“Wait, what do you mean ‘merged’? What are nanoparticles made of?” Naya frowned.
“They’re usually made of metal and almost undetectable. Nanoparticles of titanium dioxide are what give plastics, papers, medicine, even toothpaste their bright white color.”
Naya appeared stunned. “And I have these in my blood?”
The other woman nodded. “They were probably in the injections you received. I don’t know exactly what type they are.”
“And you found a difference in the newer sample?” Leif asked.
Irja glanced at him briefly before turning back to Naya. “In the later sample, the nanoparticles and the red blood cells look the same as before, but your white blood cells are more like ours.”
Naya jumped off her stool. “How can my blood be altered? Did you give me any injections while I was sick?”
Irja shook her head. “I think your blood altered because of the bonding.”
His själsfrände laughed bitterly. “I’m more of a freak than I thought. Apparently great sex doesn’t just give me an orgasm, it alters my biochemistry.”
Although he already knew she’d liked their time in bed, it pleased Leif that she thought they’d had “great” sex.
He cleared his throat. “I’ve tried to explain to you about the själsfrände bond, but it appears not even I know all the secrets of how it works. The gods know what they’re doing, even if we don’t yet see their purpose. For now we just have to accept that we are bonded.”
Naya shook her head. “This is too much. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Leif put his hands on her shoulders. “I know. Just trust me for now, and we will figure everything out. Right now, let’s see what we can do to save Sten.”
Naya studied him for a moment, and turned to Irja. “What do you need from me?”
“I want to try to give Sten a transfusion, using your blood. You’re O negative, the universal donor blood type.”
“What if the nanoparticles are dangerous to him?”
“That’s a chance I’ll take. Right now, all I can do is watch him waste away.” Irja’s voice broke.
“You don’t understand.” Naya glanced at Leif and then flicked her gaze away. “The injections don’t work on everyone.” She swallowed. “Some people in the camp ended up…damaged.”
Irja nodded. “I understand, but I will only give Sten a small amount of your blood and monitor his progress.” She paused. “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”
“You don’t have to do this if you feel uncomfortable.” Leif caressed Naya’s cheek.
Her midnight-blue eyes turned darker as she studied him. “I’ll do it,” she said. “Just know that the nanoparticles may turn out to be worse than the poison.”
Chapter 16
After Irja had pulled all the blood she needed, Naya found Leif in Sten’s room. The Viking’s head was bowed as he held his warrior’s hand. It looked like he was praying. He looked up when the door closed behind her, his blue eyes bleak.
“How is he?” she whispered.
“No change.” His voice sounded gravelly.
“Irja is preparing the injection right now.” She hated seeing Leif so defeated. “It will take a while because she’s isolating my white blood cells and will give them to Sten as boosters.” She pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.
He turned and caught her hand in his. “Thank you for doing this.”
“I just hope it works.” She couldn’t bear it if someone else were to end up in the same state as Scott.
He nodded and turned back to look at Sten. “This is my fault. I should have made the warriors patrol in larger groups.” He shook his head. “I should have gone on the offensive, attacked instead of searching for the grove.”
“You couldn’t have known this would happen.”
He turned to her, anguish in his eyes. “I’m supposed to know. I am their king. It is my duty to protect my warriors.”
He cared so much about these men and women. She had to tell him about the risks of using her blood. “When I was kidnapped, the handler told me my blood contains a self-destructive agent.” She had to look away. “I don’t know how this will affect Sten.”
“What do you mean, self-destructive?” Something flashed in his eyes. Anger?
“I don’t know if it’s true, but he said I will self-destruct on my twenty-third birthday.” She’d keep the part about turning into a mindless killing machine under wraps for now. She’d make sure she was far away from Leif and his people before that happened.
Leif’s jaw clenched. “When is your birthday?”
“In ten months.”
