“I search for my grandmother,” I said.
“What?” Celestia appeared in the entrance of my closet, took one look at me, and whipped around, her face flaming. “Sorry.”
“No need to be. I’m decent.” I had my underwear on.
“Did she escape?”
“No. Mother let her go.”
“Why? Can I turn around now? I hate not looking at you while we talk.”
I grinned. I liked her looking at me. “Sure. I’m not showing anything you haven’t already seen.” She groaned and muttered “shameless” before moving away. I yanked on my pants.
“Anyway, my mother wanted to lock her in some dungeon for eternity, but I didn’t think it was necessary.”
Celestia cursed.
“What?” When she didn’t answer, I walked to the doorway. She was pacing. “You alright?”
She turned, her eyes zeroing in on my bare chest and moving to my abs. I leaned against the doorway and let her look her fill. I might be shirtless, but I had pants on, yet she was blushing. She looked up. I expected her to hit me with a snarky comment about walking around half-dressed.
“Did you bite her? Please, tell me you bit her and she is bound to you.”
“Damn, you are bloodthirsty.”
She glared at me. “I’m serious, Eirik. Did you?”
“Yes, I did and yes, she is bound to me, which means I can control her.” Theoretically, since it hadn’t worked so far. “So as long as my sister is with me, she’ll be safe from Granny.”
“Oh. I hadn’t thought about it that way.” She frowned. “Since you can control her, you can just call her and demand she tells you where Einmyria is, right? Before you answer”—she pointed at the shirt in my hand—“put that on. Your mother is going to send an army in here if you are not out there in the next five minutes.”
I ignored her orders. I liked her eyes on me. No matter how hard she tried to keep her gaze locked with mine, she kept heading south to my chest and abs every few seconds. All the crazy physical regimen paid off if she noticed.
I reached inside the closet and came out holding my mace. I lifted it, whipped it above my head, and commanded it to bond with me. The chain wrapped around my arm and the head stopped above my bicep. Then it bonded.
“Whoa. How…? Where did it go?”
“I bonded with it. It’s easier to carry this way.”
Her eyes followed the chain of the mace. “It looks cool and badass.”
I had distracted her from discussing my grandmother. I couldn’t control, call, or demand answers from someone I couldn’t find. My dragon senses were useless when it came to following her scent and pinpointing her exact location. It was humiliating. Shifting and all these magical manipulations would have been easier if I’d learned to shift as a child. We had five-year-old guests who shifted without breaking a sweat, but it still hurt like crazy when I did it.
“About your grandmother. You can call her, right?” Celestia asked.
She was tenacious. “Yes, nosy, I can.”
“But…?” Celestia moved closer, her eyes narrowed as though she could see through my BS.
“But nothing.” I pulled at the shirt and adjusted the sleeves.
“There is a problem,” she said. “Out with it. What is it?”
I loved having her this close. Her scent drifted to my nose, and the urge to shift didn’t surprise me. I gave my dragon side a moment with her, knowing she would be distracted and the conversation about Granny would be forgotten.
My eyes shifted until I could see the flecks of white in her blue irises. I picked up on her heartbeat. The sharp rise in tempo said she was alarmed. Her eyes widened and volleyed between my face and my arms, which were scaling at an accelerated rate.
The panic in her eyes almost made me engage Odin’s rune, but I squashed the urge. She hated everything reptilian, but my dragon was a part of who I was. For us to be together, she’d have to get used to him. I waited, expecting her to run or move back, but she didn’t. Her heartbeat was still elevated, but it stabilized. She was no longer scared.
“How do you do that?” she whispered.
“I will it, but other times, the shift is beyond my control.” It happened when she was in trouble or when I thought about her. “It’s annoying when that happens.”
She made a face. “Do you feel differently as a dragon?”
“Yep. I hate greens, but love meat. Love mead, but dislike other drinks. I act differently too. I have the manners of a hippo. I admire myself a lot. I’m a total douche. That’s just not me.”
