Vikings Unleashed: 9 modern Viking erotic romances

by Kate Pearce

  The young man’s face reddened.

  “Enough complaining,” Brimir called. “My blade needs blood.”

  The team gathered their weapons and prepared to head for the frontlines to the south. Instead of riding with Hrafn or Steinn, she jumped on the dragon with the young warrior.

  He refused to look at her face.

  “May I hold on for a bit until I get my bearings?” she asked him.

  “Of course, Lady.” His face grew even redder and still he kept his gaze on his dragon. The beast they rode was a younger mount that was a bit jittery and didn’t sit still.

  Do you really want to ride such a creature into battle? she asked herself. Did she really have a choice though? The other men would’ve been all too eager to allow her to ride, but she sensed Steinn’s gaze upon her every move. From where his dragon sat, it gave her a death glare. It was for the best that she rode with this harmless boy. With her decision made she wrapped her arms around his tiny waist.

  Every muscle along the boy’s torso grew tense, vibrating under her fingers like a jostling urn filled with water.

  “You’ll be fine, Boy,” she whispered to him. “What’s your name?”

  “I know,” was all he said. “My name is Refr, Lady.”

  She gave him her name. “By the time this is over you’ll be respected all over Blakkr-Horgr.” She wasn’t the best with pep talks, but at that moment the boy’s stomach jumped enough to spew whatever breakfast he’d eaten.

  With a flick of the reins, their dragon catapulted itself into the smoke-filled sky. By now she’d barely gotten used to the smoke. The stench of sulfur touched everything here, just like when she grew up in the Outlands.

  The takeoff forced the breath out of her lungs and she clutched him tighter than she wanted.

  “Apologies!” Refr said.

  “Is this your first time riding him?”

  “Our first time in battle, Lady.”

  That man thing might not come to pass if this was the extent of his skill.

  The smoke from a nearby volcano spewed higher into the sky, the rumblings of an eruption vibrating through the air. In the distance she spotted the others in the formation they discussed, waiting.

  Once they reached a steady flight pattern to the south over Blakkr-Horgr, she adjusted herself in the seat and tried to clear her mind.

  I’ve been in other battles before, she reminded herself. But I am a Woman of the Frost now. I can consume the heat from a hundred suns. That was the thing with the women though, even if they drove back the desert to keep the living waters flowing, they were still women. They feared what they didn’t understand.

  But it was too late to dwell on such thoughts. She readied her bow and drew an arrow.

  She mentally prepared herself while the boy muttered to himself. Let him mutter. The madness was yet to come.

  In the distance the lines of men continued to march north for Blakkr-Horgr.

  A white dragon closed in on Drifa and Refr. Steinn, dressed in armor this time, glanced them over with a frown. His stern expression grew deeper as he got closer to her. The iron helmet and mail shirt had changed his demeanor from withdrawn to fierce. His broad sword had been unsheathed and the round wooden shield on his other hand meant he was prepared to face what came for them. “Stay sharp.”

  “You should worry about that yourself,” she replied with a bite.

  Knurre hissed at her, opening its mouth wide to reveal its teeth.

  “Faster.” With a nudge to Knurre’s side, he directed his dragon toward the front of the formation. They drew in closer and closer. As much as she tried to calm herself, holding tight to the bow as if to anchor her, she could feel her heart beating hard against her ribs. Thundering and keeping her from breathing right.

  Her eyes teared up and she blinked from the thick smoke.

  They were close now. She could make out the enemy below. Turning tail and running wasn’t an option.

  Up ahead, Brimir’s broad sword rose in the air. It was time.

  With a sharp swing downward, Brimir’s dragon dove hard.

  Then one after the other the rest of them followed. Oddr and Jor. Then Steinn and Hrafn. She brought up the rear with her rider.

  “Come taste my blades, offworlder scum!” Jor yelled. His spiked club swung in a circle and his laugh even reached her ear. He let go of the reins and leaned in close to dive. Heat rumbled underneath Drifa and Refr, a fire gathering in their mount’s belly. A storm waiting to be unleashed. She wanted to taste it for herself, so she tightened her hands on the bow. Magic shouldn’t be used unless absolutely necessary.

