Chapter 10
Fólkvangr, Falls of the Dead – Thule
Gefn still had his scent on her skin and she mourned the loss of being wrapped in his strength. She’d been shocked that she’d slept with him. She’d been vulnerable to him, and her cats had made their approval known. Their trust in the male made her shake her head.
Waking up cuddled into the warmth of his hard body with the sound of voices in her head had jolted her. It had taken a moment to realize that it was the mind speak he’d told her of. After that she’d been completely caught up in what was said.
She gazed at Pothos and was instantly shaken from her thoughts. He hadn’t moved, and the sight of his nude gorgeous body dried her lips. Licking them had drawn his eyes to her mouth and reminded her of his kisses. He looked so different, no less beautiful, but completely changed. She sucked in air and spoke more breathlessly than she’d intended. “Where are your wings?”
He stood with the grace of an animal, and with a rush of power the magnificent wings unfurled from his back. The sound of a harsh flap of wind against feathers was intense.
“Better?” His voice was a sexy rumble that called to her.
She wanted to explore every inch of his body, those magical wings, and even the intricate images on his arms.
“I was only surprised that they were gone.” Air stuttered from her lips and she knew he heard it. She looked away from him. He distracted her too much, and she needed to focus. After a moment she added, “We need to see if I can leave here. I need to talk to my brothers.”
“I don’t think it’s possible yet.” She swore there was a hint of regret in his tone. She was about to ask more when he spoke. “Will your brother really exchange Kara for Apollo, or will he attempt to keep them both?”
“He will do the exchange.” Hroarr would be more concerned about getting Kara back. And now that they’d found Pothos, the other God wasn’t important. Spa and Velspar had been right to draw her to him, the male’s presence in Thule was exactly what their world needed to survive.
Now she needed to figure out what that meant for Pothos’ world? His family? Would they relocate to Thule? She wouldn’t leave them to die, because no world could survive with only the power of two Gods, even if it also held the handful of impressive beings she’d seen at the lake. She was sure Hroarr would welcome more power in Thule. As long as they didn’t cause strife.
Her heart beat rapidly as her emotions raged with all the complications in their situation.
She blamed Dagur for the mess, mentally cursing her reckless brother in ten different languages. They had been the ones in the wrong, and that left a sour taste in her mouth, especially when she thought of all they’d lost because of his actions. Dozens of their warriors had been senselessly destroyed, and with birthrates so low it was a blow to Thule.
A part of her wanted to hate Pothos and his people for those deaths, but his world hadn’t invaded Thule. This was Dagur’s fault.
If only Dagur had waited for Hroarr to get to the palace, none of this would have happened. They would never have blindly stolen a God. She understood Dagur’s thoughts and reasons, but that didn’t make it better. At the time he’d known that Pothos’ world couldn’t survive with only one God. But what of Pothos’ father? Where had he come from? That begged the question as to whether there were more Gods somehow hidden from the spell Dagur had used to search the ether.
“Can your Gods hide themselves or leave your world?”
He hesitated. She knew he didn’t trust her, but how were they to solve anything without talking? She changed questions, planning to return to that later. “Did my sister indicate what made her go to your world? Why did you keep her there?” She felt his eyes on her as she paced. She pushed the heavy waves of her hair off her face and felt her hands shaking. Desire. She wanted to be in his arms again.
When their gazes met, she felt the spark of heat all the way to her core. His eyes were on her lips before they dragged down her overheated body. How could she want him again so soon?
His eyes trailed over her body, and it seemed his mind was where hers was.
He finally took a breath and answered, “My father, Hades, sent out a magical call to an old ally in Thule. Your sister came to our world instead of this Agnarr.” That statement stopped her need to pace. The stone in the ring her sister had left behind, that had called her to Earth. But if Hades had been an ally of her dead brother, had Kara always known, and why hadn’t Gefn heard of it before now? It made sense that her brother had traveled to Pothos’ world, because how else would his priestess, Eir, have met Hades? Venturing to other worlds was commonplace for the Gods of Thule, but forging an alliance with a God of another world was not. And not telling anyone about said alliance was outrageous. Or should have been, even considering Agnarr’s arrogant and reclusive nature.
