Chapter 28 Helayna
HELAYNA
We repeated the same procedure inside my mother’s suite, with Heimdallr slipping inside to look for anything amiss.
Rather than the entire wing being devoted to the queen, a long hallway led the way down to the opposite tower.
One side had several doors we peeked in, revealing two simple guest rooms with a bathroom connecting them.
The furnishings were more modern, giving me hope Mother’s suite wouldn’t be as archaic as Grandmother’s.
Heimdallr popped his head out. “All clear. I think you’ll be pleased with these rooms, Helayna, my queen.”
The first room was an office or waiting room, similar to Grandmother’s suite though half the size.
Absent the life-sized portrait as well. The bathroom and closet were also similar, just smaller, without so many sinks, mirrors, and benches.
Which made sense, in a way. According to Clara, my mother never called any Blood, though she did come into her power.
As we passed into the tower room, I wondered if she’d ever brought Narve here. I was still foggy on the actual timeline of when Queen Hrefna passed, when Mother left Iceland, and when she conceived me and then Eivind.
I could ask Loki, at least about my own birth… But I didn’t want to know that bad. And how could I even trust he told me the truth?
The hexagonal room also featured three walls of windows, though at least these were completely covered with drapes. A modest-sized four-poster canopied bed set in the center of the room with soft, airy gauze flowing overhead and down the wooden posts. No mirror overhead. No giant wall of mirrors.
In fact, the room was nearly completely bare. No artwork on the walls. No personal items. No other furniture. A large round plush rug in royal purple provided the only hint of color and softness against the creamy marble floor.
“Much better.” I walked over to the windows and peeked out, just to see what view my mother would’ve had growing up here.
More garden on this side of the house with the sea beyond.
I could see a stone wall through the trees and the neighbor’s roof, reminding me once more of the city and people surrounding us.
I turned back to face the room. “Though I admit I’m also a little disappointed.
I hoped to know my mother better, but there’s nothing of her in this room.
Did you see much of her life here? Was she happy at all? ”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I can’t see or hear into blood circles. The only place more secure than a Daughter’s blood circle is Valhalla itself.”
“That actually makes me feel better. Hopefully Loki won’t be able to sneak in either.” Dorr stood closer to the door, poised to leave me alone with the god if that was my wish. I looked back at Heimdallr. “Do you mind my alpha’s presence? Because I’m never parted from him.”
His head tipped forward slightly, his eyes narrowed. “I mind nothing you choose to do, Your Majesty. As I swore to you on the Bifrost, I will heed your alpha’s orders as if they’re from your own lips. If you tell him or any of your Blood to fuck me, I’ll gladly allow it.”
My eyes flared, my cheeks heating a little. “I’d never order anyone to fuck anyone else. Especially me.”
He let out a deep, husky chuckle, and his eyes began to spin with prisms. “None of your Blood will require such a command, for we’re all eager to touch our living goddess any chance we get.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me.” The colorful sparkle in his eyes grew. “I haven’t touched a warm, living person in so long I can barely recall how to proceed. Perhaps you could instruct me.”
I stepped closer to him, letting my gaze roam over his impressive physique.
Every single part of him was perfectly crafted and beautifully put together.
Powerful shoulders and chest. Muscled arms and long thighs, but he was also lean and agile at the same time.
When he attacked Loki, he’d moved so quickly I’d barely been able to see him, until the golden sword crashed into the stone step. “Was your sword damaged?”
He reached over his shoulder and unsheathed the golden sword.
Dropping to his knees before me, he held the sword out flat across his palms. “Her Majesty Helayna Ironheart, meet H?fue. Forged in Nieavellir, this sword is indestructible. It hungers for Loki’s blood and eagerly awaits the day we kill him.
Though I’m more grateful than I can say we have thus far failed in our solemn duty, which allowed you to grace this world with your presence. ”
The entire sword gleamed like his eyes. Gold itself was a soft metal, but as I carefully stroked my index finger down the blade, it felt impossibly hard and cold.
