He had no chance to see if she listened before he started fighting alongside Tait. Crap, they were going to be outnumbered fast. They needed help. So she went back for Näv and Vigdis only to find the cave had vanished.
Sonofabitch.
By the time she spun back, too many men to count were attacking. Bjorn and Tait were fierce as they cut down many but heck, how long could they keep it up? Her eyes widened as she watched Bjorn with a sword. He wielded it fast and viciously, using it to take down not just one but two or three at a time.
“I heard a rumor you were here, Sigdir,” came a furious roar. “On my land. Near my wife.”
The man who rushed forward on a horse could only be Agnar. The king of this region and Katla’s husband. Unlike his brother had years ago, Agnar didn’t stop his men from attacking to toy with Bjorn but instead joined the fray. Where was Katla anyway? Soon enough, Sam spied her at the edge of the crowd with a strange look in her eyes.
Bjorn and Tait continued to fight like madmen, but it wasn’t looking good. That’s when she saw Tait’s skin sheen. He was about to shift.
Suddenly, she was yanked back against someone, and a cold blade came to her throat.
“If you shift, Sigdir, this woman will die,” Sven roared.
Both Bjorn and Tait made the mistake of glancing their way. That’s all it took for at least a dozen blades to get past their defenses. A breath later they were held at sword point by a ridiculous amount of metal.
“Drop your weapons,” Agnar growled as he swung off his horse and stood in front of Bjorn. “Both of you.”
Sam tried to struggle free, but she wasn’t going anywhere. Sven was one strong teenager.
“Use your power,” Näv whispered into her mind. “Do not let them be killed.”
Her power? She barely knew how she used it last time.
“I said drop your weapons,” Agnar warned, his expression thunderous.
Tait and Bjorn hesitated a long moment before they let their blades go.
Agnar glared at Bjorn. “You, kneel at my feet. Now.”
When Bjorn made no movement, the king grew more agitated.
“Kneel,” Agnar repeated, his eyes full of loathing. “Or my son will kill the woman.”
He might seem calm, but Sam didn’t miss the fury that flared in Bjorn’s eyes. Likely because Agnar called Sven his son.
“Use your power,” Vigdis whispered into her mind. “Or this will end very poorly.”
“Kneel, Sigdir.” Sven pressed the blade tighter against Sam’s throat. “Or I will do it. I will end her life.”
She was surprised when Bjorn’s eyes didn’t go to his son’s but met hers. Though he seemed stone-cold, Sam sensed his emotions. He was concerned about her. Yet all she could think about was what Agnar’s brother had done to him so long ago. How wrong it was that he should kneel before anyone related to that monster.
“No,” she said, flinching against the sting of the blade when she spoke. “Don’t kneel for him, Bjorn. Don’t you dare. I’ll be fine.”
“Kneel,” Sven roared and dug his blade in deeper.
Oh, hell, this was starting to hurt. She did everything to keep the pain from her eyes, to keep Bjorn from seeing it, but it didn’t matter. He did. Though tempted to close her eyes, Sam kept her gaze locked with his as he slowly dropped to his knees.
That’s when something began to happen inside her.
It felt like rage mixed with denial alongside something else entirely. Whatever that something else was flared brighter when Agnar grabbed Bjorn’s hair roughly and held a blade to his neck.
“I have waited a long time for this day,” Agnar said between clenched teeth. “The day I can finally finish what my brother started.”
“Stop, husband,” Katla said, her voice oddly detached. “Or risk upsetting Bjorn’s father and bringing great wrath down upon us.”
“His father who is already defeated and wasting away on his back?” Agnar chuckled. “He is no threat to us. Not anymore.”
Bjorn might not show it, but Sam felt his insides twist at Agnar’s words. At his inability yet again to defend his father. Her eyes still locked with Bjorn’s, Sam’s entire body began to shake as red shrouded her vision.
She refused to see him suffer this.
More than that? She would not let him die.
