Chapter Sixteen

JUST WHEN MAGNUS thought Zoey couldn't be any more beautiful, she surprised him yet again when his father escorted her to the altar where they would be wed. A vibrant sunset breaking through dark storm clouds ignited her in pure fiery gold as she slipped her hand into his, and their eyes held. She was such a vision, so utterly stunning in her wedding gown and his mother's fur, he fought a wave of emotion.

Words were spoken as they exchanged their promises to each other, but he cared little for them because they were already bonded far beyond what mere words could do. He bit back emotion again when his father handed him their family blade with the ring he had once presented to Magnus's mother.

Magnus then presented the blade and ring to Zoey.

"I couldn't," she whispered, her eyes welling at the ring. Because of their bond, one she shared more by the moment with all of his kin, and because of the cloak his grandmother had given her, she could see his mother. Feel the moment the ring had once become hers. Experienced the emotions she'd felt. The love she'd bore his father.

"But you will," Magnus said gently, sliding it onto her delicate finger, not surprised to see it fit her as his mother had been equally petite. He was pleased when Zoey's skin shimmered gold with her inner Valkyrie as he nestled it in place. It was undoubtedly a sign from his mother and Zoey's inner goddess that all was as it should be.

Most especially when he pulled Zoey into his arms, kissed her soundly and heard the cheering of the villagers fade away as he held his new queen and mate in his arms as it always should have been.

After that, everything became a flurry of activity as celebrations were underway, from dancing to dining in a great lodge decorated with strings of spruce and berries. The air smelled of wood smoke, seasoned succulent meats, and spices unique to the many celebratory dishes served. Flames crackled in firepits down the length of the long building, as well as in bowls hanging from the ceiling. Bodhran drums beat a heady, primal rhythm and songs of old were sung.

As to be expected, honored to have goddesses among them, everyone wanted to be around Zoey, Quinn, and Athena. Despite how strange it had to be for them, all three were gracious and enjoyed getting to know everybody. They spent ample time talking with them aglow in a way that made clear how divine they truly were, even if they considered themselves anything but. Zoey, in particular, shined brightest among the people, making everyone feel equal no matter their role in society.

"She is very special," his grandmother said to him at one point as they stood together and watched her. "Truly humble and caring in ways most people will never understand. Eager for peace in ways I suspect will make all the difference here." Her wise gaze rose to his face, her tone sharp as it could sometimes be when sharing her pearls of wisdom. "So do me this one favor."

"Anything, Grandmother," he replied when he should have known better. But she was his matriarch and the closest thing he'd had to a mother since his own mother had passed.

"Listen to her when she eventually says something you will not much like," his grandmother said. "Listen to her because she is right. More so, her council will make all the difference."

Given Zoey's council had already proven correct a few times now, he thought nothing of promising his grandmother he would do just that. He didn't give their conversation another thought as the night wore on but enjoyed his new little bride. He loved her so intensely it was a wonder they stayed on as long as they did, but then, as it turned out, it wasn't all that long after all when he followed her outdoors so she could cool down and enjoy the fresh air.

"This night...these people," she said softly, gazing from the torch-lit village to him with a small, contented smile. "You." She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and inhaled deeply, clearly relishing the lazy, swollen snowflakes that drifted down and melted on her cheeks. "Such a beautiful, perfect night."

"I couldn"t agree more," he managed, drawn to how the snowflakes moistened her soft skin and trickled down her neck. He wanted to chase them. Taste them when warmed by her flesh. "Beautiful..."

She must have sensed how desperate he'd grown for her because she lowered her head slowly and opened her eyes. Not her human eyes but her dragon eyes, clearly daring him to act on his desperation. On his intense need.

His cock had already risen to the challenge, so it was no surprise when his vision flared red with his inner beast, and a low growl started in his chest. Giving her no chance to keep taunting him, he scooped her up like he had before handing her off to his grandmother earlier and walked around the back of the building into the darkness, away from prying eyes.

Their breathing grew heavy as he yanked up her dress and hoisted her against the wall. Having needed her viciously since he'd last had her and too impatient to wait a moment longer, he freed himself and let her sink onto his hot, rigid length.

"Oh God," she groaned raggedly, clutching him as tightly as her sheath clutched his cock. "Please don't stop...please don't..."

She trailed off with a sharp gasp of pleasure when he gripped her backside hard and didn't take her gently but desperately, roughly, slamming into her with a need that seemed almost surreal. With a longing that drove him to take her harder than he ever had before.

So hard he worried for a moment it might be too much before she roughly dug a hand into his hair and nipped the side of his neck, letting him know she liked it. Don't stop. Keep going. So he did, driving her up the wall until euphoria rose inside him like a rabid beast, and he had no choice but to slam into her hard one last time and let go deep inside her.

In response, she muffled a cry of pleasure into the nape of his neck and let go as well, pulsing around him so tightly, heightening his pleasure, it was a wonder he stayed on his feet. Yet he did, trembling as he thrust slowly a few more times and emptied himself inside her.

Eventually, he drifted down from the heights she could take him and found her lips again. Kissed her because he adored kissing her. Loved feeling her tongue wrap with his and hearing the tiny little groans of pleasure she made. Groans that ended up making him take her one more time against the wall before he finally carried her off to bed and spent the night loving her as her husband and mate.

