Chapter Six
–Torsten–
IWAS NEVER as furious with my weaker half as I was when I shoved him aside and resurfaced thanks to Katana remembering the first time I kissed her in a dream beneath the cherry blossom tree.
It all came rushing back in vivid clarity.
A kiss I suspected my other half would never have had the nerve to give, despite being tempted.
Not when he always chose to abide by the rules of fate, while I chose to cast them aside and forge my own destiny.
To that end, it took every ounce of strength I could muster not to claim my lovely little mate the moment I resurfaced, not caring in the least who watched.
My sister wouldn’t, but I suspected the devious swine determined to stay so close to her might, and I didn’t trust he wouldn’t put a blade in my back while I slaked my lust.
Yet I managed to rally my inner strength, sensing an opportunity I prayed my enemy was unaware of. A chance to bait him, then defeat him. This would save my people and fulfill the Realm of Fire prophecy, allowing me to claim my throne with Katana by my side, who would be honored to become my queen.
First, though, I needed to follow my gut, knowing I was right.
Even so, I was not foolish enough to think there was little chance my weaker side would resurface, given his equal desire for Katana and his tendency to mess things up like he usually did.
“Odin above, Torsten,” my sister exclaimed as we entered a torchlit cave that bore a striking resemblance to the War Chamber at the Keep, created by rocks worn down over time.
“This is uncanny, is it not?” Astounded, her gaze shot to a multi-layered stalagmite that bore an uncanny similarity to the Liege of the Realm’s throne at the Keep, with its seat backed by lethal spikes. “Even that.”
“Even that,” I agreed, certain it would soon belong to me, not just the King of Scandinavia, but the proper Liege of the Keep and Realm, as my father had been before me, until Blaze came along.
“Not uncanny, but a grand design by the gods,” I continued, certain of it, holding out my hand to Katana and looking at her with a reassurance and confidence that she would always remain by my side.
Where else would she want to be? “Come, mate. I wish you to sit beside me, if but for a moment, as the Keep will reveal itself to us in all its glory soon enough.”
“No.” She shook her head and refused my hand. “Not like this, Torsten. That might not be the actual throne, but even still...not like this.”
Foolish woman. How could she not see clearly where her destiny lay? This was her fate. Our fate, foreseen by the Norns, the weavers of words that created a beautiful web across time that surely belonged to us. Did belong to us.
Yet I could tell by her hesitation that my other half had somehow influenced her, and while I couldn’t be certain how, I knew better than to let his weakness affect her. That in mind, I took the matter out of her hands and scooped her up before she realized my intentions.
“Put her down,” Taro ordered. “Now!”
Ignoring his request, knowing my sister would never allow him near me, despite the sound of him unsheathing his blade, I strode for the rocky throne without a backward glance.
“I should tell you how wrong you are and that you have a lot of nerve,” Katana said rather calmly, as if she knew or remembered from our dreams I would never harm her, “but that would be a waste of time because you believe you are right in all things.”
“Of course I do,” I agreed, seeing no reason to argue. “And ‘tis good you understand such. ‘Twill make things easier going forward.”
Not to mention dull, but we would deal with that after I secured the Keep and my kingdom.
Then I would ensure she kept things as interesting here as she had in our dreams, especially in the bedroom, where we would spend most of our time, as she bore me as many offspring as her delicate little body could handle.
“My making things easy for you would bore you to death,” she returned, knowing me better than I realized. “So expect nothing less so long as you behave like this.”
Whether she realized it yet or not, she had said those very words to me more than once over the years, her taunt echoing through my dreams, driving me to distraction with want. With sheer need that had me, yet again, moments away from taking her right where I stood.
“Yet you won’t,” she murmured softly, her lips curling ever so slightly as she looked at me with womanly knowledge, beguiling my inner beast with a mere glance, and I knew she was right.
More than that, it occurred to me she had more power over me than I realized.
“No, I won’t,” I concurred, doing what I had long dreamt of in my dreams but never had the opportunity.
I didn’t bother setting her in the smaller rock chair next to the throne where most queens sat, but sat in my chair with her on my lap, knowing she would feel my swelling cock in little time. “I will have you sit where you belong.”