The fine edges were perfectly smooth and sharp, the tip undamaged.
The hilt was wrapped in leather. The pommel looked like a massive crystal eye, sparkling in the overhead light like a prism.
Otherwise, the sword was completely unadorned.
I nicked the pad of my finger on the brutal edge and lightly stroked my blood up the flat blade. “Then let it have a taste of Loki’s blood I must carry to curb its appetite.”
The pommel blazed with light, spinning rainbows around the room, so bright I had to avert my face.
Blinking watering eyes, I finally managed to see through the streaming ribbons dancing around the sword.
Each visible spectrum blasted its own ribbon into the room as if the rainbow bridge had split apart into separate roads.
Heimdallr kissed the blade—though it’d already absorbed my blood as far as I could tell.
Then he leaned forward to lay the sword at my feet.
As soon as he released it, the brilliant streamers sank back into the sword.
Even though the overhead light was still on, the room seemed dark without the rainbows dancing on the walls. “You honor me, Your Majesty.”
Even on his knees, he was almost taller than me. This massive, elegant god with powers I barely understood. On his knees. For me.
Lightly, I cupped his cheek. “You honor me, God of Bifrost.”
His lips curved at the subtle reminder I wanted him to use my given name, not my title. “What am I allowed to do, Helayna, my queen?”
My head tipped. “Whate—”
He pressed his fingers across my lips. “Before you say whatever I want, please consider that my nine divine mothers created me with great deliberation and magics, giving me enough power to devastate a fellow god. I’ve lived thousands of years with unchecked magic, traveling across the known universes without effort.
I’ve stood guard at the very gates of ásgarer and defended against legendary attacks of jotnar and creatures your world has forgotten with nothing but the power in my blood and this sword.
I will never harm a single hair on your head, yet I would rather deny myself than cause you a moment of alarm or doubt. ”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I said as he dropped his fingers.
“That’s good, but also, you should be wary.
Your power is great, Helayna, my queen, or you wouldn’t have been able to Call me.
Yet I’m strong enough I could bind you, for a time, at least. I could make you feel powerless.
Helpless. Trapped. I could drive you to strike back with all your strength and cause damage to this house, your world, or even your humans, accidentally.
You were trapped in fear and despair before.
I would rather leave you now than make you feel a shade of that fear again. ”
I draped my arms over his shoulders and linked my hands behind his head. “I would love to be crushed beneath your body, Heimdallr, while we fill the entire room with rainbows again.”
He didn’t immediately sweep me up into his arms. Studying me, his head tipped sideways, he searched my eyes. “Is blood play allowed?”
“I’m a vampire queen. I revel in blood.”
He turned his attention to where Dorr still stood. “Alpha, I ask you to intervene if at any time you feel the need to issue me a warning. I will heed you immediately.”
Dorr’s deep voice vibrated the floor, lightly rattling the sword against the marble. “You may trust her Darkest to always intervene to ensure her safety and pleasure.”
HEIMDALLR
Her lack of fear and concern about bedding me spoke of the purity of her heart, despite the torture she’d endured inside Jormungandr.
Gods like me were created to break and destroy. Crack open the foundations of the earth and allow molten lava to explode to the heavens. Crush mountains to rubble. Level entire cities. Burn the world and everything in it, so it could be remade once more.
Not to stroke such silken skin or treasure such a delicate feminine body.
With a thought, I willed our clothes away as I stood, cradling her against me.
I watched the flare of her stunning eyes as she felt the heated sensation of flesh against flesh without any fabric to distract.
Enough green in her eyes to remind me of her parentage—balanced by the darkness she carried.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
I strode to the bed and knelt on the mattress, allowing her to slide down in front of me to her knees as well.
“You likely can too. You have enough magic to manipulate the world around you. Though I admit it takes concentration to hold the illusion of clothes, especially when a god is minding his own business and a lovely queen suddenly calls for assistance so sweetly he can’t resist answering. ”
She smoothed her palms across my chest. “Your hair is still bound.”
I released the golden cord holding the coils together down my back and shook my head, letting some of them slide forward over my shoulders.
