“Gaps that will be filled in soon enough,” Soren said. “Until then, we should figure out our next move. Has Emily’s ring given you any further sense of direction?”
“Not yet.” She eyed the ring. “Maybe it was only a one-time thing.”
“Doubtful.” Leviathan sounded confident in his assessment as he rejoined them. “The ring is laden with metal from dragonkind’s home world and designed by Sven to protect Emily, which means it will continue to do that until Emily is ultimately safe.” He looked at Ava. “I do not doubt for a moment that no matter whose finger the ring is on it will continue to work toward that end.”
“I agree.” Tiernan eyed the ring. “Sven said the flowers combined with the metal in the ring worked as a map of sorts when Emily held out her hand. Mayhap it will do the same for you, Ava.”
“It couldn’t hurt to try.” She held out her hand and gazed from the ring to the forest in front of them. “What am I looking for exactly?”
“How it might align with our surroundings.” Soren leaned close and followed her line of sight. “From what I heard, the carvings and metal should almost appear to match up with what you’re looking at...if that is the direction you are meant to go.”
Overly aware of his proximity, she tried not to get aroused, and inch by inch moved her hand almost like she would a compass looking for due north. All the while, despite how hard she tried not to, she became more and more aware of him. The warmth of his breath fanning her cheek. How easy it would be to turn her lips to his. How tempted she was to taste him again.
“You are not making this easy, mate,” he murmured into her mind. The richness of his telepathic voice only amped up her need.
“Neither are you,” she murmured back.
“Stop.” His warm hand encompassed her wrist and stopped the ring when it faced the bottom of one of the mountains. “Look.” He traced the tip of his pinky finger along the ring, sending a spike of heat through her when he brushed her skin as well. “Do you see it?” He pointed along their line of sight. “The way the flowers curve along the metal matches that area just there.”
“I’ve been that way before,” Halla exclaimed as she and Pierce joined them. “Both Vigdis and I went that way on Sven and Emily’s journey.”
“What’s in that direction?” Ava asked.
“Hvergelmir’s Spring is at the top of that particular mountain,” Vigdis revealed. “Its river runs down the opposite side.”
Ava glanced at Soren in surprise. “What are the odds considering we were just talking about the spring?”
“I think we know where we’re heading next.” He looked up the mountain. “I saw the spring within my kin’s minds. It’s not what you would expect.”
“No.” A sensation washed over her that she was starting to recognize as her dragon wanting to share new information. Or better yet, close to remembering something. “It’s nothing but a big mud puddle.”
“It is far more than that,” Vigdis said softly.
“Because looks can be deceiving,” Ava said just as softly, not sure what she meant by that only that it was true. Her eyes met Soren’s. “We should go soon.”
He nodded. “First, break your fast and gain your strength, then we will make our way up.”
Though eager to get moving, she knew he was right. Still, time crawled as she ate, her sense of urgency that they continue on only growing. By the time they headed up, it was late morning, and she felt edgy.
Soren looked from the mountain top to her as they walked together through the woodland. “The spring draws us, yes?”
She nodded. “Honestly, I’m surprised you seem so laid back. That you could manage food.”
“I have been on enough journeys to know that keeping up our strength is important.” He took her hand and helped her up a thigh-high ledge, then didn’t let go as they continued. “I know it’s the last thing on your mind, but you must eat on occasion, Ava.”
It really was the last thing on her mind, but she understood. He was looking out for her. Looking out for them all actually.
“So let’s recap.” She wanted to make sure she had things somewhat straight about Hvergelmir’s Spring and the world it came from. “Is there anything I should know about this spring outside of it being the source of all life and aiding in the creation of this place? Also, though I researched a bit, it’s hard to know what’s fact and fiction. What’s your take on the world of Niflheim? What I learned about it wasn’t all that great.”
“No,” he agreed. “Made of fog, mist, and ice, it is the darkest and coldest of the worlds. A place where some say only the worst souls end up.”
“So where I would’ve ended up in my last life?” she said. “Destroyed by my father for oath-breaking. A dragon that was apparently able to frequent both worlds?”
“I cannot speak to the dynamics of it,” he said, “but, yes, it has long been said that Níðhöggr watched over Hvergelmir's Spring so he would have been able to go to Niflheim.”
“Which means he must've had Odin’s approval to do that, right? Odin would've been his overseer or boss for lack of a better expression?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Even with its lack of occupancy due to the harsh climate, our All-Father would have had to approve a dragon going anywhere outside Múspellsheimr. And yes, the Great Serpent would have punished souls at Odin’s request.”
“Tell me more about Hvergelmir’s Spring,” she said. “I got the impression it caused a few issues on Emily and Sven’s journey.”
“It seemed capable of many things on their adventure,” he conceded. “First and foremost, it was not a rift but conduit between worlds. Then one way or another, its water manipulated the elements, and directed your sisters and their mates on their various journeys.” His tone grew serious. “It is unquestionably, very powerful and in this place, manipulated by Níðhöggr.”
