Mist Revealed (13 page)

Ivan closed the door blocking her view of Rune’s small house. His concerned eyes centered on her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Movement caught her eye. She glanced at the misty fog trickling in through the cracks around the doorjamb and swallowed hard. It rolled in slow waves along the ground as if it were seeking her out. She backed toward the stairs.

“Do you see that?” She pointed at the fog.

“What?”

“The—” The mist dissipated before her eyes. She dropped her hand and scrambled backward. Her feet hit the bottom stair. She grabbed the banister. “Nothing.”

She swallowed hard. Rune can’t take me out of the hotel. It’ll cause a scene. I’m safe.

She wasn’t so sure she believed her rationalization. It beat the fear threatening to overwhelm her, though. She took a deep breath.
Focus. I need to focus on the reason I came here.
“May I see those books on the
eldjötnar
?”

“Of course. Let me wake my wife. She’ll draw you a warm bath and make you tea while I collect them from the attic.”

“That’s not necessary. Show me where they are, and I’ll get them myself.”

Ivan shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t think of it. It’s dirty and cold up there. I’ll get them right now.” He motioned to the gathering room. “At least come in and sit by the fire.”

Her heart skipped a beat. If Rune could control the fog, the
eldjötnar
would own fire and use it as they wanted.

“No!” She pressed a hand to her pounding chest. “I’ll wait in my room. Will you hurry please?”

“Certainly. You’re at the top of the stairs.” He dug a key out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She snagged it and fled to the relative safety of her room. It only took a few minutes for Ivan to return.

Her eyes widened at the armful of ancient books he held. They looked as if they belonged in a museum. Her fingers itched to get her hands on the find.

“Here you go.” He stacked them on the nightstand. “Are you sure you don’t want me to have tea sent up?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you for these.” She couldn’t tear her gaze from the books.

The door closed, and she rushed to the pile. Most were written in languages she couldn’t read. She groaned. Really, what did she expect? The largest tome, however, was one she could understand. She snatched it and made her way to the desk.

She set up a mini-workstation. Internet search results for Norse myths showed on her computer. Her smartphone had another screen highlighting articles on Greenland’s archeological discoveries. On her lap, the leather-bound book was opened to the page detailing Ragnarok.

Multitasking helped her focus. She needed that. Too many things had happened in the last few days. Everything she’d always held true had taken a hit.

She carefully turned the yellowed page and continued absorbing the tale. The myth detailed the regenerative cycle of the world, along with the events of the final battle down to who would kill whom. It reminded her of a historical tale, not a prophetic legend.

A beep sounded, indicating a new message. She minimized the internet and opened her email.

Call me now—Sam.

The cost of the call would kill her budget. She didn’t care. She snatched her phone, turned it on and dialed. It rang once.

“Holy fuck, Catherine, you stumbled on a goddamn epic find.”

“What do you mean?”

“The staff that washed up on shore was part of a cache found by American military during World War II near Iceland. After the war, scientists from our institute were involved in the search for more.”

The sound of shuffling papers filled the line.

“And?” She prompted when he didn’t say anything else.

“And they found a hoard of treasure along with dozens of perfectly preserved bodies.”

The eldjötnar.

“Oh God.”

“Exactly. Gods.” Sam chuckled. “Or more to the point, a bunch of ancient Norsemen who thought they were deities.”

Her gaze drifted to the open page on Ragnarok. Rune’s voice repeated in her head. He’d said the gods had returned to their slumber.

She gasped.
No. It’s not possible.
Dammit, hadn’t she said that numerous times over the past few days? Nothing was turning out to be impossible.

“What happened to them?”

“No clue. That was all I could find, and if Roland learns I got into his private accounts, I’m going to be in trouble.”

She dismissed Sam’s concern. Roland overlooked a hell of a lot where his staff was concerned. Science was too important is his mind, and those who understood its mysteries were valued despite their eccentricities.

“We need to find them. They really are—”

A shock zinged up her arm. She squeaked and dropped her phone. The door flew open. She pivoted. Rune stood in the open doorway dressed in jeans, no shoes or shirt, exactly as she’d left him.

A wave of his hand, and the lights went out. The sound of a door slamming reached her ears. His warm hand snaked around her waist. He tugged her against him and took her mouth in a fierce kiss.

His anger radiated through the hard press of his lips, but so did a sense of desperation. He ran his hands down her back and over her ass. A growl rumbled his chest. He pulled her closer.

“My Cat, you’re alive.” He whispered the words against her mouth before kissing her again.

Not why did you leave or why did you disobey me. His first concern was for her safety.

She pressed her chest to his, linked her arms around his neck and met him, stroke for stroke. In the face of his distress, she couldn’t deny him anything.

Finally, the wildness eased. Their kiss gentled. He made love to her mouth, twining their tongues and moaning his pleasure. The firm press of his hands turned to reverent caresses.

She didn’t know how long they stood there wrapped in each other’s embrace. Time lost its meaning, even though she knew they didn’t have much. She had to tell him what Sam had learned, but nothing could’ve stopped her from enjoying Rune’s attention. It meant more than passion. Instinctually, she knew it and couldn’t resist. She gave herself to him, letting him support her body and knowing on some level he’d never allow her to fall.

After a long moment, he broke the kiss and swung her into his arms. Glowing eyes focused on her. “Did he touch you?”

The
eldjötnar
. He knew.

She shook her head.

“Jaron went after him. The demon was foolish to approach you while we were close. What did he do?”

“He taunted me. Told me the Wardens were just like them. That’s what you are, right? A Warden?”

