by Donna Grant
Emotion clogged his throat when she kissed his palm and then did the same with his other hand.
“You see blood, don’t you?” she asked. Her lips compressed. “You admitted you couldn’t deny what the magic wanted of you. To be a Dragon King. But you don’t blame your brother. How can you when you carry the weight of his death even now?”
Roman looked away because her words struck too close to home. “I’m the one who took his life.”
“Did you murder him?”
He jerked his gaze back to her, offended that she would even suggest such a thing. “No.”
“You fought, right?”
Roman gave a single nod.
“A fight to the death. You were either going to win or lose. Each of you gave it your all, but the dragon meant to be King is who won.”
He put his hand beneath her shoulders and lifted her as he bent to kiss her. With just a few words, she helped to ease a lifetime of guilt.
With one last smile, Sabina’s eyes grew heavy. Roman said no more as he found his fingers in her hair again. He couldn’t stop touching the lustrous curls. Soon, her breaths evened into sleep.
He touched her cheek and felt the coolness of her skin. She didn’t appear cold, but he hovered his hand over her, moving from her head to her feet, to cover her with magic to keep her warm.
His thoughts tried to take him into the past with his brother, but he stopped them. It would do neither of them any good if he stayed mired in the past. What was done, was done.
Freyr, Ragna, and the rest of his family had made their choices. They each had to live with them.
Con had once told Roman to let the past go, that it would do no good to hold onto something that couldn’t be changed. Roman thought he had. Until he returned to Iceland and learned that he’d merely buried everything.
Roman sighed and ceased the ball of light. Darkness fell over them softly, enveloping them in a heavy blanket. He opened his magic and listened to the songs of the metals.
The music was beautiful, the crescendos alternating between each metal in a symphony that only Roman could hear. It was sad that no one else could bask in such melodies, but he liked that they were for his ears only.
Calm in a chaotic, confused world.
He listened to the music for several minutes before he searched again for V’s sword. Roman didn’t expect to hear it. No doubt it was being blocked by the Others’ magic.
Or was it?
If Sabina’s ancestors took the sword to keep it from the Others, then how did the Others know it was in Iceland? Why did they choose this mountain?
There was no doubt in Roman’s mind that they were headed toward something. Metals didn’t gather for no reason. Something brought them together, something magical—like V’s sword.
But if the Others were in the mountain, why hadn’t they taken the weapon?
“Because they couldna,” he said with a smile.
That grin slipped. Why couldn’t they? A group with that kind of power should have been able to get nearly anything they wanted. They’d trapped a White, imbued a wooden dragon with dangerous magic, and messed with V’s memories.
What could have possibly kept them away from the sword?
He lowered his gaze to look at Sabina. Iacob had said that she needed to hand him the sword. Why Sabina? Why bring her back in time to take part in such an undertaking?
Roman drew back his magic so the music wasn’t so loud. That’s when he heard someone shouting his name in his mind.
“Dammit, Roman! When I find you, I’m going to—”
“Ulrik?” he said.
There was a loud sigh. “Aye. It’s me. I’ve been calling for you for over twenty minutes.”
“I was listening to the metals.”
“Had them up rather loud, did you?” Ulrik asked sarcastically.
Roman grinned. “Did you find V?”
“I did.”
But Ulrik didn’t sound happy about it. “Well? How is he? Is Camlo all right?”
“Camlo is fine. He’s with V, who is still unconscious. Camlo said that I can no’ take V from the mountain, and he willna leave with me either.”
“Camlo can be a little stubborn.”
“Really? I hadna noticed.”
Roman could hear the eye roll in Ulrik’s voice. “If Camlo says V has to stay, then there’s a reason.”
“There’re no animals around telling him any of this, Roman. So how can you be sure?”
“A gut feeling.”
Ulrik grunted. “I doona like this situation. Eilish thinks we—”
“You brought your woman?”
There was a bark of laughter. “You’ve met the love of my life, my friend. Tell me, does anyone tell her what to do?”
“Nay.”
“That’s right,” Ulrik continued. “I told her where I was going, and she came with me. I’m no’ going to tell her to go back. Are you?”
“I’d rather no’.”
“Exactly.” Ulrik paused a moment. “Camlo is quite taken with her. I could barely get anything out of him, but she managed to get more.”
“Probably because he’s used to talking to Sabina.”
“I guessed the same. We’ll be staying here a wee bit. I’d like to talk to V when he wakes.”
“You and me both.”
Ulrik chuckled. “I’m aware of the situation. If anything looks like it could go wrong, I’ll get them back to Dreagan.”
“Good.”
“How are you?”
Roman lowered his gaze to Sabina. “Sabina is resting. When she wakes, we’ll continue.”
“How close are you?”
“We doona have much farther to go, but what’s left of the journey willna be easy.”
“You mean it willna be easy for a mortal.”
Roman twisted his lips. “Aye.”
