Whatever this feeling was, it went far beyond friendship.
“Hey, Lauren,” Sean said as he and Svala joined her outside. “We’d take you to our place, but we know how uncomfortable Tait gets when you’re not nearby. So we’re getting something together on the back deck to help you through the night, okay?”
Outside? For the night? In the cold weather? Yet she realized that was exactly how it would have to be. That didn’t bother her so much. All that seemed to matter now was that Tait would be on the other side.
“Did I do this by confronting Charles?” She frowned and looked at Erica. “I do not understand.”
“You had to confront him, Lauren. You needed to close that door.” Erica winked. “Better yet, open it then destroy it. As to the rest, let’s follow Sean and Svala and get you set up so we can talk. Catch up.”
She nodded, her eyes returning to Tait. “See you on the other side?”
He seemed a little startled by the comment but nodded before he headed down the hallway toward the back of the chalet.
“Come, Sister,” Shannon said as she took her hand. “Let’s go get you settled.”
Lauren nodded and joined her as Erica strode ahead. This was the first time she’d been alone with Shannon since they returned. “How are you doing?” she murmured. “With all these Vikings here again?”
Shannon eyed her as they walked. “You mean how am I doing with Matthew here?”
When she glanced at Shannon in surprise, her sister remained as calm and level-headed as ever. “I know about Cybil’s pictures and how they’re connected to Viking dragons from the past.” She gave her a pointed look. “More so, I know that we’re supposed to end up with them.”
Lauren arched her brows. “And your thoughts on that?”
Shannon shrugged. “I’m not interested.” She squeezed Lauren’s hand. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t think you should be.”
What Shannon didn’t seem to realize was that Lauren had embraced her dragon and could hear the way her sister’s heartbeat kicked up a notch and how her breathing hitched. Shannon had noticed Matthew but was fighting her reaction. Lauren understood that based on her first encounter with Tait, so she left it alone. Sort of.
“Matthew has changed since he arrived here. He is less intense,” Lauren mentioned. “As if something or someone here calms him.”
Shannon shrugged again, a gesture Lauren couldn’t remember her sister doing once let alone twice since they were children. “Emily doesn’t like him.”
“I noticed.” Lauren eyed her sister as they walked around the corner of the house. “Why do you suppose that is considering she just met him? Emily loves everyone she meets, especially strangers, which I have always found a little alarming.”
“She’s just a little girl,” Shannon said. “It’s hard to know the reasons behind her actions sometimes.”
“She is not just a little girl.” Lauren stopped Shannon when they reached the bottom of the deck stairs. “She gave me a snow globe that has navigated me safely through what some might think was a nightmare.” She perked her brows. “And she was thrilled to learn dragons existed tonight and was not afraid in the least.”
Something flashed in Shannon’s eyes before she nodded and kept walking. Acknowledgement? Fear? Justification? It was odd. A look Lauren couldn’t quite understand let alone lock down to one emotion. One set of feelings. Which was almost odder for Shannon than two shrugs in a three minute period.
“This will work well, yes?” Svala asked as they joined her and Sean on the deck.
Lauren stopped short at what they had created. A tent of sorts that connected with the open French doors into the house. It stretched and attached like half a hive, blocking out the elements. This gave an unfiltered view of the living room and the fire crackling on the hearth. Tait was already sitting on the floor just inside the door as he leaned against the side of the couch and crossed his long legs out in front of him.
When she looked at Svala in question, the little Viking grinned. “Dragon magic of course.” She unzipped the tent. “Come, there’s enough room for you and a few others.”
Sean kissed Svala on the cheek in passing. “Come inside with me so that Lauren and her sisters can enjoy your contraption.”
Svala nodded but not before she urged Lauren to enter. “Please. Come get in out of the cold.”
Lauren nodded and smiled as she ducked in and felt how warm it was. The floor was dry and blankets and pillows were laid out. Not only that, there was a tray with a few drinks and snacks. It was a regular picnic in the middle of a snowy Maine evening.
