He felt her quickly repressed flash of disappointment when she realized this was more likely related to the dragon on their sail than Leah. He didn’t blame her for hoping, though. Especially not after what happened on Kenzie’s and Eirik’s adventure. How their children seemed to reach out from the afterlife via their sail. In the end, however, they learned from Hel the dragon faces represented a singular flame formed of mating on Múspellsheimr in their previous life. The blend of souls and minds.
“What of Skáld’s mark?” he asked Tess.
“Faded even more.”
He nodded, glad to hear it though he worried about Sven’s blade. “The storm's colors are in this too.”
“Which means the same as them being in your eyes,” Tess said softly. “Good or bad, everything’s coming together.”
“Not just that,” Emily gestured at the blade, “it’s coming together with the help of a sword touched not only by Odin’s Asgard and Múspellsheimr but by Thor and Níðhöggr.”
“Odin,” Rokar murmured. “The only god who stands between Múspellsheimr and Midgard...the defender of this world against creatures incapable of love.”
“And here we are caught in an age-old Burn of Transition that proved once upon a time it happened.” Tess's eyes met Rokar’s. “Which meant Odin allowed it.” She looked to the sail then the ocean beyond. “We need to get to the root of precisely what he allowed which means going all the way...”
She was right. He looked to the water and took stock of how far they had truly come. Their personalities seemed to have evened out, and to a degree, they were becoming the people they were supposed to be. Even so, the past was not entirely behind them yet. The churning waves and deep sea that had taken his family reminded him well of that.
Her eyes met his, and she took his hand. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
And she would. He could see it in the way she looked at him. Feel it in her soul. She would relive those horrible moments with him. She’d give him the strength to battle old demons and face horrors gone by.
“I’m ready.” He brushed his lips across hers, all too aware of the storm churning outside and the difficult journey that lay ahead in more ways than one. “We should go.”
“Should I travel with you?” Magnus asked, evidently confident that his men had been transported back to where they should be. “Or join my men in Skáld's Domain afoot?”
“You do not seem to be draining the dragons of their magic,” Vigdis pointed out, eying him curiously, clearly of the mind, he should remain with them.
“Not since I encountered Tess,” Magnus replied. “A mystery yet to be solved.”
Vigdis looked from Tess to her former husband, a new light in her eyes that had little to do with him draining their magic. “Then we shall solve it, yes?”
Magnus perked a brow, recognizing an invitation. “There is something to be said for figuring things out, Wife.” His eye swept from the dragons to Vigdis, and he issued a double innuendo. “And of course, I appreciate our newfound proximity and look forward to more time spent with...welcome allies.”
“As do I,” Vigdis said softly, a spark of her infamous flirtatious nature surfacing.
So it was that they set forth and Rokar stepped foot on a ship for the first time in over two winters. Surprisingly enough, where he thought for sure he would remember the cries of his son going overboard, he instead heard his laughter as he plunked him down in the boat. When they navigated the tight entrance out of the cave, he thought not of waves crashing over the side of the boat, eager to steal away his family. Rather, he recalled Bjárr’s mighty roar as he pretended he was a dragon soaring happily over the choppy sea.
That’s when it occurred to him he would be able to do this.
Something had changed.
He met Tess’s eyes and nodded he was all right, knowing full well it was because of her. They had slowly but surely pulled one another out of the dark place they’d been. They freed one another from the sadness they were drowning in. The cloying self-inflicted loneliness that had become their normal.
As usual, the sky bubbled with their storm as they pulled away from the rocky cliffs rimming this side of the Realm. Though white-hot lightning splintered across the sky and thunder rumbled, the seas were not as rough as he imagined. But then ocean swells had only grown larger and larger within his mind over the years, the sea a vast expanse of broken memories that knew no peace.
