Pride of a Viking

by Sky Purington

  “Isn’t that something.” She eyed the rest of the cave which included a small pond with water streaming down the wall into it and a fire pit. “For such a powerful being, Eluf kept things pretty basic.”

  “Because of the bed,” he provided, not giving it a second thought. “To put much else in here would disrupt and likely take from its magic.”

  “It’s starting to happen quickly, isn’t it?” Her eyes went to his. “You’re remembering being him more and more by the moment.”

  “I am.” He headed for the wood to start a fire. “But I imagine that was because of the kiss.”

  “Well, aye, of course ‘twas the kiss!” Adlin declared as he appeared and grinned. “That’s always the key that unlocks the mystery.” He smirked in the bed’s direction. “At least some of it anyway.”

  Kodran tried not to frown. While he might like Adlin well enough, he’d rather work on unlocking the second part of the mystery with Erica and that required privacy.

  “Good to see you again, Adlin,” Erica said, clearly of the opposite mind of Kodran.

  But why? Lying together as soon as possible could only benefit them. And it might just relieve some stress. He rubbed rocks together to start a fire and frowned. Forget all that. He just wanted to be with her. To have her in his arms again. To see if being inside her felt as good as kissing her. So perhaps some of his reasoning was selfish.

  He might have been upset because she had been with Hallstein but things were becoming clearer since seeing that exchange between Eluf and Maeva. And they needed to discuss those things sooner rather than later.

  “Ah, lighting a fire the old fashioned way then?” Adlin said, watching Kodran. “Wise considering where you are. God only knows what sort of critters magic might draw in this era.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Kodran muttered. So how long could Adlin manifest himself for?

  “Well, just look at this,” Adlin murmured as he looked up. “This creation might just put my Highland Defiance to shame.”

  “Your what?” Erica asked.

  “Och, ‘tis nothing.” Adlin grinned as he continued eying everything. “This little nook is full of secrets, aye?”

  As full of secrets as you, Kodran thought.

  “What do you mean?” Kodran asked as a spark lit, and the wood caught. “What kind of secrets?”

  “Ah, so you two haven’t figured that out yet then? Maybe you’re not supposed to until...” Adlin gave the bed a look that spoke volumes. “You know.”

  This might have been easier to swallow if Adlin didn’t look so young that he couldn’t possibly have all that much experience with sex. At least not the sort a man had until around his sixteenth winter. Based on the look on Erica’s face, that number was considerably higher.

  “Actually, Adlin,” Erica said. “I have no intention of sleeping with Kodran for the sole purpose of figuring out the secrets of this place.” Her brows shot up. “Especially when I have someone as gifted as you right here to tell me.”

  “Aye, that’s sound thinking, lass,” he agreed, beaming before he shook his head and pursed his lips. “Unfortunately, I can only tell you that there are secrets, not what they are.” He shrugged. “After all, I’m a Scot, and this is the land of the Norse, amongst other things.”

  “Yet you know there are secrets,” she countered, her eyes narrowed on him. “Despite the fact you’re Scottish.” She cocked her head. “So how does that work?”

  For a split second, he saw something flash in Adlin’s eyes. A look he remembered all too well from being Eluf. It was a flicker of emotion that came from being a man of powerful magic and only taking what may be perceived as condescension so much. Adlin might be a teenage ghost now, but he was once a great wizard. One who was accustomed to being respected. Yet it became clear quickly that Adlin’s usual light temperament wasn’t forced because a genuine grin crept back onto his face.

  “Do you not know that my Highlanders are related to these Vikings then?” Adlin asked Erica. “That alone allows me to see things most cannae.”

  “Uh huh.” Erica sat on a rock by the pond and started unlacing her boots. “My take away from that?” Her eyes met Adlin’s. “You’re only ever gonna tell us enough to leave a breadcrumb trail.”

  “Mayhap,” he agreed and cocked his head. “But is that not better than no trail at all, lass?”

  “It is,” she granted as she pulled off her shoes and scowled. “With that in mind, and please don’t think me rude, why don’t you go haunt someone else for a bit so Kodran and I can get around to unlocking our mystery.” Her tone was sarcastic. “If you know what I mean.”

  Adlin eyed her for a few seconds before he nodded. “Aye, I will see you again soon.”

  Then he vanished.

  Kodran wasn’t sure what to make of that conversation. While Erica had effectively done what he had wanted to have happen, it struck him as off somehow. As if she wasn’t quite herself and a little harsher than intended.

  “Are you all right?” he asked as he sat beside her.

  “Yeah, sure,” she replied, not looking at him. “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” He started to pull off his boots as well when she shimmied around and put her feet in the water. “I felt you were different there for a moment.”

  “Nope.”

  He frowned. She was hiding something.

  Instead of sticking his feet in the water, he decided his whole body would be better. So he pulled his tunic over his head.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her eyes alarmed as she looked over her shoulder.

  “Removing my clothes.”

  “I see that,” she said. “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “Fuck,” she muttered under her breath. “I meant what I told Adlin originally. I’m not sleeping with you to find out any secrets, Kodran.”

  “And I don’t expect you to.”

