“Yet you’re not,” Sage reminded softly. Her eyes went between them, a little confused before she frowned. “You know your dragons have to claim one another to be together fully, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“No ‘buts,’” Sage cut her off. “Until you’re fully mated, you’re free to take other mates.”
“We are each other’s mates,” Sven assured. “Once we get Níðhöggr’s influence out of the way.”
“Assuming you get it out of the way in time.” Sage looked back and forth between them. “Don’t you understand? If your dragons don’t claim each other in time, one of Skáld’s dragons will.” Her eyes leveled with Sven’s. “Not only will that gain them instant access to this world but she will want him. Even worse? All ties you think you have with her will be gone. She’ll be his in every sense of the word.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I STILL THINK we should have left Leif behind,” Håkon muttered as they navigated down through the well-hidden cave system they found behind the waterfall. “Do you see the way he keeps staring at Sage?”
It had taken a little under two hours to get to the waterfall, and they’d been in the cave tunnel for about a half hour now. Fortunately, Sage had arrived in more practical clothing than what she wore when Emily met her. Outside of the shorts that is. They wouldn’t have cut it in this crazy climate. One that shifted between warm and chilly in a heartbeat. So Emily lent her a pair of pants which were currently rolled up due to their height differences. Sage’s sneakers, however, were far better suited to hiking than her strappy sandals.
“Yeah, I see the way Leif keeps staring at Sage,” she replied to her brother. “The same way you are.” Her eyes met his in the torchlight. “And I’m pretty sure Leif would’ve followed us no matter what. He seems to have no issue breaking free from things.”
“So Sage thinks Níðhöggr was behind what happened yesterday with Leif and me?” Håkon shook his head. “It’s no small thing tricking a demi-god and seer like that.”
Emily couldn’t agree more. She didn’t like it one bit. Any more than she liked Håkon being possessed like that. But then they were in Níðhöggr’s Realm so it stood to reason the Great Serpent might hold more sway here.
“And now you say you feel changed, Cousin?” Sven said as the three of them took up the rear. “You feel different since you were possessed?”
“Yes,” Håkon confirmed, flexing his hand around the torch. “Stronger somehow. And a little restless. Eager to fight.”
“Fight in human form, though? Not dragon?” Emily said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Håkon nodded. “It’s a feeling of human bloodlust.”
Though they all loved to fight, it wasn’t something she and Håkon generally craved. She tossed Sven a frown behind Håkon’s back. Níðhöggr had to be responsible for this. He was clearly controlling Håkon or preparing him for something.
“I see light ahead,” Kjar called out.
A few minutes later they arrived in a much larger cavern with six ships.
“I did not build these,” Kjar murmured, having overseen the building of Sigdir ships for decades. “But the workmanship...”
“Is exceptional and familiar,” Sven finished when Kjar trailed off in shock.
“Loki’s Hel,” Emily whispered as they followed Sven down one of several docks to a moored ship. “That’s your father’s work, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he replied, boarding. As to be expected from King Bjorn, the craftsmanship was untouchable.
“Look at the dragon face on the bow,” she whispered, slipping her hand into Sven’s as he eyed everything. “It’s you!”
Halla pointed at the prow of the ship beside them. “And that one’s Håkon.”
“Each ship has a different dragon face,” Vigdis murmured, her eyes hazing over. “Six ships for six chosen. Sigdirs all. Sven, Håkon, Davyn, Eirik, Rokar, and Soren.”
“Building these would have taken years,” Davyn said, seemingly not all that daunted. But then they certainly had a mystery on their hands, didn’t they?
Halla looked around, optimistic. “Do you think Uncle Bjorn and Uncle Heidrek are here somewhere then?”
“No,” Sage said softly. “And I don’t think these ships were necessarily built here either.”
“No,” Kjar agreed, a disgruntled look on his face as he ran his hand along the mast. “This wood is not of Midgard.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t of Níðhöggr’s Realm,” Håkon countered. “There are many trees in this place I don’t recognize.”
“So we are thinking Father and Uncle Heidrek built these either here or on another world?” Sven frowned. She knew the former didn’t bother him, but the latter most definitely did. Yet there remained a spark of hope. These ships might mean they were alive somewhere.
“Time does go by differently on other worlds,” Vigdis conceded. “So that might explain their quick construction.”
“These ships have been provided to help you,” Sage said, more all-knowing by the moment it seemed. “The one we stand on now is for the next leg of our journey.”
Kjar nodded. “I think if we continue north along the coast, Davyn’s and Håkon’s tattoos should lead the way.”
Sage nodded in agreement, glancing at Håkon and Leif. She’d been doing that more and more as if trying to figure something out. Emily would have to ask her about it once they got out on the water. For now, it was time to take to oar and navigate the tight exit. Something they did without any issues. But then the ship moved through the water very well, its design flawless. The seas were choppy but the day sunny, so they didn’t foresee any issues as they unfurled the sail.
“I’ll be damned,” Emily murmured when she saw a fiery blue dragon symbol flare on the sail. It was circular and eating its own tail. Seconds later, it faded to be replaced with just a fiery blue dragon head on a red shield. “That’s the same dragon head that sparked when Sage and Jessie were separated, isn’t it, Sven?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “A symbol of protection for Sage and her sisters. Made more so by the representation of a protective shield at its back.”
