Page 36 of The Last Valkyrie (Vikingrune Academy #4)

Chapter 36

Ravinica

MY INSIGHT brOUGHT a new wave of commotion into my little house.

Magnus left to report to his father Kelvar, who would likely tell Salos and the other Hersirs of the rapidly changing landscape.

Sven went in his wolf form to check on Deitryce and make sure she was staying put in the Ljosalfar camp and wasn’t making any moves yet.

Arne was busy writing a missive at my table, standing over it as he slashed his signature, folded it, and went to give it to a messenger. When I asked, he said it was a letter to Dieter, to prepare the Lepers Who Leapt for the impending conflict.

Grim stayed with me, not sure what he could do other than stick by my side as I reeled.

“You said there are hundreds of dark elves encamped, lunis’ai ?” Corym asked.

I shook my head. “Hundreds of fires. I couldn’t tell if it was Dokkalfar or what. But anything this close to the academy can’t be considered friendly. The light elves and wood elves are already here, and they’re the only allies we’re expecting.”

Pacing, Corym tapped his chin. “It’s unsettling, if Gresh’kellen and Korvan have grown their forces so rapidly.”

From my bed, Grim muttered, “The northern portal they opened must have helped them secretly bolster their forces.”

We fell silent, and it was a crushing moment that felt heavy on my shoulders. Our eyes met—my yellow, Corym’s gold, Grim’s amber—and helplessness crossed our faces.

“Then it seems like this is war,” Grim said.

His name was perfect for the tone of his announcement.

Corym and I shared a look, nodding glumly. There was no getting out of it: Enemies would be at our gates for the first time in centuries soon. I wasn’t even sure we had enough time to properly mobilize against them, even though we’d been urgently training for a few weeks now, ever since the first dark elves were spotted in the Isle.

Within the hour, Magnus, Sven, and Arne returned. They relayed their messages.

Arne wouldn’t know more from Dieter for a while. It might be too late by then—the Lepers could have been camping with the Dokkalfar right now, even. Sven said Deitryce was holding meetings at her camp, most likely concerning the new threat I represented. Magnus said Kelvar had already known about the army, but had planned to wait until after Salos’ enshrining to tell the campus, so students wouldn’t get too worried.

“The time for caring about our fears and worries is over,” I murmured.

“That’s what I said,” Magnus answered.

“Did you ask about Salos at all? Namely, how the Hel he was elected when Kelvar’s name was also likely on the shortlist?”

The bloodrender nodded. “It’s as you suspected, love. Kelvar, Dahlia, and Ingvus bickered for so long they saw no other way out. He’s hoping to keep Salos with busy-work so he can’t cause too much damage.”

Sven scoffed. “Good luck with that. My father is a disruptor and schemer. They’ve opened a can of worms they won’t be able to close . . .”

When he trailed off, I glanced at him. He wanted to say more.

“. . . Unless I kill him first,” he finished with a snarl.

I sat on the edge of my bed. Bowed my head and put my chin between my palms. Things were dreary once again. There didn’t seem to be a way to escape it. War will only make things more tragic and awful.

I looked up then. My mates were in their own worlds. They all wanted to be doing something, and Arne suggested they go out and warn the students themselves, so people could get ready.

I longed for my guys. Something deep and visceral called to me—a flash of desire when I stared at their concerned faces, their strong bodies. We all wanted to do what was right, but we didn’t know our next move.

“Guys,” I said, just as they were getting ready to leave my longhouse to go on their Paul Revere mission. When their faces turned, I said, “I’m scared, just like anyone, but let’s give Kelvar a chance to operate how he wants.”

Magnus furrowed his brow, his gaunt cheeks going concave as he inhaled sharply. “Silvermoon?”

I sat straighter, finding my voice. “If tonight is going to be the last night of peace before war . . . and we don’t know what’s going to happen . . . then I just want to be with you all. I can’t stand the thought of losing any of you. We don’t know what tomorrow brings, but maybe just tonight, we can make our own fate.”

Slowly, my mates walked toward me like moths to flame.

Grim was the first there, tilting my chin, seeing the sadness and hope in my eyes. “We’re not going anywhere, Vini. You will always have us.”

“Then show me,” I croaked, closing my eyes to fight off tears. “Because I’m not feeling very confident that we’ll all be standing in a couple d—”

His lips crashed over mine before I could finish. The heat and want burrowing in my belly flared to life, igniting every part of me as my mountainous mate claimed my lips with a drastic kiss.

He kneeled in front of me at the edge of the bed so he’d be eye-level. My hands quested around his handsome face, his palms were warm on my cheeks.

Everything had begun with this man, this protective sentinel, and it felt right to have him be the initiator of our heated passion. The other guys crowded in around my bed, making themselves comfortable as they watched.

I didn’t want thoughts or feelings or emotions. I just wanted touch—so different now than a mere two hours ago when I hadn’t needed their consolation to rid myself of my headache.

