by Bec McMaster
"Not the queen," he pointed out. "Or you would have spoken about it in front of the others."
No. This was personal. Árdís stared out over the landscape. His volcano was beautiful. Smoking fumaroles dotted the landscape and she'd seen a crystalline lake tucked within the caldera.
Her hand pressed to her chest. "I miss my ring."
"Your wedding ring?" His eyes sharpened.
She'd told him everything that morning, after her bath.
"Yes." Árdís bit her lip. "I feel incomplete somehow. I could be lying there in Haakon's arms, and it feels like my dreki wants to push beyond my skin. I'm so... angry. And I have these violent urges whenever I think of mother." She looked up into his eyes. "It’s all I can do not to storm back home and challenge her. She threatened him. She threatened him."
Curling her hands into her hair, she pulled hard, to try and contain it.
"Árdís, it's not the ring."
Árdís sunk to her knees. "I know."
Rurik stretched out beside her, slinging his legs over the edge of the ledge. "It sounds like you're trying to bond with your husband. Your dreki, your soul, has chosen him as a mate. If you were a male, I would be certain of it."
"It's not possible," she blurted, heart pounding swiftly. It was the same argument she'd told herself. "I'm a female dreki. And he's human."
"As is Freyja," Rurik countered, and then frowned again. "At least, I'm fairly certain she's mostly human."
The wind whipped her hair behind her, but it was her thoughts that felt scattered.
How could this be?
She'd been so uncertain, but all of the puzzle pieces seemed to lock together until she could no longer see them separately, but only as a whole. Her heart swelled at the thought.
But while she might have finally discovered what her strange behavioral patterns meant, it only complicated matters further.
"He's my twin flame," she whispered, daring to say the words out loud for the first time. If she bonded with him, then Haakon's life would extend to match hers. He'd be harder to kill, but she'd become more vulnerable. They could have forever. If she could bond with him.... "I'm a female dreki, Rurik. And the males initiate the bond. Not the females."
How ironic that she could find what she'd been looking for all her life, only to be unable to take this last crucial step.
It all made too much sense for her to dispute. A shudder ran through her, the dreki sliding beneath her skin as if to reassure her, that yes, this was what it had been trying to tell her all along.
What Fáfnir had sensed.
It had never been about the ring at all.
"Do they?" Rurik rested a hand on her shoulder. "Árdís, perhaps it's not that females cannot initiate a bond, but that the males always do first, as they know before the females do."
"I was married to him, Rurik. Surely there would have been some signs during those three years. Perhaps we're simply grasping at straws." She couldn't help feeling doubt. Wanting reassurance.
"You were young, barely past your first cycle of life."
And she'd been frightened of the future, of committing herself to Haakon. Her heart skipped a beat. A part of her had always held back from him.
"How many mated couples have you known where one of the pair is human?" he asked.
She paused.
"I know none myself. To take a human lover can be overlooked, but to take one as a mate? The court would gasp in horror."
"You are not helping this situation."
He smiled and bumped his shoulder against hers, and it reminded her of how long it had been since she'd been able to enjoy the company of those she called family, let alone trusted them. "Don't give up hope. You're dreki. There's nothing a male dreki can do—in my experience—that a female cannot, so I doubt you couldn't choose to bond with your husband if you truly wished to do so. And if he accepted the bond."
"Mother will kill him if she hears word of this."
Rurik made a low, growling sound in his throat. "She will try. Just as she will try to harm Freyja if she comes to know of her existence. But first she has to get through either of us."
"I daresay Freyja has her own opinions on that."
"I daresay." His lips kicked up. "She usually does."
"I like her."
"So do I."
Árdís curled against her brother's side, and he squeezed her shoulders.
"I've missed you," she said. "So much."
He rested his chin on her head, and breathed in her scent. "I noticed. I can still feel how much you missed me. Right in the ribs."
"You deserved that."
Rurik laughed.
Slowly it faded, and Árdís rubbed a hand to her chest again.
"How do you initiate the bond?" she asked softly.
Rurik reared away, hand held up. "This is something older brothers don't talk about with their sisters."
"Rurik, please," she begged. "I've lain with him many times before. It cannot simply be bedding him, or it would have already happened."
He appeared to give it great thought, a hint of red creeping up his throat. "That's partly to do with it. I don't.... I don't precisely know. I wanted to claim Freyja, and she returned the sentiment, but it was mostly instinct. You said you're feeling territorial. Perhaps that's all you need? To run with those feelings and...." He coughed. "Where is Marduk when you need him?"
"I don't know," she whispered sadly. "He's been gone for over ten years."
Rurik's eyes locked on her face, and then he dragged her into another hug. "I've felt him out there in the world."
"So have I."
"He'll come back, Árdís. One day."
She pressed her cheek against his chest and listened to his heart. "Perhaps he'd come back if you staked a claim upon the throne and fought for it?"
A grumble echoed in his chest. "That wasn't even subtle."
She smiled a little sadly. "You don't know what the court is like, Rurik. They need you. We need you. You only have to look at what they did to Marek to know that."