  “Don’t you?” Her eyes widened but didn’t look away when he pulled off his pants.

  “No, I don’t.” He kept a grin from his face as he sensed her body temperature rising. “I might be wrong, but I thought you knew dragon lore.”

  “I do, I did,” she stuttered. Her eyes remained on his body as she kept talking. “Of course I do.”

  “Good,” he murmured as he waded in. “Then you know water muffles dragon magic from other dragons.” He turned and gave her a full frontal that was unavoidable. He was aroused and expected that would always be the case around her. “So you know this,” he gestured at the water, “is precisely where Eluf would have hidden things.”

  Chapter Five

  ERICA tried like hell to look away from Kodran, but her eyes had a mind of their own. Dear God, the man was rocking the...everything. Over the past year, she had been around a lot of dragon males. Yes, they were the enemy, but they were built. It was just how the species was made. Strong and powerful. Some were attractive. Some not so much.

  But Kodran?

  He was something altogether different. Better. From the gorgeousness of his face to the proportions of his well-cut tattooed body. So she gave herself credit for finally being able to drag her eyes away from his impressive and very erect dick to meet his eyes. What was he talking about again?

  “The water,” he reminded as a small, knowing grin ghosted his lips. “Not what you’re more interested in.”

  Way to be blunt.

  “I’m more interested in the water,” she lied and absently traced her finger around a metallic circle made from mica bits engrained in the rock. Great dick aside, he made a good point. Hell, the word point made her eyes fall right back down to... She shook her head and snapped out of it. Come on, she preached to herself, he’s just a man. Eye on the ball. And of course, the word ball made her eyes go to... Damn it.

  “Down,” she blurted and widened her eyes.

  “Down?” The corner of his lips inched up as his eyes trailed down her body. “You or me?”

  “I mean get down into the water so I c
an think straight,” she ground out, so turned on her upper thighs actually ached. That was a first. But then so were lots of things in the past few hours. Most especially the killer kiss they shared. Who kissed like that? Him apparently. Just like he had in their previous life. And she was just remembering it.

  Kodran did as she asked but took his time, turning to walk a bit before he sank down. Just enough time to drool over his ass. Screw it. When did God or Odin get around to making men like him? Never mind that he was dragon. That was another whole she-was-never-gonna-survive-this aspect. Because as it stood, if he approached her right now, there was a ninety-nine point nine percent chance she’d spread her legs.

  He inhaled and grinned in her direction. “And there’s a hundred percent chance I would take you up on that offer.”

  Naturally, he could smell her arousal. She imagined all of Scandinavia could. More alarming, however, was that he seemed to read her thoughts far too clearly and quickly before they had even slept together. He kissed her for a reason, and it had already opened a floodgate. So what would sex do? She tried to ignore the sharp ripples of pleasure and involuntary clenching of the inner muscles between her legs. For shit’s sake, was she having a mini-climax just thinking about it?

  Kodran released a hoarse chuckle as he drifted her way and watched her closely. Not just him but his dragon. One she knew wanted to pounce and take her now. Wanted it so bad he could taste it. And the man? He was trying to exercise reason but losing.

  “Of course the water. In a pond created by Eluf,” she managed, finally tearing her eyes away and getting on subject. “With water running from...” She peered up at the water’s source, but it seemed to be dripping from the ceiling. So she used her dragon eyes to look further. It appeared to be a root system with water crashing around it, submerged maybe. “What is that? What am I looking at?”

  “The tree,” Kodran murmured. “That’s the root system of Eluf’s tree. Somehow, it taps into the ocean, the strength of it, and becomes one great conduit to hide things. This is how we moved around, Erica.” His voice grew softer. “This is how we managed to move to different locations without Bard ever being the wiser.”

  “But where would we go?” Her eyes met his. “We lived in a time when our relationship was taboo. Dragons and seers alike were put to death for what we did.” She bit back a wave of emotion. “You were eventually cursed for it...” She shook her head. “And we both know what happened to me.”

  “There were others though,” he said. “Those of us who believed that there shouldn’t be laws against our species mating...loving. We had people. Places. Allies.” He shook his head, clearly trying to remember. “We formed a secret group. A society that supported our cause. One that desired a future where seers and dragons could be together.”

  “Like mom and dad,” she said softly. “A seer and a dragon who were doomed.”

  “Yes,” he said, his voice just as soft. “And I’m sorry for that Erica. More than you know.”

  She frowned. “Why should you be sorry?”

  “Because I couldn’t stop what my people did to your mother,” he said. “Even if it was in another life.”

  Based on the startled expression on his face, he hadn’t intended to say that. For that matter, he didn’t even know what it meant or Eluf’s part in it. Not yet. So she didn’t bother accusing or drilling him about it. There was no point. He didn’t know.

  Not, most likely, until they slept together.

  Then she had a feeling they would know everything.

  “You could have told me,” he murmured, moving a little closer.

  “Told you what?”

  “About what Eluf did for Maeva,” he replied. “The suffering she endured above and beyond what happened toward the end. Before she traveled to the future.” He shook his head. “What I know for certain now, though, is that there was no way you could have been Hallstein’s, I mean Bard’s destined dragon mate. Not for Eluf’s magic to have worked. He would have been incapable of coming between the power of fated mates.”