Now, all I could think about was them . My hands on them, their lips on me. Our skin touching, sliding together as we so often did in times of need and necessity. Because that’s what this was—not a want or a desire, a need .

If I was going to lose my mates, I needed to have one solid memory of them together with me, where our passion took over and dictated our lives.

Grim was an unselfish man. He let the others come over and twist my head left and right, kissing and placating me with soft touches. Magnus took my left, hovering at the side of my bed, and Sven was there to my right at the foot of it.

Arne sat behind me, peppering kisses along my shoulders and the nape of my neck. His soft touch brought a groan from my lips, easing out the tension where my wings had sprouted from.

No one moved too fast. I was hyperaware of every touch, every finger laid on me, and unlike in the past when things had seemed like a blur and I became lost in the tangle of limbs, this time I stayed in the present. Their individual scents filled me, the feeling of one set of lips over another, and how unique they felt.

We had come from different backgrounds, all of us, yet the one thing we shared was the love we had for each other. The love they had for me . They swaddled me in it, not letting me escape the heat of their desire and longing, even as one face separated from mine and a brisk spurt of air glided between us before another warm pair of lips met mine.

Gently, Grim helped me out of my pants, while Arne took me tunic off from the back, over my raised arms. When I was bare, I scooted back on the bed to recline in a comfortable position.

There had been moments of extreme pleasure with these men—things taken to the brink of desire as bondage and choking and eager orgasms commanded our dalliances, everyone vying to outdo the other and make me come the hardest.

Now, there was only simple longing and soft pleasure. This was a moment stuck in time, sizzling onto my mind so I would never forget it, no matter what happened outside this longhouse once the storm hit and things became dire.

It was our last night of freedom, I knew. There was nothing I wanted more than to share it with them, spend it wrapped up in the love and warmth of my five mates.

Grim disrobed and made the bed creak when he crawled over me and framed my body with his huge arms and legs. The man was a delicious monster in every sense, his long cock dragging across my belly and leaving a wake of precum before he’d even gotten hard.

He bent low to kiss me, to swallow me in his size, and I wrapped my legs around him and let my ankles settle on his taut ass.

His skin was so warm and inviting, I became lost in him. My entire world became Grim, the planes and muscles of his body shielding me from any exterior sights, sounds, or feelings.

He thickened against my belly, growing stiff at a rapid pace that had my heart fluttering when I felt him. My hand wrapped around his cock between us—or as much of the thick shaft as I could get between my fingers.

The other four let him have his due, his claim over me. No one moved in to take over or steal Grim’s thunder. They knew they would have their chances. They just needed to show some restraint and patience. Two things they were horrible at.

It’s a test, loves. How much are you willing to resist for me?

Their groans were evidence enough. Within minutes, the room was filled with six naked bodies, and even with their delectable physiques and shapes, I maintained focus on Grim and Grim only.

He slid down between my legs, first moving his kisses from my lips to my neck. Then he was between my breasts, placing soft touches on me as he went lower to my belly, and finally to the heat of my pussy.

I stuffed his head between my thighs, wrapping my legs around his neck as I moaned. “Oh, Grim . . .” My head rolled back, giving him a perfect opportunity to wrap his hand around the stiff pillar of my throat and lightly squeeze as he ate me out. My hands wrapped around his sculpted arm.

There was something so perfect about these men knowing just how to please me. How to set every nerve on fire with their expertly placed tongues and hard cocks.

When he was done licking my cunt and nuzzling my clit, he sat straighter on his knees and slid my body down to him. With a brooding nod, he dragged his tongue over his bottom lip and caressed my thighs.

“Do it, love,” I whispered. His silhouette bore down on me like an apparition meant to bring me to the heights of bliss. “Please, don’t let me lose you.”

Grim brought my body onto his cock, pushing me apart and stuffing me to the brim. My thighs jiggled as I jolted from the sudden intrusion of his size, the ecstatic sensation of him burying himself.

When he moved inside me, it wasn’t with the heated, hard, flesh-slapping rhythms of the past. His eyes never left my face, even as his large hands controlled my hips. He used my body like he owned it, and all I could do was watch and breathe shallowly as my belly bulged from his massive size.

I would never get used to my largest mate and the way he could bring me to my knees when no one else could. It was his magic power, and I loved every second of it.

But we both understood his time was limited, because the other four wouldn’t wait forever. They were closing in, seeing my naked form sliding on the bed—down against his thighs, slightly lifted onto the tops of them, and then up so my scalp almost hit the headboard. My tits swung in rhythm to his ministrations, and it took less than five minutes for me to feel the orgasm trying to wrench free like a wildfire spreading across the plains of my soul.

Once I was ignited with that flame, there was no stopping me. I remained in the present, but could no longer take just having one of my mates alongside me in the fiery prairie.

“Come and get me, boys,” I begged the others.