Chapter two
Eisa
I awoke to the sound of running water. Arik’s side of the tiny bed was cold, and I fumbled for him in a minor panic.
He’s fine, Idunn drawled lazily. He just finished doing those movements that make him all wet and shiny. I’d quite like to taste him.
And he says I’m the menace, I grumbled, trying to tamp down the lascivious dragon as I dragged myself from the uncomfortable bed.
“Spry as a young colt, I see.”
I winced as I turned my neck too sharply to see my bare-chested mate leaning against the door frame that led to the small bathing chamber. The water was running, and he was damp with sweat that beaded in the grooves between his muscles. I blinked several times as Idunn growled in appreciation.
“Do you need help, Kjaere?”
“I’m fine,” I lied, smothering a hiss as I tried to sit up. The feathers from the lumpy pillow had poked me mercilessly all night, and my whole body felt like it had been trampled by a hundred jotnar. I flopped helplessly back down on the bed with a groan. “No, I’m not.”
Arik chuckled, and the running water shut off as I lay motionless in agony.
“I was going to bathe, but I fear you are in greater need.” He appeared over me, his lips twitching in a telltale smirk.
“Just leave me,” I moaned dramatically. “Find yourself a mate who doesn’t fall apart after a day of flying.”
“Never. Let’s get you in the bath.”
“I won’t be able to get back out,” I complained as he pulled me upright and began to loosen my clothes.
“I’ll help you.” He pulled my shirt over my head, which made me cry out from the pain in my shoulders. He quickly pressed an apologetic kiss to each, then began to work on my trousers. “I’ve been neglecting your physical training. It’s my fault you’re in so much discomfort.”
“Agony, Arik. This is called agony.”
“Probably for the best we didn’t do anything but sleep last night.” He nipped my ear, sending a shiver of heat through me. “Although Branka seemed to manage just fine, based on the sounds I heard coming from their room this morning.”
I rolled my eyes and gave him what I hoped was a judgmental look as he worked my trousers down my legs. “I didn’t take you for a voyeur.”
He laughed, pressing a heated kiss to the inside of my knee.
I’m not a voyeur if I’m listening, and I can’t help what I hear through these paper-thin walls, Kjaere.
Now naked, he scooped me up against his bare chest and carried me to the washroom.
“Which is why we shall not be participating. Especially while you’re in pain. ”
I groaned as Arik lowered me into the copper tub and warmth encased my sore muscles.
Baldur growled with need down our bond.
“The sounds you make,” Arik murmured, adjusting himself as he knelt by the tub. My mouth went a little dry at the thought of what was happening beneath his trousers, and his eyes snapped to mine. “None of that, or Baldur will lose it and I’ll be taking you over the rim of the tub.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Kjaere,” Arik groaned, looking skyward as if for patience. He took a bar of soap from the little stool by the tub and worked it into a lather, then wove his fingers into my hair. I had to bite my lip to stifle the moan of pleasure at his touch against my scalp. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“I give you permission not to be.”
“Paper-thin walls, remember?”
“I don’t mind.”
“I thought you were in agony?” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder before moving his hands to massage my aching muscles there, and I nearly sank into the water in ecstasy.
“I take it back,” I murmured, dropping my head against the lip of the tub. “This is better than sex. Keep doing that.”
Arik chuckled, moving his hands in firm strokes down my arms. “Lean forward.”
I obeyed, and his hands traveled down my back to work out the tension one muscle at a time. No one had ever touched me like Arik did, strong and gentle and commanding all at once, and it sent a heady mix of emotions swelling up in me that I decided to ignore for the moment.
He knows how you feel, Idunn assured me. But I’m not opposed to you showing him.
From Baldur’s responding growl, the feeling was mutual.
Arik cleared his throat emphatically, cutting off both dragons. As far as I understood our unique mental bond, Arik could only hear Baldur’s side of any conversation. But I had the sense that Baldur relayed a great deal of what Idunn said to us through mental images and emotions, if not words.
I smiled at the thought.
“Training resumes tomorrow. If not to get you wielding a weapon, then at least to give you greater stamina when flying.” He kissed my pointed ear again. “And other things.”
“I thought you were trying to be a gentleman?”
Arik laughed and stood to shuck his trousers off. He was very clearly not in a gentlemanly mood. “Even I have limits. Move over.”
I yelped as he stepped into the tub behind me and tried to make myself as small as possible. “There’s no room!”