Then, giving her no chance to dart away, I dug my fingers into her short, silky hair and pressed my lips to hers, ignoring the sound of another blade unsheathing, knowing it was my sister's if Taro took another step in our direction. My sibling might have played coy and flirtatious with him earlier, but there was a fierce warrior inside her, too, who would never allow him close to me if I didn’t want him there.
To be expected, I supposed, my mate stiffened against me at first, tempted to deny me with perhaps a nip, but instead, much to my pleasure and surprise, softened against me seconds later.
Better still, she gave in and opened her mouth to mine, as if she’d longed for the moment, and allowed the kiss to deepen, invoking such arousal that I growled, desperate for more, only to feel an odd sense of familiarity.
How she felt on my lap on this throne. How our lips and tongues moved against each other as if we had shared this very kiss before.
That’s when I realized we hadn’t shared it, but her and my weaker half had on the real throne and in the real Keep at that, in a dream.
And that’s all my other half needed to shove me aside and take over again.
While angry at my darker side for his actions since taking over, nothing felt so good as resurfacing into a moment I recalled with potent clarity. Nothing so arousing as feeling Katana on my lap and her lips against mine.
Easing the rough grip my darker half had on her hair, I cupped her cheek gently and enjoyed the kiss for a moment longer before ending it lest my already painful arousal get the better of me.
“You’re back,” she murmured, her voice hoarse before she cleared her throat, her pale reddish-brown eyes dewy with pleasure as they met mine. “I thought you might be.”
“You allowed the kiss on purpose,” I realized, catching her thoughts about our shared dream.
How I brought her into the War Chamber in the Keep and showed her the chair.
In the dream, I’d had no thoughts of someday calling it my own, yet when she insisted I at least enjoy sitting on it, if only to sit where my father once had, I complied.
When she tried to sit on the chair beside me, I knew I didn’t want her there, but closer.
Perhaps it was the sense of empowerment that sitting in the chair gave me, but I caught her wrist and pulled her onto my lap.
After that, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to finally close my lips over hers for the first time.
Or so I thought.
“I did allow the kiss,” Katana said, pulling me back to the here and now, tenderness in her eyes as she no doubt caught how jealous I was feeling. “Because this moment belonged to you.” She shook her head. “Not him.”
Her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before she looked at Taro and assured him she was okay.
My more amiable half had resurfaced. Taro, in the meantime, had been blocked by my sister but seemed to have realized all was well because he’d already sheathed his blade, his reply not exactly what I wanted to hear.
“No matter Torsten's side, I’m getting the sense he won’t hurt you,” Taro returned, giving her a look of resolve. “And I’m fairly certain you know that, too, Kat.”
While that should have pleased me and given me peace of mind, I was irritated because my other half was being readily accepted when I wanted him gone. Trusting him in any way, shape, or form set a dangerous precedent, and I said so, gently removing Katana from my lap, my arousal swiftly fading.
“Dangerous precedent or not,” Katana countered, coming to my darker side’s defense yet again, “he seemed to know things you didn’t.
” She looked at me with the same gentleness she had shown me before, as if trying to soothe my wounded ego.
“That doesn’t mean he should stay surfaced, though.
I’m just saying maybe you can tap into his knowledge and use it for the greater good rather than for what he intends. ”
“So you know,” I said with a sigh, hoping she hadn’t realized that my other half intended to use her as bait to lure the darkness straight into the Keep, believing nothing could defeat him there.
“I’m sorry, Katana. My darker half thinks he can defeat anything on what he considers his rightful territory, with the gods backing him, no less. ”
“Sweet Valhalla, he’s bold, is he not?” Frey shook her head and gave me a warning look. “We cannot let that happen, brother. The prophecy says so. You can’t let the darkness in, no matter what form it takes.”
“I have no intention of letting that happen,” I made clear, eyeing the chamber that looked so much like the War Chamber, and fearing the worst. “Yet I have a feeling my other side might already have done something he had no right to do.”
“What does that mean?” Taro said, frowning.
“It means my other half meant what he said when he claimed Skarde was already tracking Katana,” I replied. “And I think he figured that out sometime after his initial contact with Skarde, when we traveled back in time.”