“Just like the two ashes.” She narrowed her eyes, her mental wheels spinning. “I heard even Skáld’s Ash is interconnected with all this. How could that be if it’s under Skáld’s control?”
“Because it is essentially all part of the same root system,” Magnus said from behind them. “As Sven and Emily discovered when they traveled beneath Skáld’s Ash, the root systems run through the Nine Worlds and come from the same source...the same spring.”
“Right,” Ava said softly, stopping short, focusing on Sven and Emily’s journey. “They emerged from the roots and water back into Midgard as though symbolizing Ragnarök which is sort of like an end of days event for you guys. A great battle, natural disasters, the submersion of the world in water. Then the world will resurface anew and fertile, and be populated by two human survivors.”
“Yes,” Soren said. “That is the gist of it.”
“The gist of it?” She shook her head when a part of their puzzle became crystal clear. “I’d say that’s exactly what it was except for a few things they got wrong.”
When he looked at her in question, she offered another possibility.
“What if it wasn’t humans but dragon shifters?” she said. “And what if those first two people were you and me in another life?”
Chapter Eighteen
“IT WOULD MEAN we had a life together.” He liked the idea that they’d both survived and led dragons infected with love to Midgard. “So Ragnarök might be a vague reference to us.” He shook his head. “Only it wasn’t just us but several.”
“I’d say it's at least dragonkind’s version of Ragnarök,” Ava said. “And it certainly seemed like what happened to Emily and Sven was a prelude to that, don’t you think?”
“It does,” he agreed. “But I have also learned along the way that things can easily be misinterpreted like mythology itself.”
“Mythology aside, Níðhöggr has certainly been inventive,” she commented, gesturing at one of the silver, otherworldly trees they passed. “It looks like he used things from various worlds to build this place.”
She was about to say more but st
opped when she locked onto a blackened tree at the same time as him. He pulled her close and withdrew his blade when the forest suddenly changed, and their comrades vanished. The trees were murky and black. Some leaves were merely scorched where others were aflame. The air reeked of pungent smoke. It would have been impossible to breathe had they been human.
“I didn’t think Múspellsheimr had woods,” she whispered. “I didn’t think it sustained life at all...if you want to call this stuff living.”
“Look.” He pointed at a dragon heading through the forest. “It’s your former dragon.”
“Yes.” Her eyes sparked with recollection. “Tess and I had just split up.” Her eyes met his. “This was shortly after we first crossed enemy lines. That means Tess’s dragon was likely already being pursued by Rokar.”
“Which means it’s only a matter of time before—”
When a crash resounded ahead, they realized her former dragon had already broken the tree line at the top of the mountain. They raced that way only to find a dragon twice her size pinning her neck to the ground inches from a bubbling lava pool.
“Holy shit.” Ava’s eyes rounded on the huge dragon. It's mouth was completely around her dragon’s throat. “That’s you, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, not surprised she recognized his dragon.
Fire flared in his blood when he experienced what his former dragon felt. How swiftly he went from anger that an enemy had waltzed right into their territory to raging lust. Shortly after that, he experienced another sensation altogether.
One he had never felt before.
“Loki’s cock,” he whispered, “I became infected that fast.”
“Me too,” she murmured. The sound of her dragon’s heartbeat increased along with his. “It feels like...like...”
“Everything,” he said softly, pulling her closer out of instinct. Not to protect her but to feel her against him. To have her as near as possible. “The first spark of love...of two dragons becoming mated for the first time.”
“God, it’s profound,” she breathed.
Soren’s dragon slowly released her neck, lifted his great head, and met her dragon’s eyes.
His incarnate swiped her dragon’s wing away from the lava pool when it singed it ever-so-slightly, then continued staring into her eyes. Immersed in the moment, the two continued eying each other, their pupils flaring before Soren’s dragon stepped back and allowed her to get up.
“Who are you?” his dragon growled, clearly aloof. He shook his wings then bent his neck this way and that, trying to figure out what had happened. “What did you do to me?”
“What did you do to me?” she retaliated, making the same odd motions with her body.
“It even felt different physically,” Ava said. “Do you remember?”
“Yes.” He felt it as though he were actually living it. “There is less anger and tension.” His eyes slid to hers. “And more of another kind of tension. I feel lighter, perhaps happy, but very unsatisfied.”
“I'd say.” Ava’s cheeks were aflame. “It’s like instant, raging lust mixed with love—”
Her eyes rounded when their dragons started a sensual dance she had obviously never seen before. While he’d witnessed it here and there, it had never been like this. The Múspellsheimr dragons circled each other once, twice, rubbed against each other roughly then he slammed her to the ground and consummated their newfound love right then and there.
Severely aroused by the sight, the feel of it, Soren nearly took Ava right where they stood. This was the feeling he’d had when they first met and a few times since. As though he were another dragon.
No wonder.
He had been.
Strangely, he had become his incarnate, feeling what he felt. Needing what he needed. Yet now, despite the erotic sight and his near painful arousal, he was able to better control himself. His former dragon, however, seemed completely out of control, raging with lust. The two were so rambunctious they kept hitting the lava pool. It sure as Thor's thunder didn’t slow them down though.