“He’s coming,” Tess said, her voice tight with tension. She looked to the south moments before a booming roar rent the heavens. “Big Red is coming.” She shook her head, absolutely convinced as her eyes went to Rokar. “This time he’s not trapped in Helheim, and he’s mad as hell.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TESS TRIED NOT to panic when she felt rather than saw Big Red drawing closer.
“Your sail should keep you safe,” Sven said and made to lower it. “If not, everyone should prepare to shift.”
Tess looked at Rokar only to find his eyes trained on the sea, and his features unexpectedly calm. Nostalgic almost.
“Are you okay?” She sensed no strife in his thoughts despite what was heading their way.
“I am,” he confirmed softly, inhaling deeply as he continued admiring the sea. “I had forgotten how good it feels to be out on the water. How much a part of me it was.”
“It suits you.” And it did. More than most. She was about to tell him as much too, even ask him to take her sailing someday, but bit her tongue. It was way too soon for that.
“Is it?” His eyes drifted to hers. “Too soon?”
“I don’t know.” They both knew they weren’t talking about sailing. “You just got back on a boat for the first time in years. Maybe more time to adjust couldn’t hurt.”
“Time won’t change anything,” he murmured and stepped closer, bracing his legs against the sway of the ship, a natural seaman through and through. “Now that I have faced my fears, I will always want to be near the sea.” He brushed his thumb along her jaw, sending spirals of heat all over. “I will always want to remain close to what I love.”
She startled at his implication. Had he just said he loved her? More importantly, how did she feel about that? Yet she knew deep down because she had feared it as readily as him. Unfortunately, she had no chance to reply when Big Red’s deafening roar grew louder. He appeared on the horizon just as Sven unfurled the sail entirely and a fiery blue dragon sizzled against the material.
The moment she and Rokar’s eyes landed on it, everything around them shifted sharply. They no longer stood on a ship but were in the darkened cave where they had enjoyed crazy waterfall sex.
They had returned to Múspellsheimr in a memory.
“Where are we now?” Magnus growled, surprising them when he appeared alongside them.
“Somewhere familiar,” Soren said, appearing on their other side.
Tess frowned at Rokar. “I thought only mates experienced these flashbacks?”
“It seems not,” he replied. Not just his, and her former dragon appeared, but a much larger one accompanied by a tall, terrifying man-shaped fire figure.
“Is that a...” Tess started only for Magnus to finish her sentence.
“Fire demon,” he breathed, a touch of awe in his voice.
They watched the past unfold.
“There are one too many dragons here for my taste,” the demon hissed, his blazing eyes narrowed on the largest one. “One too many enemies.”
“I am here to help,” the dragon sneered back. “But can just as easily kill you, demon.”
“If you kill the demon, there is no hope,” her former dragon said, coming between them. “This will not work.” Her eyes went to the demon. “You will not enjoy the sweet taste of seeing Skáld’s face when we do what we planned. That which is only possible if we work together.”
“And if the elf helps,” Rokar’s former dragon said. “Will he then?”
“He will,” she confirmed.
“W
hy do you not sound convinced?” the largest dragon said.
“Oh shit,” Tess whispered. Memories started to surface. “That’s you, isn’t it, Soren?”
“Yes,” he said softly. His eyes swept over the cave, seeking out another. “Where is my mate?”
“Ava.” She shook her head. “I don’t think she was part of this...”
Or was she?
She frowned, remembering what Níðhöggr had said about her sister. How she was even more entrenched in deception than Tess. What did that mean if not this? After all, wasn’t this the epitome of deception considering Skáld’s son and brother were here plotting against him? Because that’s definitely what was going on here.
“The elf will help,” her former self assured the demon. “Until then, we must choose a time and place.” Her gaze went to Rokar’s dragon before returning to the others. “We feel the battle between my mate and his brother would be the best time. Skáld will be there...it will be perfect on many counts.”
“Because you mean to distract him,” Rokar’s dragon growled.
