Page 42

Chapter 38

Eirik

I didn't like leaving the others.

My beast had been a nuisance ever since Archon's. Hell, since my Valkyrja had come to stay with us, but this was a whole different kind of feral.

I knew Aaliyah was safe, felt it in my bones in a way I couldn't describe. Felt her under my skin like the ink that branded me to her, but that didn't mean my beast didn't want to be there when she came back. That he didn't want to search for her, that he didn't want to chase her down and make her his.

Which was exactly why we'd left Adrian and Fallon. They couldn't help right now anyway, and maybe her being around them would settle the Call . That was the hope, at least. At the end of the day, they wouldn't hurt her. That much, even my beast knew.

"Look at us, the trio back together again. Just like old times," Nero hummed, bumping into my side before throwing his arm over Osiris's shoulder.

The sight of them together again, Nero's tilted smile and Osiris's raised eyebrow, was like a dream. This had been our life for hundreds of years. Just the three of us, before Fallon and Adrian were turned. We'd been a family, the only one we had.

When we'd lost him, Osiris had fallen away from us, trapped in a regret that still ate him alive. I'd locked the emotion down, shoved it so deep I couldn't feel it … like it never existed to begin with.

It boiled up now, shining in my throat as I grunted and reached for the scar there. "You don't remember the old times, Nero."

He snorted, pushing his red-tinged brown hair away from his eyes, the silver sparkling with mirth.

"Not true. I remember some of the fun ones," he mused, his grin turning wild as he tipped his head back and laughed. "Why don't we talk about our month-long trip to India, fourteen fifty-six, wasn't it?"

We stopped in the middle of the fucking hall, Osiris and I sharing a look that passed like a war story between the two of us. Because of course, of all the times he could have remembered, it had to be that horrific fucking month. Getting locked in jail and spending the entire time organizing a riot to get out, only to end up in the worlds worst game of cat and mouse?

"Of all the things to remember, that's it? Why am I not surprised?" Osiris groaned.

He rubbed the space between his eyes, and Nero just laughed harder. "Oh, Osiris. It almost sounds like you didn't miss me."

It was a joke, the way he said it, and the way he poked Osiris in the face while the ancient grumbled. Even so, I didn't like it.

"You were missed, Nero. Every day, you were missed. You might not remember it yet, but this family loved you more than anything." I grunted, shaking my head. "Even the annoying parts."

Nero's eyes cleared, a silly pride shining there. He went to speak, probably to say something fucking grating all over again, when another snarl ripped through the air.

"Someone want to explain what the fuck happened out there?" a voice boomed, the sound of a door slamming against the wall. Nero was already raising a brow as a man stormed toward us. The hall shuffled, seeming to tremor under the rage, the sound of panic still ringing in the air from where he came as the door slid closed.

Dragonkin. Strong golden-brown eyes, smoke that danced from his nose as he snarled. He was power, his beast straining, so feral it didn't even flinch when my wolf shot forward.

"Drakon," I said as the male stormed toward us.

His eyes were liquid fire, rage incarnate. He ran a hand through his hair, and I couldn't blame him.

This was a nightmare. Everything we'd thought had been thrown into chaos, and our chances at Exilium had damned well hit the dirt. The last thing I'd expected was for Sebek to expose my Elskan . It would ruin him as much as it would us.

He was nothing if not calculating, if not a monster. We'd forgot that. Didn't think he'd be crazy enough to show his hand, too. He was.

We'd pay for our oversight.

"This is a disaster!" Drakon screamed, and it was Osiris who stood up to him.

"We knew something like this could happen," Osiris said, a cruelty to his words. I looked at him, expecting the numb, but that was the furthest thing from Osiris's eyes. No, there was fire, rage, and fury like nothing I'd ever seen there. "Take a deep breath. Plans have not changed."

"Not changed? Half of the Eternals are calling for the Eternium to end early. The other half are suggesting we kill her before she can be a threat," he hissed, and I growled back in response. "Sebek holds all the power here. They fear him, and some of the ones that had been on our side for Exilium are reconsidering."

Drakon opened his mouth to speak when the hall wobbled. Osiris's gifts flooded the narrow space, choking the breath out of Drakon before he could so much as move. One tip in the wrong direction, and Osiris would lose it. "It will be dealt with."

He couldn't kill Drakon, not here, but he would do everything in his power to try. " Leave us. "

Drakon was smart enough to recognize the rage that poured from Osiris. It was enough to make my wolf cower behind my eyes.

"Fine," Drakon spit, flipping around, tossing his middle finger up as he stalked away. "If this ends up on our heads, it's on you, Kingslayer ."

