20. Callie

Ikept my eyes closed despite the fact I’d woken as soon as I’d left Magnar’s dream behind. The place between our minds felt separate to who we were. Had I just been kissing him or not? Did the fact that we’d just shared a dream change anything about how we acted going forward?

“You’re you again,” Magnar said, his voice low so that it wouldn’t carry.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “What do you mean?”

“Your face is no longer that of a vampire. Idun stuck to her word for once. Thank fuck for that.”

I raised a hand to my face, my thumb brushing over my bottom lip as I tried to figure out if I felt any different. I wasn’t sure if Idun had actually done anything to me physically or if it had just been a mirage. Either way, I was pleased to be myself again. Resembling a vampire was enough to make my stomach turn.

“You didn’t think it was an improvement then?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow in amusement.

“Their type of beauty isn’t appealing to me in any way. A stone may be filled with colour, but it will never hold warmth or life. I would sooner have your face precisely as it is, not carved from porcelain and hiding poison.”

“You’d just prefer it if I dressed myself in revealing battle leathers?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Magnar snorted in amusement. “They lacked practicality, but they held a certain appeal. If it had truly been a dream version of you, I imagine you’d have remained silent for far more of it though.”

“Sorry I lack the preferred control over my smart mouth,” I scoffed.

Magnar laughed. “I’m sure I could find a way to silence it given less interference from the gods.”

“Well, in the meantime, you’ll just have to make do with admiring my perfect face,” I taunted, reminding him of what he’d said about me before.

Magnar let out a deep breath. “Vanity doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh, I disagree. In fact, now that I have your indisputable testimony to my perfection, my ego has increased beyond limit. If we ever find any other mortals out here in the wilds, I’ll be sure to fuck as many hot men as I can get my hands on without ever having to question their attraction to me or waste time on flirting.”

“You won’t fuck any man while you’re under my protection,”Magnar growled darkly, his voice thick with that raw power, his words wrapping me up in knots and binding me to them.

“Oh, fuck you,” I snarled, punching him in the bicep hard enough to make my fist ache.

“If that dream is anything to go by, that’s precisely what you’re hoping I’ll do,” he taunted, catching my wrist when I swung for him again and dragging me close enough to taste his breath on my lips.

“It was your dream, not mine.” I scowled at him, and he gave me a taunting grin before releasing me as fast as he’d caught me.

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe I should start demanding a more respectful attitude from my novice though. I’ll have to think up ways to punish you every time you’re disrespectful or indecent.”

“Me, indecent? That’s rich compared to you, barbarian.” I rolled my eyes.

“You have no idea just how indecent I can be.”

I fixed my attention on my boots, ignoring the way his voice made my skin prickle.

“Just so long as you don’t hog-tie me to a horse any time soon, we’ll be good,”

“Don’t tempt me. Besides, I could command you to be as respectful as I desire,” he reminded me, and I pursed my lips at the thought of it.

“You could. ButI think you secretly enjoy me taunting you,” I pointed out.

“Just as you secretly like being told what to do.”

I scowled at him in response to that. “I’m sure you wish that was true. It would make me so much better suited to your company.”

“I think you’re well enough suited to me as you are.” Magnar looked at me with enough intensity to make me squirm, the proximity of his body to mine making my blood pump far faster than it needed to.

Now that we were back under the restrictions Idun had placed upon us, all I could think about was the way his body had felt pressed to mine in that dream. And the fact that I was unable to lay so much as a finger on him only made the lust I felt for him sharpen.

I shifted slightly, trying to release the tension in my shoulders from spending hours sitting up, jammed against the wall. My neck was stiff too and I longed to climb out of our uncomfortable hiding place and stretch my limbs. Heaven only knew how bad Magnar was feeling; he was twice my size and had spent over an hour packed into a crate before joining me here.

The train coasted to a stop, and I held my breath as silence fell over everything.

