Page 27 of Heart of Chaos (Chaosborn #1)

Chapter twenty-seven

Eisa

Shifting the second time was already easier. The feeling of bones and muscles and skin all stretching as my mind switched places with Idunn’s was something I was sure I’d never get used to, but I let Idunn take over our physical form gladly as the icy wind from the aerie door chilled me to the bone and chased away all the heat of our kiss.

Hearthmother above, that kiss.

Idunn stretched her long neck, extending her wings in preparation for flight.

Oh gods. We were really doing this.

Come back to me, Arik said, his form so small through Idunn’s eyes. He looked at her, his gaze fierce and worried. Keep her safe.

I am more than capable of burning our enemies to a crisp, Idunn snorted as she leaned down and pressed her huge snout to Arik’s chest.

A blast of hot air made him stagger, and he let out a reluctant laugh as he stroked her scaly nose. “All right, I’m sorry for doubting you.”

Stop flirting, I said, feeling jealous of the dragon, which was utterly ridiculous.

Idunn smirked around me. You like him.

Shut up, I groused. We’re already late. Tormund will think we’re flouting his orders.

She snorted another laugh as she flapped her wings experimentally. I knew you wanted him.

With a running leap, Idunn barreled from the cavern into the frozen sky. She banked as Arik had suggested, narrowly avoiding the rocky wall as she sailed out over the Odemark.

The cold and damp were enough to ice her wings almost immediately, and big flakes sheared off every time she flapped.

Oh gods, please don’t fall.

I will not fall. She sounded indignant at the suggestion. I was made for this.

The Odemark stretched below us like icy claws splaying out in all directions. I hadn’t really paid attention to the view on previous flights, being focused on not falling or passing out. What I expected to be a vast sheet of ice was actually far more ominous, with sharp peaks and deep chasms, the blue of the Rift glowing faintly as we rose through the thick cloud cover over Ironholm.

I see the others, she said, flying higher and higher over the mountain. They are all smaller than me.

A white dragon with a scarred snout huffed impatiently as we joined the ranks. I assumed we would head to the back of the flight, but Idunn surprised me by selecting a spot next to the scarred white, forcing a gold dragon to shift several feet back with a snort of annoyance. Idunn growled, and the gold stopped protesting.

Drekadrottning . The voice was male and unfamiliar to me as the white dragon opened its jaws and roared in acknowledgment. Vidar, Tormund’s white, then. Your place is in the back.

My place is before all dragons, Idunn countered, her eyes narrowing at the white dragon. I will concede to allow you to fly beside me, however.

Vidar snorted, and I thought he might be having a conversation with Tormund.

What is Drekadrottning? I asked.

It is my title, Idunn replied, beating her wings against the sky as she waited for Vidar’s response. I am their queen.

Queen?

Yes. I am the most powerful dragon. She spoke as if this were of little consequence, but I reeled a bit. I knew she would be powerful, since everyone had told me as much. I hadn’t realized she was their queen.

Is that why the dragons bow to Baldur?

He is Drakonungr, she replied. Their king. But now they shall bow to me.

Gods above. What does that make me and Arik?

Exceedingly lucky.

I laughed. So humble.

You may stay, Vidar finally growled. Do not fly ahead. Do not endanger the reirhold. Do not disobey a direct order.

You presume to command me? she asked haughtily.

I would never, he replied darkly. The reirleder presumes to command your human.

Idunn sighed. Fine. For now.

Vidar roared, and the drage fell in behind us, fanning out in a triangle against the white sky.

All things considered, the patrol was rather dull. We flew over endless sheets of ice and rock toward the blue glow of the Rift, which grew slightly stronger and began to pulse the closer we drew to it.

I winced, although the familiar pounding was duller than it had been before bonding Idunn. At least Idunn didn’t seem to be on the edge of collapse.

This is boring, she complained as we neared the edge of our assigned quadrant and Vidar signaled for us to turn. Idunn pitched sideways, gracefully turning and outstripping Vidar by several dragon-lengths.

Boring is better than the alternative, Baldur replied, his voice distant. Stay behind your reirleder or he might think you’re willfully disobeying.