He left with a trail of self-righteous fire and two of his Clutch at his back. The hall went quiet after he left, the walls stretching, almost goading us to continue moving. The impatience of the Eternium only grew, the air heating.

"Well, isn't he just a ball of fun," Nero mused, before shaking his head. We followed the will of the hall, the Eternium leading us forward like little dolls, through an unfamiliar door. The masquerade was beyond it, bypassing the stairs as it opened to a vast sea of people. "So, who's the first person we need to see?"

I grunted, already knowing at least one. Valen had warned me before, and I wasn't going to ignore that. The spot of Gargoyle Eternal was one of the ones hanging in the air. Axius and Hyland were at odds, and Hyland wasn't currently on our side of the deal.

My wolf snarled, my eyes deepening as my face started to shift. Adrian was out, and I had no idea when he'd be back in shape to go scouting, which meant it was on us.

"We need to talk to Axius, Challe for the Gargoyle seat," I said, scratching at my arm, the skin there tense as my wolf continued to push.

We'd need to get Axius on board with a Challenge, if he was even going to be a good fit for what we wanted. Someone that wanted Sebek gone, that didn't see Ali as a pet project.

Osiris was quick to chime in, shoulders back as he surveyed the crowd that seemed to realize all at once that we'd returned. "Emery for the Fae. She would be a good start for unseating Koldan now that he's taken the spot from Frileti. He doesn't share her kinder views, from my understanding."

That was two. We hadn't bothered with the ones that Drakon said he would handle, but at least there were a few we could talk to. With the shit show that was the ball, we didn't have a choice but to sway.

People milled about, talking, whispering. Tables replaced the dance floor with little booths of food and drink. The decor was largely unchanged, with the marble structures still being the highlight.

Motion caught my eye, blonde hair and steadfast fiery eyes. I jolted to a stop, my wolf seizing the weakness to force a sound from my chest, somewhere between a growl and a snarl.

It couldn't be. There was no fucking way.

"Eirik?" Nero asked, looking to where I was.

I was already moving, pushing through a crowd of outraged Eternals.

"Can you handle them?" I asked over my shoulder, and Osiris nodded.

His head was tilted to the side, the harsh black of his suit coat ruffled as he brushed it off, ensuring it was pristine. I didn't doubt him. Osiris was exactly what we needed right now. His silver tongue.

The Kingslayer.

I lost myself in the crowd. The figure had been what caught me first, but the smell, like summer lilies and roasting pies, solidified it just as a hand grabbed my wrist,

I was ripped into an adjoining hall, away from the noise and bustle of the ball. The snarl died on my lips as familiar eyes bore into me. Steadfast sky blue, like the winters that used to grip my family home. Eyes I knew .

Because they were mine.

"Who the fuck are you?" Yrsa, my eldest sister, snarled in my face, her beast like an avenging angel behind her eyes.

Even my own wolf quieted, quelled by an elder of our family, by an elder úlfhéeinn.

She hadn't changed a day since the last time I remembered her. The same spitfire rage she'd always had, though now she held the dagger my father had made for her the night of her quarter celebration to my throat.

Yrsa was two decades my senior, the eldest of my parents' children. I recalled the last time I'd seen her. After a gathering to celebrate a successful voyage that my father and his men had pulled off. She'd been fighting a man twice her size who'd thought to ask my father for her hand in marriage, without even glancing at her first. I'd been enthralled by the way she'd pulled him into the ring without a second thought and spent the better part of the night ripping him apart, piece by broken piece. She'd smiled at me then, after she'd laid him out for the last time, bloodied teeth matching the fire in her eyes.

That had been centuries ago. Lifetimes between now and then suddenly feeling like lead on my shoulders. I'd been in her life for barely a thought, twenty years of the more than a thousand that she'd been alive. Did she even recognize me?

I wasn't sure I recognized myself.

"Yrsa," I whispered, her knife digging into the skin at my neck at the sound of her name. The noise that came from her coiled into a keening snarl, one that braced the tears in her eyes. My wolf snapped and howled in my chest as the blade pressed into the scar that stole me from the rest of my family. "Blood of my blood?—"

Yrsa bared her teeth, her face sharpening as the dagger drew across my skin, digging a gash that bled. Her wolf came forward in force, a dominant presence that shifted the bones on her face and bared its teeth. "Do not lie to me with the words of our oath, Changeling! How dare you steal my brother's face!"

The crack in her voice was broken only by the snarl that continued to build in her chest.