His shoulders tensed, but he took a deep breath as if forcing himself to relax. “That is still ten months for Irja to find a cure, for both you and Sten.” He released her hand and raked his fingers through his hair. “If we’re lucky, the själsfrände bond will help you defeat this self-destructive agent. And this gives us an even bigger reason to complete the handfasting.”
Naya tensed. “I can’t enter into any kind of commitment with you.” Irja had to delay testing the wolverine blood since Sten got sick, but eventually the Norse warriors would figure out Naya had been spawned in the same lab as the wolverines. A sharp pain pinched her heart when she imagined Leif’s reaction.
His eyes turned a darker shade of blue. “The handfasting is just a way to formalize what’s already happened and to strengthen our bond.”
“But—”
Leif shook his head. “No!” he roared, and then shot a quick look at Sten before lowering his voice. “There is nothing to argue about. This bond is blessed by the gods and unbreakable. If you do not help me deepen our connection, you endanger me and my people.”
It sounded like an arranged marriage, something he didn’t have a choice in either. Did he resent this bond that he believed so strongly in? He’d said nothing about feeling anything for her beyond the obvious sexual attraction. “I can’t stay.” Even if she didn’t have to leave, basing a relationship on nothing but spectacular sex was a bad idea.
“You have to.” His eyes searched hers. “It is your duty now. You belong to me and therefore to my people.”
Naya forced down the panic rising in her chest. “I have other duties.”
He shook his head. “Your work is not as important as taking your role as my queen. This bond between us requires that of you. And I demand it.”
Queen? She wasn’t fit to rule anything. She could barely take care of her little brother. A manic laughter rose in her throat. She swallowed hard before it could escape. “I have a younger brother. He is not well, and I need to be with him.”
Leif’s eyes narrowed. “Why have you not told me about this brother before?”
The crazy laugh escaped as a short bark. “It’s not like we’ve done much talking.”
A flush spread across his cheeks. “What’s wrong with your brother?”
“He was a prisoner in the lab with me, but the injections made him weaker, not stronger.” She grabbed his hand. “I have to help him. He’s my only family.”
Leif shook his head. “I am your family now. My warriors are too. Irja will help you find a cure for your brother. Where is he? We should have him moved to the fortress.”
“I can’t tell you. The handlers from the camp are hunting him too.” His loyalty would always be to his warriors first. And when he found out about her connection with the wolverines, he’d protect his tribe, not Scott.
Disappointment pulled Leif’s lips into a frown. “One day you will trust me automatically, but for now I will demand it.” He released her hand. “We are going into battle against the wolverines, but after, we will move your brother here so that I can keep both you and him safe.”
Naya worried her lip. She’d lost complete control over the conversation. Leif was in full alpha king mode and there would be no negotiations. She shook her head in protest, but before she could say anything, the king continued. “We will have
a handfasting ceremony. It works like an engagement. After one year and one month, you will be my bride.”
Naya stood. She had never planned on getting married, but she knew what a proposal should look like. And this wasn’t it. Where was the declaration of, if not love, at least some deeper feeling? Some sort of respect? Leif demanded her loyalty, her undivided devotion, but didn’t reciprocate. “I can’t be your fiancée or your wife.”
“With the bond, you don’t have a choice. Neither of us does. But I will be a good husband and I will take care of your brother.” Still only talk of duty. She’d obviously fooled herself into thinking they could ever share any kind of emotional connection. She felt a chasm growing between them and a painful emptiness filled her heart. She too had duty to consider, and it would always be to her brother before everything else, no matter how it would hurt her to leave Leif.
She couldn’t risk moving Scott. He wasn’t well enough. Besides, the fortress would not be a safe place for either of them once the warriors figured out they shared a creator with the wolverines. Even if Leif would spare her life because of this bond, would he spare Scott’s? And even if he did, one of the other warriors might kill them. Torvald thought everything associated with Loki needed to be eliminated.
“Let’s talk about it after your battle.” That would buy her some time.
Leif watched her for a moment. “There isn’t anything to discuss, but I will give you some time to adjust to how things will be.”
