He nodded.
“Come, men, we have business to discuss,” Bjark eventually said.
Einar and Eluf nodded to the girls as Bard focused entirely on Maeva and kissed her hand before murmuring, “It has been a pleasure, my dear.”
A shiver shot through Erica. He did that same thing to this day.
Maeva, it seemed, felt the same because Erica saw gooseflesh spread over her arms as she nodded. And those weren’t thrills of pleasure but dread. As they all walked away, she didn’t miss the quick glance Eluf tossed over his shoulder to Maeva. While some might see it as a friendly peek so as to not be rude that he had turned his back on her, Erica saw it as a whole lot more.
“He’s coming around again,” she murmured to Kodran. “You are.” She quirked the corner of her mouth. “But I wonder when?” She shook her head. “Because I don’t have to wonder why.”
Their eyes held as he murmured, “Neither do I.” He shook his head. “I just wonder what took him so long.”
“Respect? Pride?” She shrugged. “Hell, he was getting ready to go after Bjark’s granddaughter, and by the looks of it my former grandfather was a force to be reckoned with.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He grinned. “He’s not what I expected of an original. I get the impression he’s a bit of a jokester.”
“So do I.” Her eyes went back to Maeva, and she was about to speak before their surroundings transformed again. Everybody was gone. Only her former self sat beneath the tree. Though she looked the same age because dragons aged so slowly, Erica got the impression she was older. Wiser.
“Einar,” Maeva suddenly called out, waving as joy lit her face. “Over here.”
Einar appeared out of nowhere. Now that the others were gone, Erica could focus on him more readily, and that meant fighting tears. He had been a close friend in one life and her father in another.
“It’s always good to see you, my friend.” Einar smiled, sat beside Maeva and kissed her cheek. “Now tell me, why the rush to meet?”
“I have a plan.”
“Oh no.” But he was smiling as he looked at the swath of dirt she had cleared in front of them. “What is going through that beautiful mind of yours now?”
“Just look.” She beamed as she made a flourish with her hand and a diagram appeared. “I’ve already got the layout planned. Precisely where every dragon and seer should sit when I give council at court.” She nodded, pleased with her work. “Notice how I stagger the dragons and seers, so they have to sit side by side.”
Einar nodded and eyed it. “This looks very good, Maeva. And you know you have our secret society’s backing.” His eyes were concerned as they met hers. “But are you sure now’s the time? Strife only seems to be on the rise and dragons and seers are at each other’s throats more than ever.”
“Then now is the perfect time,” she declared and nodded. “Somebody needs to step up and start making a change, Einar. Someone needs to stand up for the rights of seers and dragons who want to be together.” She frowned. “The current laws are outdated and do nothing but wreck lives.” Maeva gave him a sympathetic look. “You more than anyone knows that.”
“I do,” he agreed. “And I appreciate you standing up for me and my love. I appreciate your open-mindedness.” He searched her eyes. “But we both know there’s more to this. We both know that your reasons aren’t entirely selfless.”
“I have no alternative reason,” Maeva said softly. “I thought maybe, at one time long ago I saw something in Eluf’s eyes.” She shook her head. “But now I know it was nothing but the whims of a child seeing what she wanted to see.”
“Perhaps,” Einar said. “Or perhaps it was the start of something that has yet to happen,” he gestured at her diagram, “that you’re working hard toward achieving. After all, if you made it legal for seers and dragons to be together, you would finally be able to approach Eluf without defying not so much the law but your grandfather.” His eyes stayed with hers. “Because his word is really, truly the only law that matters to you.”
“No,” she denied, but he was right.
“Say what you will, friend, but we both know the truth.” He looked over her plans again and contemplated before his eyes twinkled and met hers. “Either way, I think you are on the right path. But it is one that will only work if you have the backing of not only an original dragon but an original seer.”
“Good reasoning.” Maeva shook her head. “But that is impossible.”