Arik grunted as he managed to squeeze his body into the water, then pulled me so I was sitting between his thighs, my back flush against his chest. Certain body parts pressed hard against my lower back, and Idunn was entirely too pleased about it.
“You took my bath. There’s no time to draw a second one. And the view is magnificent.”
I elbowed him in the chest as he brushed his beard against my neck and nipped at my pulse. “What happened to ‘none of that’?”
“There’s definitely not enough room for that,“ he agreed, pulling me closer as he ran his hands down my thighs. He squeezed, and I groaned again in pleasure as his length twitched against my lower back. “This is better than sex, remember?”
Idunn purred contentedly as I felt Arik’s heat pour into me, and I had half a mind to drag him out of this tub while there was still time. “You’ll make me regret saying that, won’t you?”
Arik pressed another kiss to my neck that was all promise and fire and heat.
Undoubtedly.
The rain began pelting down on us about two hours into the flight.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was safely nestled in Idunn’s consciousness, I would have been freezing.
As it happened, I was perfectly warm as we flew across the countryside, following the line of the winding river that stretched from the sea.
It was like the peaceful, non-evil twin of the Rift, and I couldn’t help but wonder how Ironholm fared in our absence.
Arik had left Revna in charge while we answered his father’s summons, and she had been none too thrilled about being left behind. We were overdue to check in with her.
Have you spoken to Revna?
Arik’s reply was as clear as if he were speaking into my ear. No. Baldur would let me know if there was a problem.
I rolled my eyes. I knew that he was right, and that we could trust Revna completely, but it didn’t stop worry from nagging at me.
Feel free, Kjaere. Arik rumbled, my concern obvious to him. I’m curious if you can reach Kindra from this distance.
I took a breath and sought the golden thread that led to Revna’s dragon. It took longer than it had in Ironholm, but it was there, shimmering in the background of my mind.
Everything alright?
There was a long pause, and I thought for a moment that perhaps it hadn’t worked.
But then a band of warm gold wrapped around my mind like an embrace, the sensation wholly different from Baldur’s or Idunn’s thoughts.
All is well, Drekadrottning. My human asks after your quest.
Drekadrottning. I shook my head in disbelief. Idunn was the dragon queen, but somehow the dragons decided the title applied to me as well.
Almost to Stormhold, I replied, peering out of Idunn’s eyes at the countryside rapidly passing beneath us as we flew.
The little thatched roofs of villages and farms passing under us in a blur reminded me of how much was at stake if we didn’t close the Rift.
We’ll look for the Book while we’re there, and go to Sigrid in a few days.
There was a pause as Kindra relayed my reply to Revna. I couldn’t speak to other drage directly, but the fact that I could speak to all of the dragons still made communication faster than for other drage.
You’re welcome, Idunn rumbled around me, her now-familiar voice laced with amusement. There are sheep below. Can I eat one?
You can’t steal someone’s sheep, I protested. And Arik made me eat a huge breakfast. How can you possibly be hungry again?
Four sausages are not enough for a dragon, she sniffed haughtily.
And five pieces of bacon, three eggs, a bowl of porridge, and two buttered rolls, I corrected.
It had truly been a small feast, and my stomach had nearly burst trying to force it all down.
Arik had insisted, watching me intently after consuming a portion three times the size of mine.
That should be more than enough to make it to lunch.
And yet, Idunn’s stomach gave a hollow rumble that I was certain I would feel in my own when we shifted.
No poaching sheep, Baldur commanded. Steam rolled off him as the rain hit his scales, and I was sure the same was happening to Idunn’s body. We will eat soon, Kjaere.
What does Revna say? Arik interjected, interrupting the discussion of sheep.
It’s very difficult to think clearly with all of you invading my mind. I found it easier to keep the dragons straight if I only focused on one at a time. Or two, as both Baldur and Idunn often demanded my attention. Kindra?
She commands you to fly safely and return soon. Another pause, followed by a draconic laugh. And she loathes paperwork.
She’s grumbling about paperwork, I told my mate as I released Kindra’s thread.
Business as usual then, Arik replied, unsurprised.
And Idunn is hungry, I added as she made a pathetic whining noise that had both Sigurd and Bryndis snorting in concern.
We shall procure a sheep, Bryndis declared, her golden thread a ray of sunshine in my mind. I was realizing that each of the dragons felt distinct, like a thumbprint or a signature.