“Since you are no’ suggesting leaving her, I gather Sabina needs to be there?”
“There’s a good possibility.”
Ulrik made some indistinct sound. “Be wary of everything, my friend. Even the rocks and your precious metals.”
The link was severed, but Roman barely paid it any heed. He was stuck on Ulrik’s warning. Why hadn’t he thought about the metals?
The Others knew enough about the Dragon Kings to carve one in Con’s image, to know that V’s sword was important to returning the dragons, and that Roman was from Iceland. Why wouldn’t they turn the metals against him?
Or one type of metal, in particular. Say, V’s sword.
Rage rumbled through Roman. There was no way he could find the Druids who joined with the Fae since they were mortals and long dead. But the Fae … when he found them, because he would find them, he was going to happily bathe them in dragon fire until there was nothing left but ash.
Roman was going to make the responsible Fae suffer horribly. And he wouldn’t be the only King.
He heard the change in Sabina’s breathing and instantly returned the light for her. A few moments later, she opened her eyes.
She smiled sleepily up at him. “Hey.”
“Hi,” he replied.
She frowned as she sat up and looked at him. “You’re angry. Did I sleep too long?”
“You didna sleep long enough.”
“How long was I out?”
“A few hours.”
She shrugged and reached for what was left of her water. “Then what’s wrong?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
She swallowed, worry clouding her face. “About?”
“You.”
Sabina nodded slowly as her lips flattened. “And me handing the sword to my ancestors.”
“Aye. I started wondering why the Others didna take the sword if they knew it was here.”
“And?” she asked, brows raised.
“I think it could be because they were no’ able to.”
She stared at him a full minute before her mouth went slack. “You can’t possibly think it’s because
of me.”
“I do,” he said with a grin.
Sabina rolled her eyes as she climbed to her feet and paced before him. “Admittedly, I have no idea why I was transported back in time—a very long way back, mind you—or why I had to hand the sword to my ancestors, but…” She stopped and faced him. “Oh, God.”
“Exactly. Somehow, magic was used so that you had to be the one to take the sword, which is why the Others couldna get it. You said yourself that Iacob was adamant that you give the weapon to him.”
She nodded before her face scrunched up. “How? I just don’t understand.”
“We’ll figure it out when we get to the sword.”
“If the Others couldn’t take the sword, do you really believe they’ll make it easy to get to?”
Roman used the wall behind him to get to his feet. “Of course no’.”
He’d already thought about that. The Others would put things in place that would be simple for a King to get through, but not a mortal. And no doubt there would be some kind of surprise waiting for them.
“You’re awfully calm about all of this,” Sabina said.
Roman walked to her and took her hands. “I am. Because we’re going to get through whatever awaits us.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re immortal.”
“I willna let harm come to you,” he promised.
She put her hand on his chest, her eyes filled with regret. “I didn’t mean that you would. I’m just scared.”
“We’ll be together through it all.”
“Promise?”
He pulled her against him and gave her a long, slow kiss. “I give you my vow.”
“Well, then,” she said with a grin. “I can do anything now that I have that.”
He laughed, loving how she could turn her fears into something else. Roman waited as she bent to retrieve her bag of nuts. He refilled her water bottle as she stood, which made her grin.
And then they were off.
He hid his worry because there was no need to share it with Sabina. But he knew that he would stay beside her no matter what. Because she was going to come out of this alive.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
At that moment, Sabina felt invincible. Hopefully, it lasted longer than a few seconds because she had a feeling she would need all the courage she could muster.
There had been no more attacks on her, but that didn’t mean the Others were finished. In fact, she was sure there was more coming. It was not knowing when or how that made her nervous.
Their path suddenly dipped at such an angle that had Roman not pulled back on her arm, she would’ve gone tumbling down to … well, who knew what. She should’ve been paying attention instead of letting her mind wander.
“That was close,” she said as she backed up a few steps to stand next to him.
Roman grunted, his gaze staring into the blackness that the ball of light above her didn’t quite penetrate.
“What do you see?” she pressed when he remained silent. Because she wasn’t going to look down. She didn’t want another panic attack.
“Nothing good.”
Oh, that made her feel so much better. A shiver went through her the longer she looked into the shadows. “The fact we’re still standing here isn’t invoking confidence.”
Sea green eyes slid to her. “It’s going to be rough.”
“Okay.” That could mean any number of things. Should she ask exactly what? After all, knowing helped one to anticipate what was to come.
Unless you were encountering a great height, in which case, she wouldn’t budge from her spot. Deciding which option to take was only making her anxiety grow.
She tried to give off the impression of confidence while with Roman. She didn’t want him thinking that she was a silly human who couldn’t handle a few bumps along the way. But now … now, she wanted to back up against the wall and curl into a fetal position.
Sabina might be many things, but she wasn’t a coward. She drew in an uneasy breath. “How rough?”
“Verra.”
