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Chapter Twenty-Two
Astrid
When I wake up the next morning, I panic for a moment. It’s been years since anyone has slept in bed with me. Let alone a burly Viking bodyguard. Erik’s body up against mine makes my heart race until I realize who it is.
He is all muscle. There’s not a single soft thing about him… except the way he makes me feel. Vulnerable. Which is terrifying. I haven’t needed anyone in years, and it feels strange. It makes me feel like I’ve lost control of my life.
I mean, this can’t be real, can it?
A hot stranger knocks on my door, telling me I’m being hunted by a shadowy organization and that he wants to protect me and my daughter? And then, despite my very strong reservations, I realize he’s actually not just handsome and strong as hell, but also smart and kind and good with kids and damn good with magic. Let’s not even get started on what happened last night, which was without doubt the most incredible trio of sexual experiences I’ve had in my life…
Erik both thrills and scares me. Well, it’s not him that scares me, but the power of my feelings for him. I’ve loved and lost before. I’d told myself that romance was in my past, a former phase of my life. I don’t think I can survive another heartbreak. And Erik doesn’t seem like the settling down type. He’s a bodyguard, he lives a life of adrenaline and adventure. It’s likely he’ll get bored, and then what?
I shake my head. The sun is just peeking through the curtains, freshly risen. We need to get going on the hike up the mountain to find the Valkyrie fortress and the dagger. I’m debating whether I should wake Erik when he stirs of his own accord.
“Mmm.” He rumbles, deep in his chest, pulling me tightly against him. “I could get used to a night like last night.”
My chest tightens. “That spell will wear off soon, I’m afraid. It won’t always be like that.”
Erik just squeezes me even tighter. “Some magic doesn’t fade so quickly.” He kisses me and then sits up. “But first things first: we need to go get that dagger.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” I say.
Within a few minutes we’re up and out of the house, locking it behind us. The morning sun glints across the banks of fresh snow, shining like a million diamonds. Erik raises a hand and points to a mountain peak not far off. “That’s where we’re headed.”
We hike the short distance to the nearby town where we rent a snow mobile so we can get up the mountain a bit quicker. Erik drives while I sit behind him, my arms wrapped around his waist. By late morning we’re about two-thirds of the way up the mountain, which is as far as we can go with the snow mobile. The remainder of the journey is quite steep.
“And you remember where this place is?” I ask Erik. “After all these centuries?”
His brow wrinkles. “There are some places you never forget,” he says softly. “I fought a great battle here.”
His eyes lock onto mine a moment, burning so intensely I have to look away. I can’t read his expression, but a frenetic energy buzzes over him, sending a shiver through me as well.
“It’s this way,” he says with a jerk of his head. He begins to stride toward the peak without looking back to see if I’m even following him.
As we hike, all I can see ahead is a perfectly normal-looking mountain. Snow, stone, and evergreen trees, which grow scarcer the higher we climb. The sun glints in my eyes, and though it’s freezing out, I’m soon quite warm from our vigorous uphill climb.
And then, after a couple hours, I feel it quite abruptly.
A wall of magic, encircling the peak of the mountain.
It’s a cleverly wrought spell, because even as a witch, I can’t see or sense it until we’re practically upon it. It not only keeps out non-magical beings, but apparently even the magical ones wouldn’t know it was here. A slight rainbow sheen like a bubble marks the magical barrier, and stepping through it feels like pushing through honey, thick and malleable.
But then I am through, and the fortress looms before us. It perches atop the mountain like a giant gargoyle, a gray stone thing with buttresses and towers. Snow swirls around it, carried by a strong wind coming down from the peaks, and for a moment it seems as if I’ve stepped back in time. I can’t believe this place is still here, hidden and secret, when the rest of the world has moved on, building up around it.
Erik seems to know where he’s going, so I follow him through the front gates of the fortress, across a small courtyard and into a dark hallway beyond. Inside, a staircase winds up two stories to another hall at the top. This one is open on one side, looking out over the courtyard below, and beyond that, the quiet, snow-blanketed forest. There are walkways spanning the perimeter of the fortress walls, with outlooks at the corners to see any who may approach.
“You think the dagger is up here?” I ask, brow furrowed.
“I have a hunch it might be,” he responds. “In a weapon room where the Valkyrie kept their most prized possessions.”
He leads the way along the length of the hallway and then enters a room at the southeast corner of the fortress. I summon my magic and create a ball of light in the palm of my hand to illuminate the room. Erik is exactly right—it’s a weapon room filled with swords, spears, and daggers. The only problem now is identifying the right dagger.
As I step forward further into the room, I feel a rush of emotion, a strange sense of belonging in this place, like I’ve been here before. I sway slightly as it moves through me.
“Are you okay?” Erik asks, grabbing my elbow.
“I’m fine. Just the strangest sense of déjà vu.” I shake my head to clear it.