She smiled. “Thank you so much. This…” Her eyes went to Tait then back to Svala. “This is more than I could have asked for.”
“But it is good, yes?” Before Lauren could respond Svala nodded and entered the house. Within seconds Shannon and Erica joined Lauren.
She pulled off her jacket and shook her head. “You both do not need to be in here. There is not much space.” Her eyes went between them. “You can sit inside the house just as easily.”
“We can,” Erica agreed. “But not right now.”
Lauren nodded and started to pull her hair free only to discover it was already down. She went to release a few more of her stifling shirt buttons to find them already undone.
“You did all that as you talked to Charles,” Mema Angie provided and grinned. “It was something to see.”
“I did?” she whispered, baffled that she had no recollection of it.
“Like you did not remember helping me inside this house to begin with, yes?” Tait murmured. His eyes met hers. “As you let go, you also embrace, Lauren.”
Lauren nodded. That’s right. She had done something similar when she helped him. When he pushed past the curse the first time. Why did she seem to black out when things like that happened? Was it her dragon somehow taking over?
“It’s nothing to overthink, Lauren,” Tait murmured as his eyes turned to the fire. “You’re letting go. That’s all.”
“Letting go,” she repeated, her eyes still on him, wishing he would look back. “Of what at this point? What is separating us?”
“Why don’t we start with a drink?” Erica grinned with approval when Mema Angie handed them each cups of what appeared to be champagne to accompany the drinks they already had. She held up her glass. “Here’s to Lauren finally breaking free of almost everything that’s been holding her back.”
Lauren raised her glass but wasn’t much in the mood to celebrate so took a small sip and set it aside. It seemed Tait felt the same way because he left his beer untouched. Everyone else joined him in the living room, likely as interested to hear what Erica had to say as she was.
“Alrighty then,” Erica finally said after she tossed back her champagne. Lauren was still astounded by how much she had changed. How loosened up she seemed, alcohol intake aside.
“I started having what I like to refer to as revelations shortly after Anthony died. At first, I thought it was because I’d gone through such a traumatic event.” Her eyes met Lauren’s, and she shook her head. “But now I suspect it’s because Cybil had just started her Dragons of Winter Harbor Collection. No. I know it was.”
Lauren found it interesting that Shannon wasn’t jumping all over Erica about Anthony. But then again, this was Shannon. Calm and collected even when confronted with something like her deceased husband possibly cheating on her with her sister. Yet Lauren found she wasn’t quite content with Shannon’s avoidance of it anymore. Or should she say she wasn’t willing to remain quiet about it anymore? If she was no longer repressing things, neither should her sisters. Not if this was all somehow part of helping Tait and his family against the enemy.
So Lauren came right out with it and looked at Erica. “Why was Anthony pulling out of your complex when he got in the accident?”
“Shannon already asked me that.”
Lauren’s eyes flew to Shannon. “You did?”
“Yes.” Shanno
n’s eyes met Erica’s. “And if I recall correctly, your answer was as evasive as ever.”
Erica held her gaze for a moment, as if mulling that over, before she nodded. “That’s right. It was, wasn’t it?”
Shannon’s eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly at the guiltless response, but she said nothing.
“Well, I guess it is time to give you a direct answer.” Erica’s eyes stayed steady on Shannon, her answer rather blunt. “He was pulling out of my complex because he came to me in confidence to share how confused he was. He had seen your eyes…your skin sheen. He knew you were something other than human.”
Shannon didn’t seem all that surprised about the dragon part. No, her lukewarm tone had everything to do with her deceased husband and sister. “So he confided in you rather than confront me? How convenient considering how fond of him you always were.”
“That’s beside the point right now. We’ll talk about it on our own time.” Erica’s eyes went to Lauren. “What’s more important were the revelations. Where Cybil tends to see more into the future, these were glimpses of the past. Another life.”