As if she could ever get used to living with someone who dictated her life. Someone who didn’t respect her enough to let her make her own decisions. It would be as if she were back in the lab.
The door opened and Irja and Per entered the room together. Naya quickly schooled her face to not show the panic still storming inside her. “Everything set?” she asked in an overly cheerful tone.
Irja placed her medical kit on the nightstand and removed a syringe. “Just about.” She swabbed Sten’s arm and pushed the syringe into his arm.
The plunger went in all the way. Per clenched and unclenched his hands. “How long before we know if it works?”
Irja straightened her back. “We have to wait and see.”
“I’ll sit with him.” Per took Naya’s abandoned seat. “It’s the least I can do.”
“This is not your fault,” Naya said softly.
“You should not blame yourself,” Leif agreed.
The Viking shook his head, anguish reflected in his eyes. “I failed Sten. I should have been covering his back. Instead I chased some wolverines down an alley. After I killed them and returned to Sten, he was lying on the ground unconscious.”
Leif placed his hand on Per’s shoulder. “You did what I would have done.”
“Nej, min kung. You would not have left Harald to fight on his own.” Per hung his head. “I will take the punishment I deserve.”
“I would and I have,” Leif insisted. “In the heat of battle, we don’t have time to deliberate. You made a decision that felt right at the time. Second-guessing is unproductive.”
“Tack, min kung.” Per bowed his head.
Irja had been wiping the sweat off Sten’s forehead. All of a sudden she jerked upright. “He’s reacting to the injection.”
Sten thrashed on the bed, pulling his arm out of Irja’s hand. Turning his head from side to side, he mumbled.
“What’s he saying?” Per asked.
Naya leaned forward, concentrating on the sick man in the bed, rather than on her brother who was always at the back of her mind. “It sounds like numbers and letters.”
“Truck,” Sten groaned. “Plants on truck…” He repeated the numbers and letters.
Naya jerked back. “He’s giving us the license plate of a truck where wolverines are growing poisonous plants.”
Per’s eyes widened. “You got all of this from his mumbles?”
Naya straightened. “We can’t find their grove because it is mobile.”
“Ja.” Sten sighed and settled back into his pillow, his breathing easier.
“His heart rate is settling down,” Irja said, holding Sten’s wrist. She put the back of her hand against his cheek. “His fever is down too.”
Leif stood. “How do we find this truck?”
“Ulf can access the traffic camera system and search for it.” Naya was already halfway to the door.
“How did you make out the registration from Sten’s mumbles?” Leif asked.
“Enhanced hearing,” Naya said and strode toward the door, revealing yet another secret. She would have to figure out a way to make him understand that, bond or no bond, her duties required her to leave.
“Gather the others,” Leif said to Per and Irja. “We’ll hunt for the truck as soon as Ulf and Naya have a location, but first we’ll do the blót oath.” He followed Naya. “The threat has escalated. We will renew our warrior bonds so we can fight stronger. This is war now.”
Outside the room, he turned to Naya. “I know you still need some time to adjust, but for the sake of my warriors, please take your place at my side during the blót ceremony.”
She started to protest, but he interrupted her. “Please, let’s not argue about this. My people are about to risk their lives.”
As much as she didn’t want to, she did owe these men and women for rescuing her. Silently she nodded. How bad could it be?
* * *
Naya walked beside Leif as the Norse warriors marched solemnly through the tall pines behind the mansion. They wore sleeveless, charcoal-gray tunics with a Nordic design of a bear on the back over plain white shirts. Their legs were covered in slim black trousers tucked into knee-high boots.
“Why a bear?” she asked Leif in a low voice.
“It symbolizes our warrior spirit,” he whispered back without looking at her.
