26. Montana

The thick mist lifted, and I was gifted a moment alone with Erik Belvedere. My husband.

Our eyes were locked, and so much rage burned through me at what he had done that I could I barely stand it. But that anger was melded with something even hotter, something so fierce it could bring the sky crashing down upon the earth.

My desperate heart was yearning.

My fractured soul was re-mending.

And my frantic thoughts were tumbling, diving, free-falling-

I raced to the water’s edge and waded into the river as he dropped from the speedboat, my name falling from his lips.

A wave crashed against me, forcing me back, but I didn’t stop moving, thirsting for his touch almost as much as I wanted to strike at him. He pushed through the waves with more force than the tide, his jaw gritted and his iron eyes fixed on me like there was no other thing in existence. His white shirt was plastered to his skin and his pants hung low on his hips as the water lapped against him.

I jumped through the fierce pressure of the water and struck him with a slap that should have made his head wheel from the force of it. But he was immovable as always, my strike nothing to him, leaving no imprint on his perfect exterior.

“How could you do this? You swore you’d let me go,” I snarled as the waves churned around us, and he stared at me like I’d kissed him instead of hit him.

“Seeing you last night solidified my choice,” he said, yanking me into his arms and hoisting me above the waves. I wrapped my legs around him, clinging to him when I knew I should have been pushing him away. “You want me as I want you, and you desire the answer to the prophecy. So let’s not squander any more time. I have already lost far too many precious seconds without you. If I am to find a path to mortality, then I’ll be damned if I don’t seek it now so that I might join you in your lifetime.”

“I won’t allow this fight, this isn’t the answer,” I said, shaking my head in refusal of his choice.

“This battle was written by the hands of gods a thousand years ago. There are no more paths to evade it,” he said darkly, then cupped my cheek in his hand, supporting me with the other, his strength so vast that I felt like I weighed no more than a feather in his hold. “Listen to me, Montana. Whatever happens here this night, know this. You returned the lustre to my world. You awoke me from a numbness I never thought I would escape. I love you for that and so much more besides. I know that my love is a noxious thing, and that the heart of a villain is worth little more than a jar of sand, but all I have to give is yours. Only yours.”

I shouldn’t have felt the joy I did at his words, but I was lost to it, and our lips crashed together as fiercely as the tide around us. He released a primal growl as I tasted the salt water on his mouth, savouring every delicious part of this moment, letting myself be selfish by stealing this sinful moment with him. I gripped his hair, kissing him until I was sure my soul was going to burst and the fractured pieces of our beings would collide.

Our lips finally parted and he pressed his cool forehead to mine, his expression taut as he clutched me tighter and the turbulent river raged around us. I realised it was more than the usual pull of the tide, Idun was moving the waves in a roiling storm. The water twisted around us and I gasped as the pebbly shore became visible beneath Erik’s feet. The water swirled up higher and higher, forming a sheer vortex that moved around us, cocooning us within the waves.

Fear tore at my heart as Erik dropped me to my feet and my bare toes sunk into the tiny wet stones. He clutched my hand, gazing up at the dusky sky above us, his fangs bared at the deity who had come to taunt us.

“A moment of privacy for the ill-fated lovers,” Idun’s velvet voice filled my ears.

I turned, trying to spot her in the murky water that circled around us like a tornado, expecting her to appear at any moment.

When she didn’t, I faced Erik with one furious thought in mind, needing to speak it before it was too late. “Don’t fight Magnar and Julius, we’re so close to figuring out the prophecy. If we work together, we can finish it.”

“Truly?” he asked with hope flaring in his iron gaze.

I nodded, hurriedly explaining what my sister and I had come up with. How the ring had shown us the way to a mountain far in the south and leaving the worst part of it until last.

“The first line,” I whispered. “Andvari showed me a vision of me as a vampire. I think, perhaps…that might be the answer.”

Terror caved in my chest as those words left my throat, the mere thought of it too terrible to linger on. But it had to be spoken at least. It had to be considered.

Erik snarled, his eyes darkening to pitch. “I will never turn you into a vampire. I would not place this curse on you if you begged me on your knees for it.”

I coiled my fingers in his damp shirt as desperation clawed at my insides. “I don’t want it. Honestly, I can’t even think of it without wanting to run and run and never stop. But if it’s the answer, wouldn’t it be wrong of me to refuse?” Tears pinched my eyes as Erik pushed a tendril of hair away from my face. Could I really be brave enough to walk that path? Could I stand it for the greater good? My gut told me no. That it would be too horrible to endure, that I’d despise the unchanging flesh I wore and seek any way to rid myself of it.

“I’ve been tricked too many times by Andvari.” Erik ran his thumb over my bottom lip, a fire simmering in his gaze. “I will not risk this being another lie. And even if it were the only way…” he trailed off, the glint in his grey eyes telling me he would rather remain cursed than place the crown of his bane upon my head.

“Please, just talk to the slayers,” I begged, locking my fingers around the back of his neck, focusing on the most urgent one of my problems.

He hesitated, his gaze tracking over my face, then he nodded. “I will try. For you.”

“Thank you.” I crushed myself against him, resting my cheek to his chest, almost surprised when I heard no heart beating there. Though it shouldn’t have been so easy to forget what he was.

“What doubts you have,” Andvari’s voice sent a tremor through to my core. “I have never tricked you, Erik.” He appeared from the waves, stepping out of the tempestuous water like a phantom. He drew closer, wearing earthy robes which were somehow entirely dry. “You made your own choices.”

Erik ground his teeth, holding me tighter as Andvari advanced.

“A world of possibilities is so close and yet you shy away from it.” Andvari waved a hand, and I blinked heavily as the air rippled around me.

The water faded out of existence, revealing a garden of wildflowers before a stone cottage on the hill.