  Suddenly, the wind wiped through her hair as their dragon nosedived for the ground. What was once far away closed in rapidly. And the faces of the men became all too clear. Their pale, dirty faces and shaven heads came into view. Lines of them raised their hands in the air, as if they were holding something...

  Bright lights from the invaders shot into the air around them—almost like arrows of light, but at the same time their dragon opened its mouth wide and the rumbling in its stomach spewed forth in a rain of fire and hot air across the ground. The flames scorched everything in its path. The line of men screamed and ran out of the way.

  All she could do was hold onto Refr as they soared back into the air. Their dragon circled back around again. Sensing an opportunity to fire, she took aim. While she pulled back the bowstring and held her breath, hesitating came to mind. Whenever she’d used her weapons it had been to defend her land against a few men or even to hunt for food.

  Shooting into a cluster of men was another matter entirely.

  Until those bastards fired at her.

  She released arrow after arrow, letting her body do what came automatic through experience. She shot as many as possible before the next dive.

  All around them the red dragons dove again and again, but there were far too many invaders. With horror she spotted a line of offworlders reaching the edge of town. They shot their weapons at the homes along the edge.

  “No…” she whispered.

  Brimir approached them from the rear. “Hold the line,” he ordered. “Keep them from entering Blakkr-Horgr! I’m gonna burn those slimy eels at the source.”

  “You need our help!” Refr yelled.

  “It’s too late for that.” Brimir turned away. In the distance, she spotted Jor and Steinn continuing to fight—only to see a shot take out his wizened dragon. The blast sliced clear through the skin spanning the animal’s larger wing. The creature screamed, spiraling downward toward the frontlines. It crashed into a cluster of invaders.

  “Jor!” she yelled.

  “Oh no,” Refr whispered.

  “Get down there!” she ordered the boy.

  “They’ll shoot us, too. We have orders to protect the city.”

  As much as she wanted to shove Refr out of the way, he was right. Their mount wasn’t as experienced as the others, but the beast held its own. They burned anything that came close until the men began to fall back a bit.

  Far from going down without a fight, Jor jumped off his dragon and swung his spiked club hard at the closest invader who came at him. To provide coverage, Brimir and Oddr fired a protective circle close to the fallen dragon to drive back the men who shot at it.

  He’s got a chance, she thought.

  Jor’s mount snapped and hissed at the enemies who stalked toward them, but it was too late.

  The men in gray coats swarmed on the older dragon, firing their strange weapons until the dragon moved no more.

  Jor flew into a rage, bashing and swinging at any man close enough to his blade. “You bastards want a taste of the afterlife, don’t you?” he bellowed.

  She glanced to the skies. Only Brimir and Oddr kept fighting in the air. Where the hell were Steinn and Knurre?

  At least a mile away to the west she caught a flash of white. The army of invaders had smartly separated into three contingents: one had gone west, another had approached the city head o
n, and the final one had gone east to sweep around their defenses.

  “Clever, tricky little bastards,” she said with a sneer. They are separating us to weaken us.

  ***

  Once Steinn cleared them out he headed in her direction.

  “Go into the city now!” she ordered Refr. “This was all a diversion.”

  This time Refr obeyed. By the time they flew into Blakkr-Horgr, the invaders had burned most of the homes along the perimeter. They continued to run into the streets.

  “We can’t attack them from the air like this,” Refr said. “We’ll burn the homes.”

  He had a point there. “Looks like we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way.”

  “What are you doing?” When the dragon soared low enough over a house she jumped off and landed on the thatch roof. She tumbled hard and fell into the dirt, but it wasn’t the first time such a thing occurred. Albeit there would be a bruise later for her to tend to.

  Refr circled again. Why wasn’t he landing?

  Something white streaked across the sky to her right. Steinn and Knurre flew in jerky motions before they crashed hard deep into town. In the direction the army was going.

  “Steinn!” The scream was pulled from her throat.

