“Then the Faery should watch and see.”

  “What are you really doing?”

  She was closer now, and he could have reached out and touched her. He knew that he should have backed up and put more space between them, but he thought that might look like an admission of weakness, so he stayed where he was.

  “I told you. Ending the raids and dealing with the First at the same time.”

  “I have a contact who says that two of the First were recently killed.”

  He kept his face expressionless. “Which two?”

  “Bjorn and Kjeld.”

  The news surprised him. He had expected Bjorn to be the last of them to go. He had always been spectacularly wily. “Who is your contact?”

  “A member of the Dark Sisterhood who has broken ranks to side with Faery.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “She developed a conscience. She says she inherited it from her father.”

  She looked aside, and he saw a tiny tattoo on the left side of her neck, just below her ear. It was Hagalaz, the symbol for destructive and uncontrollable natural forces. It seemed an appropriate rune for a werewolf to wear. She touched the symbol, knowing he was looking at it, and then she turned back to face him.

  “Remember this sign, Huntsman. My contact wears the same symbol.”

  He had seen that tattoo once before. “Mia,” he said.

  Ardella looked impressed, but only for a moment. “The very same. Good memory.”

  Erik hesitated, then took a gamble. “If your pack wants to witness what I do, have them come to Uppsala when the Draugr meet. Stay outside the circle of the royal mounds and watch. If they see what I do, they will believe that my words have been sincere.”

  She looked skeptical, but said, “I will tell my mate. I can’t guarantee he will come.”

  “You can only do what you can do,” he said. “Ardrik is known for his hard head.”

  She smiled briefly, brilliantly, at the mention of her alpha’s name. “So you know him.”

  “We’ve spoken.”

  Nordstrom came and distracted Erik by announcing, “The tourists have all gone. The site is clear.”

  “Thank you. You may go.”

  The museum director did as he was told and left the museum, heading for home. When Erik turned back to speak to Ardella, he found that she was gone. He sighed and went back out to the jeep.

  ***

  Nika and Ingrid returned to the house late in the night, the Book of Odin once again safely in Nika’s possession. The house was quiet and still and they found Erik sleeping in front of the fire. Ingrid kissed Nika on the cheek and went up to the loft, leaving the two of them alone.

  Nika put the book on the kitchen table and curled up beside Erik, her arms around his waist. He stirred at her touch and opened his eyes.

  “You’re back,” he mumbled.

  She kissed his shoulder. “Yes. Natasha is dead.”

  “Pardon me if I don’t weep.”

  He turned in her arms so that he was facing her, his hand brushing a stray hair out of her eyes. She smiled at him and touched his face.

  “Tomorrow night everything changes,” she whispered.

  “What do you mean?”

  She ran a hand down his chest. “After tomorrow, you’ll be king.”

  He chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “Then nothing changes but a word.”

  “You’ll have more responsibilities,” she said. “You might not…”

  “Might not have time for you? Is that what you were going to say?” He looked into her eyes. She looked away, and he turned her face back toward him. “I will never, ever put you last in line, my love.”

  “I just…”

  He silenced her with a kiss, showing her in action what his words were failing to convey. She put her arms around him and tangled her fingers in his blond hair, kissing him fiercely. He teased her lips with the tip of his tongue, and she opened for him, letting him inside. He explored her mouth with leisurely passion, his hand running down her side to cup her firm buttock and pull her closer still.

  He kissed her until she was dizzy from it, and she rolled him onto his back. He looked up at her, and the love in his eyes allayed all of her fears. She knelt over him, straddling his hips, her fingers running lightly down the midline of his body. He shivered, and she smiled.

  They undressed each other in the firelight, the glowing flames warming their skin. He cupped her breasts almost reverently, and she pressed herself against the growing heat between his legs. She teased him for as long as she could stand it, rubbing their bodies together until they both demanded more. He groaned when she let him slip inside of her, and she tipped her head back with pleasure.

  They took their time. They kissed and touched, long, languid trails of fingertips and lips, and all the while their bodies were joined as one. He took her hands in his, and she interlaced their fingers, squeezing gently. She began to rock, slowly at first, then with more speed as the feeling grew sweeter. He pushed up into her, rising to meet her downward motions, and it was like heaven.

  Sensation demanded speed, and they moved faster, desperate for each other and for the release they could only find together. When the moment came, it was a tidal wave of purest ecstasy, and then they were spent, lying in one another’s arms in a happy haze.

  Chapter Sixteen

  At the time appointed, they gathered on the burial mounds at Gamla Uppsala. A series of hills were the only remnants of the mighty temple that had once stood here, but in his mind’s eye, Erik could still see it as it was in its grandest days. The tallest hill was surmounted by a makeshift wooden platform that had been erected for the purpose, and Erik stood there with Nika at his side, watching as hundreds of Draugr filled the meadow. He had his double-headed axe there with him, his hand on the grip, the blades hones and shining.

  The wind blew in from a stand of trees to the side of the fenced-off field, and it carried with it the scent of the Ulfen. The other Draugr sensed it, too, and there was a low murmur through the crowd. Nika took Erik’s hand and squeezed it nervously.

