by Bec McMaster
“Tell me the exact words you swore to the goddess.”
“I swore to kill you!”
“That was exactly what you said?” Intensity blazed to life in his eyes as he started toward her.
If he got his hands on her, then this was all over.
“No. I don’t know.” She reared back, trying to remember that moment. The hall. Her entire court standing there as her father demanded to know why her mate had left her on their mating night. The burn of humiliation in her chest. And the words. Imprinted on her heart. On her soul. Engraved now, with fear. "The prince has played recklessly with my fate," she whispered. "It shall not be allowed to stand. I shall return with Marduk's heart—or not at all."
In the distance thunder rumbled.
The goddess, reminding her that her oath hadn’t been fulfilled.
Both of them looked in that direction.
“Return with my heart….” He rubbed his thumb across his mouth.
“I even had a pretty little box made to put it in. I’m not going home,” she told him stubbornly. “I am trying to protect your life.”
“You did protect my life.” There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t identify. “You mated with me.”
And in so doing, destroyed any hope she had of ever returning to her family.
“And now I can never return. But I’ll pay that price. It’s the cost of my pride, and my feelings for you… are stronger than pride.” She had to get out of here. Solveig ripped the door open.
“Stop being a coward,” he told her fiercely, shoving his arm in front of her and slamming the door closed. “Stay here and fight.”
Solveig spun around. “A coward?”
Never in her life had anyone ever accused her of such a thing.
“Yes,” he growled, lowering his face to hers. “A coward. You’ll face an entire army of elves by yourself, but you won’t face me—”
“I’ve faced you more times than—”
“Guarded. Locked away. Barely daring to let me know a hint of your heart,” he shot back. “Face me, Solveig. No weapons. No shields. No lies. Just you—and the truth in your heart.”
The words slammed into her so hard she could barely breathe.
What did he mean?
A finger slid beneath her chin, forcing her to lift her head. “Look at me.”
Solveig glared at him defiantly.
“So stubborn. Always ready to fight me.” His breath skimmed her lips, and her pulse kicked in her throat. “Why don’t we try something else?”
“Like what?”
His fingertips softened on her cheeks and his thumbs came to rest on her chin. She couldn’t read the look in his eyes; a certain intensity she’d never seen Marduk wear before. “Why don’t we lay down our weapons and try peace?”
Peace?
She took an unsteady breath.
“Peace,” she whispered. “What does that even look like?”
His thumbs grew soft, stroking along her jaw, even as his eyes became warm enough to burn. “A little like this, I imagine.”
And then he kissed her.
It was a kiss to capture her heart. Her soul.
Marduk kissed her the way she needed to be kissed—as if they were two souls striving to contain the same space. One strike of the match igniting the entire hungry bonfire. He kissed her as if she was everything to him. As if he’d spent his entire life just begging for this moment, and he needed to make it last.
Her hungry mouth and hands demanded more.
And he gave it gladly, his hands rough on her skin as he pushed her back against the wall and took what they both wanted.
Teeth skimming down her throat, his mouth capturing her delicate skin and suckling there. Just a tease really. A question. And she stilled as if she heard it, and then arched her head back in answer.
Surrender.
Yes. A thrill lit through him, every possessive urge within him demanding that he mark her. He bit her. Hard. Even as his fingers found her nipple through the soft fabric of her nightgown, and pinched.
“Marduk.” A cry tore from her throat, and then she was wildfire in his hands.
He’d never heard her sound like that. Soft and breathy and desperate. Hands slid under his shirt, her nails digging into the soft muscle of his shoulders.
Oh, she liked that.
The urge to be inside her pounded through his brain.
“Hold on, my love.” Gritting his teeth, he hauled her legs up around her waist and strode toward the bed.
His cock rode between her thighs, and even with her nightgown between them, he could feel how wet she was getting.
Solveig’s back hit the mattress, and Marduk followed her down, pressing one knee between her thighs. Instantly, she curled up, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, but he was ready for her.
Capturing one wrist, he forced it onto the mattress beside her head. And then the other.
A smile took him by surprise as he kissed her furious lips. “You have all the control. You always have had. Let me make love to you, Solveig.”
I shall return with Marduk's heart—or not at all.
He finally, finally had the answer to Harald’s challenge.
He just had to convince her it was worth the risk.
Dangerous eyes explored his face. And then the breath left her, as she slid a hand up the back of his neck. “Then do it. Make love to me. And don’t ever stop.”
The shock of her mouth took him by surprise.
Not because he’d always been the one to kiss her first—but because there was a sweetness to the caress that slipped its hooks into him more surely than any trick she’d ever played. She kissed him as if she wanted to inhale him. She kissed him as if the sun rose and set in his smile. She kissed him as though she was intent upon claiming him, heart and soul.
This.
Rolling onto his back, he skimmed rough palms up her spine as she straddled him, capturing her closely against him.
He’d had her before, but every time they’d lain together it been war. And though Solveig bit his lip as if to remind him that she was no placid maid for him to lay back on the mattress, this felt entirely different.