He pressed his lips to her forehead. His sigh sent tingles skipping across her skin. He carried her to the bed and crawled onto it with her still cradled against his chest. “Yes. We are the Wardens of the mist and guardians of its treasures.”

She looked into his face. The moonlight coming from the window cast a silvery radiance onto his skin and enhanced the gray in his eyes, making him appear ethereal. He could’ve been an angel, but if what the fire demon had said was true, he was far from good.

“And are you as evil as they are?”

He skimmed his fingertips down her cheek. “I suppose we could be, but remember, the
eldjötnar
chose to consume the life force of their mates in order to break their bonds. They also choose to wreak havoc on the world simply because they have the power to do so.” He urged her to straddle him. She did, settling her bottom over his bent thighs. “We have always held our honor close. It guides our choices from feeding to mating.”

She pressed a hand to her neck. “You didn’t bite me.” She posed it as a statement and hoped it was true.

He wrapped a section of her hair around his hand and tugged her head, exposing her throat. Her heartbeat kicked up. He bent closer and brushed his lips along the column, right over her racing pulse. Her breaths quickened, not in fear. Anticipation rode her.

She wanted him to bite her.

Jesus, what was she thinking? She tried to shake her head to get the crazy thought out. He held her still.

“No.” His breath tickled her ear. “Taking your blood would guarantee our mating. There would be no discussion. I would make you mine. I won’t do that to you, Cat. I won’t take the choice out of your hands. Being my mate is an eternal commitment for both of us.”

“Who do you bite then?”

“We coax human males or animals to share their blood with us.”

The dog. He hadn’t been hugging a beloved pet. He’d been feeding.

She strained against his hold. He immediately eased his tight grip on her hair. She stared into his eyes. “Do you kill them?”

He cupped her face in his large palms. “Never. We only take what our hosts can safely give. Think of it. We come from a world where living creatures are few and far between. Killing our donors would be detrimental to our existence.”

Her breath escaped in a slow hiss. The tension in her shoulders eased. “But you can’t die.”

“Without nourishment, we must embrace the death-sleep or succumb to blood lust.”

The words triggered the importance of the conversation she’d had with Sam. “Is that what your gods had succumbed to? A death-sleep?”

“They are your gods, not mine.”

She waved his statement away. She wasn’t about to get into a conversation about religion with him. Her acceptance of his nonhuman status and his tale of demons and Ragnarok pushed her limit of what she was willing to believe. “Answer me. Do they appear dead?”

A guarded look slid over his features. “Yes. Our bodily functions stop, but we are not dead. Our…” He paused a moment. His brows turned down. “Our souls still reside within our physical shells. Here.” He laid a hand over his heart. “Life returns to our bodies when we are awakened.”

She sat up straighter and gripped his shoulders. “What triggers you to wake up?”

For a long moment, Rune didn’t say anything. He watched her with first confusion, then wariness. Finally, he sighed. Defeat slackened his features. “It depends on why we entered into the sleep. For us, it was the duty to protect humans from our enemies. Our last thought was to rise if we sensed their release. Our souls remembered, and we awoke.”

“But the gods? What would wake them?”

He set her on the bed and climbed off. Long strides took him to the window. He leaned against the frame and surveyed the village.

“Well? Answer me.”

He snorted. “You are a demanding female.”

The hint of amusement in his voice brought a smile to her lips. “Like I said earlier, you have no idea. It’s probably why I don’t have a boyfriend.”

He glanced over his shoulder. His eyes took on a faint glow, and the tips of his fangs showed in his mouth, not the full set she’d seen on Jaron. She waited for her fear to surface at the reminder of his nonhuman status. It never came.

“I am not sure your personality has anything to do with it.”

She scrunched her nose and ran a hand over her uneven hair. A visit to the hairdresser and drugstore for makeup was a must as soon as she got home. “Thanks. That makes me feel wonderful.”

He ambled back to her side. Next to the bed, he towered over her. She gazed into his face. The look of hunger she’d seen him wear more often than not around her heated his eyes. The glow to them and the pointy teeth in his mouth gave him a wild edge. Arousal flowed. The fresh pair of panties she’d slipped on when she’d arrived grew damp.

Using the back of his hand, he tipped up her chin and stared deeply into her eyes. “I can’t help wondering if the mist hasn’t chosen you for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have been in this village for over a week and passed through others. Many females have crossed my path. Beautiful, alluring ones. Women who would’ve spread their legs in a heartbeat for me if I’d asked.” He leaned closer and traced her lips with the tip of his tongue. She opened for his kiss. He eased away and caught her gaze. “None stirred my cock or my hunger. None mattered until I saw you.”

Her heart did a little flip in her chest. The man knew exactly what to say to a girl.

She cleared her throat. “I’m not special. Maybe I just smell better than the other women in the village.”

“You do smell of heaven.” He skimmed his lips across her cheek to her ear. “My heaven.”

She grabbed his arms to steady herself. “See? It’s pheromones. How I smell. Nothing more.”

He dragged his open mouth down her throat. The scrape of his fangs against her skin tore a pleasured whimper from her.

“It is more.” His lips teased her skin with each word, sending shivers of awareness down her spine. “I have seen it.”

With that, he kissed her. Deep, slow strokes of his tongue with hers ignited the fire that burned for him alone. No other man had ever made her feel so complete. His scent and the warmth of his body wrapped around her. He could be her heaven, too.

Did she want that? She didn’t know. How could she make such a life-altering decision? Her world was unraveling, but here, in Rune’s arms, she felt right. For the moment, that was all that mattered.