“As to Freydis and Sigrunn, I’m not sure. Maybe your guilt and anger blinded you to them. Remember what I said about ghosts responding to positive energy? Well, negative energy has the opposite effect. It just makes everything more confusing and obscured for all parties involved,” she explained. “While those haunting you affected you adversely, you might’ve done the same thing to them.” She twirled her forefinger. “Kind of a revolving door sort of thing.”
“That’s unfortunate,” he murmured.
“Yes, but don’t blame yourself,” she said. “You had no way of knowing.” She patted his shoulder. “And now that I’m here that sort of thing won’t happen again. When this is all over, I’ll teach you everything I know.”
“I look forward to that.”
She knew he did. More so, he liked the idea of her staying after all of this was over. And she did too. Shannon might not quite know where she stood on starting a new relationship, but she knew she wanted something from him. With him.
“As to you seeing other spirits,” she continued. “You very well might have.” She gestured at herself then him. “They can appear transparent or as solid as you and I. It depends on how much energy they have. Ones that are unrelated would have more energy around you because they’re not emotionally drained by a connection to you. The closer they are too you, the more energy it takes for them to manifest. You would think it would be the opposite, but it isn’t.” She shrugged. “The ones I help move on at work are, for the most part, as solid as us.”
He gave her one of those compassionate looks that meant he felt for how much she endured alone. “So your sisters did not know about this until recently?” he said. “They didn’t know how much you do for others?”
She shook her head. “No. And as far as I know they still don’t.” Her voice dropped a few octaves. “We’ve all been dealing with a lot since we lost mom and dad. Since before then actually. They didn’t need to worry about me on top of it.” Her eyes went to the fire. “That’s one of the main reasons I steered clear of Cybil. If I spent too much time around her, she would’ve figured it out. She always had an uncanny way of reading me.” She quirked the corner of her lips. “Now I know why, demi-god prophet Dragon Seer that she is.”
“She is very wise,” he agreed and sighed. “And very forgiving.”
Shannon knew what he was referring to and had wondered if he was going to bring this up eventually.
“I heard about what happened to Cybil when she first traveled back in time. How you almost let her drown when she arrived.” She slanted a look at him. “You know all of this could’ve gone much differently if you had. That was…”
Matthew put his hand over hers, shook his head and cut her off. “What I did was wrong. I was truly consumed with hatred for my brother and took it out on an innocent. But know this, as I told all of your sisters at one time or another when they asked, I would have died before I let Cybil drown.”
They both now knew his actions weren’t just because of Heidrek but because he was haunted, yet still she had needed to hear this. And she wasn’t surprised to learn that Sam and Lauren had needed to as well. Cybil was their big sister. Their strength even though they hadn’t leaned on her for far too long. All of them knew she would have been there for them in a heartbeat.
“I know you wouldn’t have let her die,” she whispered. “I see who you are, Matthew.”
She pulled her hand away when tingles of awareness shot up her arm, and blazing heat raced straight to her core. She clenched her teeth against a harsh wave of arousal. Was it her imagination or were her feelings toward him accelerating?
Determined to get her mind off it, she pasted an easy smile on her face and focused on less intense things. “So rumor has it you’re a fan of trees. I’d love to hear more.”
She didn’t miss the way his eyes simmered with equal desire or how hard he tried to suppress it as well.
“Like Bjorn, I used to find great peace among the trees,” he said softly. “I would go with Uncle Kjar when he chose the best ones to build his boats from. I would help him choose wisely.”
A strange sensation rolled through her as understanding dawned. “You helped the trees.” Deep respect took root. “Somehow, you helped their spirits pass on, didn’t you, Matthew? Before they were cut down, you helped them escape the pain.”
Because every living thing had a spirit. Even trees. Especially trees.
Matthew said nothing, just eyed the flames.
She closed her eyes and followed his thoughts. What he had done. Because what he did was profound. Trees were deeply connected to other trees. So if one felt pain, many others would as well. He not only helped the one tree but made sure the others were gently disconnected first.
“But you can’t do it now, can you?” She opened her eyes. “Not since that dart repressed your dragon.”
“No.” His eyes returned to hers. “I can still hear the trees, but I can no longer communicate with them.”
“I’m so sorry,” she murmured, realizing how intricate a part of him they had been. “I keep pondering how else that dart might have affected you.” She fingered a lock of his hair. “Is it me or is your hair getting darker and darker?”
“It is,” he confirmed. “It used to be closer to Heidrek’s color.”
“Wow,” she murmured, tempted to run her fingers through it but not wanting to show so much affection for him in front of Emily. “So it was dirty blond, and now it’s this dark? When did it start happening?”
Matthew contemplated it, clearly a little surprised when the answer occurred to him. “Now that I think about it, soon after the dart hit me. Around the time I became desperate to find you.”
“Interesting,” she murmured. “Has there been any change to Bjorn’s hair color? Because he got shot with a dart too.”
He shook his head. “No. But his hair couldn’t get much darker.”
Strange. She would have to keep giving this some thought.