I hadn't wanted to find them like this. My family had been safe. Osiris had made sure of it. Yrsa wasn't supposed to be here. Now she was another point of weakness, another exploit Sebek could use, but even knowing that, seeing her now settled something in me. I'd missed her. Missed them all.

"It's me, Yrsa," I said again, swallowing against her blade, pushing into it, willing her to look me in the eyes that she shared with me. "Eirik"

She had her hair tied up, pulled into a high ponytail, her defiant cheekbones splattered with red. She did as I said, looking over my face … from the scar that she'd seen made to the tattoos she'd helped me get.

And the braids she'd taught me how to do. The same I'd done for Aaliyah, time and time again.

"No, this is a lie. If you were Eirik, I wouldn't be learning of your existence at my first Eternium," she cried, and my gut soured as tears formed in her eyes. The knife at my neck shook. "And you smell like them. "

She hissed it, her eyes flashing ocean blue.

"I'm a Vampire, Yrsa. Have been for centuries," I whispered, and she snapped at me, like she might follow through. Her knife bit deep, almost cutting flesh again, before she pulled away, sheathing her blade.

She wasn't as tall as I was but still held a height greater than most women, and she carried herself well, confident in the way she crossed her arms. Hesitance bled from her eyes, and I straightened my spine, more than ready to fight her to prove who I was.

It was in my blood, my wolf already baring his fangs.

"Yrsa—" I started, and she raised her hand.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were a bright sky blue. The tears were still there.

Then I was in her arms.

She pulled me down to her level, hugging me to her chest. The rumble of her purr like mother's had been when I used to have nightmares leading up to my first shift. She held me close, running her hands over my hair, and I pulled in her familiar scent.

"You have so much explaining to do, little bróeir ," she whispered. When she pulled back, she really examined me.

She tugged at my hair, pulling it from the braids as she ran her hands through it, grunting at the new scars I'd gained, and trailing gentle fingers over them. There was plenty for her to see, plenty she hesitated on, but it was my neck that she really paused at, her thumb hovering over the jagged mark there.

"It happened after I was taken," I whispered, not able to get any more out.

I hadn't even told Aaliyah, not really, and saying it now seemed wrong, after I'd kept it inside for so long.

"Who stole you? Tell me who it was that spited my kin," she grunted, and I shook my head.

The night I was taken was a curse. They'd dragged me out my window just hours after my first turn, still sore and broken from it, waiting to heal, my mother having just left to get me more tea to help me recover.

It was supposed to be a night of joy.

"Doesn't matter," I grunted, shaking my head, trying to dislodge the memory.

Her eyes flashed between sky and ocean blue as her face went red. I'd seen her destroy men like nothing more than babes with her silver tongue, and I braced for the verbal lashing that was coming my way. Only for her mouth to slam closed when she looked at the scar at my neck again.

"Why didn't you come home?" she asked instead.

It was a loaded question, one I hadn't prepared an answer for. There were so many reasons, and all of them seemed so fucking stupid now.

"It wasn't safe," I said, and Yrsa saw through it immediately.

Her eyes spiked, going dark as she growled. "Oh, cut the shit, you overgrown geit . We may be wolves, but you of all people know that safety comes in numbers. Why didn't you come home?"

I held back the snarl at being called a coward before I let out a breath, reaching for the medallion that no longer hung at my neck. Those months after I'd been taken, all I'd wanted was to be back home. I craved the safety of my pack and of my family. The laughter of my sisters and the strength of my father. Months turned to years in the blink of an eye, and my scars stretched, molding me, breaking me.

Then I'd died, and it hadn't felt right to take what I was back to them. A husk that was no longer fit to be a man, let alone a úlfhéeinn . It would have been a risk to them all for a man that wasn't even the same Eirik they'd known anymore. It felt wrong, fake.

Like I was a fucking monster.

"I feared you'd reject me. What I was. Who I was tied to," I whispered, voice cracking. "I was worried you'd turn me away, knowing what I'd become. Or worse, that you'd die because of it. Sebek doesn't like his toys having weaknesses."

Yrsa shook her head, the wolf in her shining behind her eyes as she banged her fist against her chest twice. Something I'd seen father do to rally his men.

"You are not his, Eirik. You are ours, always. Scars or no scars, fangs or claws. My bróeir , always . Your family is our family," she whispered, like I was a little boy again, learning how to wield a blade for the first time.

Yrsa never said something she didn't mean. In one breath, she'd cleared all the worries I'd held around seeing them again. Every fear that had kept me from reaching out. "Even if it is the Vivas Crypt I've heard so much about. I'll admit, it is like a nightmare come true, though."