She needed to talk to Kara; obviously she had the answers they needed.
When Pothos continued, she watched him closely. “After your sister came through, she instigated a battle in her attempt to steal my father away to Thule. It ended with your sister locked in a cell.”
Gefn hated the thought of her sister in a cage and firmed her lips. At least her frustrating sibling hadn’t been killed.
Why hadn’t Kara told them about the world if there were Gods still there? And why try to take a God with such obviously powerful beings at his side? Gefn had felt the power radiating from those who’d been at that lake. They were not full Gods, but a few were at least children of Gods, like Pothos. Had her sister truly been so arrogant?
She groaned, knowing Kara.
Pothos seemed lost in thought so she asked, “You were there?”
“I wasn’t.”
She thought of the warriors that had left with her sister and closed her eyes as her heart sank.
“What of her warriors?”
“Some are alive, imprisoned.”
“Have they been harmed?” Gefn felt fury rise at the thought of them being tortured because of her sister.
“They haven’t been tortured. They were questioned, but the language barrier was a problem. And your sister is unconscious, but otherwise whole.” Winds whipped around her in wild gusts that howled through the trees as clouds built to match her roiling anger.
What had her sister been thinking? Gefn would gladly string up both her siblings for their combined idiocy. She didn’t care what their motives were.
“I need to see my brothers. We need to at least try to leave this place.” She had to see for herself that it wasn’t possible. She inhaled the clean air mixed with sex. The scent of their coupling only reminded her of the erotic torment she’d suffered while… teleporting, as he’d called it.
The thought of being trapped here for eternity was reason enough to attempt it anyway.
He was suddenly there, towering over her. Instead of feeling threatened, she felt protected as he put his hand on her cheek. His touch was electric, sending shivers down her body.
He spoke gently. “I can try, but I doubt it will work. At least not yet.” She had a feeling he was hiding something from her.
“What are you not telling me?” she demanded suspiciously.
Maybe it wasn’t possible for her to leave. That made her heart rate speed. He’d said that she’d gain his power, and she was, she felt it in her veins. But she didn’t know how to use it or decipher what was there inside her. Teleporting was the most important at the moment. He’d also said they would be mentally connected, but she wasn’t sure how…
Suddenly each and every reaction and hesitation that had shone on his face passed through her memories. Every single one, including the guilt. She spun from his touch in the air current and felt like a part of her was ripped away when she faced him from several steps away.
Tension filled the air around them, making it almost too thick to breathe freely.
“Are you hearing my thoughts?” she demanded with narrowed eyes, because it felt true. He’d listened to her private thoughts and worries. Was listening to them still.
She could see the guilt in his eyes and in the way his jaw clenched and unclenched, but the world seemed to stop moving when he admitted his deception. “Yes.”
Winds lifted her hair and the water surged up from the pool as she felt the full effect of her mortification. Her skin heated as she tried to remember each thought.
“You said we would have a mental connection. Why can I not hear your thoughts?” she demanded, raising her chin.
He hardened his jaw before speaking. “I have a shield for my thoughts.”
She was furious and trying not to lose complete control of her temper. “When did you start hearing my personal thoughts, and why did you not tell me?” She held a hand up as he moved closer. It didn’t matter that he had every reason not to trust her, he should have said something. The winds howled through the trees as she demanded the more important answer, “How do I build one of these shields? Explain. Now.”
She wasn’t sure if she were more furious, humiliated, or just hurt at having trusted him. He’d been blatantly listening to her lust over him among everything else… Her cats yowled in her head and attempted to calm her emotion, but it wasn’t working, and she was still furious with them as well.
“I will do it for you,” he said gently.
He moved closer and she snapped, “Do you need to touch me to do this?”
He growled, “No, I need to be in your mind.”
“You were already there,” she bit out. “So show me this shield.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“Omission. I am aware of the difference.”
She felt him slide into her mind and nearly moaned, which only embarrassed her more.
Her power was wild and spinning out of control, and she wanted to lash out, do damage. She understood him needing answers from her. She would have done the same thing in his position, so she wasn’t sure exactly why she felt hurt that he’d shielded his own thoughts, protected his privacy. Perhaps because she was the one left wide open and vulnerable while he was left with his secrets.