They didn’t talk much after that but ate and spent time with the others. Later, as she lay next to Emily and everyone slept, she continued thinking about the enemy’s dart and the toll it had taken on Matthew. More than that, she thought about what it might take to help him break free from its spell altogether. In Bjorn’s case, it sounded like it was a combination of mating with Samantha and Sven coming back into his life.
So did the same sort of thing hold true for Matthew?
Did he need to find both his mate and son?
Matthew had vanished a little while ago into another cave. Though tempted to follow, she didn’t. She respected his privacy.
When the air turned icy, she sighed. While she might miss Anthony, now wasn’t a good time for another ethereal visit. It was painful and draining. She needed to think. To figure things out.
“You make a habit of visiting my world, mortal,” came a whisper on a phantom wind. “Both you and Matthew do.”
Oh no. Not Hel again.
Shannon shifted so she could better protect Emily.
“What do you want?” she whispered.
“I want to help you,” the wind replied as a dark figure appeared. It wasn’t shaped like a woman this time just an oily slick. “But I cannot do that if you will not help yourself.”
Oddly drawn, she stood when the shadow started to move away. She wasn’t afraid. Not at all. Rather, there was something she needed to see.
Sven’s eyes opened and locked on Shannon.
“Go. Follow,” he said into her mind. “Emily is safe.”
She didn’t reply but trailed Hel deeper into Helheim. Instead of darkness, the walls glowed and fluctuated. Almost as if the rock itself was alive. But then it was the pulsing body of Mother Earth, was it not? Seen better in this otherworld. This land of the dead. Not so dead really. Just alive in a different way altogether.
Shannon had no sooner stepped into the next cave when the world shifted around her. Again, she stood on the shoreline in the midst of that awful battle. But this time she w
as able to separate herself from the horror and pay closer attention.
Matthew was shirtless and vicious as he cut down man after man. He was brutal and ruthless yet remarkably compelling. Beautiful. Masculine. The way he handled the blade made the vast tribal markings on his muscular chest almost seem alive. As though he had wings and could move faster than others.
Sigrunn and Freydis fought nearby, both as thrilled with the fighting as he was. There was no fear, just ferociousness, and battle lust. All his kin were close. Bjorn, Tait, Heidrek, Kadlin and Kodran. The more she watched, the easier it was to see how they worked as a unit. How they anticipated each other’s moves and toyed with their opponents.
Though compelled to keep watching she tore her eyes away and refocused on everything else. Most especially Hallstein.
He was standing a ways off, a small smile on his face as he watched everything unfold. This battle was somehow his own master plan. Yes, he had wanted Svala here so he could kill her and truly weaken the Viking King’s heart but that didn’t happen. Her parents had kept her away. So why did he still look so smug? Her eyes narrowed as his attention became solely focused on Matthew. What was he up to? Soon enough she realized as his eyes glowed red, he chanted something, and Matthew vanished.
“You bastard,” she whispered as the battle raged on. Matthew had wondered about this, and now she had confirmation.
That moment had turned out to be the enemy’s unexpected back-up plan. Somehow he had figured out Matthew had one foot on Midgard and one foot on Helheim and used it to his advantage.
After that, the Sigdir clan’s well-oiled fighting machine went to hell.
Literally.
Confused by her husband’s sudden absence, Sigrunn was struck down first as a warrior slipped past her defenses. Determined to defend her and likely even avenge her, Freydis was there but took a blade in the back.
It was then that Heidrek sprang into action and tried to lure the enemy away with Bjorn in hot pursuit. Soon after, Matthew reappeared. By the time he did, it was too late for both Freydis and Sigrunn, and his tribe was fleeing. Heidrek wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Nobody was for that matter. But it was his brother he raged at most when he discovered his dead wife and sister. After all, he had led the raid.
Shannon put a hand over her mouth as she watched Freydis and Sigrunn rise out of their bodies and follow Matthew as he headed back toward the ship. At that particular moment, they still had no idea they were dead. They were simply following their kin.
She had figured out one very important detail in all this, though. Something she knew bone-deep because she well understood the land of the dead. More than that, she understood why Hel had shown her this.
They had it all wrong.
Hallstein wasn’t Loki’s child but his grandchild.
The enemy was Hel’s son.
Chapter Ten
MATTHEW LEANED AGAINST the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, and his head hung. It had been a long day. No, a long few years. Yet even without knowing exactly where his son was, something inside him was growing lighter. It was an indescribable feeling. One he didn’t believe he deserved. One that made no sense considering his son was still lost. But he knew what was causing it. Better yet, who.
Shannon.
And Emily.
Somehow, they had made their way into every thought that wasn’t of Håkon and perhaps already made their way into his heart. He would protect them with everything he had. Which meant taking every step possible to see that through.
So for the first time since the battle, he did as Shannon urged him to do, and reached out to Heidrek telepathically. Heidrek had been in his mind briefly once before, but Matthew hadn’t been the one to reach out and certainly hadn’t allowed his brother to linger very long.
“Brother,” he said. “Are you there?”
“I am,” Heidrek responded within moments. “It is good to hear from you…very good.”