She picked up one of the dreadlocks and lifted it to her face.
Breathing deeply, she let out a soft sigh, stabbing a vicious blade of lust through my midsection. “You smell like magic.”
I huffed out a laugh. “What does magic smell like, exactly?”
Eyes slumberous, she released the coil and lay back onto the mattress, opening her thighs so my knees were between her legs. “Rainbows. Sparkling, dancing lights. Crystals and gold and prisms.”
“Those are objects which have no odor.”
She gazed up at me, running her gaze down my body. I still had enough self-control to let her look her fill, though my cock strenuously objected to my efforts at restraint. “I’ve never seen a more beautifully put together man. Did you really have nine mothers?”
“I did,” I said, keeping my voice light despite the heavy ache spreading through me.
“They each gave me a special part of themselves to craft the perfect guardian for ásgarer. I hear what no other living man or god can hear. I see what no other can see. I walk across the worlds with a single step. To be completely honest, my queen, I’m sure Odin is furious that I’ve abandoned my sacred duty to walk at your side.
Yet I know what even AllFather does not. ”
“What’s that?”
“The battle for the Nine Worlds lies with you, Helayna Ironheart. Loki was correct. You are well named. You will be at the heart of it, because your iron heart bleeds for Yggdrasil.” I lifted my forearm to my mouth and carefully opened a small wound so I could allow a few drops of blood to splatter on her stomach. “Now, I bleed for you.”
Her eyes flared. Through the bond she’d forged, I felt the flare of each drop on her skin. My blood burned with all the magic of the Bifrost. While she’d enjoyed drinking my blood on the way to this house, she had yet to feel the full power of what my blood could do for her.
To her. Which was why I needed to proceed with extreme caution. She might revel in blood, but she had never felt the might of mine.
Energy sizzled on her skin, spreading like wildfire through her nerves. Crawling through her muscles like a merciless horde of marching ants. I could lash the skin off her luscious body with my blood alone if that were my goal. Though I had only one wish.
Her bond flared in my mind, filling me with her presence. Her spirit. Flowing like the crystal pure waters at the base of Yggdrasil. :What’s your wish, Heimdallr?:
I hadn’t meant to broadcast my thoughts to her, though it spoke of how deep and true her bond had forged its way into my being. :Forgive me, Helayna, my queen. I’m forbidden to ever reveal in words the secret weapon inlaid within this body.:
Misery darkened the crystal waters flowing into me, and I couldn’t bear to look upon her beauty. Shadows so old I couldn’t even recall when they’d begun to cast their shade across my path. The ache of millennia. Unfulfilled longing. Alone. So alone.
Crafted to be the perfect guardian. A shining bow of colorful hope against the darkest storm clouds and grimmest, bloodiest battles. Destined to die at the last bridge. The last stronghold. So as I lay dying, my blood...
Could destroy the last bridge and keep the golden halls of ásgarer safe.
One would think a being as old and powerful as me would have given up silly, selfish wishes.
The hope that perhaps a vampire queen might not be afraid of the deadly weapon I carry in my very blood.
I’d allowed hope to grow when she fed so long without harm.
When she’d found pleasure just from tasting me, spinning her own rainbows into the night.
When she’d absorbed the small amount of my blood on her chin without any harm. But that did not mean—
“Look at me.”
My eyes snapped open, focusing on her face, first, but try as I might, I could not keep my gaze locked to hers.
Not when her fingers glided between her breasts.
Over her stomach. Drawing my gaze down to the crimson droplets shining against her skin.
She traced aimless swirls and designs in my blood. Smearing it deeper.
Her back arched. Her breath caught on a cry. Not of pain. Not of fear. She absorbed the power burning on her skin and turned it into pleasure. Her body shuddered with climax, her hips undulating. Her head rolled side to side on the cushions.
Blinking up at me, she licked her lips. “I want more.”
A shudder of shock rolled through me. Followed swiftly by licking flames. “Then you shall have every drop in my body if you want it.”