It was hard to imagine facing two Big Red’s, but they had done it with dragons of his ilk. Her eyes went to Rokar. Just like they would do to the bastard who continued roaring fire down as he tried to get to them.
“The sail will protect you into the cave,” Magnus said. “Then I will protect you afterward.”
Tess glanced at him. “Are you that powerful here then?”
“Yes,” Magnus said bluntly, leaving it at that.
She knew his powers had grown exponentially but didn’t realize he was that strong.
“So your powers are growing as all this unravels, huh?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Tenfold since I met you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why does it sound like you’ve learned more about our connection?”
“Because I have.” His telling eyes met hers. “If not for you, my kind would not be here.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“SO YOU KNOW with certainty Tess is responsible for your kind being here,” Rokar said to Magnus as they left the boat. “But you know little else.”
“That’s right,” Magnus replied. Their enemy roared in fresh defiance when he and Tess evaded him once again and made their way into the cave. “But I imagine we will discover more soon enough.”
“I’m sure we will,” Tess agreed.
Magnus lit a few torches and handed them out. Like the Cave Catacombs, the tunnel system the sorcerer led them through was long and winding, sometimes going uphill sometimes down. All the while, they could hear the storm raging above as if seeking them out. Wondering where they went.
Eventually, they ended up in an unusual twisting tunnel. It went round and round then downward before they came out in a spacious cave with twisting roots covered by a gentle waterfall.
“Whoa,” Tess said softly. She walked to the center and looked up at an entrance far above. “I still hear the storm, but it looks like thousands of stars flickering up there.”
“We are beneath the Vanaheim Willow,” Magnus enlightened, gesturing at the small tunnels that shot off here and there. “Those lead to other sections where the roots wrap their way down.”
“Damn.” Tess eyed the shimmering roots with wonder. “I never thought roots could look so...mystical.”
“Everything born of my people is mystical,” Vigdis informed, her tone and demeanor a smidge haughtier than it had been moments before. “And this tree is no exception.” Her knowing eyes drifted to Magnus. “You come here often, yes?”
“Yes.” His gaze lingered on her. “Does that surprise you, seer?”
“It would have two moons ago,” she said softly. “But not now...not anymore.”
A soft smile lingered on Tess’s lips as she glanced between the sorcerer and seer before her eyes met Rokar's. Like all of them, she was aware Magnus and Vigdis were finding their way back to each other. It was also apparent that the sorcerer came to this place because it brought him closer to Vigdis. Closer to the past and going off the way he looked at her, their future.
“There are fish around the base of the roots,” Magnus said. “But game does not exist within the Domain.”
That was not surprising of this lifeless place. Not surprising of anything created by Skáld.
“I never minded fishing,” Tess commented. She continued eying their surroundings. “Then again, I always had a fishing rod.”
As it turned out, Magnus had no intention of fishing. A fire sparked to life in a pit before he manifested chairs and a table with instantly cooked fish and mugs of ale.
“Then again, why use a rod when you’ve got a demon?” Tess chided, admiring the layout when they sat.
Magnus merely grunted in response. He took a swig of ale, his gaze rarely leaving Vigdis as she sniffed at the fish and narrowed her eyes. “Uniquely smoked.”
“Yeah, it is,” Tess said around a mouthful. “Super delicious.” She quirked the corner of her mouth. “Some might say hellishly yummy.” Then she winked. “The Devil’s in the demon details.”
Not just Rokar and Soren narrowed their eyes at that but Magnus as well.
Tess frowned at them. “What?”
“Is her personality changing again?” Soren asked.
“No.” Rokar realized what it was. “She’s just...happy.”
“You say that as though it’s a bad thing.” Tess appeared to consider it. “Though I’ll admit I’m probably feeling more upbeat right now than I should.”
Rokar was surprised to realize he felt that way too. As if good news was just around the corner, he felt a great sense of anticipation.
“It’s your magic, Magnus.” Vigdis eyed Soren who had also drunk some ale but didn’t seem affected. “It’s your connection to Tess and in turn, her mate.”
“Wow,” Tess praised the sorcerer. She grinned, unfazed she was under the influence of demon magic. “From dragon magic draining to this. Not bad!”
When Rokar’s chest tightened at the sight of Tess’s smile, he realized how far gone he truly was. How much he meant what he had implied on the ship. He did feel love toward her. Quickly blossoming, all-consuming, love.
“Ahh, there you go again with that.” She redirected her smile his way. “Those are some deep thoughts, sweetheart.” She winked. “But appreciated nonetheless.”
Appreciated? He perked a brow at her flirtatious but mild response, far bolder than he would have been before demon magic. “Do you not feel the same in return, woman?”
“Hmm,” she pondered, taking a few more sips of ale, drawing out the moment before her eyes warmed. “What do you think?”
He nearly said, “I think I want to hear you say it,” but stopped himself. In truth, he didn’t just want to hear her say it but to see it in her eyes, know it in her heart. All of which might be clear in her question, but what if her tongue was loosened by magic? And just like that, despite demon influence, old fear flared anew. Not much, but enough to hold his tongue for now.