“And here it is on a Sigdir ship.”
“Here it is,” he said softly.
“The dragon consuming its own tail before that was a message,” Vigdis murmured, her eyes hazed again. “It was Jörmungandr...but not.”
According to Norse folklore, Jörmungandr was a serpent that when tossed in the ocean grew so large that it encompassed Midgard and grasped its own tail. As the story went, when it someday released its tail, Ragnarök would begin.
“Ragnarök,” Vigdis murmured, her eyes still not right as they lifted to the sail. “A series of future events. A great battle, death, natural disasters, the submersion of the world in water.”
“Then the world will resurface anew and fertile,” Kjar said, as he met Sven’s frown. “When it does, Midgard will be repopulated by two survivors.”
Emily shook her head, not liking where this was going.
“It is but a vague message...or warning,” Vigdis murmured as her eyes cleared. “It’s not necessarily our truth, but folklore Níðhöggr wants us to pay attention to for some reason.”
“Hell of a message,” Emily murmured. She could tell by the troubled expression on Sven’s face, that he felt the same way. Something Sage apparently felt the need to address.
“I know you feel as though much of this is out of your control, Sven,” Sage said. “But it’s more in your control than you think or Níðhöggr wouldn’t have chosen you. He wouldn’t have sent that message just now.”
Sven merely grunted, not all that comforted. Emily didn’t blame him. This had been one long rollercoaster ride of surprises that were very much out of their control.
“You keep looking at Håkon and Leif oddly,” Emily finally commented to Sage. “Is everything okay?”
Though the men still kept an eye on Sage, they weren’t outright staring at h
er anymore.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” Sage murmured. “As time’s gone on I’ve been experiencing a growing sense of familiarity when it comes to them. As if I know them from somewhere.”
Emily wasn’t sure how she felt about that but knew she was past the point of fretting over her brother being involved in all this. Because he clearly was. She just wished he wasn’t at risk of a mind hijack again. She hated the idea of him being a puppet to another’s whim. But then she supposed they all were at one time or another.
Something they were reminded of yet again when Davyn’s, and Håkon’s tattoos began acting up a short time later. It seemed the ash trees weren’t all that far apart.
“We need to turn around.” Håkon scanned the coast before his eyes settled on a rocky outcropping surrounded by burnt looking cliffs. “Skáld’s Ash is somewhere in that direction.”
Davyn nodded in agreement, a heavy scowl on his face.
“I sense it too,” Sage said softly. “It’s very strong.”
As they grew closer, it became darker, almost like they were experiencing an eclipse.
“Creepy,” Emily murmured.
“It reminds me of Helheim,” Sven said. “How I see it anyway.”
She nodded as chills raced over her. How he saw it was much like this. “Shadowed. Sinister.” She gripped her new blade tighter and glanced at his tattoo. “How does your tat feel?”
“Uncomfortable,” he replied. “But nothing I can’t handle. Nothing like before.”
“I believe the sail protects and hides us.” Sage glanced from Sven’s tattoo back to the shore. “That will change once we set foot on land.” Her eyes went to their blades. “But at least you’re well-armed now.”
Emily met Sven’s eyes. They could only hope. She looked at Sage again as she considered how much the woman seemed to know. How much more knowledgeable she might be if Emily allowed her to look through Sven’s mind’s eye. While the idea of his mind being vulnerable to someone with Níðhöggr’s DNA terrified her, what might she be hindering by stopping this? Could her overprotective nature be their downfall if Sven knew something that could help Sage which, in turn, could help them?
Her eyes fell to her ring. Wearing this ring meant that she and Sven were truly coming together as one. That they needed to work together as a team to protect their people. Which meant trusting one another along the way. She had to trust him with this. She had to trust his faith in Jessie and her connection to Sage.
“Can you time travel using another dragon’s fire?” she asked Sage softly, wondering if she possessed the same powers as Jessie. According to Sven, Jessie had eventually become so powerful she didn’t even need to use another dragon’s fire. But one step at a time. “Can you control other dragons?”
When Sage looked at her in confusion, Emily nodded at Sven. “Go ahead. Show her.” Her eyes returned to Sage. “She deserves to see her sister before it’s too late.”
Sage’s eyes moistened. “Really?”
Emily nodded and met Sven’s eyes again, whispering into his mind. “Please be careful.”
“Do not worry about me,” he replied. “I’ll never leave your side.”
After he let all but Leif know telepathically what he was doing, he opened his mind to Sage. They didn’t need to touch. It wasn’t like that. She just saw what he saw. Jessie and her journey. Her bravery. How much she wanted to meet Sage. How connected they really were from the moment they came out of their mother’s womb, were swaddled and then laid down beside each other.
At first, all went as it should as Sven allowed Sage in. Then something changed. Shifted. Became strange. Because Emily was so strongly connected to Sven, she experienced it too.
Everything faded away, and the three of them stood in a constantly changing environment. Worlds blended and swirled around them, one place after another until there was someone else there as well. A woman who looked identical to Sage.