“Is it?” came a deep rumble before Eluf appeared beside the tree.
Another shiver of awareness shot through Erica as Maeva’s eyes rounded up at him. “It’s you.”
“Of course it is me.” Eluf nodded. “Good to see you again, Maeva.” His dark eyes lingered on hers in a moment that probably should have set the tree on fire it was so hot. Erica’s eyes shot to Kodran’s when he clenched her hand even tighter. Not surprisingly he was sporting an impressive erection. She got it. They were experiencing everything Maeva and Eluf were feeling, and she was just as aroused.
Her gaze returned to Eluf as his eyes went to Maeva’s magical drawing. “This is impressive, Maeva. What you are trying to do for seers and dragons alike is even more so,” he murmured before his eyes returned to hers. “You have my support and backing if you need it.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, seemingly unable to catch her breath before she managed to say, “That will mean open support from you when I present it.” She swallowed, clearly rallying her courage. “You will need to stand by Einar and me against everyone. There is risk in that. Great risk.”
“It is a risk I am willing to take.” Eluf nodded at Einar. “And we make up fifty percent of the greatest power on Midgard. That is something, is it not?”
“It is,” Einar agreed. “Thank you for coming to our aide.”
Eluf nodded before his eyes met Maeva’s again. “It has been my pleasure.” His gaze returned to the diagram. “Though this is well thought out, I will expect something a bit more put together when we meet again.” He notched his chin as he continued looking it over. While he might desire Maeva, it was clear he was proud of what he was. “Dragon magic always has room for improvement, does it not?”
Yet there was flirtatious mirth in his eyes as they swept over Maeva before he vanished.
Moments later, Maeva and Einar disappeared as well.
Erica frowned, and Kodran chuckled at Eluf’s last words. “So I was a little arrogant after all.”
“Not that surprising.”
His brows shot up as he looked at her. “Why’s that?”
“I dunno.” She grinned. “I sense a little something inside you. Pride I suppose.”
“A much different thing than arrogance,” he countered.
“Is it?” Erica shook her head. “Because from what I’ve seen the two go hand in hand.”
“Maybe,” Kodran murmured. He sighed as his eyes returned to the tree where Maeva and Eluf had just been. “In retrospect, I can’t help but wonder if all this had something to do with it.” He looked at her. “From what I’ve gathered so far, Eluf would have done anything to become a dragon. To be Maeva’s destined mate. Would that not have been enough to create a prideful personality in another life, my life, if he finally became the creature he had so longed to be?” He brushed his hand down her arm as their eyes held. “A creature that was like you...allowed to be with you?”
Erica nodded, choked up by sudden emotion.
He was absolutely right.
“The blade’s warming again,” he said before he pulled her close. “I think that’s our warning that things are about to change.”
She nodded and rested her forehead against his chest, still coming to terms with everything. The road they were traveling down. All they were learning.
A flash of white light later and they were somewhere else.
“Why doesn’t this surprise me?” he whispered. “We’re back where we started...somewhat.”
Erica looked ar
ound only to realize they were outside of the cave at the peak of Mt. Galdhøpiggen. Maeva paced nervously reciting words as she made motions in the air as though sketching something.
“She looks like she’s getting ready for a big presentation,” Erica commented before it occurred to her that was exactly what was happening. “She’s about to present her updated idea to Eluf, isn’t she?”
“That would be my guess,” Kodran said.
“Poor thing,” she whispered, suddenly remembering that anxiety. “She’s so worried about impressing him. And about messing up.”
“She is,” Kodran agreed. “And I don’t blame her. It wasn’t every day that a young, unseasoned dragon approached an original seer to make a pitch.”
Her eyes went to his, and she grinned. “That sounds awful modern of you.”
“I do have a twenty-first century mother,” he reminded. “And like Tait, I enjoy modern day women.”
“Women?”
The corner of his mouth inched up as he eyed her with appreciation. “I mean woman.”
