“Aah, we love that girl,” one of the maidens said.
I shook my head. “No, I’ll find out everything when I talk to him. I love him and can’t wait to tell him. I only have one last question. Who are you?”
The redhead laughed. “We’ll meet again. Sooner than you think. Come here.” I moved to her side. She pressed a kiss on my forehead and touched my cheek. Then she whispered, “Wake up now.”
I turned my head and slowly opened my eyes. An IV was hooked to my hand, yet I was in my bedroom. It looked like my bedroom, except for the full-length mirror. Dad must have bought it while I was unconscious.
I sat up and winced at the tag on my hand. Damn IV. Worse, I’d sat up too quickly and my head started spinning. I plopped back on the bed just as the door opened and Hayden entered.
“You’re awake? Finally. I have to tell Eirik.” She turned to leave.
“No, don’t,” I whispered, my throat hoarse from lack of use. I tried to remember my visions while unconscious. I’d visited the redheaded lady often and lost track of time. “Not yet. How long was I out?”
“A little over three weeks. Eirik will want to know you’re finally awake. You were at his place all this time. We just brought you back today. Eirik and your father didn’t want you back here until your mother left town.”
That must have been tough on my poor father. “My dad—”
“Came to see you several times a week.”
“My father went to Hel?”
“Oh yes.”
“And your mother?” I asked and braced myself.
She went a little pale. “She’s okay, thanks to you.” She glanced toward the door and lowered her voice. “I told everyone I brought her back to life, but I didn’t. You did, Celestia. It’s the only thing she remembers from that night. She said her life force was draining away and her soul was separating from her physical form when you appeared beside her. You must have tranced because she said both of you were in the astral plane. She didn’t tell me how you did it, but you made her soul stay and her life force grew stronger.” Hayden grinned. “Sounds like you have a new ability, which is totally cool. Resurgance ability is rare.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I shrugged. She called it resurgence, but I knew what it was. Necromancy, and it was evil.
“Anyway, she and I are working on our issues. It’s slow going, but we have time, thanks to you. You don’t have to talk to her unless you’re ready, but she really wants to see you. She owes you.” She squeezed my arm. “Now, can I get Eirik? He’s been going a little crazy, and I want to see Einmyria’s face when I tell them you’re awake. What a bitch. She’s already ticked off that Eirik seemed to care more about your recovery than her. ”
Tears rushed to my eyes, the memories of the last moments before I lost consciousness coming back to haunt me.
“What is it? Are you in pain? Do you want me to call your aunt? She’s in the other room.”
“I don’t know how to tell Eirik the truth, Hayden,” I whispered. “It’s going to break his heart.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That girl he rescued and took with him might not be Einmyria. I think she’s a plant by his grandmother. When I tranced, Angrboda looked staright at me and told me to disappear because if I came back I’d have to deal with my little sister in Eljudnir. I don’t have a sister.”
Hayden frowned. “Weird. You sure she didn’t say his little sister or maybe your sister-in-law because Einmyria will be that when you and Eirik marry?”
Marry? I hadn’t even thought that far. “No. Her exact words were ‘Float away and never return, because if you do, your little sister will be waiting in Eljudnir.’ The look on their faces said this was something Angrboda had planned and Einmyria was in on it.” I pulled the IV from my hand. “What if my mother raised that girl and poisoned her against me?”
“It might explain why Einmyria attacked you. She was vicious. It felt personal.”
“She said she’d suffered because of Eirik and planned to destroy everything he’s built. What if she meant she’d suffered because of me and meant to hurt me?”
“Man, that’s evil. You have to tell Eirik,” she whispered.
The words had barely left her mouth when the mirror grew grainy then smooth and shimmery like a water surface. It peeled back into a portal, and a blast of cold air followed. Then Eirik entered my room.
My heart stopped, and suddenly I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to find my mother. It was my turn to protect Eirik.
THE END
THE RUNES SERIES READING ORDER
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Check out the other books in The Runes series (See below) and what book is next in the series. I’ve also included a bonus chapter for GODS as a thank you for pre-ordering HEROES, Eirik Book 2.
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Gods, A Runes Companion Novel.
Eirik Book3.
To be released on June 14th, 2016.
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NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR
In Runes, readers are introduced to three best friends, Raine, Cora, and Eirik. Runes, Immortals, Seeress, and Witches chronicles Raine’s story and her journey to fulfill her destiny and find true love with Torin St. James, a Valkyrie (there’s one more story left). Grimnirs and Souls chronicles Cora’s journey to fulfill her destiny and find love with Echo, a Grimnir. There’s one more story left in their story.
