“Sure, I’m up for a swim,” Halla chirped, flouncing along in one direction while Tess headed in another, just like she did in the tunnel earlier. Almost as if she knew where she was going.
“Thanks to Eirik letting me look through his mind’s eye,” Soren said, “I’ve seen a bit of the Realm.” He frowned. “I thought only the ash was in the direction Tess is going?”
Rokar shrugged, unsure because he’d chosen not to learn about the Realm when he should have.
“Why should you have?” Tess said into his mind, following his thoughts. “When you and I seem to spend more time in other worlds and in our memories?” Her eyes met his when he came alongside. “Besides, I get why you didn’t learn the lay of the land sooner. It meant meeting your mate, and you weren't ready for that. Mainly because you thought that meant letting Helga go.” She nodded. “I probably would’ve put it off too if I were you.”
“It was still foolish putting off something inevitable,” he replied. “I should have learned the Realm like Eirik did. Prepared for every eventuality.”
“A lot of good that would’ve done you with the way it apparently shifts around,” she teased before she grew serious again. “And for what it’s worth, our meeting doesn’t mean you have to let Helga and Bjárr go. You can always share your memories...and I’ll always listen.”
He nodded, grateful for her words. “The same goes for Leah. Always. You might not have had long with her, but even in pregnancy, every moment matters.”
Though tempted to say she could talk about Axle too, he bit his tongue. While he remained angry with the man, he began to suspect there was more to this than met the eye. It was too coincidental that they had lost so much to this storm. Not only that, though as a whole, she didn't stay with any man too long, Tess had allowed herself to get pregnant by him. That meant she’d cared a great deal about him at one time. More so, she trusted him, and such didn’t come easily to her. So he surmised in the beginning, Axle was probably a good man and dragon, but something changed him. Something dark.
Something influenced by that damn storm.
Though he held his tongue, for now, they would have to speak more about it soon. He needed to understand Tess better. Her driving force before she met Axle, and then what happened the longer they were together. Anything that may have triggered what ultimately happened.
“Sex triggered it,” she said dryly, following his thoughts readily enough. Her eyes widened as she spoke. “Or, as Axle liked to say, maybe it was the crazy weather.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“JESUS,” TESS WHISPERED. She crouched and held her head, shocked she hadn’t put this together sooner. Yes, she’d been in heat and wanted to become pregnant with Axle's child, but now it seemed there was more to it. Because the storm had raged. Something she barely noted at the time but saw clearly now. “Every step of the damned way that storm has been there, hasn’t it?”
“Not at the tree in Lake Placid,” came a welcome voice. A soft hand landed on her shoulder. “It wasn’t there, Sis and I think that means something.”
“Kenz,” she managed, never more glad to see this particular sister.
“C’mere, you.” Kenzie pulled her up into an embrace, offering the sort of ‘middle sister’ comfort she’d always been good at. Sure, she could piss Tess off on occasion, but Kenz always gave it to her straight.
Tess held on tight and caught her up telepathically on everything, squeezing back tears before they had a chance to fall. Now was the time to be strong not a wuss over a spooky storm that seemed to control far too much of her life. That took too much from her.
“I’m okay,” she finally murmured, and pulled away, nodding. “I really am.”
“Hell, no, you’re not, and that’s okay.” Kenzie’s sympathetic eyes stayed with Tess’s. “This has been a bitch of a ride for all of us but most of all, you and Rokar.” Her misty eyes flickered from Rokar to her. “But you’re not in it alone.” She shook her head. “We’ve all got your backs.”
“Thanks,” she managed before it occurred to her not just Kenzie, but Eirik was here. “Hey, what are you two doing here, anyway? I thought Sven, wise king that he is, wanted you to stay put at the Fortress?”
“Based on Shea and Davyn appearing then Halla and Pierce vanishing shortly before us,” Kenzie replied, “I think this is out of Sven and Emily’s hands.” She shook her head. “We have no idea what shifted us here.”