  There was a flutter in the assembled vampires, and then a rush of power announced the arrival of the rest of the First. Olaf, Brevik, Dag, Halvar and Agnar strode up to the base of the hill, moving as a unit. It was almost as if they had come to raid the meeting. In their midst, Magda and Mia walked side by side their faces grim. Magda was wearing the black of mourning.

  When all of the vampires had finally arrived, Erik was stunned by the sheer numbers of them. He had no idea that there were so many Draugr in the world. The meadow below the burial mounds was thronged with faces, most of whom he did not recognize. He would have felt more confident in his plan with fewer Draugr to contend with; when a group was as large as this one, it could become unpredictable and dangerous. Mob mentality was a frightful thing when the mob was made up of vampires.

  Brevik shouted up to him, his voice raised so that all of those in attendance could hear. “Tell us why you called us, Thorvald.”

  He looked out over the group of vampires. “I am Erik Thorvald, the son and heir of Hakon, our first king.” He heard a low murmur, and he waited for it to pass. “I have come to claim his crown.”

  The murmur became a roar of surprise, outrage, and even acclamation. The other First looked at one another in disbelief, and Olaf said to Mia, “What did you do to him?”

  She shook her head, staring up at her father in consternation. “Not this.”

  Magda crossed her arms and stared up at Erik with a hateful look upon her face. “King,” she spat. “I will not live under his thumb again.”

  Dag looked around the group, his eyes drawn toward the forest. “Why are the Ulfen here?”

  Agnar shrugged. “If all of your enemies were gathering together, don’t you think you’d want to see what they were doing?”

  Erik held up his hand, and the Draugr fell silent. A group of young vampires, men and women who had probably been turned in just the last year or so, swarmed forward, their eyes bright with excitement. They were like fans at a rock concert, rushing the stage. He wondered if this was how rock stars felt. It was not a disagreeable sensation.

  He gestured toward Nika. “This is my Chosen. She has mastered the rune magic of Odin, and she will rule at my side.”

  Nika looked at him in surprise, and he smiled at her. Didn’t see that coming, did you? he asked her in her mind. She shook her head.

  One of the young ones jumped up onto the platform with them and turned to face the crowd. “Hail King Erik! Hail King Erik!”

  His chant was taken up by his friends, then by the other young ones, until it spread through almost the entire crowd. Erik had never dreamed that it would have been so easy to take control. A suspicion touched him, and he looked at Nika, asking her telepathically, Do you have something to do with this?

  My sisters, she said. They’re making them...malleable.

  He asked, Does that include the First?

  With a little more effort, she nodded, it can. Would you like us to raise the power?

  He smiled grimly. Please, as long as you can exclude me from the effects.

  She took his hand, and he could feel the shimmering warmth of rune magic between their palms. Guaranteed.

  Then let it happen.

  She shifted her focus briefly, and then he felt a shimmer of power course over him. There was an almost-visible frisson in the assembled Draugr, and they surged forward, crowding closer to the platform. The only place that wasn’t filled in by young ones was a pocket around the First, who were standing together directly in front of him. Nobody crowded the First.

  He gestured to his former brothers and their Valtaeigr escorts. “Come up here,” he called them.

  Olaf grinned. “He’s calling us! The glory days are going to be back!”

  Out of all of them, Dag and Magda looked the least convinced. He turned to her. “I’m not taking part in this,” he told her. “This feels wrong.”

  “I agree,” she said. “Mia, come with us. We’re leaving.”

  Her daughter looked stunned. “But we can’t leave.”

  “Can’t you feel that? The witches are here, and they’re trying to affect our minds. I will not accept him, ever, and especially not when I’m forced. I have had enough of that to last a hundred lifetimes.” She grabbed Mia’s arm. “Come along!”

  The three of them broke away from the First and headed toward the road, leaving the increasingly frenzied acclamation of the new Draugr king.

  Erik saw them as they began to leave. “Stop them,” he told Nika. “They can’t get away, Magda especially.”

  He saw a hard look come into his beloved’s eyes, and she raised her free hand. It began to glow with runic fire, and the young ones thronging before them cheered like spectators at a fireworks show. She threw the magical ball into the air, and it exploded above Dag and Magda’s heads. Mia pulled free of her mother and ran back to vanish into the throng, so she escaped when the magic turned into a glowing net of runes and magic that fell over Dag and Magda, pinning them in place.

  The rest of the First joined him on the platform, the four of them standing in a little clump beside him. The crowd burst into applause and cheers. There was a wild, bacchanalian edge to it, and Erik began to fear the excessive enthusiasm of his new subjects. It was hard to control one person at a time, let alone a thousand. For the first time, he doubted if he was doing the right thing.

  “You all saw the video,” he said. “Magda and Kjeld sent it.”

  There was another cheer. They were applauding the depredation of the faery. That would never, ever do.

  “The things that were done in that video were wrong and are henceforth forbidden. If anyone raids against the faery from this time forward, you will answer to me.”

