Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"How many times?" I ask.
"How many times what?"
I growl a wordless warning.
"A few." Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. "The Fae make him nervous, so he usually comes at night."
That's how I missed him. I'm not sure which pisses me off more—the fact that I did, or the fact that she willingly put herself in danger more than once to go meet the wolf.
I slant my mouth down over hers, claiming her lips in a hard kiss. She gasps, and that little sound of surprise grants me the moment I need. I slip between her parted lips, devouring her like the greedy beast I am.
She doesn't try to stop me.
Instead, she whimpers in the back of her throat, pressing her body close to mine. Whatever connection exists between us blazes to life, searing along every pathway between us like a living, breathing flame. I feel her in my head—her trembling desire and nervous excitement—and I want more. I want everything she has.
I spear my hand into her thick mane of hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. My tongue flicks along hers, hot and insistent, until she's boneless in my arms, whimpering and clinging to me like she can't imagine letting me go.
Then and only then do I back off, breathing hard.
"You don't leave the safety of the barracks without me, princess," I snarl against her lips, biting her bottom one. "Ég fer þangað sem þú ferð."
"I…don't think that means what you think it means, Stephan," she whispers.
"No?" I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, brushing my lips across her forehead. "I go where you go, Kara. Even to death. If anything happens to you, I follow."
She gasps softly, shock rippling down the tentative bond between us. Her wide, startled eyes meet mine in the dark. My cock throbs at the innocent hope growing there.
"Come, Valkyrie," I murmur, untangling myself from around her before I lose the will to do it at all. "Let's go see your wolf."
"But…"
I cock a brow at her. Whatever protest she was going to utter dies on her lips, quickly swallowed.
I chuckle, lacing our fingers together. Her palm nestles against mine like it's supposed to fit there. I immediately like it. And then I scowl. I can't pull my ímun-laukr with the weapon trapped between us and her hand clasped in mine. It's a painful problem to have…holding her hand or being prepared to defend her life. But protecting her comes first, in all things, in all ways.
I gently shift her around so she's on my opposite side, grunting in satisfaction when her hand is in mine again and my sword-hand is free. She doesn't say a word the entire time. But she peeks up at me, a tiny smile on her lips as if she's amused.
Painful problems require creative solutions. The Fae taught me that.
"Where is Ing, princess?" I ask as we step out into the grass, heading toward the treeline several yards away.
"At the outpost."
The Fae cut the trees back from around the village, ensuring that we'd have clear line of sight if the Forsaken manage to get into Valhalla. We don't want them having a place to hide, and if they're able to open their foul portals inside the borders of Valhalla, we want them right out in the open where we can see them.
Fuck. Is that why they're wasting so many of their numbers? In a bid to get at least one into Valhalla so they can open their portals? Is it even possible? Until the Valkyrie Healed the Bifröst, the way into Valhalla was closed for three centuries, cut off from the rest of creation. The Bifröst has always been the only way in or out…but what if that's no longer true?
It's a grim thought. But it's not a possibility we can outright reject, either. And I'm not the only one who has considered it. If I were, we wouldn't have the warriors scouring Valhalla as carefully as they scour Asgard on the other side of the portal. They're worried about the same thing.
Back when the Bifröst was the only way in or out, Valhalla had always been closely guarded. There were Fae, Valkyrie, and the warriors bonded to the Valkyrie inside the borders at all times, standing in defense of this haven. But that hasn't been true for three centuries. The Forsaken have had three hundred years to plot and scheme. Three hundred years of a defenseless mecca. And Gods only know what they've learned to do with their twisted portals.
For all we know, if they get one across the border, they'll be able to open dozens of their portals just like they did in Eitr.
I need to talk to Damrion.
I flick a glance down at Kara and notice the way she's staring off into space, her brows pinched together as if she's concentrating. What does she hear? I'd kill to know what's going on in her mind right now.