Chapter Sixteen
–Torsten–
TYPICALLY, I WOULD scold my mate for going against any plan I might be forming, but something had shifted inside me since I sensed my offspring stirring in her womb. Something which left me vulnerable in ways that could very well be my ruin.
And while that alarmed me, there was peace in it, too.
Peace, when normally I strove for the opposite. Yet there was strength in it, as well. A sense of certainty that in the end I would defeat our enemy, protecting Katana and our unborn child. That I would be the ultimate conqueror, just as I always knew I would be.
áma and Drakkar had just left, sensing a storm brewing between the two of us, and they were right when I revealed what Skarde wouldn’t see coming.
“Me,” I said, certain I was right. “This side of me. The stronger side of me.”
When Katana's scowl only grew, and she frowned at me in confusion, I arched my eyebrows at her.
“Can you not see it then? Not feel it within me?
Some might call it my darker side, but ‘tis what can defeat Skarde.
‘Tis what aligns best with him since he's connected to me in ways he thinks will help him defeat me.”
No doubt finally catching my thoughts and intentions, her dragon eyes flared, and she shook her head.
“You can’t mean to...” She took a few steps back and leaned against the wall as if I were stalking her again, realizing I meant to use my godliness to possess him with darkness, then see him finished from the inside out like he'd intended to do to the Realm. “You couldn’t possibly do such a thing, could you?” She blinked as if trying to make sense of my logic.
“And if you could, how would you possibly survive it?”
“I wouldn’t, at least not entirely,” I admitted, focusing on what mattered most. “But I would defeat him, and you and our child would be safe, giving my weaker side the throne.”
“That sounds insane,” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. “And far too dangerous.”
“For me or for him?” I shifted closer to her, narrowing my eyes. “Who do you worry about most, I wonder? Me, who is willing to sacrifice everything for you, or him, the weaker half, whom I can’t imagine being so courageous.”
“Both of you,” she shot back, her voice hoarse with emotion. “I don’t want to lose either of you, so you can’t...” She cleared her throat and blinked back tears. “You can’t do this. There’s got to be another way.”
Almost certain a woman had never shed tears over me, I wasn’t sure how to feel.
While it struck me as a sign of weakness, it also felt appealing in a way I couldn’t make sense of, except it drew me even closer to her.
Drew me until I was about to grasp her shoulder and counsel her on not showing such vulnerability, but instead I found myself wrapping my hand around the side of her neck in a gentler way than I’d meant to.
“You should be proud that I will soon fulfill the prophecy and earn you the most admirable rank in the Realm,” I said, my voice rough in a way it never had been before.
“This act will earn your love, will it not?
Rather than it being given so freely. ‘Twill be a valuable lesson for our children someday.”
“Respect is earned.” She leaned into my touch. “Love, this kind of love, just is and will be for all time.”
Though tempted to say that made little sense, I couldn’t seem to find my tongue, too caught up in the way she gazed at me now. The way her soft skin felt beneath my fingertips. Would this be the last time I touched her? The last time I caught her sweet scent and felt the stirring of our offspring?
“No,” she whispered, gripping my tunic and reeling me in closer, giving me a look I couldn’t mistake. “I won’t allow it.”
Liking her assertive tone, despite knowing better because I would not fail her and our child in the end, I allowed her to pull my lips down to hers and kiss me. At first, it was softer than it had ever been before, whether in dreams or in the armory.
“I’m kissing you tenderly,” she murmured between slow, deep kisses. “Showing you the love I feel in a kiss.”
Liking it more than I expected, I returned her kisses, surprised by how aroused I became. How hard I was for her, even though I typically preferred being the aggressor when I was with a woman.
As if she felt the same and wanted to give me that as well, her kisses grew more desperate, hungrier, and I caught her sweet scent, telling me how ready she was for me. How much she wanted me between her thighs, and I couldn’t agree more.
Where before I hadn’t cared if anyone walked in on us, this time was different, and I couldn’t say why, except I wanted this moment to be ours, beyond prying eyes.
So I hoisted her up until she straddled my waist and walked her into a dark corner beyond the tree’s golden light.
Not daring to use godly magic, since I would need every bit I could muster, I used a trace amount of dragon magic to change her into a linen dress rather than the pants she now wore, giving me easier access.