"First Andri. Now you." A sigh escaped him. "I cannot fight her and win," he whispered. "I've been thinking of what to do all month as I healed from my fight with Magnus. I can't fight all of them. And Freyja...."
Árdís looked up. The confession was torn from him, and she knew he was fighting his mighty dreki pride in admitting such a thing.
"It's not a weakness to ask for help," she said. "The reason they've ruled the court for so long is because they're together. Mother provides the magic, and Stellan the muscle. They're seemingly invincible. No one dreki could ever face the pair of them and survive. But perhaps you need to stop thinking you need to face them alone." She bit her lip. "There's one thing I haven't told you.... One thing that might be able to sway the tides of battle."
His eyes sharpened intently.
Árdís climbed to her feet, taking several steps before she closed her eyes and reached for that swirling energy deep within her. Once unlocked, the door in her mind seemed to open swifter every time she reached for it. Power slammed through her, completely unlike the elemental magic every dreki could manipulate. It was like riding a bucking horse, or a ship through a fierce storm. The power fought her at every turn, twisting and sliding through her metaphorical hands.
She felt invincible.
Wild.
Destructive.
And unstoppable.
When she opened her eyes, she saw her brother gaping at her, as her spirit dreki formed above her, spreading its ethereal wings.
"Mother's not the only one who can wield Chaos," she whispered, feeling the very earth beneath her feet tremble.
I'll think about it, Rurik had said, looking troubled.
Frustration surged within her. She knew she'd surprised him, and he wasn't saying no, but some part of her still yearned to bring the battle to her mother.
They were almost back to Freyja's farm when a bugle of challenge suddenly echoed from the air.
Rurik turned with a screech, soaring toward the west. Árdís banked, hovering in midair as she turned to watch him go.
"Rurik! No!"
"They're here," he snapped back.
In the distance, a lone dreki soared mockingly along the line that marked the edge of his territory. The size of it was enormous, its black wings vanishing the sun as it soared between it and them.
Árdís's heart pounded. "It's Sirius."
The Blackfrost was here.
Árdís pushed herself into the skies, darting after her brother. It was probably a trap, but no male dreki could deny a challenge. She might as soon try and stop the tide, as drag her brother back.
"Is he coming?" Malin asked.
Sirius stared at the volcano ahead of him. He'd changed back into mortal form, knowing the prince would take it as a challenge if he were in the skies. And while he might win that challenge, and the dreki within him stirred to take the chance to thwart his old enemy, he had Malin to think about.
And his protective urges overrode his territorial ones.
Barely.
He didn't dare walk any further. This was Rurik's territory, and to cross the line meant a declaration of war.
Not the best sort of way to beg for a favor.
"He will. He won't be able to resist."
He could still taste the angry lash as Rurik's mind connected with his.
Two flapping specks appeared in the skies over the volcano. Sirius's eyes narrowed. He'd expected to see only one, which meant Rurik had an ally.
He'd be outnumbered.
But the prince played by the rules. It was one of the reasons he'd been exiled from court. If a challenge came, it would be one against one, the way it should be.
"Here," he said, reaching for Malin's arm. "They're coming. Stay behind me at all times."
"I doubt they'll hurt me," she said, and refused to go where he directed.
He couldn't focus on the battle ahead with her potentially at risk.
"Malin—"
She tipped her chin up.
Everything within him burned to answer her defiance with a kiss, but he knew that would get him nowhere. It went against all of his proud nature to do this but.... The words crawled up his throat. "Please. Please do as I say."
Her eyes widened.
"I.... Very well."
That was it? "That's all it takes to make you stop arguing with me?"
He should have tried this days ago.
She scowled. "Be careful or you'll undo all your good work."
A surge of dark laughter went through him. Drawing the sword he wore at his belt, he stabbed it into the earth to make it clear he came in peace, before striding forward to the top of the hill.
"Wait!"
She caught his arm, and Sirius paused.
Wind blew strands of Malin's brown hair across her forehead. Those rosy lips parted, her eyes wide, as she fought to say something and failed.
There were a thousand unspoken words left between them.
"Thank you," she whispered, her thumb stroking over the vambrace on his arm. Malin's dark lashes fluttered as she slowly looked up at him. "I will tell the prince everything you've done for me."
He felt the hot stroke of her hand as if it were on his naked skin, and every single muscle in his stomach locked up tight.
"Don't make me out to be a hero. Rurik knows who I am."
"Maybe," she whispered, her brown eyes so very large. "I thought I knew too. But now I'm not so sure."
Pressing her hand to his chest, she lifted up onto her toes, and Sirius's breath caught in his chest. He turned his face sharply, just as she went to press her lips to his cheek. Their mouths met instead, a spark of lightning jolting through him at the unexpected contact. Malin's hand trembled against his chest, and while she didn't draw back, she didn't press forward either.
Instead she hovered there, her eyes very wide as their breath mingled.
It was all he could do not to capture her face and kiss her properly. The dreki beat its wings inside him, demanding one last taste.
He might never see her again.
He hoped he'd never have cause to see her again.