She laughed. “Oh please. That’s so you. Just in another form.”
“No, it’s not. I’m fun, humble, and charming.”
A knock resounded on the door.
“Did you just say charming in the same sentence as humble?” Celestia asked.
I loved the twinkle in her eyes and the fact that she could see through my bullshit.
“Tell them I’ll be ready in a few.” While she walked to the door, I slipped back into the changing room. The scales disappeared, and my eyes went back to normal. I heard her voice mix with Litr’s, and then the door closed. She appeared in the doorway, her back to me.
“So about your grandmother…”
Man, she was like a hound with a bone. “I want a chance to talk to her instead of controlling her just because I bit her.” That much was true. “I want to get to know her better.”
“Are you serious? You already know her. She’s the woman who plotted against you and your mother. She kidnapped your sister just so your parents could suffer and then abandoned her after biting her. She thought you belonged to her and would have bitten you too, and she nearly killed me.”
“I know she’s done terrible things.” Yet she was the key to unlocking the mystery that was my mother. “But she’s a dragon shifter and might teach me a thing or two, like how to control the shift. Mother claims she knows stuff, but I think she’s making things up as she goes.”
“What if your grandmother teaches you evil stuff?”
“I’m sure I can decide what information is useful and what’s not. Karle told me a lot about her this afternoon. She’s cheated death twice by returning from the dead and was a respected chieftess of the southern clans of Jötunheim for centuries. The chiefs from the other clans deferred to her. Utgard generals listened to her sage advice on battle strategies because she was more than a powerful Seeress. She was a warrioress and a strategist.” I slipped on the tabard, a sleeveless overcoat that came to the middle of my thighs. “When she was in charge, the clans were at peace. She took in orphans and raised them as her own, trained them to guard the clan, and even sent some to join the army in Utgard. Imagine what I could learn from her as a leader.” I lifted the cloak from its hanger and swung it over my shoulders. “The Wolf Clan of Ironwood was the strongest clan for centuries because of her. She left a vacuum when she came to live here, and the clans dissolved into chaos. Now, they are barely surviving. They need her.” I walked to the entrance of the closet. “I’ll make sure she apologizes and makes amends for what she did to you, my sister, and my parents.”
“But she’s changed, Eirik. She’s no longer their leader. She’s evil and mean, and you are letting the fact that she’s your grandmother blind you to what she’s capable of and what she’s done.”
I could feel the hurt in her voice. “I’m not blind. I’m very much aware of what she’s capable of.”
She turned around. “And FYI, I don’t need…” Her voice trailed off when she saw me. “Holy crap!”
CHAPTER 5. WITCHES
CELESTIA
“I assume that means I look okay,” Eirik said. “And no, I’m not letting the fact that she’s my grandmother blind me. I know exactly what she is capable of, so I’m going in with my eyes wide open. That’s why I want her where I can monitor her. I want to know where she is and what she’s doing.”
I’d gone into selective listening after the first sentence. He thought h
e looked okay? Okay? Even in sweatpants and a tank top, Eirik could never look just okay. Hot? Yes. Gorgeous? Absolutely. Tonight, he looked dashing. Princely. Godly.
The black pants were tailor-made for him. The black and emerald-green, silk-velvet tabard had golden embroidered trim with runic designs along the shoulders, lapels, and neck. The same embroidery was on the cuffs and neckline of his wine-red shirt. Green jewels on the leather belt around his waist caught the light and sparkled. An emerald cloak with a silk lining the same color as his shirt fell from his shoulders to the floor. The gold buttons holding it in place gleamed.
I was drooling. Four months ago, he’d had the lean body of a swimmer with washboard abs, which had made him hotter than most boys I knew at my school. He’d started to change before I left. But now he was this… drool-worthy man who made me wish for things I’d rather not deal with right now.
“You look…”
“Amazing,” he said.
And he thought his dragon was a show-off? He was worse. “Good.”