I chuckled at that, and Yrsa followed, before her eyes narrowed. Her nose twitched, and she leaned in, smelling me. If it were anyone else, I might snap at them to back off, but Yrsa meant no harm.

My wolf knew that.

"What's that smell?" she asked, her brows turning up in confusion. "Almost … sweet. Lavender?"

I reached for my wrist, instinctively searching for the tie that held me to Aaliyah. The mark still glowed brightly, my soul at ease even if she wasn't by my side. My smár Valkyrja . Pride swelled like fire in my chest.

"My mate," I whispered, and the mark on my wrist calmed.

I touched the lavender line that coiled there, soothing me as it warmed like her touch against my hand. It felt like Aaliyah was here with me for a moment, providing strength as I stared at a woman I thought I'd never have the chance to speak to again.

Mate. My beast called again, almost like a coo, as if he were willing her to appear. Now, soon , I'd make that thought a reality. I didn't know how much longer I could wait, my teeth aching to sink into her skin for more than just blood.

"You have a mate ?" Yrsa hissed, looking around like others might have heard, but I didn't miss the pride in her eyes. Her hand landed sharply on my shoulder, with enough force to make me grunt. "You need to stop dropping these things on me, Eirik! Trying to give me a heart attack, I swear!"

I snorted, shaking my head. Though, now that I thought about it, Yrsa might be the exact person I needed for this. I'd been running blind, going off instincts and what I'd remembered from father's teachings.

She might know more about what to expect.

"It's not official yet. Offered her the courting blade," I said, and Yrsa nodded.

She pulled back, her hand going to her own, the one that sat at her side, from a man I'd never met. From the look in her eyes, though, he was everything she needed him to be.

"She accepted?" she asked, almost incredulous. I glared at her when she laughed, then nodded my head.

Yrsa's face split into a smile, and she reached up, fucking patting my head as if I were a pup. I hated that I blushed like I was one.

It was strange, a touch so gentle, a smile so warming.

"Good job, Eirik," she whispered.

I huffed, running my hands over my flushed cheeks. Hail fucking Odin, I was glad no one else was here to see this.

"You have been through first Marking then? I do not see a mark," Yrsa said it nonchalantly in a way that told me it was something I should know.

"First Marking?" I asked, and my beast perked up.

I knew about the bite, could feel my wolf constantly pushing toward it, but the intricacy failed me. Instincts would get it done, but I'd like to know what I was getting into. What Aaliyah was getting into.

"Just because I haven't seen you in literal centuries doesn't mean I want to have the sex talk with you, Eirik," she joked, like I hadn't seen her and the entire pack fucking at some point or another. Wolves were sexual creatures by nature, and it was as normal as breathing. She lifted her hand off my head, holding up a finger. "The first Marking is the most important milestone you have. It's the first sexual joining, and the binding. It ties you and your other half to her, a true start of your pack. It's typically done in the woods, where your mate can run. And you can chase, claiming them."

Heat spiked in my chest at that, the thought of Ali running, of chasing her. I sucked in a breath, searching for her scent at just the thought of it. It excited as much as it worried me. Ali wasn't the fragile type. She never had been, and I wouldn't insult her by even thinking as much, but triggers came in many forms, and I worried that would be too much. I'd have to talk to her about it before we sealed the bond.

"You had no idea," she said, audibly gasping before she flicked my forehead. "Eirik, you must! It's no wonder you look so drained. Your wolf is feral."

I grunted, unable to dispute that. "What else can you tell me?"

She ran her hand over her hair, the flush of her eyes going dark as the wolf swirled behind them. I traced her neck, over the silvery scar that bit into her shoulder as she reached up to touch it. A tender smile crossed her lips, as if she were remembering the moment she'd gotten it.

"The bite will hurt—at first, at least—the binding of souls isn't easy on people, you know. It's carnal, violent, and it's in our blood," she said, laughing again when I snarled. "It's a good kind of hurt. Just tell her beforehand, and if she loves you like I bet she does, she'll understand. I promise, it's worth it. It will calm your beast and make sure she's never without your protection."

I hoped so. I wanted it with her, wanted to tie her to me for eternity in a way that even the mark on my wrist couldn't replicate. I wanted to remember the moment I'd first seen her forever, remember the fire in her eyes when she'd struck me in the kitchen.

I wanted her in my soul, a permanent fixture.

"I take it she was the one that caused all the fuss earlier?" Yrsa asked, and I nodded. "She suits you. Looked ready to fight the whole room when they turned their eyes. I really must meet her now, you know?"

I nodded once, warmed by the thought of my families melding together.

"Will you side with us?" I asked, quietly. "Against Sebek. Push for Exilium?"