But then she slowly lowered herself onto her heels, her palm sliding down the center of his chest, and her cheeks flushed with warm desire.
The moment to press forward was over.
His lips still tingled.
"Don't get yourself killed. Please," she said.
"You'll be safe here," he told her roughly. "Whatever else might fall between Rurik and me, he has my respect. He's an honorable dreki."
Silence.
Her hand slowly withdrew from his chest.
Malin's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't say that if you believed he'd had anything to do with his father's death."
Sirius's teeth snapped together. The moment was definitely gone, but his head was still in the clouds, to be so careless with his words.
"Your father said he did. Your aunt said he did. But you know he didn't kill his father." The words held a question behind them. "Why would you be so certain?"
"Malin—"
"Why would you be so certain he was honorable?" she repeated.
He glanced up, at the visibly larger dreki flying toward him. The storm was coming. A whirlwind of secrets threatening to tear his world apart. "Because I know who did."
Malin gasped, capturing his hand in hers. "Sirius! One word from you, and the entire court would know their prince was innocent of the charges. You have to tell them." She caught her breath, spots of red blooming in her cheeks. "They would overthrow the queen and your father if they knew. Rurik could return. We could be—" She broke off. "The court would be a place of light and laughter again."
But not for him.
The truth choked him. "Malin." He stroked his thumb over her knuckles. "I cannot. I am bound by an oath I swore my father."
"Burn your oath," she snapped, her eyes flashing with heat. "You say you're not a hero? You could be. You could break this entire vicious cycle. You could be the key to your father's destruction. I know you have no love of him. You could free Andri, and return the court to the hands of its rightful heir—"
"Damn it, Malin. Now is not the time."
He could hear wings beating through the air now.
"But you won't." She tore her hand free from his. "You won't do the right thing, will you?"
Curse her. Looking at him as though he had all of the answers in the world. As though he was a bloody hero. "It's not that simple."
He made to grab Malin's hand, but a sudden screech of fury battered at him. Sirius leapt out of the way as a golden dreki swooped. The raking claws missed, and he slowly lowered his arms from over his head, his heart hammering in his chest. Being in this mortal body left him feeling remarkably vulnerable, but he'd known Rurik would be curious, and see it as less of a threat.
However, Rurik wasn't alone.
"I wasn't going to hurt her, Árdís!" he bellowed as the dreki princess swooped in a tight circle, as if she were coming back around to take another swipe at him. So much for being trapped in human form.
The other dreki landed behind him, and Sirius turned to face the prince. Hot breath snorted over him, and he could see the hard amber glare as Rurik bared his teeth. Holding his arms wide, he stared back, channeling every ounce of arrogance he owned.
"Surprise," he mocked, sending the thought to the prince.
Rurik's lungs expanded, and Sirius's eyes widened. The prince could breathe pure fire if he willed it.
And so it ended, not in battle, but in a gesture of good faith....
"No!" Malin darted in front of him before he could stop her, arms spread wide as if to protect him.
His heart jacked into his throat.
Sirius grabbed her around the waist, sweeping her out of the way before he could even think, using his body to shield her from—
—a blast of fire that never came.
Sirius released the breath he'd been holdin
g.
A flare of golden light washed over Rurik, and then he shrank dramatically, until he was kneeling before them with his arms spread.
If Stellan were here, he'd take the chance presented to attack Rurik while he was disorientated with the shift.
But I am not my father.
Sirius held his hands up in surrender, backing away from Malin as the prince straightened
Thirty years flashed past in the blink of an eye. They'd been raised as cousins, and though they'd never been close, he knew this man. This prince.
He owed the prince a debt he could never repay.
"You dare walk these lands?" Rurik said, his eyes still cat-slit, as if the dreki rested uneasily beneath his skin.
Sirius tipped his head toward the standing stones that marked the borders. "I'm not in your lands."
Rurik picked up the bag he'd dropped and dragged out a pair of leather trousers. He was an inch taller than Sirius, though not quite as broad through the shoulders. And his eyes never shifted from Sirius as he dressed.
"Semantics," he snapped. "You had better have a damned good reason for being here."
"Couldn't I have simply missed my cousin?"
A sharp elbow dug into his gut, and Sirius's breath exploded out of him.
Malin shot him a sharp glare, then made a clumsy curtsy to the prince. Her prince, Sirius realized, for her features softened when she looked at Rurik and her eyes grew very big again. She would never have seen Rurik before. She'd barely been at court for ten years, but she'd have heard all about the golden prince from her friends and the other servants.
She'd never bloody looked at him like that.
"My prince." Malin's voice came out soft and breathy, as she rose from her curtsy. "Please don't burn Sirius alive. He's not quite as stupid as his loose mouth would suggest, and I owe him my life."
"If you bat your eyelashes at him, I swear I shall throw you over my shoulder and dump you in the nearest pool of stagnant water," Sirius growled at her, mind-to-mind. "And I don't care whether Rurik challenges me for it or not."
Malin wasn't strong enough to return the psychic connection, but her teeth ground together and she turned a positively evil glare upon him.
