“Deranged beasts,” he says, his voice low. “They don’t know Hel as I do. Their fantasies are just that.”
“What don’t they know?” I urge, palming his cheek to pull his attention back to me. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“They think there’s some way to break my bond with Hel, that I’m to fight against her in the future the Norns weave in the wake of Ragnarök. But I have no future,” he declares,both of his hands on my cheeks now, eyes bright with his conviction.
“Only my death can break my bond to Hel. She holds part of me and she’ll never give it back. When my life ends, her grip on my soul will end with it. That’s the only way. And so that’s what I plan to do. Because you deserve so much more than a mate bound to another,” he mutters, his lips gently grazing mine. “You deserve to soar with your dragon in the sun. I’m going to make sure you have the life you were always meant to lead.”
My soul cracks, the bond between us convulsing with his resolve.
And I realize it’s too late.
I’m lost to my mate. I don’t want to see the sun again if he’s not there to share its light with me.
Chapter twenty-nine
Wregen
In the Sun
Youshalljoinherin the sun, rider. The turnip beast shoves themself into my thoughts with the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard. So I ignore them, focusing on my skjaldmær’s soft eyes, the dip of her lips as her brows draw together, telling me she’s furious at my words.
I could feed on her emotions for eternity. Food and water can’t sustain me. This is all I need.
The Norns have spoken, the dragon blathers on, trying to drag my attention away from Finaan.You and your beast will join my draikana and me in the sun. We’ll fight for the new world the fates weave.
Go away, I urge, trying my damnedest to ignore the beast.
I will not, they snipe, tenacious creature that they are.
“What are you and Ruxi arguing about?” Finaan’s anger has turned to confusion, her lips pursing into the most charming little bow I’ve ever seen as her eyebrows shift enough to display the change in her moods.
I think I might miss this the most. My mate can be so stoic, a true skjaldmær, but she can’t hide from me. I can read herlike a book. And play her body like a fiddle, but that’s another matter entirely.
“They’re being difficult,” I grunt, “trying to tell me things I don’t need to hear.” Dropping one of my hands onto Finaan’s ass, I tug her toward me, but she pushes back, spinning to look at the beast.
“Let’s finish cleaning off and talk,” she says as she lays her palms on my chest and tries to shove me away. I don’t move, but I reluctantly take my hand off her ass. “Panta expended a lot of energy to tell me that you need to speak with Ruxi,” my stubborn skjaldmær continues. “We’ve delayed long enough. They’ve got information we need. You have to talk to your dragon.”
“It’s not my dragon,” I complain for the tenth or twentieth time. “Wrath won’t tolerate it.”
“I don’t care,” she cries as she spreads her arms out to her sides, pushing those tits up exactly the way I like. “You don’t need to claim them. Talk. Find out what they know.” She smiles, her gaze catching and holding mine, and takes a step closer. “Please,” she whispers as her hands land on my chest again, thumbs grazing my nipples. “For me.”
Sneaky, cunning female. The corners of my lips lift of their own accord. The fates chose well. She’s everything I need in a mate, all I could ever want. “What will you give me,” I purr, “if I grant you this boon?”
“This is for all of us, Wregen,” Finaan insists, but she’s caressing the muscles beneath her palms. “You should do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
“You asked, though,” I point out, “and said it would be for you. If I’m to do you this favor, you should do something for me.”
She shakes her head, but she’s fighting a smile. One side of her lips tilts up a touch, her dark eyes as bright as a sunny day. She’s so fucking beautiful, and it kills me to know she’ll despise me soon.
“What would you like, mate?” She gives into the grin that transforms her face, eyes crinkling with a lightness my fierce warrior doesn’t display as much as I’d like.
“I don’t hear that often enough,” I tell her. “It pleases me to know you’ve accepted the fates’ choice for our lives.” I watch her for a moment, committing every line of her face to memory. I’ll need it to sustain me if I can’t do what I need when we reach the dragons. I’ll be suspended over the pit for a very long time if Hel’s able to drag me back to Helheim. “Ask me to kiss you,” I murmur, reaching out to tug on her bottom lip.
She catches her breath, chest rising and falling slowly as the world narrows down to the two of us. And then she steps closer, lifts her hands to my cheeks, and whispers, “Kiss me, Wregen.”
I am unleashed. My lips land on hers and I plunge my tongue into her mouth, licking and sucking and nibbling every piece of her she’s offered. Waves of desire spiral through me, unlike anything I’ve known before, my entire body responding to my mate opening herself to me willingly. Even Wrath stirs, pushing himself from Hel’s trap to join me in this moment.His grumble of satisfaction adds to the chaotic mix of desire thrumming through me.
Finaan’s emotions wash across my skin, a warm bath on a cold day. She’s more open to me than she’s ever been, craving my touch nearly as much as I crave hers, and I relax into this thing between us. Well, not entirely. My cock isn’t relaxed. It’s as far from relaxed as any cock could be, responding exactly as I’d expect. But this is not about a quick fuck. It’s not about any kind of fuck.