He laughed. “Ouch. You are bad for my ego. Earlier, before I distracted you, you started to say something. You don’t need…?”
I didn’t want to go anywhere near that giantess in case she’d bitten me first. “I don’t need an apology from your grandmother, Eirik.”
“Well, that’s too bad because you are getting one and it will be from the heart.” Eirik walked to the door and opened it. Two guards and Litr were waiting.
How he could see the good in someone like his grandmother amazed me. On the other hand, he’d forgiven his mother after everything she’d put him through. Maybe I could learn something from him. I held on to grudges, and I hated my mother.
Litr led the way to the private room where I’d left Baldur. The god looked up and paused in the process of sipping a drink from a chalice. He was dressed just like Eirik, except his shirt and the cloak were white. His tabard was green and gold. He put his drink down. The goddess was seated, so all I could see was part of her emerald gown and a dainty foot in a gold sandal.
“I guess my work is done here,” I said, and Eirik paused in the doorway, a strange expression on his face. I would have liked to say it was longing, but that might have been wishful thinking.
“Stay,” he whispered.
“I can’t.” He might listen to me, but I didn’t belong in his world. “I gotta head home before my cousin realizes I’m not even in the club.”
His father joined us. “You are not staying, dýrr mín?”
“No, sir.”
“Next time then.” Baldur said it like it was a given, then clasped my shoulder and kissed my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“She doesn’t want to share me with all the other girls,” Eirik teased.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” My eyes met the goddess. She’d gotten up, but didn’t join us. She watched and waited. “Go. Choose a bride and slip a ring on her scaly finger.” See if I care.
Eirik laughed. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“No, I’m okay. I’m going to Trudy’s before leaving.”
“Then I’ll walk you to her place.”
His mother’s expression grew impatient. I pushed him toward her.
“Just go, Eirik. I know my way around here. Remember?” I saw the worry in his eyes and realized why he was insisting. “No one is going to kidnap me,” I whispered. “Echo is taking me home and from what I hear, nothing stands in his way when he’s been given a task.”
Annoyance flashed on his face, and I sighed. I didn’t understand his mercurial moods. I did something I was sure would throw him off. I braced myself on his arm, went up to my toes, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Good luck tonight.” While he stared at me in shock, I stepped back.
His father clasped his shoulder and nudged him through the door. Eirik kept glancing back until he reached his mother’s side. He kissed her cheek and said something that made her smile. I was sure it was a compliment because she looked at her gown. The emerald-green gown had gold runic accents on the hem and neckline. It was demure and stately. Her cloak was black with green lining, but the runic trim was the same. Green must be their family color.
Baldur gave me a bow, but the goddess was busy focusing on Eirik. Somehow, I hadn’t expected her to thank me. That was okay. This was a one-time deal because I didn’t plan on being their go-to girl every time Eirik was being difficult. I had a life, and it didn’t include trips to other realms.
The three of them looked like the perfect family now. Whatever the goddess had done to Eirik was in the past. Would I ever forgive my mother? I guess it depended on whether she came back and wanted to have anything to do with me.
Just before I turned to leave, Eirik looked up and mouthed, “Tomorrow.”
“What?” I mouthed back, but he smirked. I swear the guy liked to yank my chain for giggles. Now, I was going to stress about what he meant. I hope he wasn’t planning on coming to see me. I didn’t want him in my town. I had plans that didn’t include him.
“That’s a shame,” Litr mumbled, and I glanced down. I’d forgotten he was still here.
“What is?”
“You leaving instead of attending the ball.” He led the way to the rotunda. “The Golden One would have loved to introduce you around. Every realm will be represented tonight, except Midgard.”
Watching Eirik being introduced to possible future mates was not my idea of fun. “Sorry, Litr. Midgard will just have to miss out on this one. I’m going home after I talk to Trudy.”
“Will you come back again?”
I didn’t think so, but I waved to the guards in the rotunda and avoided answering his question.
