48. Montana

“Miles Belvedere stop punching your cousin this instant!” I shouted, pointing at him as he raised his fist to hit Bjorn again. Callie’s little boy was as fair as my sister with Magnar’s strong build and golden eyes. He was just as involved in their fight as Miles was. And although the two of them were enjoying themselves I still wasn’t happy about them mimicking their fathers. Magnar and Erik had been sparring out in the yard again this morning and now our two eldest sons were copying them. As usual.

Miles dropped his hands, but his eyes glowed with rebellion. He was the image of his father, dark hair and chiselled features, but his eyes were completely mine. And that expression was one I knew well. It was my expression. My defiant, pissed off, it’s-not-fair expression which I’d used on his father a thousand times.

“Go inside and stay with your sister,” I urged Miles, pointing up to the line of houses on the hill. Mine and Erik’s on the left, Clarice and Julius’s in the middle and Magnar and Callie’s on the right. Erik had claimed the huge plot of land in the east of New York and had the houses built as a surprise while we’d remained in his home in Westchester. That had been four years ago. And with my two kids and Callie’s two sets of twins, it was the most perfect place to raise them.

Clarice exited her house as Miles sprinted up the hill and crashed into her legs, clinging to her. “Aunt Clarice!”

She gasped, reaching down to embrace him over the huge swell of her stomach.

I jogged up the hill towards them, leaving Bjorn playing on the lawn with his little sister Astrid who had been watching their brawl excitedly. As I moved to grab Miles so Clarice could catch her breath, my son darted into our house with a mischievous laugh that brought a smile to my lips.

“It’s a blessing, I won’t say otherwise. But by the gods, my back is killing me,” Clarice groaned as Julius exited the house behind her.

He slid his arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss to her temple. “Just a few more weeks, baby.”

“Monty, have you seen Bjorn?” Callie jogged out of her house, carrying little Ivar in her arms. He had long dark locks which Magnar refused to let Callie cut, and I suspected he was going to be the image of his father when he grew up.

“He’s down the hill, he’s been sparring with Miles again,” I said, unable to fight a laugh.

She shook her head, her eyes glittering with mirth. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” She placed Ivar in Julius’s arms then ran down the hill to fetch Bjorn.

A crash sounded in my house and I ran away, darting inside to find Miles and his sister, Warren, gazing at each other excitedly.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Daddy and Uncle Magnar are fighting inside,” Warren said with a wide grin, her ebony curls tumbling around her shoulders as she giggled.

I darted into the kitchen, finding the two of them wrestling on the kitchen table. The back door was wide open and a line of devastation led up to where they were sparring.

“The kids are watching,” I sang, planting myself in front of them as Magnar choked my husband on the table.

“I yield,” Erik spluttered and Magnar released him with a triumphant laugh.

Magnar stood upright, glancing at the mess they’d made with a guilty look. “Sorry Montana.”

I broke a laugh. “Have us over for dinner tonight and make it up to me.”

Magnar beamed. “Done.”

Erik sat up on the edge of the table, his chest bare and his skin marred with scratches.

Warren and Miles darted after Magnar as he headed out of the back door, the kids tugging at his jeans. “Tell us about the slayer’s vow again. I’m going to take it when I’m old enough!” Miles called.

“There’s no vow to take,” Magnar started, lifting Warren into his arms as they walked into the garden.

“Why does my son want to be a slayer?” Erik asked, pursing his lips as I wet a cloth in the sink and moved forward to tend his wounds.

“Because he’s a rebel,” I said with a grin as I started wiping away the line of blood running down his chest.

“Like you.” He tilted up my chin and my heart stuttered as I gazed at his face, love pounding through my body. He leaned down, brushing his mouth over mine, gently biting down on my lower lip.

“I miss your fangs,” I teased and he released a rumbling laugh.

“I can bite you just fine without them.” He tilted my head, scraping his teeth over my throat and desire pooled in my belly.

“The kids,” I breathed as his bites turned to kisses, trailing to my ear and sending a ripple of energy through to my core.

“Magnar has them,” he growled, brushing his lips over the shell of my ear. “And while he’s keeping them busy, I suggest we try making a few more kids.”

“A few more?” I laughed, running my hands down the hard planes of his chest.