In fact, he loved her so much and so often, relishing every last inch of her body, that he didn't remember falling asleep. Something that must have happened because the next thing he knew, he was manning a ship on choppy seas under a night sky filled with shifting, brilliant blue-green lights.

A sign from the gods for him and his.

The northern lights for Zoey and hers.

He was there, he realized. Inside whom he'd once been in another life as he looked up and felt the fury of his incarnate. He was reliving Zoey's nightmare and the moment they'd so recently wondered about when he locked eyes on her beautiful black dragon overhead.

Terrified for her, his incarnate roared at his men. "Row hard! Row as if your life depends on it because it does!"

The man beside him roared the same, urging them to row harder still. A second-in-command Magnus wasn"t the least bit surprised to recognize as Arne in that life. A warrior who had clearly stood by him in all things. A good friend who'd undoubtedly supported Magnus and Zoey"s forbidden love, so it was no surprise she would have connected with him telepathically across time as well.

Magnus clenched his jaw at the terror his incarnate felt as he tracked Zoey"s dragon overhead. Felt pure fury that the dragon Zoey was promised to had taken her like this. Stolen her away before they were betrothed. Yet somehow, she'd broken free before Magnus could get to her. Escaped despite knowing the dragon she was destined to marry wouldn"t have it.

In fact, he was drawing closer, desperate to reclaim her.

"Stop,"she roared into Magnus"s mind, swooping low over the glimmering turquoise ocean illuminated by the vibrant aurora borealis overhead. "Stay away! Turn around and flee before it's too late!"

Flee when she was in such peril? Such incredible danger?

Never.

He stood at the bow of his ship, gripped his blade, and eyed the horizon, aware of his men's fear. Proud of them for standing strong and rowing hard toward such mighty beasts.

"I will not be able to stop them,"she warned as she flew over his ship in her lovely serpentine body and swung around. "You must turn. You must flee now!"

"I will not," he fumed, refusing to abandon her. "Let them come. Let him come!"

"And they will,"she swore, angry at him and fearful for him all at once. "He will."

Almost the moment she said it, a dark line of enormous dragons appeared on the horizon. Massive beasts coming to take her away from him forever.

And he would not have that.

Could not allow it to happen.

Yet it seemed she was determined to take matters into her own hands, or talons as it were.

"No," he roared when she sailed over his ship again, heading toward the line of beasts, determined to fight them. Fight what would surely be a losing battle.

"No," he roared again, terrified for her. "Stop!"

Yet she did not, in her need to protect him against a foe he was more than willing to take on. Instead, she released a mighty wall of golden, searing flames at too many dragons to count. Monstrous beasts more than triple her size. Roared and roared until it seemed she could roar no more and circled back.

What was she doing?

Why was she flying back toward his ship when she should be fleeing?

Yet she was, whipping toward him as if his life depended on it before she released a stream of fiery divine flames that wrapped around his ship in a thin golden protective dome.

And it cost her everything in the end when the turquoise lights wavering in the sky became especially bright and, as Athena had theorized, somehow affected the immense power Zoey had utilized to protect him. When they did, the fire she'd used to save him ignited her from the inside out in a terrible twist of fate because, despite her beast trying to draw on flames designed to douse them, they fizzled when faced with an all-consuming divine fire that couldn"t be tamed due to an overwhelming influx of solar energy.

Hence her fire issues.

Fire at all the wrong times. No fire when she needed it most.

"No," he roared in denial, held back by his men when he tried to leap overboard to go after her flaming dragon when it crashed into the icy sea. He fought them, desperate to chase her down into the dark depths of the water as she sank in a flaming ball that blurred beneath the glassy, ominous surface along with his heart.

Sank with everything most dear to him.

"No," he cried as he felt her grow further and further away. "What have I done?"

Meanwhile, the protective dome she'd put around his ship fizzled away with her life, and the monstrous dragon she'd been promised to roared in rage and headed their way. His great beasts swooped around the vulnerable ship, creating enough wind to upset the seas and sails, tipping them back and forth precariously.

"I should end you now,"the great dragon roared into his mind, the sound deafening as he hovered over the ship, his wingspan easily five times its length. His eyes were afire with rage as he glared down. "But I will not because your life serves a purpose. What we need to achieve here serves a purpose." His great head lowered, and one eye came close. His hot breath fanned the entire ship when he delivered his warning. "Now you have killed mine, go back to the mate meant for you and help bring peace because this is not Múspellsheimr. This is supposed to be a new start for us all. Remember my words well when next we meet, human. Remember, or I might not be so forgiving next time."

He had no chance to respond before the great beast flew off with his fellow dragons, leaving him alone in a world without love. Without the very heart of him. He sank to his knees and hung his head, so lost he wondered how he would go on.

"Yet you must,"came Quinn's coaxing voice in his mind. "You must go on because we need you. I need you, Magnus. Zoey needs you."

Not anymore because she was gone. Lost to him. Lost because of him.

"No,"Zoey whispered into his mind, clearly aching for him. "Not lost, but right here, so come back to me, my mate. Come back because I need you. Love you. Please, Magnus. Wake up!"

As if her words triggered something in him, he bolted awake, completely discombobulated, alarmed by what he soon discovered.