She wasn’t fighting him anymore.
That thought alone almost made him come. Suddenly, it wasn’t enough to have his hands sliding over her nightgown. He wanted her naked. Growling deep in his throat, he tore at her buttons, his teeth skating down her throat as she arched into him. It ground the slick skin between her thighs against him.
Bare skin.
Their eyes met.
“Planning a little seduction?” he mused, rasping one thumbnail over the back of her thigh, right beneath the curve of her ass.
She shivered. Ticklish, but also feeling it elsewhere.
“Maybe.” A hand slid up his throat, and then she was kissing him again. Teeth sinking into his lower lip. Tongue sliding over his with heated urgency.
Hauling her against him, he closed his mouth over her nipple. Solveig ground against him, until the pressure against his erection almost broke him.
Every inch of her was sleek steel, and her breasts were but the barest of handfuls. Perfect, he thought, as he rolled her and drove her back into the mattress.
He kissed his way down her abdomen, unable to tear his gaze from her face. Solveig arched her spine, her hips locking around his thighs with a shudder, as his mouth grew hotter, more daring. He made a rough sound under his breath and captured her ass in his hands, splaying her wide.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
Solveig bit her lip, hauling a pillow behind her head.
“Look at me,” he growled, as he nuzzled into the thatch of hair between her thighs.
Obsidian eyes locked upon him and he felt the shock of connection to the core. And then he bent his head to worship her.
He would never get enough of this.
The taste of her drove him wild, but her responses…. The sound of her breathless cry as her body tensed and
then finally exploded, was perfection. He could listen to her scream his name forever.
“Look at me,” he demanded, capturing a fistful of her hair, as he slid into the welcome of her arms and thighs.
Their eyes met and he kissed her again, chasing after that elusive spirit that beat within her heart. He could sense the yearning in her. Sense the flickering brush of her mind against his.
“Open for me,” he whispered, his teeth grazing her throat, and though her thighs parted wider, welcoming him inside her, he knew she had deliberately misinterpreted him.
“Gods, you feel so perfect.” He threw the thoughts at her, determined to let her know how he felt.
There.
Her eyes widened, just slightly, and Marduk thrust inside her, swallowed by her warm, wet heat. Her thighs clamped around his hips, and she bit her lip and threw her head back. Silent agony. Rapturous pleasure. He could feel it all shuddering through her, even as she denied him her voice.
“You were made for me, Solveig.” He shuddered and buried his face against her throat. A sense of stillness ran through her, and he knew she heard him. “And I will thank the goddess every day for blessing me with you.”
His teeth grazed her throat, and he bit deep into the slope of muscle that gilded her shoulder as he came. Marking her. Fusing some part of her with himself.
Marduk collapsed atop her, his hands skimming up her arms as she hugged him close. She hadn’t said a word, but the way her hand slid up his spine and caressed his nape was strangely proprietary.
There was nothing but silence.
The silence of surrender.
He drew back and stared into her eyes, breathing hard. Her nightgown was wrapped around her waist, the buttons agape. He withdrew with a gush of slick seed, and then drew her back into his arms, so her back was nestled against his chest.
“Talk to me,” he insisted, kissing the back of her neck. “Let’s try this new thing.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Marduk closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her neck. “Everything.”
Morning dawned, bringing with it a female dreki who looked utterly furious with the world.
Marduk brought her breakfast, ignoring the scowl she sent in his direction.
“Good morning, my love.”
“Why are you always so cheerful so early?” She dragged the blankets over her head and hid beneath them as if she took personal affront to his good humor.
He tugged them down and held a mug of tea in front of her as a peace offering. “Because I just spent last night dreaming the most delicious dreams, only to wake up to find they weren’t dreams after all.”
“Ugh.” She hauled herself up into a sitting position, glaring into her mug as if it held the answer to all her questions.
Marduk eased onto the bedroll behind her, kissing her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“I made you scream with ecstasy nearly ten times last night. And you look like your favorite uncle just died.” He let his hand come to rest on her waist, as he buried his face in her hair and breathed in the scent of her skin. He could smell his own scent all over her, and it made his dreki want to purr with pleasure.
“I can’t go home,” she told him. “I made that foolish vow—”
“You would return with my heart, or not at all?”
She hadn’t wanted to talk about it last night, though he knew he’d planted the seeds within her.
“There are always loopholes in the pledges we make to our gods,” he told her. “Take me with you when you return to your father’s court. You didn’t pledge that you would bring my heart in a bloody box—you just said you would bring my heart. And even if it is contained within my chest, does that not meet the precise sentiment of those words?”
Solveig choked on her tea. “You’re gambling rather recklessly. If the Goddess does not accept, then I’m the one who is going to suffer the consequences.”
He tugged on a sheaf of her silken hair, rubbing it between thumb and forefinger. He’d never been given to faith, and yet he’d seen the effect that mating had held over his brother and sister. “I have a feeling the goddess will approve.”
“A feeling?”
