Chapter Sixteen
“HOW DID THEY get here?”Tor growled into Vicar’s mind when his cousin informed them they were under attack by Mórrígan’s possessed warriors. He and Raven had dressed and were heading their way.“No one without seer blood or under the protection of seers should have been able to make it this far.”
“Yet here they are,”Vicar returned, speaking telepathically to both him and Raven.“While normally Trinity and I would just end them with magic, Cian says it’s unwise. That using our Alfheim and Múspellsheimr magic in this section of the mountain could cause irrevocable harm.”
“He’s right,”Raven concurred.“And I have no idea how I know that. While the Alfheim might be okay, the Múspellsheimr could very well disrupt whatever I put in place to help me and Tor find our way back to each other.”
“Then I hope you know how to battle,”Vicar returned.“Because there are many.”
“I do,”she assured.“We’ll be there in a minute.”
“Do you?” Tor frowned, discomforted by her being put in harm’s way, never mind not being able to defend herself. “Because I get the sense you’re not entirely sure.”
“It’s clear I put a whole lot of thought into all this at a young age.” She gave him a look and patted the various weapons she had manifested and strapped to herself. “So I think it’s safe to say I know how to fight.”
He agreed. She had created a variety of blades that looked well-suited to her size. Still. Mórrígan’s warriors were ruthless. Relentless.
“Which sort of makes you wonder, given what we’ve learned so far,” Raven commented, picking up the pace. “If I were in league with Mórrígan, why would she attack me now?”
“Perhaps to remove more enemies.” He unsheathed a sword and axe, glad to see she thought nothing of grabbing two daggers. From the looks of it, she knew how to hold them correctly too. “Cian just told Trinity and Vicar not use their magic. That just made our most powerful couple a whole lot more vulnerable.”
“It did,” she agreed, troubled.
“Watch out,” he roared, sensing a blade before he actually saw it being whipped at her from the stalagmite and stalactite cave. It seemed he had nothing to worry about, though. Raven dodged it with ease, then bolted out of the tunnel and whipped her dagger straight into the throat of the warrior who had thrown it. Tor perked his brows when she spun and kicked another warrior hard before running her blade across the side of yet another. It seemed shecouldfight and very well.
That didn’t stop the fear he felt for her, though.
“It gets better, brother,”Vicar promised, keeping the conversation telepathic so Mórrígan didn’t overhear anything via her warriors.“The more you see how well Raven can handle herself, the less fear you'll feel.”There was no missing his internal chuckle or admiration.“You have nothing to worry about with this one, though. She might even fight better than you.”
Which said something considering Tor had always done very well in battle. Dragon form or not, he enjoyed the feel of sharp, precise movements. The dance that came with anticipating his opponent’s every move. With looking ahead five steps, just as Raven was now, and felling warrior after warrior.
He whipped an axe in such a way it took down two men at once, then sliced the wrist of a third opponent, forcing him to drop his weapon. Before the warrior knew what hit him, Tor drove his blade into his gut. It was safe to say although he had fought ferociously during one battle or another, none compared to how hard he fought now.
Fought to keep Raven safe whether she needed his protection or not.
If he hadn’t been convinced already, the night before had more than proven to him that Raven was destined to be his fated mate. Not just because of how much closer their dragons had grown, and they had, whether she realized it or not, but because of how she had felt in his arms. What it was like to hold her close and bury his cock in her.
She had been everything that was missing in lying with other women. Everything he had been waiting for only to realize he’d had her before. That he had enjoyed such intense, untouchable bliss. No wonder none could measure up. Nobody would ever be better suited to his dragon or fulfill him as much when he took her. Loved her. Made her his again and again.
The fact they had yet to mate was the only thing keeping the moment from being what it could be.Shouldbe. Because his new tattoo should have mated them.
Wouldmate them.
They just needed to remember what happened.
“There are too many warriors,”Cian said.“We should keep moving. Find a way to leave them behind.”
He noticed the wizard had not only changed but excelled at battling. He no longer wore black robes but trousers and a belted tunic.
“You’re right, Cian,”Raven replied, surprising Tor with how much she enjoyed fighting. How she loathed the idea of running but understood that Mórrígan killing her sister and Vicar was likely at the heart of this mini-war.
“That way,”Tor said instinctually, sensing something he hadn’t before. A cue to his inner dragon if he didn’t know better. It should lead the way if Raven found herself giving in to the urge to keep fighting.
To never back down.
The moment he realized he had become part of her safeguard pre-plan, he also realized just how much bloodlust she was embracing. How much pent-up anger she was releasing.