I leaned to my left, looking through the small gap between the crates as I waited to see what would happen now. Ideally, we wanted to make it off the train unnoticed, but hopefully it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we were seen. I was doubtful that the vampires would have any suspicions about the blood being tainted; no poison should have been capable of killing a vampire, so they’d have no reason to fear it. But if we wanted the element of surprise on our side when we staged our rescue attempt on Montana, then it would be better if they didn’t know we’d crossed the country.

I wanted to ask Magnar what to do but I was afraid to disturb the unnatural silence, certain the bloodsuckers had to be close. I strained my ears, trying to hear some sound of the vampires disembarking. The train was stacked with valuable cargo. So why wasn’t anyone coming to unload it?

A heavy hiss sounded and a door slid open on the opposite side of the train.

Magnar leaned closer to me so that he could peer through the gap too, the rough bite of his stubble grazing against my jaw.

Blazing sunlight poured inside, and longing stirred within my gut. It was like my soul ached for the sun’s warmth on my skin.

Still no sound came. No vampires appeared to unload the cargo. Nothing.

“Do you think they’ve figured out we’re onboard?” I breathed as the seconds dragged. “Maybe they’re waiting for us to come out of hiding?”

“Perhaps,” Magnar replied slowly. “Either way we can’t stay here all day.”

He shifted forward and began to shove the crate out of our way. My heart seized as it scraped across the floor, the noise sounding a hundred times louder in the deathly silence.

Magnar crawled out and stood in the centre of the carriage, looking around carefully before beckoning me to follow him.

He gave me his hand and pulled me to my feet. My muscles tingled in a way that was close to painful as the blood flow returned to them after hours cramped in the tiny space, but I ignored the discomfort and focused on our surroundings.

Magnar rolled his shoulders, stretching his limbs and releasing the tension from his muscles.

I placed a hand on Fury, but the blade was surprisingly calm... almost happy. It was like it knew something I didn’t.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.

Magnar removed the lid from the crate that hid our supplies and handed me my dark blue coat. I pulled off the red one I’d been using to disguise myself as an Elite and threw it into the crate in its place. He wrapped his fur cloak over his shoulders and replaced Venom and Tempest in the sheathes across his back.

Finally, he lifted the pack filled with our waning supplies onto his shoulders, then he shoved the lid back onto the crate before sliding it into line again.

I eyed the open door at the end of the carriage with mistrust. Where were the vampires? Why would they leave the cargo sitting here like this? It felt like a trap, but then why hadn’t they sprung it yet?

Magnar stepped in front of me, drawing Venom as he headed for the door on silent feet. I stayed close behind him holding Fury ready too, reaching for my gifts and letting the lessons of my ancestors spill through my body.

As Magnar made it to the door, he paused, and then a soft laugh fell from his lips.

“The gods are smiling on us,” he said, stepping aside so I could see past him.

Blazing sunlight brighter than I’d ever seen poured down from the heavens, filling every shadow. It heated the air so it was impossibly warm for the time of year and my coat quickly began to feel like a prison for my skin.

“What does this mean for the vampires?” I asked as I peered up at the periwinkle blue sky.

The colour woke something primal in my blood, and I could feel it flowing through my limbs, energising me and filling me with the desire to act. I wanted to run, stretch my legs, and push my body to its limits. A smile tugged at my lips as I realised what I yearned for: I wanted to hunt the vampires.

“They cannot function in the sunlight. It weakens them immeasurably. The lesser vampires will be reduced to little more than breathing husks if they are caught in it. The Elite and the Belvederes can resist it a little, but they will be slowed to the point of causing us no challenge at all. They will not be released from its power until the sun sets or the clouds reclaim the sky.”

“So that’s why no one has come to unload the train?” I asked. “They can’t face the sunlight?”

The idea of it forced a laugh from my chest. We were surrounded by vampires and yet they couldn’t make a move towards us, couldn’t even bear to peer out of a window where they might be able to see us. They all cowered inside, hiding from the thing which gave everything life. It was as though the sun highlighted what they were; there was no place for the dead beneath its rays.