“Which is unfortunate for King Sven,” Halla said. “Considering the Great Serpent picked him and Emily to lead his war.”
“And they have,” Eirik said. “As much as they can in a war being played out by ancient enemies.”
“Right,” Kenzie echoed, her eyes still on Tess. “But there are allies in this war, aren’t there? More as time goes on?”
“Assuming my former self convinced the head elf to help me...us,” Tess said. “Because it didn’t sound too promising.”
“Yet we’re here now so she...you must have,” Eirik said. “And even if you didn’t, the elves are helping here and now as are many others.”
Kenzie grinned. “And more by the moment.”
When Tess looked at her in question, Kenzie shared the unexpected.
“It turns out Soren’s instincts about Ava being safe in the future were right on the mark,” she explained. “A MacLomain showed up.”
Soren’s eyes narrowed at the same time as Tess’s.
“A MacLomain?”
“Yeah.” Kenzie gave her a pointed look while they continued walking. “As in the guy Sage’s sister Jessie ended up with. The one who helped her and Håkon on their adventure.”
She nodded, then frowned. “I thought his name was Bryce MacLeod?”
“It is,” Kenzie said. “But he’s half MacLomain.” She gestured at Eirik, Rokar, and Soren. “The Sigdir’s are the MacLomain’s Viking ancestors.”
“Right.” She glanced at the men before she managed a wry grin. “So more guys like them but in kilts?”
“So I hear,” Kenzie said.
Soren came alongside, his brows knit. “Is Bryce with your sister, then? And how do you know of this?”
Tess smirked at Soren’s troubled curiosity.
“Nope, not Bryce. The guy with her is named Tiernan,” Kenzie divulged. “Apparently he’s son to their chieftain, Adlin. From what I hear, Tiernan’s a damn powerful wizard.”
“But not dragon,” Soren grunted, his expression uncharacteristically sour. “How can a wizard protect her against the likes of Skáld’s minions?”
“As ye know from when Adlin and Grant traveled through time and visited us over the years, a wizard can do things we cannot, Cousin,” Eirik reminded. “Our magic is different.”
“Not only that,” Rokar added, “Tiernan's is the magic of our descendant. That might make all the difference.”
When everyone glanced at him in question, he shrugged. “He might be a wizard, but he carries our blood. Might that not inspire him to combat any threat against us? Because if we perish, Tiernan does too, yes? And I imagine his magic senses that.”
“Good point,” Tess said, catching on. “Because his magic would inherently want, no need, to protect you Sigdirs.”
“That’s sound thinking,” Leviathan said. “The MacLomains would, by affiliation, be as tied into this as we Ancients.”
When Soren’s frown only grew, Tess reminded him of his own conviction. “You felt Ava was safe. You did your best to convince me of it.” She arched a brow. “Looking back on it, I’d say your dragon knew she was in good, unthreatening hands.”
“Meaning it would make no sense for Tiernan to hit on her,” Kenzie chimed in. “Not if his clan descends from what you two might create together.”
“It all leads back to lying together, does it not?” Halla piped up and winked at Pierce. Meanwhile, he offered her a small smile and made no move to put distance between them.
Tess bit back her own smile when Rokar’s thoughts drifted through her m
ind about Pierce and Halla. Davyn, with his big brother tendencies, wasn’t along, and the rest of them were fine with the love connection. So if Pierce ever thought to make a move on Halla, this little jaunt through the Realm would be the time.
“So a lot’s happened on both fronts,” Kenzie said. They continued toward the flaming ash, its fiery leaves drawing Tess despite the need to keep her distance and cool down. “But I’m glad to see you’re you again.” She didn’t miss the sadness her sister tried to hide because of Tess’s loss. “You seem more like your old self than ever right now.”
She nodded, feeling more like herself than she had in a long time. “I am.” She glanced at Rokar. “In fact, and I know it sounds strange, but I feel more like me than ever before.” Her eyes returned to Kenzie. “If that makes any kind of sense.”
