Chapter Four

"WHETHER YOU INTENDED to disobey my orders and wander into my village or not, there is no turning back," Magnus made clear when he caught the glorious scent of Zoey going into heat. A delicious aroma he would sample if it were the last thing he did. Sample despite her small size and big mouth. "You have now shown my kingdom that you are here and given them the impression you will be their new Valkyrie queen, so you shall be."

"Come again?" Zoey narrowed her eyes and was about to go on when a light rap came at the door.

Fully aware the others had returned, and it wasn't a good idea to have ?se and Tyr seen overly much at this juncture, Magnus opened the door rather than make them wait. He had spoken to them since he'd made a secret alliance with Ulrik, so they were at least civil to each other now. It would take time for the ice to thaw between Magnus and Tyr, but they would get there eventually. For now, the focus must be on what came next. To that end, he had food and drink served and urged everyone to sit around a table he'd had brought in earlier.

"Hey there, sweetie," Quinn said gently, not surprisingly joining Zoey at the window. It was more than clear to any dragon present via scent alone that Zoey's dragon had just gone into heat. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better," Zoey muttered, her cheeks rosier by the moment. She narrowed her lovely eyes at Magnus in challenge. "We have a problem."

"You just might," ?se agreed bluntly, looking Zoey over before shooting Magnus a dubious look. "She might be alluring, but she is very small. Carrying your sizeable offspring will be no easy task."

"?se," Quinn exclaimed, frowning at her as Zoey's eyes widened and her cheeks grew redder still.

"What?" ?se wondered, confused when to her mind she but spoke the truth. "I say what Zoey must be thinking." She shrugged. "I imagine she also worries about the size of his—"

"Enough," Zoey snapped. She stood up straighter and managed a cordial enough expression when she spoke to the striking Viking woman with multiple weapons strapped to her lean body and her dark braided hair pulled back into a ponytail. "First off, nice to meet you too, ?se, because that's what people usually lead with where I come from. Secondly, I couldn't care less about Magnus's size, period."

Zoey"s eyes flickered with her glorious little inner dragon when she homed in on Magnus and went on. "Because whether I'm in heat or not, I will not be bearing your offspring or becoming your Valkyrie queen. Not with how you behave." She shook her head once, making herself clear. "We might have cared for each other in another life, might have even been mates, but that doesn't give you any authority over me whatsoever in this life. I deal in mutual respect and asking rather than telling."

Before he could respond, it seemed his little spitfire wasn't done because she went on not with a venomous tone but with a matter-of-fact yet firm way of presenting herself.

"Furthermore," Zoey said, emphasizing the word just as he had before. "Outside of scattered dreams, I have no recollection of talking to anyone in this era while I was in the twenty-first century, so best to move forward under that assumption meaning—" her pointed look went from Arne to Magnus— "let's move forward in a Get To Know One Another fashion rather than judging me ahead of time or assuming I've said this or that."

Her gaze swept over everyone before it landed on Magnus again, and she continued. "I'm not denying the concept of fated mates nor that I could very well be a Valkyrie, but again, I will not be forced into anything if for no other reason than your people deserve better than that. They deserve a Valkyrie who wants to be their queen because she loves them and their king. A unified front determined to look after their well-being and help them find peace amongst all kingdoms. Something of which you and I have not accomplished yet on any level."

?se was the first to break the surprised silence when it fell over the room.

"I was wrong." ?se grinned at Zoey with approval before she nodded once at Magnus. "I think maybe she can handle your cock after all."

She would handle it all right, but not quite yet, it seemed. While not spreading her thighs straight away and sinking deep inside her would prove difficult, he found he was up to the challenge. Mainly because this was the first run of her ceaseless chatter, whether across time or not, that made good sense.

"Sit and let us talk as reunited allies rather than old enemies," Magnus urged everyone rather than reply to Zoey because, in truth, he was in no mood to argue. Not in a room full of kin. He did, however, look forward to more banter when they were alone again because he found it held promise when she was in heat. That getting her riled might just prove beneficial for him and his cock if he went about things correctly.

"As previously discussed, Tyr and ?se, it's best for now if my people reunite with yours at King Ulrik's once we have drawn Zane out enough to prove he's the usurper," Magnus went on, glad to see the others conveniently gave Zoey no choice but to sit beside him even if her sweet scent drove him to distraction. Sensing she would prefer mead to ale, he poured her mead while pouring himself an ale. "Meanwhile, I will travel to my father Knud's kingdom and catch him up on everything that has transpired. Discuss how we might combine our secret alliances into one unified front against Zane."

"And what of Savannah while you're doing this?" Zoey wondered, clearly comfortable being part of this discussion, proving yet again, whether she recalled it or not, that she had no problem sharing her opinions. She perked her brows at everybody before targeting Quinn. "I know you, Athena, Keira, and Ulrik aren't entirely convinced Zane's the enemy, so I can only assume that's why you're comfortable leaving Savannah alone and vulnerable to him in our era because I imagine she very much is."