My thoughts cracked and were reformed anew. Memories filled me of a life in this place. I knew it well. This was my home. And right now...I was alone, but completely at peace.

I relaxed as some strange darkness lifted from my mind. I had no need to worry. This was where I lived, and it was the most tranquil place in the world.

I gazed down at the bunch of purple flowers in my hands, continuing what I must have been doing just moments ago and picking more of them. I gathered them into my fist and smiled serenely as I headed up to the house, the sun so bright today, its warmth was like a balm against my skin.

I pushed through the wooden door and the sound of a child’s laughter filled my ears. My smile stretched wider as I walked through the hallway into the kitchen which was filled with cream cabinets and wooden furniture. Erik had a little girl on his shoulders; he was wandering around the room and pretending to look for her while she giggled wildly, tossing her head back as she held onto his neck, her dark hair cascading like a waterfall down her back.

Erik stood upright as he spotted me, a slanted smile on his face. “Have you seen our daughter? I can’t find her anywhere.”

I tapped my lips, sweeping my eyes across the room. “Hm, no I can’t see her anywhere.”

The little girl laughed her delight, patting Erik on the shoulder. “I’m right here, Daddy!”

He swung her down into his arms and started tickling her. She screamed through her laughter, wriggling to try and escape. Twirling her upright, he planted her on her feet and she scampered out of the kitchen, crying, “You can’t catch me!”

I turned to chase her, but Erik caught me by the waist, spinning me back to face him. “Where have you been hiding?”

“I was picking these.” I waved the flowers under his nose, and he grinned, cornering me against the table. He took the bunch from my hand, placing them down and sliding a finger under my chin. “I don’t need flowers to light up the house; I have you.” He propped me up on the table and stepped between my thighs, capturing my mouth with his.

I clung to his neck and the warmth of his skin heated my hand, the thump of his pulse beneath my fingers like a rhythmic tune.

His mouth skated from my lips to my ear and I sighed as a fire lit inside me. Desire raced through my skin and heat burned between my thighs.

“We have a child to find,” I laughed, pressing him back and his eyes sparkled with the game.

He blinked suddenly, shaking his head. “What?”

“Our little girl,” I said, trying to get past him.

His expression darkened and he caught my waist again as I tried to escape, the light beyond the window dimming. “Wait, this isn’t real.”

“What are you talking about?” I ran my hand down the hard plane of his chest, but his body was suddenly cold, too cold.

“Rebel,” Erik growled, and his face seemed to pale, his skin glimmering with the power that lay beneath it.

Reality struck me so fast, I wasn’t remotely prepared as I was suddenly thrown out of the vision and into the waves. I inhaled water and spluttered, frantically trying to swim up to breach the surface. Arms surrounded me and in moments, I fell back against the rocky shore, gasping for air.

Erik knelt over me, cupping my cheek, his brows knitted as he checked me over.

“Warrior born and monster made.” Andvari’s shadow fell over me, sucking the light of the sunset from existence and replacing it with his dark presence. “You know what to do, Erik. I have waited many years and you have suffered deeply. It is time to fulfil the prophecy.”

I felt myself traitorously turning my head, exposing my neck to Erik, Andvari controlling my movements. My pulse pounded in my ears and fear slid into my chest, my arms suddenly like lead at my sides as the god incapacitated me, laying me out as an offering for the vampire who had claimed my heart.

I don’t want this.

The words wouldn’t pass my lips, but I screamed them inside my head. No, stop, please stop!

“No,” Erik growled, planting his hands either side of my head as he fought the will of the deity. His shoulders tensed from the strength it took to resist Andvari’s will and terror thrashed within me as Erik bared his fangs, his gaze settling on my neck.

“Turn her,” Andvari encouraged. “See if her guess is correct. Perhaps she is right. Perhaps this is your long-awaited answer, Erik Larsen.”

“I will never turn her!” Erik roared, but started bowing toward me, doing the opposite of what he wished.

“Stop,” I pleaded as his mouth grazed my throat and I trembled beneath him, a slave to Andvari’s will.

Idun appeared, her golden light falling over us like the rays of the sun. “Enough. The fight will happen, Andvari. The slayers have waited a thousand years for this chance. They are owed it.”

“It is time for the games to end,” Andvari bit at her, but Idun’s aura grew around Erik and as it surrounded him, he was able to move back from me, regaining his will.

“One more game,” Idun demanded of Andvari, her eyes flaring with crimson fire.

Andvari tilted his head, observing her while his gaze grew cooler. “This is the last time.”

“I swear it,” Idun agreed.

Erik moved back onto his knees and Idun floated to his side, running her fingers into his hair. He flinched away from her, but she didn’t stop, caressing his cheek as she angled him to face me. “Fight for her, monster. Prove your love holds an ounce of worth.”

Andvari gripped my arm, dragging me upright and shoving me behind him, his power over me absolute. My heart lurched as I stumbled into the mist and golden bars appeared around me.

Callie caught my hand, turning me to her. “We’re trapped,” she said, fear and rage lighting her eyes.

Panic reared inside me as the mist lifted around the cage and I spotted Erik and Fabian standing rigidly before the towering statue of the green woman.

“Erik!” I called to him, and he turned to me with acceptance in his gaze. He lifted his left hand to his mouth, pressing his lips to the wedding band on his finger before striding toward the statue like a predator on the hunt.

“No!” I begged, grabbing hold of the bars.

I shared a look of desperation with Callie as she kicked the bars, but the metal didn’t buckle. We were trapped and we were going to be forced to watch the men we loved destroy each other.

My heart beat madly for Erik. I couldn’t see him die.

Realisation crept over me as I stood at Callie’s side. In this golden cage of the gods, either my sister or I was going to be broken forever. And there was nothing we could do but watch.