“Yes,” her dragon replied. “What better time is there to give myself over to Skáld than when his sons are vying for me? He will find great pleasure in that. He will think himself mightier than he already does.”
“You have no assurances it will work though,” Soren’s dragon grumbled. “And it puts my mate in even more danger.”
“It is because of your mate, my sister,” she reminded, “that it is more likely to work.”
“Assuming Father does not lust after her,” Rokar’s dragon said, “as he does you.” He shook his head. “Something I am not convinced of.”
“How can he lust after a dragon he talks to so much?” Tess’s dragon drawled. “It is tiresome and cannot be arousing...or it has not been as far as I have seen between them.”
“We talk a lot,” Rokar’s dragon returned. “And it is very arousing, yes?”
“Yes,” she conceded. “But you are not the beast Skáld is. Such a thing would never appeal to him.”
“Unless he is infected,” Soren’s dragon said, yet even he seemed baffled at the concept. “Which is not the case.”
“So there you have it.” Her dragon nodded once. “My way will work best, and my sister will break free with everyone else before she continues down her current path.” She gave Soren a look. “Which is why you are here, my friend. Why you will help, yes?”
He nodded, then sneered at the demon. “But what plan is this that a filthy demon need help?”
When the two started at each other, Rokar’s dragon stepped between them and hissed at both before narrowing his eyes at Soren. “You feel the infection as much as me, Uncle. You have heard the call of change. Know what must be done. This will work but only with the demon’s help.” His eyes went to the demon, and he reminded him why he should remain on board. “When it does, you will have revenge like no other. You will see the look on Skáld’s face when infection takes from him what it will. A brother, son, even more before it’s all over. He will lose many. Maybe even the war.”
“And it will be so worth it,” Magnus said softly. His gaze remained on the fire demon. “Retribution for his people...for the harm done to their women...”
“Did the infection affect other species too?” Tess said. “Did demons start to love? Because they didn’t beforehand, right?”
“No, not like we do on Midgard,” Magnus said. “But that did not stop them from protecting their womankind on Múspellsheimr.” There was no missing the disgust in his voice. “Unlike dragons who more often than not enslaved their females for breeding.”
“All but Níðhöggr,” she reminded. “I hear he treated his females a little differently.”
“Yes.” The look in Magnus’s gaze was telling. “Which makes you wonder if he wasn’t at the root of this infection.” He arched a brow. “Considering he went against dragon nature in such a way.”
“If he was at its root,” she quipped, “I’d be inclined to call it evolution, not an infection.”
Her former dragon might have argued that point initially, but she knew it felt anything but in the end. She’d been touched profoundly when she felt the first spark of love and discovered a destined mate.
As Rokar’s eyes met hers, she knew he felt the same way. They had found something remarkable together. She didn’t quite know what that meant yet, but she felt them barreling toward it, inches away from a life-altering connection that would change everything.
Until then, as they soon discovered, their journey wasn’t over. Their surroundings changed once again, and they were back on the ship.
“Oh, hell!” She withdrew her blade along with the others when they returned just in time to see Big Red crashing into an unseen wall surrounding the ship. The ocean sloshed on either side, and the boat teetered but didn’t go over. The blue dragon on the sail blazed, an unfailing wall of protection.
It seemed Sven and Emily’s adventure had been short lived now that Sven’s blade was delivered because they were gone. More interestingly though, she knew without question she and Rokar’s Transition had delivered them safely back to the Fortress.
“I’m going to fight our enemy now,” Rokar growled. He tossed aside his fur cloak, fury twisting his features as he glared at the enemy.
“Yes, come fight me, Brother,” Big Red roared. “Finish what you started so long ago!”
“No.” Tess shook her head, never more sure of anything. “Not yet, Rokar.” She stepped in front of him and made sure his eyes met hers. “He’s baiting you, trying to throw you off your game. We need to do this right.” She shook her head again. “You, we, need to stay on track now more than ever. It’s the only way we push past our history once and for all and find our future.”