  He had been doing so well. What had happened?

  She searched the skies for Refr, but couldn’t see him.

  “Get your bony ass down here, Boy!” she snapped. She opened her mouth to yell further, only to have a small band of offworlders they’d spotted early running for her.

  She aimed her bow to fire. As fast as she could shoot, by the time she had the next arrow in hand they opened fire. The heat came at her, bright and blinding. She waited for the pain, for her to experience that moment during battle when men fell dead.

  Instead of pain, a tingling sensation rushed up her arms. Faster than she’d ever experienced it before. A rush of blood to the head that left her stunned—somehow she tasted the fire from their weapons. It swirled along her tongue like warm berries on bread and she consumed it, sucking whatever strange flames they fired at her into her body. Once they gathered there, like her many lessons all that was left to do was push back the desert. Or in this case, push back the collected heat.

  The advancing men collapsed where they stood, their bodies stiffening, as their faces grew ashen and mist fogged their last breaths. Her vision wavered, but the hunger for heat never diminished. She sensed every fire eating away at the nearby homes. Heard the crashing of caved-in roofs. But all that mattered was the heat from the weapons they fired.

  She rushed for them, running in their direction. Let all of them come for her. She pushed them back, step by step. They wouldn’t come any closer to the city center or to Steinn or anyone.

  They yelled at her in a foreign guttural tongue. Their cries for mercy were ignored. She spotted such in the eyes of the ones who dropped their weapons and tried to run away. Those who’d gotten too close, she still killed them anyway. But many ran toward the south from where they’d come.

  By the time she was alone her bones had turned to ash. She collapsed against a house, unable to stop the trembling of her fingers. The need to bleed out cold was innate—a thing she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to do it. A horse’s water trough nearby froze, turning to hard brick of ice. The dirt under her hardened. The crystal shard hanging around her neck cracked down the middle. Whatever warmth it provided had been sucked away and it fell in pieces into her lap.

  Was this the true reason why the Women of the Frost stayed up north? Was this why they never took a man?

  A single invader emerged from the shadows, an eager one who didn’t care why the others ran away. He aimed to fire.

  From behind him Steinn, looking fierce with a snarl, swung his sword hard onto the man’s back. The invader’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open as he fell forward to the hard ground.

  Not knowing the danger he faced coming near her, Steinn approached her. When she presented her palm to him, he stopped.

  “Don’t come closer,” she whispered.

  “You’re hurt,” was all he said.

  She had yet to look at herself and see if they had truly shot her.

  “Is everyone safe?” What she meant to ask was if he was unhurt.

  “The villagers are still in the great hall in the center of town.” He took a step toward her, then a few more.

  “It’s not safe to be near me right now.”

  “I'll take my chances.”

  Her hand rose again. “Give me time.”

  So he waited a while, bleeding and all. Staying awake—much less holding her hand up—grew difficult. By the time her hand dropped, he stepped forward to gather her into his arms. Oh, how deliciously warm he was! The power within her had finally withdrawn, but she was still cold. She pressed her face against his cheek, enjoying the feel of the stubble. She brushed her lips against his. The heat from his mouth tasted intoxicating. His lips were smooth and soft, just as she’d remembered.

  “I’m so tired,” she whispered.

  “Rest then.”

  She wanted to keep her eyes open, but her eyelids drooped. The heat that she’d consumed was gone. There was nothing left for her. There was nothing left for her to give Steinn either. Which was for the best.

  7

  She didn’t wake for a whole day. Twenty-four whole hours where Steinn watched her rest in bed. Leaving Blakkr-Horgr wasn’t an option anyway. Most of the village was in ruins and the invaders had left to find another pass to take them north. The offworlders trek would take them farther east to double back north.

  The Vikings had time to regroup, but not much.

  He rose to stretch his legs. From the bed, she moaned in her sleep as if in pain. She’d been doing that ever since she’d passed out. Almost as if her dreams plagued her. She’d thrashed for the first couple of hours, forcing him to hold her down so that a healer could cleanse her wounds. Just seeing the burn mark on her shoulder left him angrier than he’d expected.