In turn, her eyes lingered on his for another moment before they went to Magnus. “So all these surrounding caves are safe?”
“As long as you see a root, it is safe,” he said. “Just do not travel beyond the roots...especially at night.”
She nodded then took one last bite of fish, scooped up her mug and gestured that Rokar follow. “Time alone then?”
He nodded, well aware she wanted to address what he’d just been thinking. And he was fine with that. More than fine. It was time to talk. Really talk and close the distance entirely. More notably, he wanted her love before they discovered their truth. He needed it in a way he hadn’t expected. Perhaps because he had known love with a human and craved that connection again before their dragons became involved. To know they were capable of it all on their own.
Much like she had back at his lair, she sauntered along as if she knew exactly where she was going until they ended up in a cozy cave. A rock ledge backed by a miniature version of roots and waterfall lined one side where the other side remained dry.
“Do not use your magic,” he said before she could chant a fire into the small pit in the corner. “There’s wood enough for me to start it without that.”
“You think something bad will happen if I use magic here?”
“I think we should err on the side of caution.” He crouched and made quick work of lighting a fire. “Not only that, but there’s no way to know how your magic will interact with Magnus’s.”
“True,” she said softly, eying him as she leaned against the wall.
“You appear deep in thought,” he remarked, joining her after the fire was lit. “Yet I cannot sense much of what you’re thinking.”
“No,” she murmured. “I can’t sense your thoughts much either.”
“Another side-effect of demon magic,” he surmised.
“Seems so.” She continued eying him with a little light in her eyes. “I didn’t need to read your mind back there to know what you were thinking though, Rokar. How big a step you’ve actually taken...” She res
ted her hand on his forearm. “That we’ve taken.” She set aside her drink and stepped closer. “Does what you see in my eyes right now look like it was caused by Magnus’s magic? Because I guarantee it was there before I ever took a sip of ale or bite of fish.” She fingered one of the braids in his goatee. Her eyes stayed with his. “Or did you not see it?”
“Maybe I feared what I saw was wishful thinking.” He ran his hand along the side of her waist, wanting to touch far more. “Or perhaps I feared I didn’t know what it looked like anymore...that I never would again.”
“We don’t need to fear anymore, Rokar,” she whispered. Twisting her fingers in his jerkin, she reeled him closer still. The unique scent of her arousal hit him. A fragrance that agreed with his dragon so much there was no stopping the haze of red that fell over his vision, or his volcanic need for her.
Though he had intended to talk, it would have to wait. He craved her too much. He inhaled her deeply, groaned in approval then closed his lips over hers. Ale mixed with sweetness as their tongues wrapped, tangling in a kiss he hoped to repeat for the rest of his existence. For now, though, he needed to be inside her in another way. He needed to take her until she screamed and clawed at him.
Until her inner dragon roared with release alongside her human half.
Their minds might be hazy to each other due to demon magic, but he felt her desperation rise with his while they struggled out of their clothes. Their lips often reconnected as they rushed to feel one another again. As they longed to touch and stroke and lose themselves.
He sighed with relief when her heated skin finally came against his. When her harsh, eager breathing filled his ears. Out of control, unable to take his time, needing to own her in a way foreign to him, he spun her. Then he leaned her over the shallow ledge and urged her to grasp the roots.
To hold on tight.
Enjoying his dominance every bit as much as she did before, she groaned with approval when he nudged her legs apart and gripped her hips. Then she growled with frustration when he paused to enjoy her beauty. The curvature of her spine. The firm plumpness of her backside pressing against him.
Though he longed to draw out the moment, and make her squirm with impatience, he lacked the willpower to do anything but take her with one long, hard thrust. Quivering, she cried out then shuddered. Her blazing sheath clamped down on him, held fast, then milked him.
He liked how receptive she was. How quickly she found release.
The only downside at the moment was how on edge he felt. How desperate he was to plunge into her again and again, over and over, until her cries turned to wails of pleasure. His dragon wanted to take hers in the most primal sensual way possible, and his human half reveled in it, desired it with crazed impatience.
Yet he gritted his teeth and waited until she was ready. Until his next thrust elicited a throaty moan of approval. Then the next and the next. He gripped her hand on the root and thrust deep, swiveling his hips enough that there was no need to stroke the flesh between her thighs. She was just as receptive if he stroked the inside just right. Something that became more than apparent when her moans turned to throaty, strangled groans and they lost themselves in the overwhelming pleasure building between them.
Close, so close, then release slammed into him at almost the same moment it did her, his roar mixing with her cry of pleasure. Breathing heavily, he stayed where he was, lost in the feel of her, drowning in the sensation of an almost euphoric release. Eventually, she urged him back enough that she could sit on the ledge facing him.
That, he realized later, was the moment the beginning of the end began to unravel.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
THOUGH SHE HAD fully intended to resume what they’d been doing, the look on Rokar’s face when she turned slowed her roll. She didn’t need to read his thoughts or sense his emotions. It was all right there in his eyes. Raw, vulnerable and open to her in a way that told her all his walls had fallen. Every last one.
