira wear jewelry, and why else would she come back every day for a week?
“So, Rath,” Eira said, and her hips swayed as she walked over to me. “How are your new… dogs?”
“They’re fine,” I chuckled.
Blar ran up and put his front paws on Eira’s shin so the redhead leaned down and scratched under his chin.
“I remember you,” she said. “I met you in Jotunheim.”
“Right.” I nodded.
“I’m guessing these are the same kind of dogs?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You’d be correct,” I said.
“I didn’t realize you were raising them.” Eira’s green eyes looked me up and down, and it caused my heart rate to spike.
“Yeah,�
�� I said, and I rubbed the back of my neck. “It wasn’t planned, but I like it.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said, and she licked her plump lips.
I was sure it was inadvertent, but it was still sexy, and my heart sped up even more.
Inger and Uffe made their way over to the redhead to get some pets as well, and Eira crouched down to rub along their backs.
“I wish I could see through their enchantments,” she sighed before she pointed to Blar. “I remember you were blue. What color are the other ones?”
“They’re both red,” I answered.
“Boys?” she asked, and Inger pulled her head back as if she were utterly offended. “Oh, I’m sorry, you must be girls.”
“She’s a girl,” I chuckled. “That’s Inger. The other one is Uffe, who is a boy.”
“Good names,” Eira complimented.
“Maybe when you come over for dinner, we can take the enchantment off for a minute so you can see,” Asta offered. “We can do that, right, Kas?”
“Of course.” The Valkyrie smiled. “We’d love to have you.”
“Rath really is a wonderful cook,” Asta said. “You have to come see for yourself.”
“How’s tonight?” Eira asked, but she didn’t look at either of the girls. Her green eyes stayed locked onto mine.
“Perfect!” Asta squealed. “I’m sure Rath can whip up something special for us.”
“Here,” Kas said, and she pulled out a piece of paper from her satchel and held her hand over it for a second while she muttered a spell. “This will guide you to our home.”
“I think I know where it is,” the redhead said, but she still took the paper and then looked me up and down once more before she walked toward the door. “See you tonight.”
With that, the warband leader was gone.
I could feel my face was slightly hot with embarrassment, but I tried to push it aside. I’d wanted Eira for a long time, and the girls had already told me to go after her, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon. The warband leader had never seen my house before, and while I loved it, I wasn’t sure I was prepared to have her over. I wanted to impress her, but now I had barely any time to do it.
Dragons of Asgard 2 Page 26