“Could you find Echo and tell him I’ll be ready soon?”
Litr sighed and left.
I opened a portal to the giantess’ living room. The lights were on, but there was no one at home. I called out and checked Trudy’s bedroom. Everything there was huge, making me feel even punier. Not sure what to do, I focused on Trudy and created another portal.
A flute tune reached my ears before the portal fully formed. With the sounds came pulses of magical energies. This time, I recognized various forms mingling with the one I’d felt outside. Some were strong while others were weak. Some felt threatening and dark, while others were seductive and light.
The portal finished forming and the room came into view. It had to be a special occasion room because I hadn’t seen it during my first visit. There were portraits on gilded frames and vintage settees along the walls and between white marble statues, but the source of the energies wasn’t the room. It was the occupants.
Elves, Dwarves, and Jötnar stood in groups, sipping drinks and chatting. There were girls of various ages and one Jötun glowering from a corner. Her energy was angry, not evil. She didn’t bother to shift, and from the look on her face, she didn’t intend to or want to be at the party. She wore a red and gold cloak like some of the guests as though they came from the same region.
Just like on Earth, these people had different levels of magical energies. During my visits to the French Quarter, I could always tell good Witches from evil ones, weak from strong ones, and angry from happy ones even though I couldn’t see people’s auras. Grams might have been an amazing Witch, but there were things she couldn’t teach me. Tammy was the one who’d taught me how to find a thread of energy and follow it to a person and how to read energies.
Another angry pulse came from a pale man with white hair and pointed ears at the other end of the room. He was dressed in black, including his cloak. He had markings on his face and multiple piercings in his ears. Beside him stood a girl with a similar complexion and markings on her face. Like the man, she was dressed in black, or maybe dark blue. Her hair was clean-shaven on the sides, leaving a Mohawk of white hair in the center. The shaved parts had black tattoos. She was androgynously gorgeous. She stood very still and stared straight ahead even though the man was talking to her. Her energy was similar to the one I’
d felt outside.
As though she realized I was looking at her, she turned and our eyes met. A weird expression crossed her face. I’d say she smiled, but I could be mistaken. When someone blocked her, she moved to continue studying me.
I grinned and wiggled my fingers. She scowled. Yeah, I know, a strange girl in strange clothes is waving at you.
Ignoring her, I followed a tendril of the same energy to another woman, then a female Dwarf with hair so long she looped it over her shoulders, and finally an old man with a silver cane. He was dressed in black pants and shirt, but wore a bright red and gold cloak like the glowering Jötun girl. His salt and pepper beard and long, wavy gray hair made him look like someone’s eccentric grandfather. He must be a Jötun.
He stared at me as though surprised by my appearance and then broke into a grin. I smiled back. I’d known I’d attract attention and stares, maybe a few pointed fingers, just not the smiles. Maybe I looked like a clown to them.
When the old man pulled one of the women with him around and pointed at me, I knew it was time to find Trudy. It was only a matter of time before the other guests saw me too and started pointing, or worse, laughing. I wasn’t entertainment.
It wasn’t hard to find Trudy’s flaming red hair in the sea of blacks, browns, grays, and blonds. She’d changed into a sleeveless light green gown and wore gold armlets and a necklace with an emerald pendant. Matching earrings dangled on her ears. Her hair had had been wet and windblown earlier. Now, it fell in gentle waves on her shoulder and framed her face. She’d even put on makeup.
She was talking to two girls around our age. From their pointed ears and long, straight hair, they were Elves. One had pitch-black hair and skin that made me think of my favorite chocolate—smooth, dark brown, and flawless. Her golden dress added a warm glow to her skin and brown eyes. The other girl was pale with silver hair that matched her dress. They were strikingly gorgeous, and their flimsy white gowns made them seem ethereal. Their energies were light and seductive. I wondered which one Eirik might like.
Heroes (Eirik Book 2) Page 7