“It does,” Kenzie said softly, eying her with a look she couldn’t quite figure out. So Tess called her on it.
“What is it, Sis?” She started to say she wasn't quite ready to elaborate on Leah, but Kenzie cut her off.
“No, not until you’re ready.” Kenzie shook her head. “What I was going to say is you remind me of the way you were...then.”
She cocked her head in confusion. “Then?”
“Yeah,” Kenzie said. “Then...before you saw the burning tree...”
“Seriously?” She frowned, not so sure about that. Not wanting to believe it went back that far.
“Yes,” Kenzie said. “You’re you again.”
“What do you mean, me again?”
“You’re you.” Her sister sighed, trying to be gentle. “Though it was subliminal, you started to change a little after you saw the flaming tree.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“How so?”
“For starters, you went from liking nice guys to bad boys.”
“I was fourteen and changeable,” she reminded, “like any teenage dragon.”
“True,” Kenzie said. “But you were noticeably different. Tougher and more flirtatious. The ‘you’ before the tree wouldn’t have stolen guys from friends. The one after didn’t hesitate.”
Granted, she was a bit of a bitch, but still. “Again, teenage dragon hormones.”
“Maybe.” Kenzie shook her head. “But I don’t think so considering your former dragon’s disposition and how that tree has clearly followed you through life.”
Tess gestured at their surroundings. “So you think all of this actually began years ago? Not more recently, when the prophecy first sparked?”
“Between the tree and storm haunting you and Rokar, I’d say so,” Kenzie said. “Our serpent ancestor has been playing one hell of a long game.”
“Ya think?” Her sister was right, though. “Which makes you wonder if our Ancestral DNA started activating a lot sooner than we thought.”
She was about to say more when she spied the ash through the trees and starting walking faster, suddenly eager to see it up close. It didn’t go over her head that Rokar remained by her side, his hand resting on the hilt of a sheathed weapon.
“Look at that,” she said, awed when she broke the tree line and stared up at the glorious flaming tree.
“Loki’s cock.” Rokar’s eyes widened as he looked up as well. “It’s partially aflame!”
“Only partially?” Not that she was complaining. Something was better than nothing. “That’s got to be a step in the right direction...I hope.”
Everyone looked from Rokar and Tess to the tree, obviously still seeing the ash differently.
Rokar's eyes met hers. “Even if I never saw it aflame, you wouldn’t be alone in this, Tess. I would not allow that.”
Warmth washed over her at the look in his eyes. The undeniable ever-growing connection she felt with him. Sure, there were physical fireworks aplenty, but this was more than that. An intimate bond she didn’t recognize because she had never felt it before. Then there was the flustered breathless way she felt around him. As if she had just run a marathon. She’d felt something similar with Axle at the beginning, but not surprisingly, it was far stronger with Rokar.
Which told her walking away from him would be damn hard.
“Will you be walking away in the end then?” he murmured, catching her thoughts.
She couldn’t seem to find her tongue to respond mainly because she feared she might have no choice. They might not. And it wasn’t for lack of wanting to take a mate but because of something dark. Sinister.
“I think whatever I’m feeling is connected to our former life,” she replied softly. “I think we’re facing the same horrible end our family and their mates did.”
“Their end was not so terrible in this life though.” His eyes never left hers. “They just had to get through the past to find each other again.”
She nodded, understanding that, but still fearful for reasons she couldn’t explain. Or could she? “I suppose it doesn’t help any that I was Níðhöggr’s daughter and ended up with Skáld.”
“That is some heavy shit,” Kenzie said under her breath. “Though you don’t know for sure if you were with Skáld yet.”
“No,” Rokar agreed. “If we’re to go off the conversation with the elf, it sounds like you might have been trying to get away from Skáld.”
“I don’t know about that,” she murmured. “I think I was trying to get others off Múspellsheimr, but I’m not so sure that included me.”
“You were up to something unexpected,” Rokar said. “I felt that strongly.”