He didn’t miss the emotion in the octave of Heidrek’s internal voice. How grateful his brother was that he had connected with him. Matthew clenched his jaw against a strong wave of emotion as he opened his mind and allowed Heidrek to see everything that had happened. All he had learned. It was quick. They shouldn’t connect like this for too long. But it was enough to catch him up.
“So Shannon already asked you to become her mate?” Heidrek said, surprising Matthew with his amusement, with his lightheartedness and support. “That makes you a very lucky dragon, yes?”
For some reason, he thought this first step with his brother was going to be more difficult, but he should have known better. The anger and bitterness had been all Matthew’s, not Heidrek’s. His brother had simply been waiting for him to reach out. To realize that he would always be there and in fact, he had never really vanished. Not in the least.
“I think a proposal to be mates for a greater good is the least of my worries right now,” Matthew responded. But he didn’t do so with his usual anger. Rather, he felt a sense of peace, of coming home in a strange way. Relief, almost. And he knew his brother felt it too.
“You will find your son, Brother,” Heidrek said. “I do not doubt it for a moment.” He hesitated, his distress palpable. “I wish I could be there to help you. To be there for you. I wish we could journey together and be brothers as we once were.”
Matthew didn’t respond to that. While he might have all his facts now and knew Heidrek wasn’t responsible for what had happened that day, it was going to take more than a brief mental conversation to let go of his hurt. Even if that hurt was false, it had been his for far too long.
“I will go now,” Heidrek said, his tone soft. “Keep me updated as you travel, Brother. Stay safe. All is well here. Mother and father miss you.”
Matthew nodded out of habit as their mental connection ended. He had forgotten how good it was to hear Heidrek like that. To again feel the closeness they shared. Perhaps he should have said more. Reached out. Yet he got the sense his brother understood and would remain patient.
Even before she appeared, he felt Shannon’s presence and looked toward the entrance of the cave. The expression on her face was indescribable. As if she had just witnessed something horrible but had a better understanding of things because of it. The air chilled a fraction and colors sharpened, so he knew they were crossed over into Helheim again.
“None of it was your fault,” she whispered as she joined him. “Not Heidrek’s or yours or anyone related. Everything that happened that day was orchestrated by Hallstein, Matthew. Done with the foresight that it would slowly rip you apart and by doing so eat away at the Sigdir’s from the inside out.” She shook her head, her eyes damp. “When he couldn’t get to your clan through Svala, he used you instead.”
Matthew listened, dumbfounded, as she explained everything she had just witnessed.
“He’s hers,” she murmured in closure. “Hallstein is Hel’s.”
“How do you know?” he managed, still baffled by how deceived they had all been.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I just know with absolute certainty that he is. I felt it the moment you vanished from the battle. I felt his connection to Helheim. How strong it was. How much power he had over it.” She kept shaking her head. “Power that I don’t think his mom is too happy about.”
“Where is Hel now?” He reeled her closer without realizing it as he glanced around the cave. “Is she here?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Shannon murmured. “She wanted to help me by making me help myself, and I think part of that was showing me the truth so I could relay it to you.”
“What was the other part?” He couldn’t help the hoarseness of his voice as he became all too aware of her sweet, musky scent. Of the shape of her soft body a scant few inches from his. “How else can you help yourself?”
“She led me in your direction.” Her eyes rose to his. “So what do you think she intended?” Then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “But I can�
��t. Not with Emily so close.”
Hel wanted them to lie together again. To come into their full power. But would sex do that? Matthew figured it couldn’t hurt to try. Again and again, if that’s what it took.
“Can you not sense Emily in a whole new way since she shifted?” he said. “I can. If she moves, I know it.” He turned her and slowly walked her back against the wall. “And then there’s this.” He brushed his hand down her arm, and the air shimmered. “Dragon magic can hide anything. Magic I can still use in Helheim. Magic I believe Hel will make sure Hallstein does not detect if it means helping us.”
Their breathing increased as he closed the distance, and cupped the sides of her neck and face. “I want you again, Shannon. I’ve wanted you since the last time I had you.”
Her soft hands fluttered up beneath his tunic, almost as if she didn’t realize she was doing it. She licked her lips as her fingers grazed his skin, as she felt the contours of his muscles. While she explored, he brushed his lips across hers. He loved the way she tasted. The smooth plushness of her lips, and the silkiness of her tongue as it twisted with his and the kiss deepened.
“Matthew,” she moaned as she dragged her lips away just long enough to push his jerkin up. He yanked it off then found her lips again.
He might be desperate to be inside her, but this time he was determined to take things slower. When they were together before they had fulfilled their baser needs. Rushed. This time he wanted to fulfill far more than that. He wanted to explore every little bit of her, inside and out.
“Shannon,” he whispered against her lips before he pulled her shirt over her head, eager to finally see her, feel her. She was well formed, her waist small, her breasts not overly large but beautifully shaped. Perfect.
He dropped to his knees, and dropped light kisses across her stomach, grateful for the life it had once held. While he still intended to take things slow, that sentiment didn’t apply to the time it took to remove the rest of their clothing. Impatient, desperate to taste her, they were undressed a chant later.
Fury of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 4) Page 17
