Chapter Two #2
While that stark realization caught me off guard, it didn’t stop me from chanting under my breath, despite my sister warning me not to, and invoking enough power to whip Katana’s blade away from her.
Before she could dodge me again, I tossed her over my shoulder and ran straight at the tree, only to find us not at the great golden Yggdrasil after traveling back in time but somewhere else entirely.
We ended up beside a struggling Yggdrasil that only managed to stay alive underground, no doubt thanks to the nearby waterfall.
Worse yet, we were facing off with Skarde himself.
Nearly as tall and broad-shouldered as I, he had pale blonde hair, wore black attire, and was well-armed. He narrowed his eyes at me in the low-ceilinged cave, and a slimy grin curled his lips.
“Put me down,” Katana ground out, using several good moves to try to get me to drop her, but I blocked them, frowning at the desperation I felt from her. Frustratingly enough, desperation born of wanting to go to Skarde.
Not to me, but to the enemy.
Although I was acutely aware that it wounded my inner beast, I remained focused, realizing now wasn’t the time to face off with Skarde, since she might very well fight by his side against me.
So, doing my best to ignore her desperation to get away, I once again used magic I’d inherited from my mother and summoned an earthquake that shook the tunnel just enough to throw Skarde off balance when he tried to throw his own magic at us.
That allowed me enough time to do the only thing I could think of and race back into the Yggdrasil, hoping it would return us to the future or perhaps to the mother tree this time, only to find us somewhere else yet again.
Frowning, I looked from the sizeable twisting root beside us to the long crevice formed by towering moss-covered rock walls that ran in either direction as far as the eye could see.
I assumed the root that wound down one of the walls belonged to another ash tree somewhere above, yet where was this place? Were we even inside the Realm?
“Put me down,” Katana ground out again, having gone perfectly still in a way that had me more on guard than before, yet also excited by the potential challenge of doing as she requested.
I wanted to see how she would react because I didn’t intend to be chivalrous or decent about it, but the opposite, given the feel of her lush little body over my shoulder.
“If ‘tis your wish,” I murmured, inhaling her sweet, flowery scent. “If you promise not to attack me again.” I made sure she heard the warning in my voice. “I would hate to make you suffer for your insolence.”
I wouldn’t take her against her will, but ensure she wanted me every bit as much as I wanted her. So she wasn’t eager to get away, but desperate to remain in my arms.
“I promise,” she bit out, her tone curt. Yet still, I swore I heard a distinct throatiness in her voice that hadn’t been there before.
Moving just enough that her back was nearly against the wall, caging her in, I slowly lowered her so she had no choice but to slide down my body, pleased when she made no move to lash out when she had every chance. Yet, I knew part of her was tempted.
Instead, her breath hitched, and her scent shifted ever so slightly, causing me to inhale sharply at the musky smell of her arousal.
When my dragon eyes flared, I sensed she understood what she was doing to me, and I didn’t care.
I wanted her to know what I wanted to do to her.
I wanted her to feel my pull more than she would ever feel Skarde’s, and I let her know without saying a word, pushing images of everything I craved into her mind.
What I desired to do to her at this very moment.
She was so slight and vulnerable against me, her body fragile in a way I wasn’t used to but liked a great deal.
To the point that I was beginning to wonder why I didn't just do what we both wanted.
Why I didn't slake my lust right here and now, knowing she would moan in pleasure through every second of it, and never crave another.
“Step away, stranger,” she warned, her voice hoarse with desire I knew she fought.
Her breathing grew heavier, and her heart raced.
Swallowing hard, she narrowed her eyes at me, her body trembling against mine in a way that, again, pleased me a great deal, making my inner beast rear up with approval. “Now.”
Leaning close, I murmured into her ear, taken by the feel of her silky-smooth hair brushing my cheek. “Is that truly what you want, Katana?” I inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of her skin, all the sweeter the closer I got. “Because we both know we are not strangers.”
“Now,” she repeated. Her voice was dangerously soft this time, yet still throaty, telling me I affected her every bit as much as she affected me.
Wanted me as ferociously. Needed me as I needed her, despite stiffening against me in what might strike some as fear.
Something I would relish of my opponent in battle.
But this wasn’t a battle.
Not again.
Not yet.
“What if I don’t want to step away?” I whispered, nibbling along her earlobe, unable to help myself.
“What if I want to take you right here? Would you spread your thighs for me?” I met her eyes, finding a strange mixture of desire and defiance in them.
“Would you finally let me claim you as I know you have dreamt? As I have dreamt despite the centuries betwixt us?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
” Katana’s gaze flickered to the area above my head again as if the silver crown was back, her voice softening in a way I didn’t anticipate when her eyes met mine again.
“Nor do I know your name.” She tilted her head and rested her hand on my chest, using her eyes to lull my inner beast so much it would have rumbled with pleasure if I were in dragon form.
“What is your name?” Her gaze gentled as she somehow pulled me closer despite neither of us moving.
“If I know that, then perhaps I’ll remember more? ”
“Torsten,” I said without hesitation. “Son of Zane and Savannah.”
“Nice to meet you, Torsten,” she said softly. “Finally.”
As if in response to her words, I felt myself fade into her eyes, allowing my blasted kind side to overtake me before I could stop him.
Like always, despite being more aware of my personality shift than usual, I was still unsettled by the actions of my darker half thus far, startled to realize how forward I had been with her.
“’Tis nice to meet you as well, Katana.” After ensuring she was steady, I stepped away.
“Apologies for...” What? How to phrase it, given my darker side had gone about things much differently than I would have when Blaze ordered me to go to the future and protect her.
“For being so forward when I only meant to keep you safe.”
Where most women, especially one ripped back in time over a thousand years, might be far angrier, she eyed me curiously rather than with the distrust and dislike my other half had surely earned.
“You’re not him anymore, are you?” She glanced above my head then back to my face once more. “You’re not the same Torsten who just kidnapped me, but a different version altogether.”
Relieved she understood what was going on and there was no fear in her eyes at my abnormality, I nodded slowly. “That’s right.”
“Because you suffer with more than one personality,” she realized, her gaze going softer still, showing me sympathy I hadn’t expected nor did I entirely want.
Yet I did want her just as much as my other half, so I nodded, offering her honesty I hoped might help this side of me gain her trust, because thus far I had done no such thing.