“Come, we should get away from here while the gods are feeling generous.” Magnar stepped into the sunshine, and I followed him.

I tilted my chin up, taking a moment to bathe in the heat washing over my skin. My coat was stifling, so I pulled it off, wanting to be free of it to feel more of the sun’s touch.

The platform stretched out on either side of us, and I turned, trying to figure out which way we should go.

To our left, sparkling skyscrapers reached up towards the sun, bigger than any I’d ever seen in the Realm or the ruins surrounding it. They glinted in the dazzling light, promising wealth, and luxury beyond their walls. I had no doubt that that was where the vampires lived. We would only need to locate the most ostentatious building of all to find the Belvederes and my sister.

I took a step in that direction, but Magnar caught my arm, halting me. A deep frown had formed between his brows and his grip on Venom was so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

“It can’t be...” he breathed.

“What is it?” I asked, glancing around nervously at the abandoned platform.

Magnar didn’t reply. He turned away from the glimmering city abruptly, tugging me along for a few steps before releasing me. He moved quickly, his stride lengthening until he fell into a run. I began running too, adrenaline surging through my veins as I tried to figure out what the hell he was doing.

Magnar leapt from the platform, landing on a patch of moss-covered concrete beyond the tracks and started sprinting.

I looked around uneasily, trying to understand why we were running, needing to know if we were being chased or on the hunt. Fury gave me no clues, nothing to go by at all, so I had no choice but to scramble after the slayer and demand my answers from him.

“Elder!” I called as the distance between us increased. “What are you doing?”

I jumped from the platform and hurried after him as he ran towards a tall, wire fence.

He glanced over his shoulder for the briefest moment, taking in the wide space which had opened up between us.

“Keep up!” He turned away from me and yanked the fence high so he could slip beneath it. His command fell over me and my legs started to move faster through no desire of my own.

Motherfucker!

I gritted my teeth in anger as I reached the fence at an impossible pace and yanked it up to follow him. As I ducked beneath it, my coat got caught and was tugged from my arms. I tried to turn back for it but Magnar’s power over me wouldn’t allow it. He had moved further away, ducking into the ruins that lined the city.

Disappointment surged through me as I left the coat behind. I’d spent my whole life without the warmth of such a garment and the piece of clothing had become immeasurably important to me. It was a symbol of my freedom from the vampires, and I knew I’d miss it once this sunshine relented and winter reclaimed the sky. Thanks to that asshole, I’d be shivering again come nightfall.

I sprinted after Magnar, cursing him between each breath as my legs moved faster and faster. The crumbled remains of old buildings rose up around me and I weaved between them as if the wind carried me.

A small part of my brain marvelled at the speed I was moving at. I’d always liked running in the Realm, but I knew I’d never have been able to move this fast before. My gifted muscles urged me on, and despite the distance we were covering, I still wasn’t growing tired.

Magnar scaled a sheer wall ahead of me before dropping over it to the other side and disappearing from view. I gasped as my legs carried me straight towards the wall too and I leapt into the air with a shriek of alarm, the brickwork careening towards my fucking face.

I slammed into the wall at a point which had been way above my head and somehow my fingers found gaps in the brickwork to cling to. I scrambled higher, climbing the wall like a damn spider before finding myself at the top of it.

The drop on the other side must have been two floors high but Magnar was already tearing across the fractured street beyond it.

The urge to jump filled me and I fought against it as terror licked along my spine. That fall would fucking kill me.

I locked my muscles in place, gritting my teeth as a bead of sweat ran down my back, the urge to keep moving building beyond compare within me. I wouldn’t do it. There was no way in hell that I was going to-

I screamed like a banshee caught in a hurricane as I leapt from the fucking ledge. The wind whipped my hair out behind me as I plummeted towards the tarmac and certain death.

I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead. This is going to hurt like a motherfucking bitch-

My feet hit the ground and I tumbled into a roll, springing upright again easily.