Naya glanced up at him. His blond hair glimmered in the sun as he walked with purpose, looking straight ahead. This side of Leif—his “kingly” side—intimidated her. There were no signs of his dimples or the laughing, playful man she’d shared a bed with. On this forest track, there was no mistaking his role among this group of warriors. He was their leader. Their ruler. And if she wasn’t careful, he would fully rule her too. After leaving the lab, she’d sworn never to be shackled by anything or anyone again.
A few minutes from the Viking house, they arrived at a clearing. At the far end, a large throne made of stone sat on top of a flat rock. Behind the rock stood a giant ash tree, its branches reaching high above the canopy of evergreens. Even if it hadn’t dwarfed its neighbors, it would still have stood out because of the gray bark and lighter green leaves glittering in the sunshine against the darker pine needles.
With a nod to Harald, Leif took Naya’s hand. Together, they strode across the grass and stepped up on the rock to stand in front of the majestic chair. He pulled her close beside him.
She gazed out at the warriors facing them. Astrid, Irja, Harald, and Ulf seemed unsurprised, while the rest of the warriors looked at her with mild curiosity. Only Torvald frowned back at her, hostility evident in his expression and tense shoulders.
The king raised the hand not holding hers. “My brothers and sisters, we are about to go to war. We will fight a cunning but cowardly enemy. They have kidnapped one of our own and tried to kill me.” He turned toward Naya. “If it weren’t for this brave woman, I wouldn’t be here.”
Harald and Astrid both nodded.
Naya swallowed nervously. She thought participating in this ceremony would involve a more passive role. Definitely should have thought this through before accepting.
Leif pulled up his shirtsleeve, revealing the serpent twisting up and around his left arm.
A collective gasp spread through the warriors.
Leif held up a hand, silencing the group before him. “My berserker has chosen. Naya is my själsfrände.” He grabbed her hand again.
Harald cheered, the others slowly joining him. Torvald spit on the ground and earned a sharp elbow from A
strid.
Heat flushed through Naya’s cheeks. She tugged on the hand trapped by Leif’s, but he held on. “This bond has made me stronger, made us stronger. As your king, I can no longer stay at home while you fight our enemies. It is my duty to take my place among my warriors.” He raised his voice. “Will you stand with me in battle?”
“Ja.” In a united voice, the warriors’ answer rumbled across the clearing.
Leif sat down on the throne, guiding Naya to perch on one of the enormous armrests. The warriors in front of them bowed down on one knee.
“Will you take the blót oath with me?” the king asked.
“Ja,” the warriors shouted.
Harald rose and faced the others. He held a silver bowl in his hand. “Will you swear fealty to Leif Skarsganger, our king chosen by Odin, the father of war and wisdom?”
“Ja.” Their answer echoed among the trees.
The hairs on the back of Naya’s neck rose and the air seemed denser. She took a deep breath, trying to ease the pressure in her chest.
Harald placed the bowl on the flat rock and drew his dagger. With a swift stroke, he slashed his palm and held it over the bowl. Blood dripped into the vessel, a tinny sound escaping as it hit the metal bottom.
Harald held the bowl in front of Torvald and the older warrior stood and repeated the gesture, adding his blood to the bowl. Harald then proceeded down the line as each of the Vikings and Valkyries cut their palms and bled into the silver vessel. By the time he reached Per at the end, the drops splashed instead of pinged.
Holding the bowl above his head, Harald stepped up on the flat rock and kneeled in front of Leif. The rest of the warriors took a knee again as the king stood, pulling a dagger with a jewel-encrusted hilt from his belt.
A wind whispered through the pines and playfully rustled Naya’s hair.
Leif cut his palm and added his blood to the bowl. “I accept your fealty, brothers and sisters of blood.” He returned the dagger to his belt and dipped his index and middle fingers into the bowl. Red drops splattered against the flat stone as he held up his hand and smeared a circle on his bicep around the head of his snake tattoo. His nostrils flared. “My serpent is bound to your warrior spirits.” He wiped his fingers on a piece of cloth Harald handed him.
Viking Warrior Rising Page 18
