Chapter 13
Liz
The second I wake, I worry that Azar saw my dream, too.
That would mean that he felt what I felt.
He’s the future I worried about as Gullveig. He’s the child of an ice vanir and a fire aesir. I reach for his face, but he shifts away.
“You’re in your human form,” I say.
He blinks. “You—something strange just happened.”
“I was Gullveig in that dream.” I let my hand fall to my side.
“I didn’t know what I was thinking. Freya and Odin—they were right to try and heal the anger between the two groups of sky children.
They were right to try and unite the dragons with the humans.
It’s the legacy that we’re trying to carry on, really, and you’re clearly the key to the success of the whole thing. ”
“I’ve—” Axel blinks again. “I’ve recovered a memory, I think.”
“A memory?” I straighten, pulling the sheets up around my chest. “What do you mean, a memory?” I can’t stand how pathetic I sound. “You remembered something about me?” I’m such a stupid little girl. There are so many important things he could remember, but I’m only worried about him remembering me.
He nods. “I think it was the first time we met. Did I bond you at a playground?”
I can’t help my smile. “With a big blue slide?”
“And a red swingset? At the time, I believed it was akin to your churches.” He frowns, and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “You hit me in the face with a rock.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. I press a hand to his cheek. “You did remember. How?”
He shrugs. “I wish I knew. I was there with you, dreaming of my parents’ disastrous wedding, and then. . .” His brow furrows. “I was in my Axel form, beside you there.” He points at the ground. “And then I was remembering when I bonded you, and now I’m here.”
I slide my arm across his chest slowly, my fingers curling around every single ridge of muscle. I can’t help my smile this time. “You’re in my favorite place, you know.”
He bites his lip. “You were so golden and so light.”
“And you just had to bond me,” I say, to test him. I know it was a mistake, and that he regretted it immediately.
“I did,” he whispers. “You were so. . .tempting. I had to bond you, but I realized afterward that your very existence might out my secret.”
I blink. “You—why didn’t I ever think of that? Of course you wanted to dissolve the bond. . .because it put your secret in jeopardy.”
Axel takes my hand with his. “Why else would I have wanted to get rid of you?”
I shrug. “I didn’t know—I didn’t know you at all then, remember?”
He chuckles. “Of course I don’t remember. Remember?”
We both laugh.
“Freya said you could recover your memories,” I say.
“But how?”
I drop my head flat against his sharply ridged chest and listen to his heartbeat—steady, solid, beautiful. “If I knew, I’d already have told you, but this is the most promising news we’ve had in a long time.” I turn then, and I kiss his chest, through his t-shirt.
His heart accelerates.
That makes me smile.
“What are you doing?” He’s smiling, so I know he’s not angry about it.
“I wonder whether we might dislodge more memories, the closer we get to each other.” I push upward and press a kiss to his mouth. “We entwined earlier. Maybe that dislodged that one.”
“What do you recommend then?” He eyes my mouth eagerly.
“Well.” I whip my pajama top off. “I think it’s time for us to talk about what happens after kissing.”
His eyes flare. “Yes, I’ve been wanting to talk about that.” His eyes drop to my chest, still covered by a sports bra. “And I have a feeling it starts with a discussion about human undergarments.”
I bite my lip.
This is going to be a lot of fun.
The door flips open. “Liz, Gideon called—” Coral shrieks. “What are you two doing in here?” She covers her eyes, drops her hand and stares, and then starts screaming again.
But she doesn’t leave.
I sigh. I suppose I can add scarring them for life to my list of atrocities as an older sister. “What do you need, Coral?” I pull my shirt back on.
She covers her eyes again, which is completely unnecessary. Both Axel and I are entirely covered, and she’s seen me in a sports bra—or less—hundreds of times over the years.
“Coral,” I snap. “Just tell me why you burst in without knocking or even calling out a warning.”
Her eyes are still covered, but she finally separates her fingers and peers through, saying, “The vanir are attacking Calgary!”
Which is close to the United States. Very close.
“Gideon called from Sydney, Liz. He says Mom and Dad are with him, and we can go see them!” Coral finally drops her hand, and she looks giddy. “I mean, the vanir thing’s bad, but they need us, Liz. All of them are begging for our help.” Coral has always enjoyed a good gloat.
This one could cost us a lot of lives, including her bonded, Hyperion.
“The vanir are dangerous,” I say. “To humans, but also to us, and to our bonded.”
“I know.” Coral’s face sobers. “But the thing is, I think we may be the only ones who can save them.” She’s right about that.
