Seeress, he says.
“Quest?” I ask aloud.
His head jerks and he looks down at me. You must pay for the job. For the protection, for the travel, and then again for the added protection of your wife and child until the demon is dealt with.
“You’ll stay and help fight?” I exhale.
He nods his head once. If you pay my fee.
“What is it?”
He lifts a brow, it arches high as he stares at me, his eyes turning electric blue. Seeress. I keep her.
Quest? How?
If the dragon could smile, he would. His mouth opens slightly and I swear he laughs. His long-forked tongue comes out, wetting his lips.
I have my ways, none of which you can see, Konungr. Seeress is mine or there is no deal.
I shake my head, looking down at my muddied boots, then I lift my gaze up to meet his own. “I do not speak for my people, Quest. You know this.”
She is not your people. She lives in your kingdom, on your land, but you do not control her and you do not own her. She is not your thrall.
Clearing my throat, I nod my head. He is correct. The seeress is not mine to possess. She is a free woman, never has been a slave. Her powers, her visions, they are invaluable to me. I knew my Liv was going to be waiting for me, a gift from the gods, thanks to her.
I cannot spare her.
Quest snorts. I will not keep her powers from you. If she has a vision, I will bring her to you. However, once the prophecy is set into motion, I feel as though you will not need her as much as you think you do.
I should not agree to this. I should tell him no. I should do a lot of things, but I don’t. Instead, I make the deal with him.
I agree. For the safety of my people, of my wife, and unborn child. You swear you will not harm the seeress?
Quest shakes his gigantic head. Never. He says it with such ferocity that I believe him, I truly believe him. I’m not sure that I should, but I do know that he is as trustworthy as any other man I know, so I have no choice.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
LIV
Gunnar doesn’t say anything, instead he stands right in front of me, watching me. The men move around him, setting up camp in the muddy area. I’m not sure why they don’t go farther inland, but I also don’t feel like this is the right time to ask them questions about it either.
Instead, I stand right in the place where Gunnar placed me and I silently watch him. Pressing my lips together, I wonder why we aren’t loading on the damn ships and getting the fuck outta dodge.
There is a rustling sound of leaves and Gunnar turns his back to me, holding one arm up while he unsheathes his sword with the other. There is more rustling, then Aaric appears from beneath the tree’s low limbs.
His eyes find mine, at the same time Gunnar lowers his weapon and slides it back in his belt. He grunts something to Aaric, who just jerks his chin toward him as a grin slowly appears on his lips. He murmurs something back to Gunnar and without a word, Gunnar slips from between us and walks away.
“Aaric?” I ask.
Aaric doesn’t move. He stays planted where he stands, his eyes roam over my face, then down my body before they lift back to meet my own. “You are okay?” he asks.
I don’t smile, or even attempt to. Instead, I nod my head once. “I am okay, your beast saved me,” I whisper. “Tell me, Aaric, what happened?”
“The dragon has told you?”
Licking my lips, I take a step toward him. My fingers itch to touch him, to feel his smooth warm skin, to have him wrap his strong arms around me.
“I want to hear it from your lips,” I breathe.
“What do you want to hear?” he snaps. “That my brother has been possessed by a demon. That he will die? That whoever kills him will then be possessed by the same demon? What do you want?”
“Aaric,” I murmur, taking a step toward him.
He reaches out for me, wrapping his fingers around my biceps and roughly pulls me against his chest. “That he could have hurt my wife and heir?” he rasps.
“Quest told you?”
He grunts, nodding his head, then rests his forehead against my own. “Quest told me, sváss.”
I don’t bother asking him if he’s happy. He’s made it perfectly clear that this is what he’s wanted. I’m still not sure that he wanted it with me, but it doesn’t matter at this point. I’m in love with him and I have a feeling I’m not going to be spirited away back to New York.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” I exhale.
He grunts. “It was Isolda. You were right, she wasn’t a good woman.”
“Can we save him at all?”
Aaric hums as he lifts his head from mine. He lifts a hand, cupping my cheek as he looks into my eyes. His thumb glides along the apple of my cheek as his eyes search my own. “Runa is coming to help, she may know what to do. I only know of one way.”
Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around his wrist, holding on to him as I look into his water blue gaze. His eyes darken almost instantly until they turn midnight black.
“Aaric,” I mutter.
His thumb shifts from my cheek to my lips. My breath twitches as he tugs my bottom lip down. Slowly, his mouth turns up into a grin.
“Let me congratulate my wife,” he rasps.
Without another word, his hands fall from me and he takes a step back right before he bends slightly, shoving his shoulder in my stomach and stands, with me over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.
I lift my head to look around the makeshift camp, but not a single man even stops his duties to glance in our direction. I can’t help but giggle as he dips us down and allows me to slide down his chest.
Grabbing ahold of his shoulders, I look up into his eyes as he places me down on my feet. “Liv,” he mutters. “I thought you were gone.”
“I thought you were too. I watched you fall to the ground and then Quest couldn’t talk to you. I just knew you’d been taken from me,” I mutter my voice shaking.
He shakes his head once, reaching for the fur that’s tied tightly around my neck. Without speaking, he tugs at the string and it falls to the ground. Then he wraps his hands around my waist and spins me so that my back is facing him.
Aaric’s lips touch the side of my neck, skimming my skin before his fingers work the back of my dress open. I don’t know how the dressmaker added in a zipper, but I’m forever grateful that he was able to, making it a hell of a lot easier for me to get dressed alone.
The dress slowly opens in the back and falls down my shoulders, stopping at my elbows and exposing my breasts to the tent wall in front of us. This reminds me so much of when he found me, except now we can verbally communicate a bit better, but only a bit.
“My víf,” Aaric murmurs against my shoulder.
Straightening my arms, I allow the dress to fall completely to the ground. I hope it doesn’t get too muddy, but I also don’t really care either. All I want is to feel my husband’s hands all over me, his mouth—his body.
His hands slide around my waist, one moving up my stomach, the other sliding between my legs. I’m past shyness, I crave his touch like a living, breathing thing. Spreading my legs a bit wider, I close my eyes as two fingers glide through my folds.