They might be going through some heavy shit, but she enjoyed Kodran’s sense of humor. He was prideful, but it didn’t get in the way of his lighthearted personality. If anything, she suspected he was right. It was spiritual residue left over from being a man who wasn’t the creature he wanted to be in the end.
“I can do this,” Maeva whispered as she stopped, thrust her shoulders back and said, “I will do this,” before she headed inside.
Curious, Erica and Kodran followed. Eluf wore the hooded robe of his calling and sat patiently on a stool in the center of the room as images flashed in his shields. The images faded as Maeva walked into the cave.
“I am sorry,” Maeva murmured as she slowed and lowered her head, acknowledging the difference in their stations. If she were anyone but Bjark’s granddaughter she would have bowed. “Did I come at a bad time?”
“No,” Eluf said softly. His eyes never left her face. “As it was, according to my shields, you came at the perfect time.”
Erica might sense Maeva’s tremble at being in his presence, but she had to give her former self credit as she stood up even straighter and held his gaze. Maeva was strong. And, based on the way he looked at her, Eluf knew it.
Better yet, appreciated it.
“Come. Sit.” When he stood, a table and another stool appeared. “Show me what you have come up with to bring us seers and dragons together in peace.” His voice dropped an octave, deepened. “One that allows love to flourish where it will.”
Their eyes held for a moment and Erica knew Maeva could barely move let alone breathe. At that moment she realized he was doing this for her. That he would do anything for her.
“But that’s not why I did this,” Maeva whispered.
“Of course it is.” Eluf stepped close and murmured in her ear, “We both know you have been trying to find a way to bring us together for years and I applaud your drive. Your initiative.” He gestured to the stool and met her eyes. “Now sit and convince me that we have a future together, Maeva.” His gaze softened. “Because, rest assured, I would like nothing more.”
“Oh, shit,” Erica whispered to Kodran. “Look at you go.”
“I was a bit much, yes?” He frowned. “Too intense.”
“To some,” she murmured. “But not to me...Maeva.” She shook her head, more turned on than ever. “No, you were authoritative, demanding just enough and hot as friggin’ hell.”
“Yes?”
“Oh yeah,” she assured, trying not to get too aroused. “I’ve got a thing for strong, intelligent men.” She winked at him. “And I’m not talking about muscles. Well, not at the moment.” Her eyes flickered over him. “Though they are nice.”
“I do not need a table, Eluf,” Maeva cut into their conversation. “But thank you.”
“Then what do you need?” he murmured, watching her closely.
She hesitated a moment before she walked to the center of the cave, crossed her arms over her chest and met his eyes. “I need to know what lies at the heart of you.”
“All right.” Eluf nodded. “And why is that?”
“Because I need to know why you are willing to support me,” she said. “While some of it has to do with wanting me to lay with you, most of it has to do with something else.”
Amusement flickered in Eluf’s eyes but never reached his lips. “And what is that, child?”
“I am not a child.”
“No, not anymore,” he conceded. “But you were and not very long ago.”
“Long ago enough,” Maeva shot back. “But never mind that.” She turned slowly and considered his shields before her eyes found his. “Are you ready for my presentation then, head seer?”
“I have been ready for a very long time.”
Maeva didn’t bat a lash but murmured a chant, thrust her hands out in a circular motion, closed her eyes and did something Eluf clearly had not expected.
She used his shields to her advantage.
“I call on the power of Odin, my All-Father, my god above all gods, to hear my heart, see my heart, and give me the answers I seek in these shields but only under one condition.” Her eyes opened and locked on Eluf’s. “Tell me the reason my love came to Midgard, to begin with. Tell me what he’s keeping secret.”
Eluf’s eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. “You waste your time. My shields are of my making and will only...”
His words trailed off as images started to flicker. Not possible answers to an idea but something different. Erica peered closer. What was she seeing?
