Chapter 1 #2
“Then allow me to explain,” I said. “We lure her here instead of meeting her at Yggdrasil. Her, not her little minions. She will come for this throne with a few of her vampires in tow. We know this is all she wants.” I laid my hand over hers where she gripped the throne’s arms. “She’ll come to take it from you herself if she thinks she’s the only one left with the power to control vampires.
You’re the only thing standing in her way.
Binding yourself to a vampire will convince the entire kingdom of your powerlessness.
News of our royal wedding will spread, and the second you’re bound to me, she’ll be here. I guarantee it.”
“Are you really suggesting I marry you?” she scoffed. “Did you forget you already tried this?”
“Except I’m not suggesting a real marriage this time.
We’ll do the ceremony, but you’ll never vow yourself to me, which means your precious powers will remain untouched.
No binding, no risk. We can be careful with the sealing and make everyone believe it.
Trust me, if Vylheim believes it, so will Silver. ”
Lux tilted her head, not intending to show me the long curve of her neck that I couldn’t stop staring at. If only fighting fired her up the same way it did for me, then I’d know what the Hel she was thinking. It drove me wild that I could only hear her thoughts when she desired me.
She scanned me like an opponent in a fight, yet the spark of interest in her eyes betrayed the fury beneath. Curiosity suited her. “You’re saying we fake a marriage?” she asked.
“Exactly.” With her this close, I memorized every inch of her face.
“The ceremony, the rings, the—” I stopped myself before suggesting the consummation.
“Because Silver knows, as well as we do, that if we marry, all your powers as one of the gods’ witches and their chosen will strip away.
You won’t be the huntress. You’ll be my wife. ”
“And the queen of Vylheim,” she said.
“That too. That’ll bait her more than anything else because this throne has that kind of power. It makes you want to take a seat here more than anything else.” I ran my hand along the armrest, but Lux wasn’t listening to me drone on about this stupid hunk of bronze.
She slumped slightly, and I wanted to pull her into my lap and let her rest after the fight had taken it out of her. Even with the strength of the huntress, her heart was weak, and I hated that I couldn’t fix it for her.
I kept silent, still. One wrong word and she’d get spooked. I knew this plan was already on the edge of something she’d ever accept because of how dangerously close it was to giving up her powers. If everyone believed she was helpless, they’d come at her with full speed.
But I’d be there for her, and I’d never let her get hurt.
The servant’s door groaned and then fell shut, but I didn’t break eye contact with Lux. The only person who’d dare come into the throne room at this time was my advisor, Axel.
With the soft approach of his footsteps, Lux pushed off the arms of the throne and straightened, giving Axel a taut smile before looking down at me.
“I can’t wrap my head around this right now.
” With a wince, she palmed her face, and blood suddenly drained from her features.
A sure sign that the gods were yelling inside her mind.
I leaped to my feet, but when I reached for her, she yanked away. Her hands shot to her temples as she paled to a ghostly white. “Lux,” I said.
Shaking her head, she squeezed her eyes shut and put more pressure on her temples.
I couldn’t help glancing at Axel, who stood like a statue draped in a grey fur coat.
Dark hair streaked with silver that matched his beard, and the constellation of freckles across his stoic face gave him a look more powerful than the gods.
As the only other person who knew about the gods tormenting their chosen witch, his concern was palpable.
I brushed a loose tendril from Lux’s face, dipping my head to get her to look at me, but she wouldn’t. This was the most she’d let me touch her since she first returned to the castle. “It’s Odin, isn’t it?”
She seethed and nodded gently, tugging away from me. “They’re so loud after I fight—” Another wince cut her off. She sucked in a breath, straightened, and turned. Slowly, with a tired drag, she made her way to the double doors that led into the hall. “I’m going to pass out if I don’t lie down.”
I trailed her like a ghost floating in her wake, pulled by her magnetism. “Let me carry you back to your bed.”
“This chivalry won’t convince me, Drakkar,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at me. I frowned. She said my full name rather than calling me Drak. “Not after you threatened to kill me. It’s hard to imagine calling you my husband, even if it would be fake.”
With that, she yanked the door open and vanished into the shadows of the hall, leaving me to rake my fingers through my hair and grit my teeth. Time to change her mind was running out. The gods’ grip on her grew stronger with every fight.
This wasn’t just a race to save Yggdrasil, but a race against the madness decaying Lux’s mind.
I was already losing her, and I’d never truly had her. That thought left me feeling like I'd taken a fist to the gut as I watched the door fall shut in her wake.
I cleared my throat and, without looking at Axel, nodded toward the servant’s door. “Come spar with me,” I said.
Like a shadow, he followed me in silence as I strode the opposite way from Lux, taking the quicker route to the training room.
The only way to burn off this unease and get my mind off her was with a weapon in my hand.
A sword might not save her from the creeping madness, but I took solace in the thought of protecting her from Silver and the other traitors.