"Then you do not know Rune all that well," Magnus returned before Quinn had a chance to reply. "If nothing else is clear at this point, she does, indeed, want you and your friends kept safe. Not just that, but I have a feeling Savannah can take care of herself."

"Yet Rune, despite supposedly protecting me, let you take me so easily," she reminded.

"Letting Magnus take you was protecting you," Quinn replied for him. "I agree with Magnus. Rune's clearly on our side, given we've all ended up safely with our fated mates and grown stronger for it. Found our inner goddess because of it." She nodded at Zoey in reassurance. "So I know she'll do the same for Savannah. If Zane is the enemy some like to think him, she won't let him anywhere near her."

"I hope you're right," Zoey said. "Because she and Savannah aren't the best of friends."

"Any more than Savannah and I ever were," Quinn returned. "So, as much as I know you'd disagree, you can't go off that. Savannah has a way of rubbing some people the wrong way."

"Yet not most." Zoey shrugged, clearly not afraid to speak her mind, however gently. She also clarified just how much she'd gleaned, given he knew Quinn hadn't told her. "Where Rune might seem more kindred to you for obvious reasons, she's not as warm to everyone as she was you, Quinn." Her gaze went from Rafe back to Quinn. "After all, didn't you feel especially close to her, and with good reason, given your mate once loved her?" Her gaze went from Magnus back to Quinn. "As did his closest friend?"

Magnus wasn't sure how to explain what he felt at that moment other than his dragon didn't much like it. His inner beast grew tense and railed against the idea Zoey might think he still felt that way about Rune. That any of this, her being here, was some attempt on his part to bring Rune back to his side.

"Your dragon is surfacing quickly and allowing you to see much," Quinn acknowledged softly, clarifying things because Zoey's dragon was, in fact, uneasy whether she'd admit it or not. "But trust me in this, my friend. Rafe and Magnus might have loved Rune once, but it doesn't sway their hearts or Rune's thinking now. I've never been more certain of anything."

‘That said," Quinn went on after letting that sink in, "I have no doubt Rune is protecting Savannah just as she protected you until you were safe, Zoey." The corner of her mouth curled up, and her knowing gaze flickered from Magnus to Zoey. "Because don't think for a minute if she didn't believe you would be safe with Magnus, she would've let him take you because everyone sitting at this table knows Rune's too damn powerful."

Everybody agreed before Tyr spoke up, showing Magnus he'd clearly developed respect for Zoey at some point. "While I agree Rune is proving to be on our side more than ever, you're wise to have doubted her, however briefly." He offered her a reassuring smile that proved his Helheim cousin had indeed changed since mating. "Continue to trust your instincts here, as you did in your profession, and you will only bring good things to the people and dragons of our era. I do not doubt that."

Zoey continued ignoring her drink, telling Magnus much. This conversation was important to her, and she didn"t want anything altering her mind. She considered it work much like he knew his cousin Ulrik would if in her position. Much like Magnus would if he were in a foreign land dealing with an uncomfortable situation he wanted to understand.

"Thank you, Tyr." Zoey smiled at him kindly enough to make clear she and Tyr had talked some when he'd traveled to the future. That she genuinely liked him. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you and Athena reconnected. I can't wait to see her again."

"Soon enough, I hope." When Tyr's steady gaze landed on Magnus, he felt once more just how hard it had been for his cousin to be separated from his mate. How hard he worked at tempering not just his inner dragon's craving for her but his rage that Magnus hadn't let him return to her sooner.

Strangely, however, where he could have assessed Tyr's intense emotions from a disconnected viewpoint before, now he felt his cousin's angst in a whole new way. Felt his inner beast's anguish at being separated from its mate as if it were his own. Felt the terrible fear Tyr had been in when Athena was taken to Magnus days before to assist on Rafe and Quinn's journey back to each other. No, not fear. That wasn't nearly the right word for it. More like pure terror.

And for a male Sigdir dragon, that was no small thing.

Caught off guard by what it actually felt like being separated from a fated mate, Magnus bit back unexpected emotion and frowned because it felt like weakness. Vulnerability. And that was the last thing he need suffer if he meant to take down Zane.

"You will be reunited with your mate very soon," Magnus reassured Tyr. "As soon as you leave this meeting, you and ?se are free to go under the stipulation you steer clear of my villagers until we reunite in Ulrik's kingdom once this is all over with. My people were amiable to releasing you despite what you did to our dragons, yet still." He tilted his head just enough to show respect and not a bit further. "As I'm sure you understand, these things take time. You did, after all, slaughter family members, loved ones, no matter how rogue they might have been."

"I did," Tyr acknowledged, tilting his head in mutual respect to Magnus and not a bit further. "But then, as I am sure you will soon understand, cousin, those rogue dragons meant to steal my mate, and I think we both know what they would have done to her after that, ja?"

"We do," ?se concurred, ever Tyr's faithful sidekick. She slowly slid her untouched ale across the table toward Magnus with narrowed eyes. "That said, we will drink together when all of this is well and truly put to rest, cousin. When you better understand Tyr's actions and the anguish you've put my one true King Ulrik through over the years." She shook her head. "And no sooner."