Fury filled her so quickly that the world tilted and pain ripped through her. At first, she thought Sven had run the blade across her throat. That she’d met her end. But no. This pain was everywhere. Instead of giving into it, she did what she had learned to do on all those late nights when Rick didn’t come home. She pushed it from her mind. Refused to feel it. Instead, she embraced fury and the need to protect Bjorn.
Filled with unnatural strength, she yanked free from Sven, raced toward Bjorn and roared in rage, barely computing that the world was changing. Growing smaller. Less threatening. That’s when she realized something monumental had happened.
She peered down not at hands but talons.
Sam was no longer human.
No, she was very much a dragon.
Chapter Eleven
“LOKI’S COCK, JUST look at her,” Tait murmured.
As if Bjorn could look anywhere else. Samantha’s dragon had finally broken free, and she was as magnificent as he had envisioned her. Shimmering white, she almost seemed to sparkle. And those liquid hazel eyes of hers? They were a bright bluish green that he could spend eternity gazing into. While not overly large, she was lithe and moved remarkably fast considering this was the first time she had ever shifted.
Agnar had a split second to react before she swiped him aside and stood over Bjorn. He could feel her rage to his core. Samantha wasn’t fazed in the least by her new body. At least not yet. Rather, she was all about vengeance. She wanted death to Agnar and anyone affiliated with hurting Bjorn that horrible day so long ago.
Then he felt something else.
Her overwhelming need to get him out of there.
Hel.
She might not know what she was doing, but he did.
When Tait started to shift, he roared, “No, Cousin, do not shift. Get beneath her.” Then his eyes shot to Sven. “Run, Son, get out of here now!”
His eyes met Katla’s one final time, and he hoped she would do the same. That she would lead their son to safety. Because Samantha’s dragon wasn’t going to take any prisoners. While he understood what she was about to do, Samantha had no idea as she reared back her head and inhaled deeply.
“No, Son!” Bjorn roared when he realized Sven was doing the opposite of what he requested and racing toward them. But by then it was too late.
Samantha rained down fire on everyone.
Everything felt like it was in slow motion as Bjorn and Tait tried to get to Sven. Because though Samantha was most certainly unleashing Hel's wrath on everyone, she was also doing something else.
Something uniquely powerful.
Air and fire started to rush around them. Everything blurred then became a deep abyss the color of Samantha’s eyes. Moments later, sparks danced around him like fireflies over a moody, dark ocean. The air compressed, grew difficult to breathe, then expanded so quickly, he could barely keep his balance. Then everything exploded in bright light.
When his vision cleared the world was completely different.
The enemy was gone, and their surroundings had transformed. Instead of several cottages, there was just one big lodge built very strangely. Tait staggered and fell to his knees, but that’s not what Bjorn focused on. All he could see was Samantha as she stumbled forward, no longer in dragon form but very much human. Not only was she nude but crying. “Oh my God, Sven, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Like the rest of them, Sven was struggling to keep his balance until he got a solid eyeful of Samantha and fell to his knees.
Bjorn murmured under his breath and clothed her with magic before she could reach his son.
“I’m so, so, so sorry,” Samantha kept whimp
ering, smoke still trailing from her mouth as Bjorn closed the distance and scooped her up. “I didn’t mean to burn you, Sven. I didn’t mean to kill you.”
“Sven is fine. You did not hurt him, Samantha,” Bjorn said softly, trying to soothe her while he figured out where they were. The trees were far different, and they were on a shore unlike any he had seen before.
“Son, is that you?” came a soft voice from the huge deck alongside the front of the house. “Bjorn?”
He blinked through the twilight only to see several people standing there.
His mother, sister and another man.
“Mother?”
“Oh, thank God it’s you,” she managed to get out before Svala leapt over the railing and raced toward them. “Brother!”
Clearly not wanting to be anywhere near Samantha, she hugged Bjorn tightly from behind then eyed him with concern. “How are you here? Are you well?” Her eyes narrowed on Samantha. “What did she do now?”
