"This is all true."
He turned to her. "Then how do you explain what Nix said to me? I was at Val Hal earlier on the night I captured you. When you drove by, she stared me directly in the face and mouthed, You're late."
"I'm going to kil her!" Lightning flashed just outside the window. "You're right about one thing-Nix did set this up. But I vow that I'm as much of a pawn as you are."
"To what end?"
"She knew how much I missed Aidan. This would strike her as a perfect solution, forced intimacy and all that. She's probably cackling with her creepy little bat right now."
"Missed Aidan? Valkyrie, get your story straight. You just said you were with Brandr."
She gave a laugh. "With Brandr? Please." Another snicker. "No, I said he's my protector. As in, he tries to look out for me."
Declan's relief disgusted him, making his ire escalate again. He moved away from her, back to his desk.
"Why would he sacrifice himself?"
"He was your best friend," she said. "You made him vow that he'd earn ohal a and watch over me."
"Ohal a?"
"If you won two hundred battles while bearing Woden's mark, he'd grant you immortal life and strength."
True or not, this was fascinating. "What was his mark?"
"Two ravens."
Declan just stifled the urge to touch the charm at his neck. The one imprinted with two birds in flight.
He cast his mind back to the day he'd gotten it. He'd been six, and the nightmares had just started. His da had been worried about him, and though their family could il afford it, he'd taken Declan and Colm to a fair. A fortune-tel er had given Declan the charm, tell ing him to keep it close to his heart for luck. ...
"Chase?"
He quickly said, "That's why Brandr is deathless?"
"Yeah, against all odds, he earned ohal a. Now he's as strong as most vamps and demons. Fast, too. When he hits a rage, he could take on even a Lykae."
"He kept his vow this long?" So Aidan had enjoyed Regin as his woman and a loyal friend as well.
"For the first two hundred years, he fol owed me and Lucia everywhere, ready to step in with the rescuing. We ditched him at every opportunity. finally Nix felt sorry for him and told him she'd let him know if I was in danger-or if you were returning."
"Why didn't Aidan earn ohal a?"
"You were working on it, intending to marry me once you became immortal." She sat on the floor with her knees to her chest, her head resting against the window. "You asked me to stay with you while you fought your battles. To me, you should have been merely an interesting mortal, but something about you drew me. I decided to give you a chance." She smiled to herself, murmuring. "As well as my virginity."
He tensed, appal ed to catch himself wondering what it would've been like to be her first lover.
He knew what she was doing, knew she was planting the seed so he'd imagine it. And he did, envisioning laying her down and inching his way into her untried sex. Catching her gasp of surprise with his lips ...
He grew hard yet again. Earlier, one look at her braless br**sts in that T-shirt had made him stiff as wood. Before encountering her, he'd gone ten years without so much as a twitch. And now this. Where was his control?
"Even after a mil ennium, I just have to think about us together and my claws curl." She twisted around so he could see them.
They had curled. His voice rougher, he asked, "What do your claws have to do with it?"
She gave a laugh. "You'll find out soon enough." Before he could demand an answer, she continued, "Life in your camp was satisfying. Life with you was"-she sighed wistful y-"thrilling."
"Who was Aidan warring against?"
"Leeches. Always the Vampire Horde. You'd positioned your army in a strategic pass, and every day you battled them back, to protect the mortal vil ages in the val ey below. You, a berserker from the Lore, saved thousands of human lives."
He impatiently waved her on.
"You kept your army honed and well trained, and your men loved you, would have fol owed you into hell."
Declan's men feared and despised him. And I don't give a shite as long as they follow orders.
In a distant tone, she began to describe camp life-the dress, the weapons, the mead hal with snarling bears' heads on the wal s-until he could almost smel the smoke of fire pits and roasting game, could nearly hear the incessant clang of swords in the training yard.
It was a man's world she described, one that appealed to Declan.
He found himself relaxing, getting caught up in her tale. And all the while she searched his face for glimmers of recognition. "Any of this ringing a bell?"
"Not as of yet. Continue."
"You trained me yourself. I carry two swords to this day because of you. I'd always wanted to wield this great sword, but it was longer than I was tal ." Then she frowned. "At least, I used to carry those swords."
"I have them stored here." Mere feet from her was the concealed entry into the storage bay. Her weapons were within.
"Do you?" she said nonchalantly, but her eyes had flickered silver. Those swords were very important to her. "I still remember the day you gave them to me." Her face grew soft as she said, "It was a day of firsts." A secretive smile played about her lips.
That smile and her sensual tone got his back up. A day of firsts? He could only imagine what kind of firsts. Jealousy toward this Aidan seared him inside, made Declan want to hurt her for loving him. "Yet your Aidan died."
Her smile faded. "Yes. A vampire traced into our home and slew him."
"You care a great deal about those swords-a gift from your first lover. After a thousand years of acquiring possessions, are these your most cherished?"
More flickering.
"They are," he said. "I think I'll destroy them if you don't provide information about your kind."
"Do it. I don't give a damn."
"Immortals can't bluff, Regin. Your changeable eyes always give you away. And from your reaction, I'd wager you'd do just about anything to preserve them. Answer my questions, or I'll melt them down myself."
"You expect me to jeopardize my sisters?"
"Can all Valkyrie channel energy? Start talking, or I'll give your precious weapons to Warden Fegley, let him f**k about with them. Maybe I'll dispatch them to the Horde with your compliments? Vampires should possess the swords that have fel ed so many of their kind."