  A murmur crawled through the crowd, and he saw them looking at one another in confusion.

  “My part in that debacle was the result of enchantments cast by Dark Sisters and traitorous Valtaeigr. I was wronged, and in the process, the faery were wronged. The faery have committed to going to war with us over these attacks.”

  “Then let them!” someone in the crowd shouted. “War! We are Draugr! We will fight!”

  “You will fight and you will die,” he snapped. “The faery are far more numerous than we are. Look around you. This is our entire population. The faery are worldwide and are so numerous that they could never fit into one place. They would destroy us. And they have at their sides the Ulfen and the other shifters.”

  As if to emphasize the point, Ardrik’s pack made themselves visible on the outer edge of the forest, close enough that they could charge and attack in less than a heartbeat. A ripple of fear and confusion spread through the crowd, and the Draugr drew inward, retreating from the wolves. Ardrik threw his head back and howled, and answering howls rose into the night air on all sides. They were surrounded.

  “There will be no more raids on faery,” Erik shouted again. “And drinking of faery blood and faery-tainted dreyri is forbidden!” He picked up his axe and looked at the First. “Kneel.”

  Agnar looked at him, tears in his eyes. “But...brother…”

  “I am not your brother,” he bit.

  Compelled by the power of the witches, they knelt. Erik looked at Ardrik and nodded to him. The alpha nodded back in understanding.

  He gestured to the runic net and the two would-be escapees that were held within it. “Bring them here.”

  “I’ll do that,” Nika said, her voice quiet but firm.

  The net closed around them, and though they fought the suggestion, Dag and Magda were forced to walk back to the platform. They struggled against every step, straining with every fiber of their beings, but the power of the Rune Master was too strong. Magda screamed in rage when they reached the platform. Nika forced them to kneel, as well.

  “Look upon these traitors,” he told his people. “The dreyri that they have been giving you has poisoned you. They are enemies of us all.”

  He released Nika’s hand and took up his axe. With a mighty swing, he severed Olaf’s head at the neck. The ancient vampire exploded into a shower of dust and ash, and the crowd cheered. Brevik and Agnar followed their brother to the afterlife in the same manner. Halvar began to weep.

  “Please, brother,” he begged. “Please. No.”

  Erik was unmoved. Halvar died.

  Only Dag and Magda remained, and they both glared at him with deep ill will. If they could have reached him, he knew, they would have happily torn him into pieces. Quietly, he said to Magda, “I do not blame you for the hatred you hold for me. I earned every bit of it. I do blame you for the excesses that it drove you to, and the crimes you have committed.”

  He signaled to Nika. The net of runic magic vanished, and Erik swung his axe. Dag was lost in a puff of ash, and Magda screamed in impotent rage as the blade fell on her neck.

  It was over. Nika and Erik stood alone on the platform once more. He took her hand and raised it into the air. The Draugr in the crowd chanted his name.

  “Erik! Erik! Erik!”

  The shouting and celebrating continued for what seemed like hours. Finally, he gestured for silence, and the crowd obeyed.

  “From this moment on, we are at peace with the Ulfen and the Faery. Any acts against them will be acts against me, and you will fare no better than these Draugr here at my feet.” He rested his axe on the ground and folded his hands on the grip. “Return to your homes. Go in peace.”

  The Ulfen alpha came forward and shifted into his human form. He called out, “I will tell the Faery what I have seen. The war will end.”

  Erik inclined his head toward him. “Thank you.”

  Ardrik turned back into his wolf form and raced into the cover of the trees, his pack following closely behind. Erik pulled Nika closer and put an arm around her shoulders, dropping a kiss on her temple.

  “Are you ready to be my queen?”

  She put her hand on his chest and looked up at him with a smile. “I would follow you anywhere.”

  He kissed her deeply as the crowd dispersed. “Don’t follow me,” he whispered. “Walk at my side.”

  “Gladly.”

  They embraced again, relieved to have finally ended the threat of war, and relieved that the danger of Magda and the First had been defeated. Nika stroked his back with both hands, and he relished the sensation of her warm touch.

  “What do you think,” she asked as they finally separated, “about taking over Snake Eyes and making sure the barrels and whatnot of faery blood are all destroyed?”

  “That was definitely on my list of things to do,” he nodded. “But there’s something else that we need to do, too.”

  She frowned. “What’s that?”

  He grinned. “What good is being royal if you can’t have a royal wedding?”

  She gasped. “Are you serious?”

  “Of course. Why would I joke about something like this?”

  Nika smiled, and the smile became a grin that threatened to split her face in two. “Are you seriously asking me to marry you?”

  “No, I was talking to the axe. Of course I’m asking you to marry me!”

  She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.”

  He pulled her into a kiss to seal the deal.

  *****

  THE END

  About The Author

  Amelia Wilson has dedicated her life to writing. She is a firm believer in the power of love to conquer all, and her works reflect this belief. Her paranormal romances are known for their love stories, action and suspense. She creates immersive worlds that are rich in detail and full of emotion.

  Amelia can be contacted at her Facebook page or through her newsletter.

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