“Yes, a whole army,” he breathed, dropping to the floor and snaring me in his arms. He walked me backwards so we hit the kitchen counter and a teacup dropped onto the tiles, smashing amongst the rest of the broken objects he and Magnar had shattered.

“We don’t need an army, there’s nothing to fight anymore,” I said against his mouth, our breaths growing heavy as his hand slid up the back of my shirt. His skin was fire against mine and I relished the way our bodies combined in this human way. It was even better than it had been as a vampire. Hot flesh, the burn in my muscles and the breathlessness that made my head spin was far better than eternal energy. It meant every time we united, it had to come to an end. And we always wrung every drop of pleasure out of each other for as long as our mortal bodies could last.

I hooked a leg around his hip as he ground shamelessly against me. I was half aware of the open door and the blinds pulled up over the window. But I was lost in the moment, captivated by his skin on mine, his wandering hands.

“I love you,” he growled into my mouth and I swallowed his words, feeling them running through my blood like liquid fire.

“I love you back,” I gasped. “Fuck it, have your army.”

He laughed and I fell into the hands of the man who loved me flesh and soul. We were always trying to reach toward that aching closeness we’d found in the afterlife where our bodies were stripped away and we were nothing but pure light. And when his body claimed mine, we found it once more.

We ate out on the terrace at the back of Magnar and Callie’s home, drinking wine and delighting in the incredible food placed before us. The summer sun still heated our backs as it sank low on the horizon beyond the hill.

Our kids played out on the lawn and Clarice watched them eagerly, circling her hand on her swollen belly. Fabian and Chickoa had joined us with their newborn. She slept in Fabian’s arms while he gazed upon her restful features. I’d never seen such peace in him since the two of them had married. It was hard to remember him ever looking at Callie the way he looked at Chickoa nowadays.

I sat between Erik and my sister, sipping on my wine as peace washed through me in waves. The Empire was shaping up and we’d taken a well-deserved break for once. The humans of the Realms had made an alliance with the newly-mortal vampires and though there was still progress to make, they were cooperating enough to keep everyone content.

Callie’s daughter Freya strolled hand in hand with Warren down the grass, talking animatedly. Freya was as fair-haired as Warren was dark and of all our children they resembled Callie and I the most. They seemed drawn to each other too, like two peas in a pod. Callie watched them with a bemused expression then turned to me.

“Should we tell them it’s bedtime?” she asked with a smirk.

“Let them stay up,” Erik said, waving a hand. “They’ll sleep in later tomorrow.”

“I like the sound of that.” Magnar reached across the table to refill Callie’s glass with a mischievous glint in his gaze.

“Magnar and I never had a bedtime and it never did us any harm,” Julius pitched in, holding his glass out to his brother for more wine.

“On second thoughts, maybe we should send them to bed,” Erik teased and Julius chuckled.

“Wanna go for a walk?” I asked Callie and she nodded keenly as we stood from our chairs and headed down the lawn past our children.

The night air blew around us and her hand slid effortlessly into mine.

“It’s hard to believe this life is really ours,” Callie said and I nodded in agreement, my heart aching at what we’d almost lost at the holy mountain.

“I’m not a fan of the gods, but I do have a soft spot for Odin for giving us one more chance at life,” I said.

We reached the edge of the lawn where a sparkling stream stretched out before us beneath the light of the moon. It flowed all the way to the sea where the waves lapped the shore and gulls cried their final lament before they headed down to roost.

“It’s strange...I feel like we were always meant to end up here,” Callie said quietly and I squeezed her fingers.

“I think our fate was always ours to choose somehow. Even though the gods pushed and pulled us one way or the other. We wanted to end up here, so we did.”

We gazed out at the view as time seemed to slow. Forever awaited us beyond this world. But before then, we would drink every drop of life that we could. We’d bask in the sun, gaze at the moon, and brand every perfect moment into our souls. So when we left our mortal bodies behind for the final time, we would have a million memories to carry with us. And we couldn’t really ask for more than that.

“I’m glad we’re here,” Callie said, turning to me and her blue eyes glittered with tears of joy.

“We’ll always be together. It’s just the way it is.” I pulled her into my arms and the two halves of us fell together.

The sun and the moon.

Light and dark in perfect balance.

Two sisters bound forever in an endless dusk and dawn.

____________

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