Rather than confirm Tyr was right to attack Magnus"s dragons because he had been, and it irked Magnus to no end, it was what it was these days, and they could argue it endlessly. Male dragons were growing desperate for fertile, healthy females.

Desperate enough to defy their kings.

While not offended by ?se's refusal to drink, he felt it best to bid her and Tyr farewell for now so Tyr could reunite with Athena and said as much, gesturing at the door. "Until we meet again, then."

Needing no further prompting, Tyr and ?se said their goodbyes and left, leaving the six of them alone. Not surprisingly, Arne and Mea had remained silent thus far. Magnus knew Arne had feelings for Mea before the kingdoms split apart years ago but hadn't understood the extent of them until he and Rafe reunited, bringing them back together.

From what he'd been able to ascertain from his second-in-command, it seemed Mea had been willing to see Arne secretly regardless, yet Arne had refused, unwilling to betray Magnus. Now, here they were together again, and while not speaking yet, it was clear their feelings for each other had waned little over time.

"It's sad, really,"Zoey said into his mind. "And yet another example of the fallout when people aren't willing to compromise and work together. All wars are the same. There's always a story like this of people so devoted, sometimes blindly at that, to their leaders."

He was caught off guard by the impact her internal words had on him now. While she'd come off as naggy initially, then appealing in a way that made him want to rut with her, yet the need was manageable, now the sound of her telepathic voice made his cock come to attention.

And ?se was right.

That was no small thing.

Fortunately, he could hide most of it beneath his tunic. At least to everyone who didn't sit beside him like Zoey. She, in turn, seemed fully aware of the impact she'd had on him because she cleared her throat and ended up imbibing in mead after all.

"I insist you stay the entire eve," Magnus said to Quinn, Rafe, and Mea. "I have sent word to my father that I will be visiting tomorrow to discuss the changes betwixt our kingdoms, but tonight, we shall show my people and those invited from lesser kingdoms a unified front so word might be carried back to Zane."

"Have you heard from your spy within his ranks?" Rafe wondered.

"Not yet, but I've sent the signal for him to reach out."

Rafe nodded. "Good."

"I'll leave with you guys tomorrow," Zoey made clear to Quinn. "So I can see your new kingdom and—"

"You will not be going," Magnus made equally clear, arching a brow at her. "Did you misunderstand the debt you now owe my people for not remaining out of sight with Astrid as requested? If that were not enough, you being in heat makes it essential for you to remain by my side at all times because if you were not a target for male dragons before, you certainly are now."

"I believe I already made it clear I would not become your Valkyrie queen simply because you ordered me to." Zoey remained perfectly level despite her dragon eyes flaring in a telling show of her true emotions. "Nor do I owe your people anything." She cupped her hands around her mead and seemed to consider things. "I will, however, remain by your side when you speak with your father as long as Rafe and Quinn join us."

"That could prove unwise." He shook his head. "Because of Rafe's Celtic blood, my father has little trust in him, so—"

"So that is precisely why he should join us rather than return to his people where your father cannot see the king you're championing." She gestured at Rafe and Quinn. "Where he can"t actually see Rafe is fated mates with a Valkyrie goddess, for what better proof is there Rafe is one of the good guys than that? And seeing with one's own two eyes is always better than merely being told something."

"She's not wrong." Quinn looked from Rafe to Magnus. "Your father already made a secret alliance with Ulrik because of Keira, so it stands to reason he'd be open to doing the same with Rafe if he sees me." She wrapped her fingers with Rafe's and looked at him affectionately. "If he sees us together."

"As well as Rafe and Magnus together," Zoey added, without a doubt efficiently getting what she wanted. She looked at Magnus and shrugged. "You can't deny showing your father you made amends with his enemy is better than telling him. Better for the people of his kingdom as well, just as seeing you and Rafe together was good for your people, yes?"

Magnus didn't need to think about it to know she was right. Even so, it was risky for Rafe, and he said as much to his cousin. "If you think it's best, I will bring you and Quinn along, but you must understand it will be without your warriors, for if I know nothing else, it's that my father will not respond well to much more than you and your queen."

"And me." Mea smiled warmly at Magnus. "If you recall, we were quite fond of each other at one time."

"I do." Mea had been like the daughter his father never had, and he wasn't entirely sure why, other than she'd taken a liking to him when she was little and he to her. So it made good sense to bring her, too. "Ja, of course, you can come."

This would keep her and Arne near each other as well, and perhaps a reconciliation to follow.

"While I think your plan is sound, and I will, naturally, go if my mate feels it's wise," Rafe said, "I think it's best we go to the standing stones first." His gaze flickered from Zoey to Magnus. "So you might better understand how to find your way back to your mate as we all have via the stones."

"While I can't say I'm crazy about saying it, we should probably head there sooner rather than later, too," Zoey murmured, a strange mix of fear and sadness in her eyes when she homed in on a spot in front of the fire.

When she gazed at the last thing he expected to see.