My scream stalled in my lungs, my heart thundering in utter panic, and I twisted to look back up at the wall I’d just dived from and somehow survived.

No fucking way.

Before I could process the insanity of what I’d just managed with the slayer gifts I’d been given, my feet began to move once more.

A deep howl sounded somewhere further within the ruins, and Fury grew startlingly hot in my hand, making me curse in alarm.

Hide, Sun Child, it hissed urgently, but I couldn’t hide. I couldn’t do anything but bow to Magnar’s command to keep up with him, and he was still well ahead of me.

More baying howls met with the first and a fresh fear swept into me. Something bad was coming my way.

I swung around a corner, chasing Magnar as he ducked out of view. He ran like the wind, dragging me behind him on an invisible chain.

When I caught up with him, I was going to fucking kill him. He was a piece of shit, and I was going to remember that the next time I got distracted by his hotness. I’d be sure to focus on how much his personality made me want to throw rocks at his damn head instead. Stupid, hot motherfucker.

My soul bucked against the control he had over me. I’d yearned to be free for as long as I could remember, and I was going to break myself out of his servitude if it was the last thing I did. Apparently that day wasn’t today though.

A dark shadow fell over me and I glanced up, spotting a huge owl circling overhead, its eyes trained on me, and my gut plummeted as I recognised it for what it was.

Kill it, Fury begged, but the Familiar was too far above me, even if I could have stopped running for long enough to try.

“Elder!” I yelled angrily, wondering why he was ignoring the bird or if he hadn’t even noticed it. Whoever controlled it had certainly seen us now. It wouldn’t be long before they found a way to get to us. The blazing sun was likely the only reason they weren’t here already.

Magnar ran on, ignoring me as he circled a building which was mostly intact and moved out of sight again.

Watch out! Fury hissed as I raced after the warrior bastard, but I couldn’t do anything other than run.

A huge shape pounced from the shadows and collided with me in a tangle of fur and claws.

I screamed as I was thrown to the ground, my back hitting the concrete hard, knocking the air from my lungs as I reached for my gifts.

The huge black dog tumbled off me as we hit the ground, but it quickly regained its feet, leaping at me again with drool-coated fangs bared at my throat.

I swung Fury with a snarl of rage, but I missed its heart, the blade only slicing into its shoulder as Magnar’s command forced half of my attention onto regaining my feet and chasing after him once more.

I cursed as the wild dog leapt at me again and I kicked out, catching it in the side of its jaw and sending it flying away from me.

I took a step towards it with Fury raised to finish the undead beast, but Magnar’s command jerked me to a halt, my own body betraying me.

Fear flooded my veins as I turned my back on the snarling dog, and I began running again.

The dog howled as it raced after me and the voices of its companions joined it from the surrounding streets as they drew closer too.

Shit.

“Elder!” I bellowed as I sprinted after him and the dog snarled dangerously close to my back, its breath washing over my skin. “Release me!”

The howls of the other beasts closed in, and I threw a glance over my shoulder, finding six huge dogs right on my heels. My gifted muscles meant that I was fast, but those dogs were gaining on me with every adrenaline-fuelled step, and I was helpless to stop the impending fate from playing out.

Fury begged me to turn and face the beasts, but I was powerless to stop the pounding of my feet as they closed in. I might have been moving like the wind, but those dogs were faster.

I leapt over a low wall and moved to run on, but heavy paws collided with my back, knocking me from my feet once more as the first of the dogs caught me.

I managed to twist beneath it, raising Fury as the dog’s weight slammed me onto the ground. The beast spiralled into ash as my blade found its heart but the fall was more than enough to let the others catch up.

I scrambled backwards, the urge to chase Magnar colliding with my desperate desire to survive.

The pack of dogs leapt for me, and my heart thundered as I tried to break free of Magnar’s command and focus on fighting them.

A snarling brown beast made it to me first and I kicked it, forcing it back before its teeth could find my flesh, swiping at it with my blade and whirling towards the creature closing in on my left.