I tire of this charade, Idunn grumbled, slowing only a fraction.

Vidar screeched, and Idunn suddenly swooped lower.

What is it? I asked.

Odemarksdyr, she growled, gliding toward a black speck on the ice below.

Get behind me, Vidar roared. The reirleder wants you back in formation.

A queen does not bow to any but her mate, Idunn replied, nosing down toward the ice.

Arik told you not to engage, I reminded her, panic gripping me as I remembered the size of the jotnar.

Arik worries too much, Idunn rumbled, heat building in her until I felt like I was burning. This will be nothing.

The reirhold behind us roared and screeched, beating their wings to try to catch up to Idunn. But she was so fast, claiming the miles with each wing beat as the shadow figures of the odemarksdyr came into view.

They were not jotnar, but wolf-like monsters, at least the size of the bronzes in the reirhold. Their fur was pitch black, their long serrated teeth dripping with saliva as they locked their yellow eyes on Idunn’s approach. The creatures howled, dark streaks of inky black spilling from their paws and racing across the ice like blackened veins.

I counted seven as Idunn opened her massive jaws.

Pull back, Vidar roared as Idunn let forth a blast of blue flame so hot and bright it nearly blinded me from where I watched through her eyes. The creatures’ howls were abruptly cut off, the flame turning them to ash where they stood.

Idunn circled, the flame making the ice steam and hiss as it vaporized, followed by the stone below.

That’s enough! Vidar roared.

Stop, Idunn, I pleaded, a bolt of pain lashing through my skull. It was too much power, too fast. That’s enough.

Idunn huffed in annoyance but obliged, her jet of flame cutting off as she circled the steaming ice and landed gracefully on the outer edge of the circle she had burned.

A pit at least ten feet deep lay where the creatures had once been, the ice giving way to stone below it that had been melted and reformed into glossy, black obsidian.

What happened? Arik demanded, his voice tense through the bond. Baldur felt Idunn use her magic. You’re in pain.

I sent him a mental picture, unable to find the words for what she had just done.

What we had just done.

The pain was already fading, and I tried to focus on Idunn’s body to distract myself from my own discomfort.

Holy fucking gods, Arik replied. How?

I am Drekadrottning, she replied haughtily as the other dragons of the reirhold landed one by one, their talons gouging the ice as they landed heavily.

They circled the still-smoking crater, each looking between the crater and Idunn as their voices rose in a cacophony I couldn’t understand. They all spoke at once, and Idunn shook her head as I struggled to separate the many ancient voices from each other.

Only one word came across clearly as, one by one, every dragon in the reirhold including Vidar, lowered their heads to the ice.

Drekadrottning.

What are they doing? I asked.

Idunn lifted her head and let out a mighty roar that was echoed by the other dragons in unison.

It was Arik’s voice that broke through the bellowing dragons to answer my question.

They bow to their queen.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing out there?” Tormund raged as he shifted. We had returned to the aerie earlier than expected, and I was relieved to see that Arik was waiting for me, his arms crossed and brow raised at Tormund as he shouted.

“Perhaps put some clothes on before you scream at my mate,” he suggested.

She is Drekadrottning, I heard Vidar say, the words clearly meant for Tormund. We do not question her.

“She’s not my fucking queen,” Tormund raged, his face purpling in his rage. “Shift now. I’m taking you to Einar.”

Tell your human that I take orders only from my Kj?re, Idunn drawled lazily, refusing to release her hold on her form as she blew a jet of smoke toward the irate reirleder.

“She won’t shift while you’re watching,” Arik drawled.

Tormund glowered, pulling on trousers. “I swear to the gods, this will not stand. Just try and get yourselves out of this mess.” He stormed for the hallway, shooting a look of pure hatred back at Arik. “Shouldn’t you be cleaning latrines?”

“I finished.”

Idunn chuckled, but this felt like dangerous territory. Idunn had flagrantly defied Tormund’s orders. I had no doubt that Einar would punish Arik for it somehow, even if he didn’t follow through with his threat to toss us in the Rift.

I’d like to see him try, Baldur drawled, his voice faint from his place inside Arik’s head.