“Yes. A feeling,” he said, saving the tea mug before she could slosh it everywhere in her agitation. “Trust me.”
A shudder ran through her. “On your head, so be it. I will take you with me and pray she accepts your heart where it lies.”
Marduk rested his forehead against hers. You foolish female. The goddess demanded you return with my heart and you have it. You’ve always had it.
He wanted to tell her in that moment—to spare her the worry—but a part of him suspected she needed time to grow used to the idea.
And a plan formed.
A wild, reckless plan.
She’d told him once that she actually liked romance, and what was better than a grand sweeping gesture?
Árdís had told him the only way to fix the song was to rewrite it. Well, so be it. He could never change the past, but maybe he could create a new song, just for her.
The goddess did not strike her down for entering the court.
The pit in Solveig’s stomach churned as they faced the doors to her father’s throne room.
“Relax,” Marduk whispered, sliding his fingers between hers. “You’re home. We’re home.”
This was where she had made her pledge.
This was where it had all gone wrong.
Solveig turned to him. “What if—”
He captured her face and kissed her. “No more ‘what if’s’. Be brave. Trust me. You are mine now, and She will not take you from me.”
“Absolutely unbelievable,” she breathed. “Your dreki pride thinks you can defy a goddess.”
He merely smiled.
Solveig pushed away and straightened her shoulders. So be it.
But in her heart of hearts, she wanted to be free of this curse so badly it ached. She’d made her choice. She wanted him more than anything, and if that meant never coming home then… she would pay that price.
But he’d insisted.
“This is where you belong,” Marduk told her, striding forward to push the doors open. “You’re mine, Solveig, and I won’t let you go, but I don’t intend to see you suffer. Now let’s go greet your father. I promised I’d bring you back to him, and I’m trying not to break my promises anymore.”
“It’s always all about you,” she grumbled.
There was that smile—the bane of her existence. Her heart fluttered, even as he winked. “Of course.”
Marduk swept the throne room doors open and offered her his arm.
Her entire court stared back at her. Her father sat on his throne, flanked by both Aslaug and Siv. They almost looked like they’d been expecting her, clad in fine raiment. Indeed, the entire court seemed to be swathed in velvet and silk and dozens of diamonds.
It stalled her nerves.
Solveig set one hand to the hilt of her sword as she strode inside, her other hand tucked in Marduk’s elbow. “What is going on here? Did we interrupt preparations for a ball?”
Why would they be celebrating?
Or what?
The gates to Álfheimr were shut, but the cost had been astronomical, and with a brewing war sitting on the horizon like a rumble of dark clouds, this was hardly the time for dancing.
“Who knows?” Marduk led her forward. “Your father is a very wily dreki. Maybe he’s got one last trick up his sleeve.”
He sounded smooth and unhurried.
The golden prince in all his glory.
But she knew him.
“Did you do something?” The muscle in his jaw twitched at her words. “You did, didn’t you? What is this?”
Marduk swept her beneath his arm and then presented her to her father with a flourish. If she hadn’t spent her entire life training with a rapier, she might have tripped over her boots.
“I bring her back to you. As promised,” Marduk said, bowing his head respectfully to her father.
And then he pushed her in the back.
Solveig’s feet kept moving, carrying her onto the dais, and she was incredibly grateful they did. But she paused there, her heart on edge, listening for any hint of rumbling disapproval in the distance.
It did not come.
“Father.” She swallowed the tight knot in her throat. Hundreds of eyes watched, and she stiffened her shoulders.
Later. She could definitely kill him later.
“Daughter.” There was a glint of humor in her father’s eyes. “Welcome home.”
A hard weight slammed into her from the side. Siv. And then Aslaug was there, crushing them both together. Silk surrounded her and the smell of lilac, a giggle echoing in her ear. She wanted to drown in their arms.
It felt like nothing had changed.
It felt like everything had changed.
Heat sheened across her vision, but she was not going to cry in front of her court.
“Goddess’s breath, give me room to breathe,” she muttered as Aslaug squealed and jumped up and down. “You’re so undignified.”
Aslaug saw her eyes and poked her tongue out. “You stole my prince, so don’t you dare lecture me. I can be undignified if I wish.”
Hot shame flooded through her. “I never—”
“Oh, I know. He was never meant for me.” She gave Solveig a fierce squeeze. “And I’m glad he chose you. I’m glad he loves you. You needed him more than I ever did.”
Harald rose to his feet, the smile sliding from his face. “The last time you were in these halls, you made a promise to the goddess. You would return with Prince Marduk’s heart, or not at all.”
The room fell silent.
Even Aslaug clapped her hands over her mouth, as if she was trying to capture any words that might spill free.
“Father.” Solveig eased out a shaky breath. “I….”
And then his gaze slid behind her. “I am grateful to see you have kept your word. A dreki’s oath must be sacrosanct.”
Kept her word?
She spun around.
“Forgive me for interrupting, my love, but I have something to say.” Marduk knelt at her feet, right in front of her father's court.
