Page 55 of The Magic of Vanaheim

“Your uncle and his dragon… Did he really ride a fire serpent?”

“She was more of an ice serpent, really. And an actual dragoness, by the way, no two-legged wyvern.” Talvinen paused, a look of deep sadness crossing his face. “She was a wise one and kind.”

Håkon had no idea how to console him. Again, he was stunned by Talvinen’s resilience in the face of loss.

“I am—sorry for your loss,” Håkon stammered.

In the blink of an eye, Talvinen had pushed him up against a rune stone, kissing him fervently.Hel, he could be fast if he wanted to. His husband sucked the breath right out of Håkon’s lungs, making him moan low in his throat.

“You’re so sweet. Such a good boy,” Talvinen mumbled when he finally pulled back a bit. “Bergelmir wanted to use you as a tool to kill me, but you came on your sister’s behalf. So honorable, brave, and kind. You’re way too good for that coward.”

The overwhelming urge to sink to his knees and pledge his sword to Talvinen made Håkon’s breath catch in his throat. He wanted to swear loyalty to his incredible husband, maybe offerhis body as a token of sincerity, too. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t betray his people. “You’re giving me too much honor.”

“Hmm, and always so humble. Now, do you want to see the ships?”

“What kind of ships?”

“The stone ones.”

Talvinen was already moving again, gracefully climbing the side of the mound to get on top.

“Talvinen! Damn it!”

Cursing under his breath, Håkon followed. Why did Talvinen always have to be so careless?

“Surely offending the dead isn’t a good idea, even in Vanaheim,” Håkon grumbled as soon as he caught up with his husband.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they wanted us to see.”

“See what?” The uneasy feeling the burial site evoked wouldn’t quite leave Håkon.

Talvinen made a sweeping gesture, encompassing the surrounding land, and Håkon finally took the time to look down properly. At first, he didn’t notice anything he hadn’t expected. The mound allowed a beautiful view over the lake and the forest beyond. From here, you could overlook the entire area: the two other burial mounds and the standing stones scattered on the ground.

The standing stones! You could see them clearly from the mound, but Håkon imagined that the view from an eagle’s perspective—or from the vantage point of a warrior sitting comfortably on the back of a dragon—must be absolutely breathtaking. The standing stones formed the perfect shape of a mighty longship, with considerably larger stones forming the bow and the stern. An otherworldly ship carrying the souls of long-dead rulers to the halls of their ancestors among the stars.

“It’s beautiful,” Håkon breathed.

“I hoped you’d like it.”

“Did you plan all of this?” Håkon asked carefully. The idea that Talvinen might have put some thought into this courting gesture instead of deciding to take him out here on a whim made Håkon feel dizzy.

“Yes,” Talvinen said simply.

“But why?”

Taking a step backward and away from Håkon, Talvinen ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. He looked endearing, the boyishvalawho made the maidens giggle all the time and made the warriors forget how powerful he truly was. This man was the perfect trap.

“Because I think about you all the time. I have a long list of places I want to show you, gifts I want to give you, and things I want you to try because you might enjoy them.”

Håkon couldn’t help but laugh. This was just ridiculous.

“You don’t believe me.” A statement, not a question, spoken very gently. As always, Talvinen did a good job of pretending he was neither angry nor annoyed with him.

On some level, Håkon knew he should let the subject go. He shouldn’t anger the man his and Gudrun’s survival depended on. Even if he managed to kill Talvinen now, there was no way of ensuring Gudrun’s safe escape from the citadel. But something about the sheer outrageousness of Talvinen’s claims angered Håkon. How could theVanrexpect Håkon to believe such nonsense?

“Name just one,” Håkon gritted out.

It took Talvinen only a second to get Håkon’s drift.