Lauren’s eyes went to Erica’s new tattoos. “So you have glimpses too.”
“Yes. I’ve had many, but I don’t understand them all.” Her eyes flickered from Tait to Lauren. “What I do understand is that everyone’s going to be in pretty big trouble if you two don’t get out from under this curse.”
“It is not so easy to get out from under a curse when you do not know who is causing it or why it exists.” Lauren arched an inquisitive brow at Erica. “I assume you wanted Charles here because you figured if I finally confronted him, it would end the curse?”
“Actually, I figured if you confronted both Charles and me, you would at least be able to get rid of the last of those awful doors in your mind,” Erica said. “Then maybe, yes, you’d have a shot at banishing the curse.” She frowned. “Yet there’s still at least one doorway left, isn’t there?”
Embarrassed that Erica had shared so much in front of everyone, Lauren ignored the question and kept the conversation moving along. “So you figured out we were sisters in another life. What else do you remember about it? What do you recall of the blade Eluf gave you…I mean Maeva, before you traveled to the future? Do you know why it turned up again?”
“All I know is that it keeps our bloodline safe,” Erica said. “Now it’s found its way back to us. Learn more about that, and I’ll bet you’ll figure out why you and Tait are still cursed.”
Lauren eyed her, again amazed by how much she had changed. How she was allegedly Maeva in another life.
Likely following most of her thoughts, Tait spoke.
“There is something I don’t understand, though.” Tait looked at Erica curiously. “The version of Maeva we have come across seems as evil as the enemy. Kodran witnessed it firsthand when she possessed Samantha. Yet you do not seem evil.” His brows lowered. “We were also told that she had died and was trying to return to the living. Yet here you are alive in the twenty-first century.”
“Kodran,” Erica murmured and frowned. “Your brother?”
“Yes.” He met her frown. “How did you know that?” His eyes narrowed as something seemed to occur to him, and he glanced from Matthew to Shannon then back to Erica. “If they are meant for each other, that only leaves Kodran…and you…”
Shannon shook her head, clearly in denial of being meant for anyone, especially Matthew, but before she could speak, Erica kept going. “Like I said, I see flashes of the past. Flashes of things I don’t understand. But I know that name…” Her eyes grew distant before she refocused on Lauren. “That doesn’t matter right now either. I already told you what matters. You and Tait.”
“You seem very confident in this, Erica,” Megan said. She had been quiet through all this, taking in everything in a way that bespoke many years in a position of leadership. “Why did you wait until tonight to show up? Why not come sooner so that you and Lauren could spend quality time and reconnect? Why not get Charles here sooner so that she was finished with him as well?” She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “More than that, if you really are Maeva reborn, why would you come here and put everyone at risk? Because if the enemy wanted Lauren who was merely your sister in another life, I could only imagine how drawn he would be to you.”
Erica eyed Megan for a long moment before she finally spoke.
“You are very clever, former Viking Queen,” she said softly.
Too softly.
Alarmingly so.
What happened next shocked everyone.
Erica started to fade, and someone else began to materialize.
Tait tossed Lauren the blade and leapt to his feet along with everyone else. Lauren yanked Shannon behind her and kept the blade poised for battle. Yet it seemed she didn’t need to because who appeared didn’t stay long. Just long enough to meet her eyes and nod. Just long enough to let her know he was watching over everyone and guiding them as well as he could.
“Who was that?” Matthew asked as the man faded.
“That was the first of your dragon lineage and if I am not mistaken Maeva’s true love.” Her eyes swept over the room. “That was Einar.”
Chapter Fifteen
TAIT FOUGHT A foul mood as everyone discussed Einar. He could say it was because he was trapped inside the house, but that would be a lie. No, every ounce of his darkening thoughts had to do with being kept from Lauren. Had they not been through enough already? Had they not proven to this curse that they could work together and weather everything thrown their way? That they could work together to better understand what it was determined to tell them? Because if nothing else, it was trying to make them see something.