When she looked at him in question, he went on. “I think your dragon had felt love but claimed she hadn't for a reason. Our dragons were conspiring, Tess.” He shook his head. “I just don't know what about.”
“If what we glimpsed earlier by the waterfall was how we felt about each other, then I agree.” She frowned. “I just wish I knew what we were up to...what I was up to.” Her eyes shot to his back. “Hey, we didn’t talk about your back hurting back in the tunnel.” Though she sensed it was better, she remained concerned. “How's it doing now? Are you okay?””
“There’s no pain,” he assured.
Leviathan’s dragon eyes flared when Rokar lifted the back of his jerkin, revealing more color in the First Blade.
“Skáld’s mark is looking rough.” Tess grinned at Rokar. “The Blade has more red, but the dragon tat seems less vibrant. It still matches your eyes, but now it’s less threatening somehow.”
He met her grin. “This is good, yes?”
She nodded, about to respond when a fiery leaf caught her attention. It blew off the ash and drifted. Overheated again in a flash, she followed it back the way they had come.
“Where are you going, Sis?” Kenzie called, but all she could focus on was the leaf as she grew warmer, eager to cool down.
“The land’s changed,” Soren remarked while they followed her. Instead of the leaf leading her back to the cave, she arrived at several small interconnected lakes surrounded by large, willow-like trees and shaded alcoves.
The sizzling leaf danced this way and that until it landed in the middle of the lake, and returned to a normal green leaf. The water shimmered not only the color of Rokar’s eyes but fiery and sparkly all at once.
Then, yet again, all hell broke loose.
Chapter Twenty-Two
EVERYONE ENGAGED IN battle as rogue Åruds came from all directions, crashing together with Magnus at the lead. By the looks of it, both allied and enemy warriors had followed him here. He took up arms alongside Rokar and his kin. Usually, his dragon magic started draining almost immediately around the sorcerer but not this time.
Rather, he felt empowered as he cut down man after man.
Tess held her own. She slashed her blade across one warrior’s mid-section then turned and battled another. Where had all these Årud's come from? Then again, they never knew where they came from.
He sliced his axe across one man’s throat before nicking another with his dagger then driving it through the te
nder area beneath his chin. As his enemy fell to his knees, Rokar side-kicked another before he leapt on him and finished him off. The fighting was swift with Magnus’s men outnumbering those who attacked, and the battling ended in little time.
Breathing heavily, Rokar scanned the area, but none were left alive.
“He is closing in on you, child,” Vigdis said to Tess. She had appeared out of nowhere, her eyes black with Ancient Matter. That meant Níðhöggr was possessing her. “He is finding his way back to you.”
Unafraid, Tess white-knuckled her blood-stained weapons and met Vigdis’s eyes with recognition. “It’s you...” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Father.”
Though Níðhöggr offered no response, Vigdis trembled, sadness flickering in her eyes. There could be no doubt the Great Serpent responded strongly to Tess.
“Follow the fiery ash.” His voice rasped with emotion as it manipulated the seer’s vocal chords. “Follow it until you find your way back to your defiance. To all you set in motion, Daughter.”
Anger warred with heartache in Vigdis’s eyes before she roared, “Find your way back to death,” then she leaned over and coughed out oily black smoke that dissipated a chant later.
Rokar closed the distance, there for Tess if she needed support after such a confrontation, but her stance remained strong. She began cleaning her weapons, her chin notched with the very defiance the Great Serpent just referred to. All in all, her demeanor was remarkably calm considering she’d just spoken with her former father.
“Are you okay, Sis?” Kenzie said softly, eying Tess with concern. When she didn’t respond but kept slowly, methodically wiping her blade as though in deep, angry thought, Rokar tried to get through to her.
“Tess? Is all well, woman?”
She stopped and appeared to think about that for a moment before her eyes slowly rose to his. Her inner dragon flared, her words different, and her gaze unseeing. “I will do what I must, Father. You cannot stop me.”
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