Chapter Fifteen #2
“Yet,” Torsten said into my mind, by no means offering the kind of proposal a girl might expect, especially given I was his fated mate and carried his child, but there was nothing romantic about it.
Instead, he remained blunt and matter-of-fact.
“I will be making you the wife of the Liege’s second-in-command Soon enough, then shortly thereafter, the wife of the Liege himself, which will give you ample rank indeed. ”
“Along with your harem of women,” I muttered, not forgetting what he’d said in the armory.
I expected some type of reiteration, but he didn’t reply.
Instead, his gaze grew a little odd, if not unsettled, when he looked at me before he refocused on Drakkar after he urged us to join him by one of the larger fires.
Yet I couldn’t help but notice, in that brief moment when our eyes connected, that his crown, sparking with darkness, flickered in and out, seeming more ethereal than ever, as if it were beginning to fade altogether.
“What was that back there, Katana?” Drakkar questioned, straight to the point, as a mix of ale and mead was served.
It seemed he had caught more about the situation than I realized, but then he’d been the one who pursued me.
“Why did your dragon think Skarde was her fated mate?
Should we assume that ‘tis yet another side effect of you and Torsten being subjected to the darkness before it even possessed Skarde?”
“I have no idea.” A chill raced through me at the idea of that. “Though I suppose that’s the most reasonable explanation, and it would certainly explain my bizarre attraction to him.”
“I would say ‘tis the only explanation,” áma said softly, eyeing Torsten and me in that strange way of hers. “Which means his connection to you two is only getting stronger. That would be the only way he could ever convince your inner beast of such a thing, Katana, especially given you’re pregnant.”
Alarmed by that, I shook my head, worried everything Torsten’s kinder side had feared might be coming true.
That we might be growing more vulnerable to the enemy via this pregnancy.
“You don’t think Skarde sensed it, do you?
I didn’t even sense it until after Torsten’s dragon did, so maybe it hasn’t happened quite yet? ”
“I think ‘tis safe to assume if he can lock on to you so easily amid one of my storms and influence you so greatly,” Drakkar said, “then ‘twould be wiser to assume he knows everything you and Torsten know.”
“I agree,” áma said, her gaze still fixed on Torsten and me. “You should also assume he not only knows your precise location now but might very well be following your thoughts.”
“Which is what we wanted to some extent,” Torsten said, downing half his ale.
He didn’t seem all that worried about the darkness stalking us, but then this was the version who wanted to challenge the beast to begin with.
“The point was to keep the darkness outside the Realm, and we have done that.” He shrugged.
“Mayhap now he won’t be such a coward and will face me in person rather than in a dream. ”
Another chill raced through me at the determination in his eyes. How certain he was that he could defeat something we barely understood, all to claim a throne.
“What makes you think you’re strong enough to—” I began, but áma cut me off.
“To speak no more,” she said, sounding lighthearted enough to anyone listening. Yet there was a warning in her eyes when she looked at us before her gaze drifted downward, as if she were looking straight through the floor. “Not until we have had time to eat and settle our stomachs.”
She put a finger to her lips and shook her head when the three of us looked at her in confusion, then mouthed what appeared to be the word Yggdrasil to Drakkar.
“I agree, cousin,” he replied, and nodded his head. “’Twould be wise to seek nourishment and regain our strength before speaking on any of this.”
He chanted under his breath, the sound barely audible, before gesturing for us to follow him down one of several tunnels branching off from the main cave.
From there, we traveled downward again until he led us into a much smaller cave with a golden Yggdrasil at its center, bathed in light pouring down from an opening high above.
“I have known of this tree but could never visit it lest I harm the dragons within this Lair,” áma said into our minds before she pressed her hand against its trunk, closed her eyes, and murmured a chant, her aura awash in its same golden light before fading.
She looked our way with reassurance. “You can think and speak freely down here. This tree will protect you from anyone who means Sigdirs and their allies harm.”
“And my spell will allow Skarde to still hear us conversing by the fire,” Drakkar said, looking at áma with admiration, if I didn’t know better. “I didn’t know you possessed such a gift, or I would have brought us here sooner.”
“I wasn’t so sure I did beyond the great Yggdrasil,” she replied softly, eyeing him as if she saw something we didn’t, making me suspect it might be the ethereal axe again. “’Tis good to know I can, going forward.”
“’Twould make no difference to me if Skarde knew of my challenge,” Torsten muttered, shaking his head.
“Yet it should,” I fumed at him, unable to suppress a surge of anger I hadn’t realized I’d been holding back, not afraid to challenge his darker side like this, where most would never.
Yet he seemed to be forgetting one crucial aspect, and I fully intended to remind him.
“Because facing off with Skarde is a foolish idea, and if he knows anything about you, one I’m sure he’s counting on, especially if he has any inkling of how harmful and draining it can be if you end up throwing a bunch of godly magic at him.
If it were me, I would damn well use it against you. ”
“She’s not wrong,” Drakkar agreed. “’Twould be wise of him.”
“Yet you forget I have something other than my godly magic to use against him,” Torsten returned, not frustrated by my tone or even willing to take my warning seriously, but rather, arrogantly amused, if I didn’t know better.
I frowned, not following him. “And what is that? As far as I can see, the only thing you have that he wants is the crown.”
“Why don't Drakkar and I give the two of you time alone before we continue making plans?” áma cut in, seeming to sense this storm was only going to get stronger. She gestured at Drakkar in passing, and he followed her out.
Good thing, too, considering what Torsten said next.