To remember something
Or at least that’s how it felt on his end.
Lauren, it seemed, had memories she wasn’t sharing. And for the life of him, he couldn’t see them within her mind. Why, he wasn’t sure. Maybe because the curse was interfering or maybe they were not as connected as he thought they were.
He sighed and downed the rest of his beer as Shannon shook her head, completely baffled. “So that was never Erica?” Her eyes met Lauren’s, her attitude surprisingly calm considering what she just witnessed. “To be honest, despite what she’s done to me, I was starting to like who she’d become.”
“Me too,” Lauren murmured. “Very much so.”
“Don’t get so glum yet,” Aunt Megan said. “Not until you have all the facts.” She shook her head. “I might not possess magic, but I’ve been around it long enough to know when something feels off. This time it’s in a relatively good way.” Her eyes met Lauren’s. “When Erica first arrived you were convinced she was your sister in another life. You felt that connection strongly, yes? That she was Maeva?”
When Lauren nodded, Aunt Megan’s eyes went to Matthew’s, Sven’s and Tait’s. “You’re all seasoned dragons. Well, two of you anyway. What did you sense about Erica? What did you feel?”
“Very drawn,” Matthew said, and Sven agreed.
When her eyes landed on Tait, he shook his head. “I was not drawn at all.”
“No, you were solely focused on Lauren.” Her eyes went between Tait and Lauren. “Which is the behavior of a male dragon around his mate when another female dragon is present.” Her eyes covered everyone. “So while that might have very well been Einar, he was not alone. There was a female dragon inside there too. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
She looked at Lauren and Shannon. “My bet is Erica has changed for the better. So much better that she didn’t come here and risk everyone’s safety but got her message across with the help of a very powerful friend.”
Tait was less focused on those last parts and more on what Megan had said before. “That theory, of course, only holds true if Lauren and I are mates.”
Aunt Megan and Mema Angie shot him an exasperated look before everyone resumed pondering the possibilities. Meanwhile, Lauren kept staring at the blade. Like him, sh
e was trying to figure out how it fit into all this. Still, he would rather she look at him. He would rather see exactly what she thought about being his mate.
Maybe he got his answer when she wouldn’t let him protect her when Charles showed up. For some reason, that really upset him. And now he knew based on her lack of response earlier, that it was because it had happened before. Somewhere, at some time, things had gone horribly wrong because she was too stubborn to accept his help.
“I was trying to keep you safe, Tait,” she murmured into his mind. “Just like when you held this blade to my neck and threatened to kill me, you were trying to keep me safe.”
His eyes met hers. “Just like I was tonight with Charles.” He hesitated, knowing he was about to say too much but said it anyway. “I’m sorry if I upset you, but there is something inside me that rebels against you fighting anyone that wishes you harm. While it’s clear you’ve a fierceness in you, there’s no way to know when it will emerge. It’s impossible to know when what you have of my soul will emerge.” He wished he could take her hand. “You might be fierce, but it is very difficult for my dragon and even me, to let you be fierce alone.”
Her gaze held his for a moment before she nodded and her eyes dropped to the snow globe in her other hand. “So I suppose we are just waiting on this now.”
He was surprised by the flicker of sadness he sensed coming off of her. More so that it had to do with him. Not sure why and unable to read those particular thoughts, he said what made sense. “It will show us the way, Lauren. It always has.”
She never responded but remained relatively quiet as the evening wore on and everyone tried to understand what was going on. Shannon eventually claimed she had to go check on Emily and never returned. Matthew, meanwhile, seemed to have returned to his usual moodiness as his eyes occasionally flickered after Shannon. While it would almost seem he was suffering the same affliction Tait was with Lauren, he knew better. That same anger that festered in his cousin’s eyes seemed to have returned. Only this time everything that upset him before no longer existed.
Soul of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 3) Page 21