It’s alright, Arik said, sensing my distress. Einar cannot change the dragons’ hierarchies. Not even Ragnar would dare to give Idunn or Baldur orders now.

That doesn’t mean we are exempt, I reminded him. We’re expected to follow orders.

And you did, he assured me. Even Einar cannot make Ragnar obey against his will.

He won’t do anything to you, Arik said fiercely . I promise . You can shift back now.

Idunn shuddered, and we shrank into my normal human body, the cold wind biting as I collapsed. Arik closed the iron doors and crouched before me, throwing a fur over my shoulders. “Alright?”

I shook my head, wincing as blood dripped to the stone floor. Everything hurt, as if Idunn’s flight had ravaged my human muscles and sapped all of my strength.

“Fuck,” Arik swore, pressing the fur to my face to stem the blood. “Stay still.”

“I thought bonding was supposed to cure me.”

“It should have. Can you stand?”

I shook my head again, still dizzy from the nosebleed and the headache.

“What were those things?”

“Myrkvolf,” he replied, his hand on my back as he rubbed soothing circles that warmed me beneath the fur. “I’m going to carry you, alright?”

I nodded, and Arik scooped me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.

“Einar will likely summon us,” he said, striding down the hallway and navigating the route to our chambers. “And we have to follow his orders, even if the dragons don’t.”

Why couldn’t you just follow orders, I asked Idunn, letting my head fall against Arik’s chest. His scent wrapped around me, and Idunn purred in contentment at his nearness.

Because to obey once is to consent to a lifetime of servitude, she intoned. Do not worry. I will take care of you.

I shook my head, perfectly aware of what Einar was capable of.

He will not touch you, Idunn repeated. Or he shall deal with me.

“It will be fine,” Arik repeated, kicking open the door to his room. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

The summons came as I sat on the edge of our bed, Arik wiping the blood from my face. Ragnar’s voice, cold and cruel, bellowed for our dragons to inform us that we were ordered to Einar’s office.

Einar still didn’t know I could hear the summons just fine.

“Why can I hear them?” I asked, as Arik handed me a towel to dry my face. “The dragons, I mean. I heard Vidar. And all of the dragons in Tormund’s reirhold. But no one else can.”

“No one to my knowledge,” Arik corrected. “It’s possible some drage can do it and just haven’t told anyone. It’s a useful skill, and one that makes sense to hide.”

He fished around in his trunk and threw me some clothes. “Best get dressed. We’ve a long walk.”

I groaned, pulling on the tunic first, since it didn’t require me to stand. My head was still pounding, but Idunn seemed to be fine within me.

Perhaps I should just let you be in charge all the time, I joked. That would at least stop the headaches.

You felt pain inside me as well, Idunn mused. When I used my magic for too long. So I do not think it would.

“Let me help,” Arik offered, placing the chain of Sigrid’s necklace back around my neck. “For luck,” he said, as I raised an eyebrow at him, and he moved to crouch before me, taking the leather trousers from my hands.

“I can manage,” I protested as he slid them up to my knees, his knuckles grazing my pale skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

“Perhaps,” he said, his eyes flashing a heated silver. But I like having the excuse to touch you. Please.

“So you’re begging me now?” I joked, feeling my cheeks flush as he met my eyes.

“Yes,” he confessed, patting my thigh as Baldur flashed through his irises. “Stand up.”

I obeyed, and he pulled the trousers up as he stood and steadied me with his hands around my waist. “And if I said no?”

He pressed a kiss to the place below my ear, and I felt shivers run down my spine as Idunn purred in approval. “Then I would get on my knees before you. Is that what you want, Eisa?”

“Maybe,” I breathed, not entirely sure what I was saying as Idunn pulsed within me, her desire to consummate the bond palpable.

Arik loosed a breath, as if he could feel her desire through our bond. Perhaps he could, because I was certain I was feeling Baldur’s growling desire along with Idunn’s. He ran his hand down the chain of Sigrid’s necklace, lifting the gem and carefully tucking it beneath my shirt. “Later, Eisa. I’ll get on my knees for you later. After we deal with Einar.”