Jessie.
“Sven,” she murmured, as her eyes went from him to Emily then landed on Sage. “Sister?”
“Yes,” Sage whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Emily could feel the intensity of their connection. The remarkable power. Seconds later, the air pulsed between them before Sage, Sven and Emily were ripped from wherever they had been and staggered back.
They were once again on the ship.
Wide-eyed, Sage blinked several times before her eyes rose to the fiery symbol on the sail. For a split second, it seemed alive and burning before it returned to normal.
“Where’d she go?” Sage whispered hoarsely as her eyes swept around the ship then met Sven’s. “Where did Jessie go?”
“She was never here,” he replied. “But in Scotland the whole time. You made what I sense was a much needed connection with her.”
It seemed to take her a moment to process that before her eyes drifted to Emily. “You asked if I could use another dragon’s fire to time travel...if I controlled dragons.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t before, but I’m not so sure now.” She rolled her shoulders then blinked again in awe. “And though I just got bombarded by even more stray magic, I don’t feel the need to stretch.”
“Your connection with your twin has made you stronger,” Sven murmured. “You now share powers.”
When the others looked at them, curious as to what had happened, Sven filled them in.
Vigdis pointed out his tattoo. “I would say very little keeps you and Emily apart now.”
Much to their surprise, outside of the black blade between them, his tattoo was now full of color. Not with the orange or red that had been there before but with fiery blue dragons.
“Almost there,” Emily whispered, not sure why she said it as she touched his tattoo then met his eyes. “This is a good sign.”
“Yes,” Sage agreed. “I think my sister and I needed to connect like that. It made all the difference.”
Sven nodded as he reeled Emily closer. She understood his need to be near her. Not only had that been a precarious experience but something about what just happened brought them one step closer to being together as they were meant to be.
“You were going to leave Scotland when you thought I was in trouble,” she murmured as she met his eyes. She had caught things in that experience he hadn't shared before. “I’m glad you didn’t. I’m glad you stayed and protected everyone...that you trusted Jessie.”
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said softly. She could tell his next words were hard to say, but he said them regardless. “If I become king, I will always have to put my people’s safety first. Above my own...and above yours.”
“I would expect nothing less, Sven.” She cupped his cheek. “And you are king. You need to accept that. And you need to accept that I’ll die just as willingly as you if it means protecting our people. This isn’t a mantle you’ll wear alone.”
“Well, hopefully, neither of you will die if I have anything to say about it,” Sage cut in. “I am your first after all, Emily.” Her eyes went to the shore. “But we better get moving. The clock’s ticking down to real trouble.”
By the time they tied the boat off and made it to shore, the air had chilled dramatically, and the faint smell of burning wood could be detected on the wind. Their surroundings hadn’t darkened any further, but the area felt unusual. Off-kilter. Multi-dimensional in a way that almost felt like it defied physics.
“How does your tattoo feel now?” Emily asked Sven.
“It’s all right.” He eyed the scorched cliffs then Leif. “I think we should keep a closer eye on him than usual.”
She nodded, in full agreement. “He seems to be in his element, doesn’t he?”
“Yes,” Sven muttered as they eyed their surroundings. If anything, this place seemed to be the opposite of Níðhöggr’s Realm. No enchantment. Not even close. Yet it suited Leif in some undefinable way even though he appeared more disgruntled than the lot of them. So discontented in fact that he shifted c
loser to Sage, determined to protect her.
Or so he wanted them to think.
Håkon narrowed his eyes at a plume of smoke in the distance. “I think we’re supposed to go that way.”
“No,” Sage murmured and grabbed his wrist before he took another step. “It’s time to stop following your tattoo.”
When her brother’s eyes dropped to where she touched him, Emily swore his tattoo flared orange. But as soon as she saw it, it was gone.
“Sage is right.” Leif’s steady gaze never left her. “We should not go in that direction.”
Sven narrowed his eyes at the man but said nothing. Instead, he took over. “We will find somewhere to make camp a safe distance away from that plume of smoke before night falls then explore at daybreak.”
In full agreement, everyone headed up a rugged path between cliffs and made their way into the woodland. This time, Håkon and Leif fell in on either side of Sage, eying one another with distrust. She, however, seemed perfectly at ease.
“How does she manage it?” Emily commented to Sven. “If I were her, not raised around here and unfamiliar with huge dragon shifting Vikings, I’d be a bit tenser. Never mind that she’s traveled back over a thousand years in time.”
“I think it’s her DNA,” he replied. “It eases the way for her.” His eyes met hers. “And keep in mind how powerful she really is. More powerful now because of her connection with Jessie. That gives a person confidence. It always did you.”
“True,” she conceded. “It just seems like an awful lot to deal with at once.”
“Yes,” he agreed softly as he kept her hand in his. “But we are well-armed, are we not?” He offered a small smile. “More so by the minute.”
He was right. They really were. Not just because of the help they had been offered along the way, but by how much closer they were now. Closer than she ever imagined them being. But they could be even closer, couldn’t they? Not just their dragons but more.
And they could do it now.
They should do it now. Before it was too late.
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