“I could find our future right now by killing him.”
“No, you can’t.” She glanced from the stormy sky to him. “Figure out the storm and tree, and we’ll figure out the enemy. When that happens, he’s a goner because we’ll take him down together.” She put her hand on his chest and made sure his eyes stayed with hers. “Fight him now and risk getting killed. If that happens, you and I have no future. Nobody does because we’re part of a bigger picture and you know it.” She cocked her head, meaning every last word. “That aside, don’t you think we deserve more? The chance at a normal, less stormy future?”
His eyes lingered on hers for several long, tense moments. Please let him listen. Let him hear reason. More than anything, though, let him want a future.
“I would like that,” he finally said softly, his rage at Big Red simmering down considerably. He cupped her cheek. “Very much.”
“Me too,” she murmured. “A helluva lot more than I ever thought I would.”
His eyes continued to linger on hers while Big Red roared and growled and tried to attack from all sides but failed to get any closer. Thankfully, Rokar’s gaze narrowed on the enemy then turned to the blackened coastline ahead. “We go ashore in Skáld’s Domain.” He looked at Magnus. “I know the sail will protect us while aboard but I sense...”
When he trailed off, Tess nodded, knowing what he was going to say. “We need to get to the Vanaheim Willow.”
Why though? Yes, it was a point of safety within the Domain, but they could just as easily stay on the ship.
Magnus nodded. “I know a way there through the tunnels.” His attention turned to the darkening sky and worsening storm. “We should make haste. Shelter must be found in the Domain before dark.”
“Should we expect any encounters along the way?” Soren asked. “You clearly fought some recently but as a whole have you had luck pulling your rogue crew back to your side within the Domain?”
“No,” Magnus said. “All we come across still fight me, but I will not give up hope.”
“Good.” Vigdis rested a hand on his arm, and her eyes turned to his. “For your warriors are but under a spell that will lift once the prophecy is fulfilled.”
“If any are lef
t alive,” he replied. “I have learned that seeking them out is a waste of time and life. Taking them prisoner is impossible. They fight with a wrath of Skáld’s making. Fury so great even my magic cannot temper it.”
“That will change soon enough,” Vigdis vowed. “The days are numbered between now and the unraveling of the prophecy. Then you will see your tribe whole again.”
Though he gave no response, it was obvious Vigdis’s reassuring words lent Magnus comfort as everyone took to oar, and they made their way inland. Tess had seen this place through her sister’s mind, but it was nothing like witnessing it firsthand. The blackened cliffs appeared scorched by the fires of hell and the land dead. Not a speck of green life to be found.
Big Red never let up, roaring and crashing into an unseen bubble around them as they made their way down a small fjord into a familiar cove. Taunting Rokar, the enemy continued challenging him, calling him a coward. Telling him to come fight like a dragon. Though he growled and muttered under his breath, she gave her mate credit for holding his ground and rowing toward their future.
Tess blinked when she realized she had just referred to Rokar as her mate. Something he didn’t seem to catch he was so focused on not giving into Big Red’s taunts. Probably for the best, because calling him mate was right up there with him implying love. But then were the two not one and the same? She warmed at the thought. How right it felt despite the flash of fear that told her she was heading into vulnerable territory.
“Shea and Davyn took out their enemy here, didn’t they?” she commented, trying not to focus on the myriad of emotions she felt. How receptive her dragon was to each and every one when it came to Rokar. She would process them, she had to, but first, they needed to get away from Big Red. Because the truth was, she was as angry at him as Rokar. He’d caused grief for them in another life and tried to kill not just her and Rokar in this one, but Kenzie and Dagr.
That made him a real piece of shit as far as she was concerned.
Magnus nodded and answered her question. “Yes, this is where Shea and Davyn defeated their enemies.” He looked to the cliffs on either side. “One enemy dragon died on each side.”
Viking's Conquest Page 18