“So...why do you think we need to see this?” Ava finally managed, her heart racing, her arousal more than obvious. Rather than tear her eyes away like she clearly wanted to, they remained locked on the rutting dragons. “Not that I...I mean it’s not like I haven’t seen.” She pressed her lips together, then gave in to a smirk. “Honestly, I’ve never seen dragons procreating. And when I imagined it, well, it wasn’t quite so...enthusiastic.”
“What we’re witnessing is extreme,” he assured. “As a rule dragons procreating on Midgard are not as enthusiastic though they can certainly get rambunctious.”
She finally dragged her gaze away and looked at him. “You sound like you have experience.”
“I do,” he relented. “Before Agatha.” He offered a crooked grin and remained perfectly honest. “Then again after her.”
“So, you enjoyed it?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “Though different, I like it as much as human intimacy. I enjoy the way dragons connect within the mind as well as physically.”
“Our dragon minds connect just as readily during human sex,” she countered.
He liked how, despite being embarrassed and not crazy about the conversation, she kept with it anyway. She needed to understand and assimilate so she could weigh things out in the future. Make educated decisions. Yet he wondered if she understood how far beyond logic and reason their discussion actually went when it came to dragons being intimate. Which made him wonder if she ever had great human sex. Even good human sex, for that matter.
He arched a brow, focusing on what she had said. “How would you know our dragon minds connect just as readily during human intimacy as dragons do in their true form if you’ve never experienced it?”
“It makes sense, I guess.” She shrugged. “Essentially our two halves are one and the same.”
“Not quite,” he countered, baffled she thought such. That her dragon had truly allowed her to repress it so much that she believed what she said.
Though he remained completely truthful with her, he kept a gentle tone. Thanks to what he had witnessed in the time flux, he understood the separation between her and her inner beast. “While we share many things, and are co-dependent, even often of a similar mind, our two halves are remarkably different, Ava. I suspect you will understand that before our journey comes to an end...if you are not already starting to.”
“You make me sound like a novice.” She seemed upset for a moment before she nodded once, resolute. “I suppose I am because of the path I chose.”
“Not for long, though.” He cupped her cheek, aware of her and only her despite the rutting dragons. “You’re coming back into yourself quickly and adjusting well where most would not.”
“How do you know?” Her lips turned down. “You don’t know that.”
“Actually I do. Not only because of your reaction to everything but what I feel inside your mind.” He brushed his thumb along her soft skin. Just the feel of her made his vision haze red. His dragon surfaced eager to see hers. Here. Now. Not in another life. “Your human and dragon halves are more harmonious than most. Impressive considering your human half repressed its counterpart.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” she said softly.
When she leaned into his touch, he knew it was instinctive but liked to think it was intentional.
“I am trying to comfort you,” he said. “Both my dragon and human half can do nothing else.” He shook his head. “But I am also very truthful with you, Ava. Your mind is different. Strong, level, and affable in a way few are. It is a mind meant for bringing others together and making them believe in you.” He cocked his head. “It is also a mind much like Níðhöggr’s. Able to exercise great patience and have faith in others in order to get them where they need to be.”
“You make me sound like a diplomat,” she joked, then swallowed hard, emotional. “I feel it, you know?”
“What
?”
“How whatever happened in my last life dictated the sort of person I became in this one.” She closed her eyes and tilted her cheek into his touch again, her voice soft. “I’ve started to sense things about my dragon I didn’t before. This might sound crazy, but I think it wanted to be oppressed...I’d even go so far as to say that it didn’t particularly want to be alive.” Her eyes opened to his. “That changed almost the second I got the message that my sisters needed help.”
“Your dragon wanted to be there for your sisters.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But it was more than that.” She shook her head. “It was hope amid so much misery. Hope I didn’t deserve yet my dragon latched onto it like a lifeline and I came running, prison be damned.”
“You came running to me,” he said softly before he could stop himself. But then, why not say what he felt? “Your dragon sensed mine.”
“I think it did,” she whispered. “No...I know it did.” Her eyes narrowed as if she were close to figuring something out. “When I first saw you across time beneath the Maine Ash, I got this fleeting sense of familiarity. I don’t think it was because of my dreams either. It almost felt like I was finally seeing you again after a long time.”
“That makes sense,” he replied. “Considering it had been at least one lifetime that we know of since we last saw each other.”
“I think what I felt was more than that, Soren.” She blinked several times as more memories came to her. “I think it was specifically that lifetime in Múspellsheimr...” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I think we might’ve been separated then—”
“Watch out,” Tess cried out of nowhere, cutting her off.
Seconds later, a dagger whipped inches over their head and took down an Årud warrior who fell dead at their feet. They had been so consumed in each other that neither realized the rutting dragons had faded and everything returned to normal.
Except, that is, for the pack of rogue Årud warriors rushing at them.
Chapter Nineteen
Viking's Crusade (Viking Ancestors: Rise of the Dragon, #6) Page 11