“It’s the fabled land of seers,” Kodran whispered. “Vanaheim.”
A group of seers were having a heated argument.
“Bard took her,” one roared. “He took my woman. My wife. The other half of my soul.”
Erica put a hand over her mouth as she recognized him. Eluf. On a different world in another time. Though she went by yet another name, somehow she knew the woman he spoke of had been her. A life lived before Maeva. And in that life, Erica had been a seer.
Those Eluf dealt with, his own kind, shook their heads and offered him empty words and endless opinions.
“There is nothing we can do,” one spat.
“You must let her go,” another said with disgust.
On and on it went.
“She is gone to us now.”
“Her ideas were too strong. We are not meant to co-exist with dragons. They caught wind of her beliefs, her preaching, and now she will be punished.”
“You were never meant to be together if a dragon of all creatures could so easily take her.”
“She proved how weak she was when an inferior species stole her.”
It was that last one that made Eluf feel pure fury. Nobody called his woman weak. She had done nothing but be strong and try to lead their people in a progressive direction. She had done nothing but try to bring their worlds together. And it had been that, her drive, that drew Bard’s attention her way.
Though Eluf tried to persue Bard he was but one seer against a world of dragons. And Múspellsheimr was not a place for foreigners. Not only was the climate difficult but many of its inhabitants were too. Finding her soon became a lost cause and heartbreaking rumors began to circulate. It was said that Bard had brutalized her before he eventually brought her to Midgard where she died. In the end, though she had not committed the crime, she was used as an example of what would happen if any seer and dragon ever dared to love. If anyone promoted the idea.
All Eluf saw in his rage was that she had died for a cause, her beliefs, so he left his world and started anew on Midgard. He lived alongside dragons that he refused to hate because his love would have thought less of him. Not all dragons were like Bard. Despite what had happened to her, she would have stood up for peace amongst all. Acceptance. A new beginning. And he was determined to make her proud.
Though fury and hatred forever burned in his heart, Eluf agreed to keep his distance from Bard for the great
er good of their new settlement on Midgard. Instead, he focused on building a life as he waited century after century. He never gave up faith that his love would be reborn and rise up again. And though Maeva reminded him of her and he had remained hopeful over the years, there was no way to be sure. Had she been reborn a seer, he would have known instantly because they were of the same magic...the same species. But Maeva was dragon which made it impossible to know.
Until now.
Unless, of course, there was trickery at work.
“Your shields are of your making,” Maeva murmured as her eyes met Eluf’s. “You designed them specifically with the power of your home world the moment you arrived here.” Tears welled in her eyes. “They will only ever respond to you and your long lost soul mate.” She swallowed as a tear trailed down her cheek. “And now here I am.”
Eluf appeared immobile, frozen in time, untrusting but at the same time eager. “How did you know to do this?” He remained stern, ever an original. “What dragon magic is this?”
“This is what you asked for Eluf,” she whispered and shook her head. “Something that would impress you. To be dazzled I supposed.” She wiped away the tear and shook her head. “And I knew the only way to do that was to use dragon magic on your shields, but it didn’t work...something else happened.”
“This is too much.” Maeva began to tremble and shook her head. “I’ll find support elsewhere. I can’t...we can’t...you can’t possibly be...” She wiped away more tears and went to stride past him, but it was too late.
Eluf yanked her into his arms, cupped the side of her neck and cheek with one strong hand, stared into her eyes and shook his head. “No, you were mine. I was yours. Now you are back just like I knew you would be and I am not letting you go again.”
Then he kissed her.
Maeva fought Eluf for a second before she melted against him and kissed him for all she was worth. In retrospect, it was amazing Eluf had been able to co-exist with Bard considering what he had done. But then they were never around one another if what she sensed was correct. That gathering she and Kodran witnessed was a rarity.
As they faded away, Erica felt a bit off kilter. Suddenly out of touch with her identity.
Pride of a Viking Page 9