  “How do you know?” she shot back, defensive. Shoot, the other side of Maeva kept trying to surface. “Eluf was the most powerful seer on this planet.” Frustrating disgust filled her. “He could have been capable of anything.”

  “There it is again,” Kodran murmured and closed the distance so quickly, she had no chance to shift away before his hands were on the rock on either side of her. “What is that, Erica?”

  She tried to ignore how close he was. The power of his hard body. The sexy cage he had just put her in. And hell, his scent. She inhaled the spicy masculinity of it. Or at least she thought she was simply inhaling from afar until her nose was against his neck and her tongue was flicking over his heated skin.

  There was no logic here. No humanity. Only beast.

  And she absolutely loved it.

  “Erica,” he whispered and tilted his cheek toward hers as if he couldn’t help himself. “You still hide so much. Tell me what’s going on inside you...because there’s something.” She knew it took everything in him to cup her cheeks and force her to look at him rather than take her right now. “The only way to move forward together, to defeat the enemy, is by being honest with each other.” His eyes pleaded with hers. “What’s inside you? What makes your personality shift?”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t mention sex as the only way to move forward,” she managed, so lost in his eyes and the feel of him she couldn’t think straight. Her thoughts were borderline incoherent.

  “I would rather you tell me first,” he said, certainly not unaffected by their proximity. “I would rather us gain trust between each other that has nothing to do with our physical connection.” He searched her eyes. “We can do this like normal people. We can get to know each other first.”

  That snapped her out of her reverie, and she snorted. “Seriously?” She shook her head. “In what reality do you and I get to do that? We’re not like other people. Far from it.” Then things just kept tumbling out of her mouth. “Einar, a friend in my previous life and my father in this one, covered for us in that other life. He pretended to be my lover, my mate, but Bard eventually saw right through it. He saw when nobody else but you could that I was a rare dragon. I had no mate. They didn’t exist. Or they weren’t born yet.”

  She ground her teeth and closed her eyes as memories and strong emotions bombarded her.

  “So he took you, didn’t he?” Kodran said. “And I’m not referring to what he did in those last days we had together but long before.” His fingers brushed gently over her cheekbones as if trying to soothe her past pain even as he fought his own. “He made you his mate though it was unnatural. He forced you.”

  “Yes,” Erica whispered. She didn’t want to tell him everything but realized he was right when he said it was better to share this way than having sex to get all the answers. So she met his eyes. “He took me, raped me and claimed me.” Hell, she tried to stop it, but her eyes welled with tears. “I had no choice. We had no choice. He was far too powerful...still is.”

  It took a moment for Kodran to process the enormity of what she had said. All of what she said. When it did, fury filled his eyes. “You and I were together before he took you, weren’t we?”

  “Yes,” Erica confirmed. “We had a long history. One everyone thought was just friendship.” She shook her head. “One that wasn’t allowed, so we kept it secret.”

  “But this place.” He looked around. “Eluf created this...I created this for you after Bard took you. After I created the doppelgänger so you wouldn’t have to...”

  “That’s right,” she murmured as he put the pieces together. “So I wouldn’t have to suffer his abuse anymore. The other Maeva would. My dark side.” She frowned. “The only thing neither of us saw coming was that the part of me I shed was the perfect match for Bard. A match so good it never faded when I died. It didn’t fade away like doppelgängers should when their shadow self dies.” She sighed. “Instead, it became its ow
n entity somehow...connected across time to Hallstein but still part of me. The perfect tether between us.”

  “One that you’ve taken advantage of the past year.” He came between her legs and hung his head until his cheek rested against her temple. The pain he felt was palpable. Consuming. And she felt it inside out. Her pain but his at the same time as he whispered close to her ear. “Why did you take so much on without any help? Without seeking me out?” He paused, hurting for her. “I could have helped you just like Eluf did. I would have found a way to keep you from suffering as I’m sure you have.”

  “No,” she murmured, trying to ignore her heart as it started to thud harder. He was too close. Too much. But she had to keep talking. “I found a way. I’ve kept him at a distance to a certain degree.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that the evil side of Maeva was so convincing that the good side of Maeva got away with an awful lot.”

  He paused for a moment before he pulled back and met her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I used evil to do good,” she said. “And by good, I mean that though Hallstein thinks he’s raped and had me a thousand different ways in the twenty-first century, he’s never hurt me.”

  “Loki’s cock,” he whispered as what she said sank in. “So in your own way, you did what Eluf had done for you in another life, and used another side of you to deal with Hallstein.”

  “Yes.”

  For a second happiness flickered in his eyes before he thought it through some more and murmured, “But there’s always a price to pay. There was in our life together before...and now there is in this one.”

  “The evil Maeva’s become more real, Kodran,” Erica whispered, grateful to finally share with someone outside of her father’s spirit. “She found her way back to Hallstein. Or he found her. However you want to look at it. Either way, once the connection was made, I tried to stay close to him, to track his moves, so I could either kill him or give information to my family so they could kill him but...”