She closed her eyes, trying to calm the wild emotion that didn’t make sense. She only knew that lust was riding under it all, amplifying everything.
She’d allowed him inside her body. Not only that, she’d slept beside him, and her cats had encouraged her to trust him.
Lightning lit the dark skies and thunder crashed as she turned and stepped into the raging water of the mineral pool. She wanted his scent off her skin, the stickiness from between her thighs.
She needed space. She moaned when she felt something… a wall building in her mind. Water slid over her thighs, her breasts as she slipped through the warm liquid.
Even his mental touch was intoxicating, and she hated that he could spin her this far out of control without even touching her skin.
A shiver ran over her shoulders down to her breasts, and she knew it wasn’t right.
The waters shifted and she knew he’d followed her in. The pleasure of his voice in her mind was nearly too much. I’m sorry. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do. But I needed to know I could trust you. That you wouldn’t set my family up to be harmed.
She felt him coming closer as ripples lapped lovingly at her sensitive flesh. It was a kind of protection that should have soothed her tense muscles as she listened to him speak in her mind. My mother adamantly instructed my father to never allow a God of Thule near me. She told him that you’d all want me dead, so he never even told me her real identity until a week ago. He didn’t want me anywhere near that lake because he was worried. Now I worry about him. We may be fated, thea mou, but we’ve only known each other for hours. I’m here in your world, where your priestesses can pop in at any moment and put a blade through my neck. At the same time my family could be walking into danger with your brother.”
She turned to him and watched as he slowly stalked through the water toward her. His wings had gone away again, but he was just as magnificent and beautiful. His intent eyes were focused completely on hers as he moved with a grace that any animal could only hope to achieve. She’d already known his reasons had been valid, but she still felt hurt. It had to be all the lust driving her other emotions wild.
His gravelly tone filtered to her ears. “I hate that I hurt you. You’re the one female I’m bound to protect and care for through all eternity, but would you ever want a male who didn’t protect those he loved?”
“I would not,” she admitted before frowning. “Can you still hear my thoughts?” She swore she felt a wall inside her mind, but hadn’t he just answered her mental question.
The intent look in his eyes was affecting her deeply. “Your thoughts are safe, but I can still feel the hurt.”
“You can feel my emotions?” That was more like the bond with her cats.
He nodded. “You’ll feel my emotions too.”
That eased her. At least that felt fair.
Standing in front of her, he added, “From now on, think to me directly as if you’re speaking aloud.”
She sucked in a breath. “Now what must we do?”
“I need to tell my father and Drake that it’s likely safe to trade the Goddess and her warriors for Apollo. You’ll hear me because you share my telepathic links now.”
She did hear him contacting them and felt how he was doing it. While he relayed the information, she slid her mind over the mental thread that led to him. She saw the web of those threads coming from her male while only seeing his brilliant white thread and two gold threads that must lead to the bonds with her beasts.
When she felt his wet hands slide up her arms and over her shoulders, her knees nearly buckled.
“How do I know you cannot hear my thoughts now?” she asked to be prudent, when she’d been feeling anything but. Not when such a simple touch from him made her crazy with lust. “And what are all those threads?”
“I’m not sure how to test it… Come into my mind, and then you can see the shield and what happens when I lower it.” He said the words as he did exactly that, and her entire body lit up as she felt his thoughts.
She gasped at the carnal words that filled her head. The things he wanted to do to her. She moaned in near agony as he pulled her into his arms. Soon his thoughts moved to safer things. His father and Drake. His cousin was more like a brother to him. He gave her an image of them both. “Do you see the shield?” he growled.
She could feel his tense muscles against her. “Yes.”
“And when I close it?” Which he did, and then she heard and saw nothing from him, and it felt wrong to her. It had felt too good being in his mind; she wanted to see more. Needed to learn more about him personally, not just what they had to share to keep the peace between their worlds.
Gefn was panting with need as she went into her own mind and saw the same wall and practiced lowering and raising it before breathing out in relief that she’d accomplished something other than falling willingly into his arms.
When she opened her eyes, she was caught in the wild lust in his sapphire gaze. It set his strong jaw in a tense line as he looked down at her, and she knew that the frenzy was taking them over again.
And she didn’t fight it.