The urge to catch up to Magnar disappeared as he threw himself between me and the rest of the pack, swinging his blades as he fought to keep them off of me, finally having realised that we were under attack.

The massive brown dog pounced again, its weight slamming me back onto the concrete, jaws snapping in my face and rancid breath filling my nostrils.

I screamed in defiance, shoving it back and stabbing Fury into its side as its teeth lunged for my throat. I stabbed it again and again, my hand growing slick with too bright blood as I missed its heart. I forced its neck back with my other hand as it snarled and bared its teeth, my muscles trembling with the power of its attack.

But suddenly, the monstrous dog stilled, its bulk pinning me down as it stared into my eyes with a clarity that hadn’t been there before. I sucked in a breath, certain I was seeing the vampire who controlled it gazing down at me. Dread filled my gut as the vampire continued to watch me through the beast’s eyes, its gaze calculating, assessing. Fear spilled through me like a spear of ice piercing my heart as I took in the darkness in that creature’s eyes. The watcher knew me now. And he would come for me.

The dog burst into ash, my heart leaping in shock as its weight suddenly fell away, and I scrunched my eyes shut against the remains tumbling over me. A wooden clatter reached my ears, and I rolled upright, noticing an arrow carved with runes lying on the ground beside me.

Magnar still fought with one of the huge dogs, but he drove Tempest through its chest as I pushed myself upright, and the ruins fell eerily silent around us once more.

He looked up at me as I closed in on him, but I didn’t give him a chance to say a single word before my fist connected with his jaw.

He stepped back, surprise flashing through his eyes a moment before I swung at him again.

“Callie,” he began angrily as he managed to block my punch.

I released a growl of pure rage as I ducked beneath his arm and aimed for his face once more.

“You nearly got me killed!” I snarled. “Your stupid fucking command could have ended my life, asshole.”

He deflected another strike, and I twisted away from him before sending my foot crashing into his chest. Magnar stumbled back, raising his hands between us as if I might be convinced to stop, but I was too pissed at him to even consider it.

“You know I didn’t mean for you to-”

“I don’t care what you meant to do, you son of a bitch. You had no fucking right to do that to me! I could have died because you decided to go on some power trip instead of just explaining why the hell you ran off like that.”

I swung at him again, but he caught my fist in his hand, stalling my attack with his iron grip. He grunted with effort as I pushed against his hold with the full force of my gifted muscles, and he barely managed to knock my knee aside before it could collide with his balls.

With a surge of strength, Magnar spun me around and pinned me against a crumbling wall, the brickwork digging into my spine as he caught my other wrist the moment I tried to swing Fury at him.

“This is what you signed up for, Callie,” Magnar snarled angrily, his face inches from mine as he immobilised me against the wall. “I didn’t want you to take the vow. I never wanted to have this power over you, so you should remember that every time you let your anger get the best of you like this. I’m not the one who did this to you.”

He glared at me, and my chest rose and fell heavily between us.

“Fuck you,” I spat.

Magnar looked like he might just murder me, and I was pretty sure I was throwing the same look right back at him.

“Nice to see your efforts with the fairer sex haven’t improved in the last thousand years, brother,” a voice called from beside us, and I flinched in surprise, my head snapping around to look at the beast of a man who was standing between two buildings to our right.

An icy calm washed over Magnar, his expression blanking out as he turned his head to look at the stranger who approached us with an easy smile on his face.

My mouth fell open as I recognised him from the dream I’d stolen my way into and Magnar’s hands fell from me, our argument utterly forgotten as Julius held his arms wide in greeting.

“I thought I sensed your blade here, but I didn’t think it was possible that I’d find you too,” Magnar breathed in astonishment, then a laugh fell from his lips which was so free and pure and full of love that I couldn’t help but feel the power of their reunion in the core of my being.

They clung to each other fiercely, and I felt like a splinter had been pulled from my heart as I watched them reunite. Two brothers from the past, finding each other in another lifetime.