Less lethargic and more coherent by the moment, Samantha whacked Svala away. “Shut it.”
Bjorn continued toward his mother but stopped when the strange man intercepted him, his worried eyes on Samantha. “Shit, Sam, what happened?” When he tried to take her from him, Bjorn narrowed his eyes and growled, “No.”
“I’m okay, Sean.” Samantha offered a wobbly smile, evidently happy to see him. “Don’t mind Bjorn. He’s just like this.”
Then she made brief introductions. Bjorn had heard of Sean often from his mother. At one time they had been very close friends. Though that might have been, he wanted the man nowhere near Samantha. At least not in her current vulnerable state.
“It’s okay, Bjorn, you can put me down,” she murmured as her eyes finally met his. The last of the dragon had faded, but her skin remained unnaturally pale. Whatever she’d done to get them here had drained her considerably.
“No. You just shifted for the first time and are too weak.” He looked at his mother, schooling his reaction quickly at her appearance. Her hair had thinned dramatically, and she was far too slender. “Samantha needs nourishment and rest.”
His mother nodded as her eyes went to Samantha. A tender smile came to her lips. “It’s so good to see you again, Sam. I missed you.” Then she headed for the house. “Follow me, Son.”
Bjorn met Tait’s eyes. “Make sure Sven has no weapons and keep him with you at all times. Stay out here until I have seen to Samantha.” His eyes narrowed on Sven who seemed relatively unaffected by everything. “I will speak with you later, Son.”
Sven didn’t acknowledge him but continued to take in his surroundings.
Tait nodded, equally enthralled by everything around them. “So this is…the twenty-first century?”
“Yes, Cousin,” Svala said before she wrapped her arms around Tait and eyed Sven with curiosity. “And it is a terrible place.”
Despite Samantha’s protests, Bjorn never let her go, not even when his mother urged him to lay her on a large cushioned bench inside. Instead, he sat with her on his lap.
“Honestly, I’m good,” she mumbled.
When she tried to squirm off him, Bjorn frowned and held her tighter. “You are not going anywhere until I know you’re safe.”
“Of course, I’m safe,” she croaked as her bleary eyes went to his. “I just have a really scratchy throat, and I’m coming down from some serious…whatever that was.” She rubbed her throat and flinched. “Hell, I breathed fire, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you embraced your dragon and your magic,” Bjorn said. “And it was very impressive.”
His mother wore a soft but concerned smile when she returned and urged Samantha to drink some water before she gave her and Bjorn bottles. His was different than hers.
“Drink, you two,” she said. “Then you can catch me up on everything.”
Sean added a log to the fire, wrapped a blanket around Megan’s shoulders then sat on the opposite bench. He remained silent and eyed Bjorn with both uncertainty and curiosity.
Samantha took a long swig from her bottle then murmured in pleasure, “Mmm, this is so good.”
Bjorn tensed against his strong reaction. She had only ever acted that way when she sniffed him, when she desired him. Yet there was a drink that made her feel the same way?
Samantha snorted then chuckled, settling back in his arms. “Oh, trust me, Bjorn, you make me feel entirely different than a wine cooler.”
His eyes shot to hers. Embracing her dragon had made her far more connected to his thoughts.
“Well, I would hope so,” his mother murmured.
When she sat down beside them and gave him a knowing look, he offered no reaction.
“Drink, Bjorn.” His mother nodded at his bottle. “I’m curious to see what you think of cold ale.”
So he did, trying not to flinch at its sour taste. “It is very good.”
“Liar,” Svala muttered as she plunked down on the same bench as Sean but as far away from him as possible.
“We call it a couch or sofa,” Samantha said into his mind. “By the way, welcome to my home. Well, one of them.”
Not only was she in his mind but seemed very comfortable there. So he responded in kind. “It is…” he eyed the tall ceilings and too-perfect woodwork. It didn’t possess nearly the craftsmanship or love put into the buildings of his village…or of his own lodge. “It is very nice.”