Desperate to feel her one last time, I freed myself. Knowing she was ready for me, I thrust so deep, she slid up the wall, and whimpered in pleasure. Nothing had ever felt or sounded so good as she gasped, saying again and again how much she loved me.
While I meant to take her fast and hard, pleasuring her with a ruthlessness only I could, instead I found myself savoring every thrust, relishing her every soft pant and throaty groan.
Lost in the feel of her, I wanted these final moments to never end, yet even as we moved together, I felt a stirring in Drakkar, warning me we didn’t have long.
Something had happened.
In truth, I would not have lasted much longer, anyway, nor would she, so I drove into her, eager to fill her one last time and feel her seize up and tremble in my arms like I knew she would.
“I do too,” I said roughly, barely understanding what I was saying as I slowed my thrusts, relishing the feel of being inside her.
“Do what?” she gasped into the crook of my neck as I slowed even more, drawing out the moment until I knew she was close. Then, I buried myself deep, locked up in pleasure, and let go, whispering in her ear that I loved her too. Loved both her and our baby.
Wrapping her arms more tightly around my shoulders, she half-whimpered, half-cried out in pleasure as she crested with me and milked my cock in a way I would miss.
“Yet there’s no reason to miss it,” she murmured, out of breath and trembling against me. “We’ll find another way. We have to.”
Though tempted to give in to her if it meant being with her well into the future and creating an army of offspring, I knew if I didn’t do this that future was impossible.
With that in mind, I forced myself to lower her to the ground, chanted her back into her pants, and adjusted myself, stepping away before I was tempted to pull her back into my arms.
“If Skarde really is possessed by the darkness, as we’ve all speculated, just like his brother before him, wouldn't it stand to reason the darkness might try to possess you next if you go up against it like this?” she said, not afraid to stand up to me and try to talk me out of doing this despite her knowing how stubborn I could be.
“Then it stands to reason whether it's a tattoo or an ethereal crown, he would have what he needed to infiltrate the Realm.” She shook her head.
“If that happens, you will have sacrificed yourself for nothing.”
“’Twill not be for nothing because I will win,” I assured her, confident of my success. “I will defeat the darkness and Skarde, along with it.
“Mayhap,” Drakkar said, returning with áma once I telepathically assured him they could. “Mayhap not.”
When I frowned at him, he revealed what had happened in the brief time we were apart.
“Skarde sent a message via áma,” he said, his expression grim when he looked at us. “He has Frey and Taro.”
“And?” I prompted, sensing there was more, furious that Skarde would dare take my sister. Meanwhile, Katana’s eyes flashed with alarm, telling me there was little she wouldn’t do to get her friend back.
“And he wants Katana and the crown in exchange for their lives,” áma returned.
“How are we supposed to do that when Torsten doesn’t possess the actual crown?” Katana asked, eyeing áma curiously.
“And why, or should I say how, was he able to reach out to you, cousin?” I wondered, not trusting her any further than I could throw her after she’d single-handedly ensured I didn’t inherit the throne with one of her blasted prophecies.
“I couldn’t say, unless I came into contact with his darkness when I shifted Katana back,” she theorized. “Which may have formed some sort of telepathic gateway.”
“Which would mean he could have done the same with Drakkar, considering he touched Katana when she was spellbound by the darkness,” I pointed out, finding it a little too convenient that Skarde just happened to contact her.
In my opinion, there was no way to know her true motives in all this.
Until a few weeks ago she hadn’t even been a legitimate part of our tribe, so what loyalty did she truly owe us when she might very well crave the throne and the power that came with it?
“I could not say why Skarde contacted me,” áma repeated, her tone gentle despite the frustration I swore I saw flash in her eyes. “All I know is what he told me.”
“Which is what, in its entirety?” I prompted when she didn’t go on. “Surely, he elaborated on when and where?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering just how much information she might choose to withhold. “Mayhap even how.”
“He did. And he wants you both to go to him.” She glanced from my crown tattoo back to my face. “Which would make sense, ja?”
“It would,” I granted, seeing how this could work out in my favor, feeding perfectly into my plan, other than Katana being anywhere near Skarde.
That could present a real problem if I didn’t go about things just the right way.