Eirik’s story ends with Gods and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed, so buy your copy NOW. It is only fair that Eirik gets the same love as Cora and Raine, and I’m sure by now you have fallen in love with him and Celestia, so don’t waste another moment and pre-order Gods coming June 2016. Why did I write Eirik’s stories before finishing Raine/Torin and Cora/Echo? Torin and Raine are going to need him and his connections in Hel to kick some serious Norn booties.
THANK YOU FOR PRE-ORDERING HEROES.
ENJOY THE FREE BONUS MATERIAL
From GODS (EIRIK BOOK 3)
EIRIK
Celestia was awake. Finally. She was sitting up and smiling. I closed the gap between us and hauled her into my arms. Every time she was under my protection, she got hurt. If I weren’t crazy about her, I’d walk away and stop risking her life. My world was violent and unpredictable, yet I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She was my existence. If I could get away with it, I’d cover her up with damned bubble wrap and never, ever let her out of my sight.
“I’m fine, Eirik,” she said, laughing and squeezing me. The sound of her voice was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. I was never complaining about her incessant yapping again. Never. “You brought me back. I heard your voice and I couldn’t…” Her voice broke. “I couldn’t stay away.”
I leaned back and cupped her face, my throat thick with emotions. “Don’t cry.”
“I shouldn’t have stayed away. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry. You are back and that’s all that matters.” My voice and hands shook, but I desperately needed to connect with her. She must have felt the same way because we moved at the same time, reaching for each other.
Kissing Celestia was usually like diving off a cliff into unchartered waters—thrilling and at the same time scary. Her touch filled me with an all-consuming need, like nothing I’d ever felt before. But accompanying it was the partial shift. I could hurt her quite easily in that state. Not just with my scales and claws, but with my fire. I almost singed her clothes a few weeks ago in the forest in Kayville. That was the day I learned I could breath fire while in a partial shift. She wasn’t ready for all that, and the last thing I wanted to do was send her running again. I had to protect her from me, no matter how difficult she made it for me to hold back.
The taste of her after weeks of worrying about her, begging her to come back, and scolding her when she hadn’t, went straight to my head. I tried to be gentle, but I was like someone who’d been deprived of all his senses and gotten them back all at once. Her touch, her taste, and her scent heightened my feelings so much that it hurt to breathe. I wanted to devour her.
Celestia whimpered and I froze, sanity returning. I’d gone into a partial shift and my scaly hands were gripping her too tightly and leaving welts on her cheek and her stomach.
Damn! Three of weeks of learning to control the shift had gone out the window. Cursing, I tried to pull back, but she wouldn’t let me. She latched on to me, pulled me down to her, and rained kisses all over my face.
“Dimples—”
“You pull away from me again, I will hurt you, Eirik Baldurson.” She was smiling, so I knew it was an empty threat. “It’s been three weeks. Show me why you wanted me back.” Then she grabbed my hair and pulled my face to hers. The kiss she laid on me was an invitation I couldn’t refuse, but I set the pace and reeled in my dragon side, my scales and claws receding.
I slid a hand under her pajama top, intending to ease it over her head, but she impatiently pushed my hands away and yanked it off. My stomach hollowed at the welts on her skin. They weren’t healing fast enough. I lowered my head to kiss the red marks, and soothed them with my tongue. Celestia hissed as though I’d scalded her. Loving her response, I got bolder. I kissed the half-moon scar on her chest before claiming her lips again.
“That’s enough!”
I wasn’t sure who spoke, but the annoyance and sharpness of the voice penetrated the fog in my head. I glanced up and caught the dreamy grin on Celestia’s face. She couldn’t have been the one who wanted us to stop.
“Stjärna mín,” I whispered, stroking her cheek. The marks were still there. Damn it. How could be with her when I kept hurting her? “You are mine. Always.”
“Always,” she whispered.
“I said enough,” the grating voice said again, sounding closer. “You have five minutes, then I want you out of her room, young man.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Genevieve, Zack’s mother. The woman had made it clear she didn’t like me the few times our paths had crossed. Finding me all over Celestia wasn’t going to win me brownie points either.
“I’m leaving the door open, so both of you can cool down. Shameless,” she muttered, stomping away. “Right under my nose.”
Celestia tried to suppress laughter, but I felt its effect in every cell of my body. How I’d missed that twinkle in her eyes and the sound of her laughter.
“Your aunt hates me.”
“She’ll love you as soon as she learns what you mean to me.” She reached up and caressed my cheek. “I’m so sorry for staying away for so long.”
Guilt ate at me. She’d left to escape the pain caused by my family and my negligence. I moved to lie beside her and rested my hand on her stomach. I hated seeing those welts on her skin, yet I didn’t want to use my artavus on her again. It might mess up her transformation. She needed her own, forged specifically for her.
“I’m the one who should be sorry for not protecting you. I should have been there to face my grandmother. I should have known she’d follow your energy. So I don’t blame you for getting angry or running away.”