“Liar,” she echoed Svala’s earlier assessment. “Though it’s gorgeous it can’t compare to what you’re used to. But you might enjoy our modern day amenities.”
He liked the feel of her in his mind very much. Too much. So he decided to refocus his attention and told his mother everything that had happened since she left. Since she chose to fight her illness. By the time he was finished, she wore a contemplative look. “So you kidnapped Sam?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “For the greater good.”
“I see.” His mother looked at Samantha. “And how do you feel about all this?”
“It’s sort of the least of my worries now.” She shrugged, winked, polished off her wine cooler and said with a slight slur, “And if we wanna get technical, I’m pretty sure I’ve kidnapped him now so we’re even.”
A twinkle lit his mother’s eyes and the corner of her mouth curled up. “I suppose you did, didn’t you?”
“Yup,” Samantha declared as she hiccupped then rested her head against his chest, murmuring, “Sorry, I’m feeling a little…”
No sooner did her words trail off then she inhaled deeply, curled against him and fell asleep.
“It looks like you found your very own dragon, Son,” his mother said softly. “And I could not be happier for you.”
Unsure what to say to that and remembering full well Samantha’s thoughts on becoming his mate, he merely grunted. A safe enough response he supposed.
“So your father still lives,” his mother murmured. “I knew he would…I know he will.” A perplexed glint lit her eyes. “Interesting how time seems to be passing differently than it did for my sisters and me when we first traveled back.”
“Right,” Sean said. “It sounds like time’s going by faster here than there. Any thoughts why?”
“No.” Megan shook her head. “But I can’t complain considering how long my treatment takes.”
She made a good point. All things considered, the less time that went by back home, the better so she could get back to father sooner.
“Might I have a moment alone with my son?” his mother said, her eyes on Sean and Svala.
“You bet.” Sean headed for the door leading out onto the deck. When Svala remained on the couch, he frowned at her. “Did you hear your mom?”
“I did,” she confirmed, not budging.
“Then have a little respect and give her and your brother some privacy,” he shot before he headed outside, not waiting around for a response.
More than that, he didn’t stay to argue with her.
And nothing got his sister angrier than someone
who wouldn’t battle it out. Infuriated, her eyes widened, and she stormed after him.
Bjorn looked at his mother. “I don’t think I have seen a man treat her like that before.”
She chuckled. “No, and they probably should have. It might’ve done her some good.”
Perhaps his mother was right. “He is no warrior, though.”
“No.” His mother smiled. “He’s a fisherman.”
“Interesting.”
“Isn’t it?” She rested her hand on his shoulder. “You know, two days from Svala’s childhood stand out above the rest. The day her father put a sword in her hand and the day you and Heidrek taught her to fish.”
“Giving her a sword was far easier than a spear and a net,” he recalled.
“Very true.” His mother continued to smile. “No man fell the first day she held a sword, but two men did the first day she fished.”
A small smile curled his lips as he remembered Svala at eight winters old with her head full of blond curls and big blue eyes. Being daughter of the king, she had difficulty making friends. Either they liked her because they wanted to gain favor or disliked her because they thought she was overly privileged. And then there were those who were simply jealous that she was a female dragon. That she was special.
The day his mother spoke of, however, was when Svala finally took matters into her own hands.
She became so infuriated that she couldn’t manage to catch a fish that her dragon’s magic roared up. Bjorn and Heidrek were overboard before they knew it and moments later, Svala caught her first fish. Not allowing her kin back on the boat, she held it up with pride. After that, she spent the entire day out there catching more and more. She might not have proven much her first time with a blade, but she proved something to herself the day she caught her first fish. She was strong. And she was Viking.
After that, she no longer took strife from anyone.
“You and Heidrek were so good to her,” his mother said softly. “To this day she has no idea you two orchestrated the whole thing to help her gain confidence.” She squeezed his shoulder. “No small thing considering you were at an age where you were trying to impress the girls not become a laughing stock.”
Vengeance of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 2) Page 16