For a terrifying second, I wondered what I'd do if she said no. The answer came just as quickly.

I'd kill my sister without hesitation if she planned to stand against us, against Ali. I'd end her life myself and walk away. My smár Valkyrja was worth it, but Yrsa didn't say that, scoffing like I'd insulted her.

"Is that even a question? Of course I will. I'll talk with my partner, and make sure he's aware it's non-negotiable," she said, knocking her palm against my forehead. So much like mother. What I wouldn't give to take the rest of the night to speak with her about them. Had they had more children? Did I have more siblings? How were hers? "Now get that look off your face. There will be plenty of time to talk once this is over, and you better be ready to, because ma is going to lose her shit."

Oh, Odin, preserve me.

I'd been so filled with hope, and the thought of my mother's scolding suddenly had me questioning if going back was the right choice. I wasn't the boy she'd lost all those years ago. Yrsa must have seen it, snorting as she shook her head.

"She wants you back, little Eri. More than anything. Don't keep yourself from her because of this fear," Yrsa said.

I filed it away, steeling myself with a nod. I'd see her after we got out of this. After we survived the Eternium, and Sebek was no longer a threat.

"After," I said, and Yrsa's face hardened.

I saw our father in her eyes when she nodded. All power.

"After," she agreed. "Now go. This whole thing is giving me a headache, and it looks like you have company."

She didn't give me any time to introduce her to Osiris and Nero, as she marched into the hall, looking between us with curious gazes. She was gone by the time I glanced back.

"Who was that?" Nero asked, an eyebrow raised.

"My sister Yrsa," I said, and Nero made a strangled sound.

"Well, sugar me impressed. I didn't remember you having a sister. She looks just like you, down to the eyes. Crazy," he said with a whistle.

Osiris didn't say anything, just looked at where she disappeared with a calculating intent.

"How did it look?" I asked.

"I was hoping we'd be enough to get through to Axius, but he was more bull-headed than I expected. We'll need to get Adrian with him. Avedal stands with us, and he confirmed his support tonight. Romulous is weighing both sides, but seems to be with us," he said, coldly efficient. "If he doesn't follow through, then I've informed him that our support in his endeavors up north, with the Cryptid culling, ends."

I grunted. Cruel, but one way to get the point across. The Cryptid culling was a movement that started some forty years ago, one that saw the newest race of Natural's shunned at best. Hunted at worst. Osiris knew more than his fair share about being the outcasts, even to those like us.

It had been easy to side with them, and Osiris's word in the matter gave them a layer of protection that would be detrimental to lose. There was no doubt he would follow through with the threat, though. His eyes were hardened, bitter like a harsh winter. Empty like the Void.

Like Sebek.

"Yrsa, the new Lycan Eternal? I'd heard the old one stepped down, just days before the Eternium. Is she on our side?" Osiris asked, pushing away the look, and I nodded. That was enough for him.

I didn't feel like spilling my guts here, not again. Not that I had time, as Nero let out the most ungodly, agonizing sound, and pitched forward, holding his nose as blood gushed from it and his mouth.

Osiris moved just fractions faster than I did, catching Nero before he hit the ground. Panic replaced the hope so quickly in my chest it was like my heart had tried to rip itself out.

"Fuck," Nero whispered, hacking up another volley of rich red blood that painted Osiris's shirt and the floor a red that molted black.

I grabbed Osiris's arm, dragging him and Nero deeper into the hall, willing the Eternium to take us back to our room.

"What's happening?" Osiris asked, his voice cracking as Nero cried out again.

"Feels like my head is splitting the fuck open," he said, no longer even able to support his legs under him.

The sickly look, the lack of shine in his eyes, and I was picking him up. He flailed, a bit like a fish, grunting as his head shot back, and his body went taut.

"We need to get him back," I grunted, flitting down the hall.

"Get Mags," he said, covering his nose as he choked on his own blood. "And for the love of God, set me down before we get to the room? This is by far the most embarrassing thing I've ever done."

I grunted, a shocked bark of a laugh expelling from me just as a door came to us. There was always something about the Eternium that told you that you were in the right place, and I knew this was our room without any markers to confirm it. "Not the time."

Nero laughed, ending on a cough and more blood. It covered me, staining my shirt.

"Eirik, you're carrying me like a blushing bride on my wedding day," he mumbled, but made no move to get down. This was serious, whatever it was. The fear in his eyes told me that. "Now is exactly the time."

Then his eyes rolled back, and I was slamming the door open as Osiris darted down the hall with a final breath.

"I'll get Magelav."