“But I didn’t run away and I was never angry with you.” She sat up and reached for her shirt. “I did something stupid and now I have to deal with the consequences.”
“You tried to save my sister, Dimples. There’s nothing stupid about that. Still, I swore to be your protector and failed you. Again. That’s something I must learn to live with.”
She gripped my head and peered at me, not masking her annoyance. “Don’t ever say you failed me. You couldn’t be in two places at the same time and you brought me back. Your words, Eirik. Knowing you needed me.”
Had she heard my declaration of love? Maybe I’d spoken too soon. “I should have opened a portal and kept an eye on you while destroying her camp.”
Celestia grinned. “Your tail at Niorun’s and your head at your grandmother’s camp? You’d be tailless and I happen to love your dragon whole, thank you very much.”
“My horn is chipped,” I reminded her, knowing that she was letting me off easy and loving her for it.
“I love the imperfection.” She sighed. “Please, let’s not focus on the past.”
“But, I want to know what happened between you and my sister. Trudy won’t talk to her even though Einmyria explained what happened and how our grandmother controlled her.” Celestia winced. “You don’t want to talk about this.”
“Not now. Just hold me.”
I did and she nestled in my arms, but I knew we’d have to discuss my sister. The tension between her and Trudy was getting to my mother and I wanted everything to be perfect, so I could focus on my number one—Celestia.
CHAPTER 1. MILLENIUM OF ANGER
EIRIK
The snowflakes on top of Hel’s Hall glistened like diamonds in the afternoon light. For three weeks, the weather had been colder than usual, then the sun had burst from behind the clouds two days ago, the day Celestia came out of her trance. I didn’t call her my star for nothing.
I came in sharply without worrying about sliding or spraying snow when I landed. My clothes shrunk and adjusted with the shift from dragon to human, my boots snapping into place before I stepped on the snow. I hated it when I shifted too late and ended up with snow inside my boots.
“I wish I was a shifter like you.”
I hadn’t noticed Eimyria standing by the small door near my old changing room. Her white pants and coat blended with snow. “Why?”
“So I can leave the hall whenever I want. There’s nothing to do here.” She pouted. I ruffled her hair and she swatted my hand. “Don’t do that! I’m not a child.”
“Then stop whining like one.” She might have just turned seventeen, but she acted like a brat. I continued toward my quarters. I didn’t need the changing room anymore. Maera had recreated pants and tabards similar to the warrior suit my grandfather had sent before I rescued Einmyria. They were all black and gold, and very versatile. “Go hang out with Trudy.”
“She doesn’t like me. Every time I try to talk to her, she ignores me. I tried to tell Dad about her, but he said Trudy is the Goddess’ handmaiden. What’s so important about that? Her father ferries evil souls to their torture chambers and her mother is just a maid.”
Trudy was a Seeress, one of the three who would announce the exact moment Ragnarok would start, but I had no time to explain such things to Einmyria. I’d noticed she didn’t call our mother Mom and avoided being alone with her.
“And what did Mom say?” I asked, opening a portal to the rotunda.
“I didn’t ask,” she whispered, glancing at the guards.
“You can’t still be afraid of her, Einmyria.”
“Anne Marie,” she corrected.
“It’
s been three weeks. Sit down and talk to her.” She was lucky Mother hadn’t tried to throw her in the dungeon to toughen her up. “Get to know her.”
“She just stares at me as though waiting for me to say or do something stupid. Can I come with you when you go to see Celestia?”
I stopped out outside my door. “No. Mother said you should stay put. Go to the gym.”
“The reapers stare. Please, can’t I come with you? This place is like a prison.”
I sighed. “I’ll talk to Mother, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Thank you.” She reached up and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Ask her at breakfast.” She skipped away while I stared after her. She needed to find something to do. The whining was driving me crazy. Father had mentioned getting her a tutor. She knew nothing about other realms.
I disappeared inside the room, peeled off the vest and shirt from my clammy skin, and toed off my boots. I might like the convenience of the clothes, but it was basically sweat clothes when indoors, unlike my original suit that adjusted with the temperature.
I hit the showers.
There was a brief knock on my bathroom door a few minutes later. The door opened a fraction and Einmyria yelled, “Aren’t you done yet?”
“No! Shut the damn door.” What in Hel’s Mist was wrong with her? The shower had no covering and she could have seen me naked.
“Hurry up. Do you want me to pick out your clothes?”
“No, Einmyria. I can pick my own clothes. Leave.” She never entered my quarters before except to visit Celestia. This habit of waltzing into my quarters uninvited started after I took Celestia home. Now I had to lock my damn door in my own home.
When I left the bathroom, Einmyria was gone. I changed and headed to my parents’ dining room. It was now the family room, where we ate and had annoying little meetings. The others were already seated.
Heroes (Eirik Book 2) Page 41