  She shouldn’t be in this fight anymore. She should be back home.

  As to how she’d survived with only one wound was a mystery. Those peculiar weapons had burned most of Blakkr-Horgr. He’d examined one closely. It was technology beyond his understanding. An offworlder’s tool that used their crystals to fire heat through some kind of interconnecting tubes. None of them could figure out how to make it work.

  His leg throbbed from when he’d landed hard off his dragon. That troublesome, stubborn lizard was supposed to follow Drifa and the boy. His mount had decided it wanted to fight elsewhere. He had tugged hard on the reins and Knurre, in its tantrum, tossed them to the ground. Knurre had fallen hard on its side in the process and would most likely limp for a few days. Served the beast right as a lesson.

  With his legs stretched Steinn took a seat next to her bed. He ran his fingers through his messy hair. He hadn’t changed into fresh clothing since he’d carried her to safety. There had been so much to do afterward. Brimir found him not long after her wounds had been dressed.

  “How is she?” The older warrior had a ghastly cut across his cheek and a hobble to his step.

  Steinn nodded with respect. “The healer has never treated a witch from the north before.” He shrugged. “I must wait for her to wake up.”

  “We will wait then—”

  “What about the invaders?”

  “Don’t worry,” Brimir patted his shoulder. “It will take them a few days to reach the northern plains, and before we may leave, Jor must observe Freya’s Rites to properly bury Sterkr.”

  All this time he’d forgotten about Jor’s loss. Even Knurre had been the furthest thing on his mind. After crashing into a house, his dragon didn’t let him get back on. Instead of cursing at Knurre over his misfortune, he abandoned the lizard and rushed to the edge of town to bring down any man who dared to cross his path.

  His darkened thoughts subsided as he watched her lips part. Before the women had cleaned her up he
r hair had been all tangled and dirty. She hadn’t been the same woman he’d met when she’d arrived in Forsvollr.

  She shivered again. The need to go to her tugged at him. A few minutes later he gave in and joined her. The straw bed easily gave way. There wasn’t much space, but after shifting her a bit they lay side by side with his arms wrapped around her. She snuggled close to him.

  Even if he had to let her go once they drove away the invaders, he didn’t regret a minute of it.

  ***

  After sleeping next to her sisters for years, Drifa didn’t pay any mind to waking up next to a warm body. But this particular person held her in far too much of an intimate manner. Heat filled her face, but Steinn didn’t stir so she remained still. She was on a bed with Steinn. Were they still in Blakkr-Horgr?

  It was hard not to savor this moment. To not enjoy feeling him so close. Their faces were a mere breath apart, until she sighed and his nose bumped hers. His arms were wrapped around her back, and he’d drawn her so close their chests pressed together all the way down to their intertwined legs. Every inch of him was hard against her skin. He must’ve carried her here. She had nothing on but a shift. The thin material left little barrier between them.

  “Your purity is your pact with the Goddess Freya,” the high priestess always said. “Cover yourself while you’re out and remember your vows.”

  She thought of her vows every time she was with him. Even more so now. With an inhale she caught his scent. Wonderfully male. Her gaze flicked to his lips. They were slightly parted as he slept. Her hands were held captive against his chest, his heartbeat thrumming along her fingertips. Careful not to touch a bruise than ran from his shoulder to his ribs, she took him in. He’d gathered her so close there was nowhere to go, nothing to do but feel every inch of him. To explore him with her eyes.

  When an offworlder had attacked her, Steinn had come to her rescue. He’d saved her life—limping the whole way. That much she could remember. Did that mean he still cared for her?

  He shifted a bit, drawing her leg over his lean hip. The weight of something hard between his legs pressed against her core and elicited a sigh from her mouth. His mouth opened and closed and she hungered to taste his lips. So full and inviting. Those lips had been deliciously wonderful on her neck yesterday. Just thinking about his hands running over her nipples fed the emptiness that ate away at her. Going back to Niflheim feeling like this seemed torturous.