“Alright. We’ll be out soon.”
Axel’s already climbed out of bed, and he shifts beside us, straight into Azar’s form. I slide out of bed too, and I start to take my shirt off again, to change into proper clothing this time.
“Oh,” I say. “I should warn you, Coral. If you stick around, you might see something terrifying. See? I’ve taken my shirt off, and who knows what I may take off next. You better get out of here immediately.”
She scowls. “I actually need to ask you something else.” She glances at Azar.
“We entwined,” I say. “You can ask in front of him.”
She sighs slowly, and she steps closer, her hands twisted in front of her. “So, I’ve been thinking, and I know you helped Eupraxia to be able to shift into a human form, and I was thinking. . .”
“What?” I snap. “Spit it out.”
“Could you make it so Hyperion could shift into a human form, too?” Her words tumble out so fast it takes me a second to make sense of them.
“Did Hyperion tell you to ask me?”
Coral blushes. “Not exactly, but when I asked him if he’d want to be able to do that, he said, ‘sure.’”
I walk around the bed and crouch until we’re at eye level.
“I would rather be tied down by unbreakable, magical bands and left to be eaten by fire ants over a period of months than ever make it so Hyperion can shift into a human form.” I straighten.
“Was that clear enough? Or should I say it in another way?”
Judging by the glare and the way she stomps out, I was clear.
I think she just wants to be able to be with Hyperion like you and I—
I fling my hand out so fast I almost poke Azar in the eye. “I know what she wants, and I’m trying not to throw up in my mouth.”
His mouth closes, but he looks confused.
I can’t think of any way to explain it to him that he’ll understand.
I know he sees Coral as a hatchling, and I know dragons have some sense of needing to be old enough, but I just can’t even talk about it with regard to Coral, who is a baby, and Hyperion, who is ninety gazillion years old.
And the size of a whale that ate way too much plankton. And scaly. And terrifying.
Ugh.
Just, no.
Moments later, Gordon and Rufus, Asteria, and even the delightful Thunar have all gathered in front of our new residence. It’s almost worse than being interrupted by Coral.
You want us to fight the vanir for the humans. Thunar’s voice is flat, and he looks just as irritatingly smug as ever. I can’t help but think of the broken, shattered body that insisted Odin and Freya’s union would doom us all.
He wasn’t right.
Azar and Hyperion both came from the vanir and aesir joining.
He wasn’t entirely wrong, though.
The aesir left earth, and Freya was somehow caught here, guarding a bunch of tortured vanir. The humans forgot dragons were ever real while they suffered on another planet, unable to consume anything but their own. Unable to procreate.
I wouldn’t blame him for telling Odin I told you so.
I’m not sure he’d stay alive if he did, but then again, it was Freya who knocked him out last time, I’m virtually certain.
Even so, I wish I had some idea what was going on inside that massive, idiotic brain of his.
“Not long ago, you were telling me you missed war,” I say. “Are you opposed to it now?”
Thunar’s massive noggin shifts toward me slowly. I despise you. I haven’t hidden that.
“No,” I say. “You’re a horrible dragon, and an even worse brother, but you’ve never lied about what you want.
My dead body’s right at the top of your Christmas list. You were very clear.
I think I may even know why, now. I’ve been having dreams as Gullveig.
It’s not me, exactly, but I think she might have been me in a prior life. ”
I expect some kind of shock, but instead, he simply stares, tiny wisps of smoke escaping his nostrils. You’re more aware than I expected, and you’re more of a warrior and less of an idiot in this lifetime.
“Less of an idiot.” I bob my head. “I’m taking that as a compliment, coming from you. Does that mean you’ll fight alongside us?”
I’ll at least come with you to talk to these earth children who are asking for our help.
“They go by humans now,” I remind him.
I heard. He’s still staring at me. You call us dragons, not blessed or aesir, so I’ll keep using earth children.
I laugh. “But ‘dragons’ is more practical. It applies to you and the vanir both.”
Practical, and therefore less precise. Thunar tosses his head. Shall I open the portal?
What will be your price for helping us? Azar asks.
Price? Thunar didn’t say there would be a price.
Before I can ask Azar what he’s saying, my bonded answers. He never does anything without being paid. Trust me.
I want a human able to be bonded for every blessed from those asking for aid. He turns toward me with a diabolical smile. And I want her to upgrade every single earth blessed as she has the ones who were already here.
That could kill her for all we know, Azar says. I flatly refuse.