That didn’t give her much information, but she was going to take it to mean that she shouldn’t know. “I trust you.”
One side of Roman’s lips tilted into a grin. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Sabina shifted her feet nervously. “What now? Do we run, do we walk, do we slide?”
Suddenly, the ball of light extinguished. That barely registered before Roman released her hand and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in so close and tight that it was hard to breathe.
“It’s better if you doona see.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he jumped. There was no time for Sabina to ask him to wait, no time for her to get her bearings. She had no choice but to grab him and hold on for dear life.
And not look down.
Wind rushed past her face so quickly that it stung her cheeks. She spied the darkness, but quickly shut her eyes so she didn’t see anything below her. Besides, it felt better to keep them closed against the wind.
But it was the falling that terrified her. She ended up turning her head into Roman’s shoulder while stifling a scream as her greatest fear came to pass. Her heart hammered, blood rushed through her ears. She couldn’t hang on tightly enough.
They were jarred slightly when Roman finally landed. He held her in such a way that she wasn’t able to touch down. She ended up bending her knees so that her feet didn’t become tangled in his legs.
Sabina might refuse the chance to look, but she could tell that Roman was now running. Downhill.
And he wasn’t even breathing heavily.
“Drop your legs,” he urged.
She didn’t hesitate to do as ordered. Seconds later, he was maneuvering them from one side to the other. In her mind, they were on slaloming downhill.
The image brought a smile to her face, but that quickly vanished when Roman launched them into the air again.
Sabina wasn’t sure why, but she opened her eyes and looked over his shoulder. There was only darkness, like before. But it was the faint glow below that caught her attention. Her eyes widened when she spotted the river of magma.
And they were jumping over it.
Then everything began to spin. Her eyes snapped shut, and she wished she’d never looked. But it was too late. She had. OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod. She didn’t want to die. She’d already come close in the cavern. But she’d known this adventure would be fraught with dangers.
Roman landed so hard that her head snapped to the side. He didn’t move for a long moment. Then he lowered her so that she stood on her own. “You can look now.”
Sabina lifted her head and trained her eyes on him. Sweat ran down his face, but it had nothing to do with the excretion and everything to do with the heat from the magma. She was warm enough that she contemplated taking off her jacket.
Finally, she turned her head and looked behind them. Her mouth fell open when she saw the size of the chasm that Roman had jumped. No human would’ve been able to make that. Then again, he was a Dragon King.
She tried to see where they had come from, but the shadows kept the way hidden. And perhaps that was for the best.
Sabina shifted to follow the river of fire until it disappeared into a hole in the mountain. They were several hundred feet from it, yet she could feel the heat.
“Watch your step,” Roman cautioned as he took her hand.
There was no need for his light. The glow of the magma was enough to illuminate everything. Sabina found her courage once more and took the first step. Roman was right beside her, his hand warm and secure around hers.
They walked up an incline until they reached a rounded peak. She winced when she saw that the river flowed in nearly a complete circle around the area of rock.
“How safe is this?” she asked, careful to keep her eyes anywhere but down.
Roman didn’t look at her when he asked, “Do you really want the answer to that?”
“That’s what
I thought.”
He winked at her before returning his gaze forward. Sabina had no idea what he was looking for. She was very thankful for his dragon vision. Otherwise, she’d be stuck there. Actually, she never would’ve made it down the slope alive. Most likely, she would’ve ended up in the river of lava.
She twisted her head from one side to the other and behind her. “We’re on an island.” She looked on the other side of the river to the wall of rock. “How do we know where to go?”
“By listening to the music,” he said.
When she raised her gaze to him, Roman had his eyes closed, and his head tilted slightly to one side as if he were listening to something only he could hear. Sabina wished she could hear the metals as he did.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him and the joy that spread across his face as he listened to his metals as they told him which way to go.
“There,” he said as he opened his eyes and pointed.
Of course, it was across the largest expanse of river. But he didn’t take her in that direction. In fact, they headed to the right, toward a narrower strip.
“Hold on tight,” he said with a grin as he pulled her against him once more.
Sabina swallowed, fighting the wave of panic.
Roman smiled down at her. “Trust me. I’ll get you across in seconds. You willna even know it’s happening.”
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his jaw. “I think I’ll keep you around. I’ll never worry about having to cross rivers of lava again.”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. “So molten rock plays a large part in your life, does it?”
“Oh, definitely. It means you have to stay with me.”
His face grew serious, his eyes intense as they held hers. “I need no reason to stay with you, lass, other than that I wish it.”
She had no comeback for that because there wasn’t one. She could’ve said she was teasing, but in fact, she wasn’t. Sabina very much wanted Roman around. The odds were against that happening, but she could dream. Right?
With fourteen simple words, he’d given her hope that she hadn’t had before. Hope that she hadn’t even known she yearned for.
“Do you ken?” he asked.
She nodded woodenly.
“Good,” he said with a cocky grin.