He was in this with her.
“We’re in this together,” she said softly, knowing full well that though she might be answering her own thoughts, it should be said. Understood. He should hear it, see it, know how she truly felt.
“Ja,” he murmured, speaking his own language before he switched to English. “We are in this together.” He seemed to search for the right words before he continued. “Because I want us to be. Not because our former lives or dragons dictate it but because our human halves connect here and now. Because we genuinely like each other.”
She understood where he was coming from considering he had been in love with a human before. It made sense all the way around, and she said as much. “I do genuinely like you, Rokar and I think we’ll get along great.” She remained perfectly blunt because that’s how they needed to be with each other. “Am I a little nervous about what comes after all this? Sure. I like the twenty-first century. I’d miss it if I stayed here. Especially my parents and my bike.”
“Your bike.” He said it more as a statement than a question. “I have seen it in your mind often. Felt your enjoyment when you rode it...but was it not just a means of escape?”
“Definitely.” She ran her finger along a tat on his bicep. “But it was more too. I liked the way it felt, the freedom it offered beyond the obvious. Honestly, I just enjoy riding. Almost as much as flying.”
His brow swept up. “That is hard to imagine.”
“But it’s true.” She shrugged. “It’s just part of me in a way that isn’t entirely related to escaping.”
“Then we will return to it,” he said. “We will be where you are happiest.”
“What about you?” she said softly, touched he would give up so much for her. “What about your happiness?”
“If you are happy then I—”
She put a finger to his lips, cutting him off. “Nope, that’s not how it works. After all you’ve been through, you need to find your own happiness. From what I've seen within your mind, you’ve always lived to please others, including repressing your dragon for Helga.” She shook her head. “I get why you did it, makes you hot as hell in my eyes, but I’d find it even hotter if you finally lived the way you want to live.” She trailed her finger down his neck, curious. “How do you want to live, Rokar? What would make you truly happy?”
When he considered it for a moment and shook his head as if unwilling to tell her, she urged him on, the words rolling out of her mouth so easily she knew this was the real thing. “This is part of it...love...us being in love.” There, she said it. More importantly, she meant it. “Just tell me what would truly make you happy.”
“You,” he said without hesitation, then continued before she could counter that his answer wasn’t enough. “And my kin.” He shook his head. “Though I have physically been here, I haven’t truly been here, and I miss them. I miss what it was like when my family was alive and want that again...with you.”
He cupped her cheek, his words so damn sweet they brought tears to her eyes. “I want to take you sailing and teach you about my culture and people. I want your parents and sisters to remain here. I’ll take you to the future so you can teach me to ride. Then we will visit whenever you like.” He paused a moment, his eyes searching hers as he laid it on the line. “Most of all, I want to have children with you. A boy and girl and perhaps even more...”
Her chest tightened, and she blinked away tears, nodding. She liked the sound of everything he said. Loved it, actually. She wasn’t precisely sure when it’d happened, but it had. She was ready to move on. Of course, she would miss aspects of the future, but if her family was here and she could visit the twenty-first century on occasion, that would work.
“I think that sounds perfect.” She swallowed hard and nodded. “All of it. Every last bit.”
There was no missing the genuine happiness in his eyes. “Yes?”
“Yes,” she whispered because her vocal chords were choked up with emotion. “Absolutely yes.”
She was about
to say more when they sensed something. A disturbance in the air around them that was impossible to describe. By instinct, she chanted them into clothing with a bit of dragon magic. That combined with whatever power the shimmering roots behind them possessed, was the final switch to shift them back to a day that explained so much.
Though he didn’t have it seconds ago, Sven’s blade appeared in Rokar’s hand, and they once again stood in Múspellsheimr. Dragons were everywhere forming a large circle around Rokar’s former dragon, and Big Red as they faced off in a memory.
“It’s that day,” she said. “The day of the battle over me. The day we executed our plan.”
“Yes.” His eyes went to the largest dragon of them all. Double-headed and vicious, Skáld looked down on his sons with an eager glint no father should feel when watching his sons fight to the death. Because that was the only outcome there could be. Those were the rules when dragons refused to share a mate.
As they lunged at each other in a riot of claws and teeth, she felt the same pangs of fear and worry over her mate that she’d felt back then, and Tess finally began to remember.
“I argued with Ava’s dragon,” she said. “We had watched our kin die when infected and vowed revenge on Skáld for his part in their demise. We would get to him no matter what it took.”
“That meant targeting his immediate kin,” Rokar replied, evidently remembering as well. “His sons.”
“Of which he had several but these two, you and Big Red, were the best of his pride,” she went on, disgusted. “Which tells you something considering he’s willing to let you kill each other.”
Because that would certainly be the outcome as Rokar and the enemy went at each other, their roars piercing the air. Yet it was clear who the better fighter was as Rokar tore at Big Red, his dragon so vicious it became obvious this battle was what left their foe so physically mangled. Rokar was fighting not just for the love he had found with Tess, but for others who had found the same. She could feel it in every slash of his claw, every whip of his tail, and bite of his sharp teeth.
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