“I’ll need a boat, yep.” Lottie knew that wasn’t what he wanted to say, but she plowed on anyway. “I think we can get one from the state, don’t you? It’s like having a company car, only those remote communities aren’t accessible by roads.”
The Norwegian coastline was an absolute maze of tiny islands and promontories, and Brundal, small as it was, definitely wasn’t the most remote settlement.
“There are a lot of elderly people out there who barely get by,” she said, still saddened whenever she thought of the reports she’d read on the subject.
“What if the seas are too rough in the winter?” Eiric asked.
She shrugged. “Oh, I think I know a sea dragon or two who could help guide my boat through pretty much any weather conditions.”
Lottie wasn’t exactly looking forward to the boating part of this new assignment, but bringing help to people in need was something she was truly passionate about. Eiric was still eyeing her skeptically, as if he was waiting for her to say that she was just kidding.
So she kissed him on the lips and murmured, “We’ll figure it out, okay?”
He huffed out a sigh. “Are you doing this because you’re scared of the witches?”
Lottie thought of brushing his question aside, but she couldn’t hide the truth from him. “Partly, yes. I want the twins hidden from them. And I want them to grow up surrounded by family.”
“You’re not worried about them growing up away from humans?” he pressed.
She raised her eyebrows. “First of all, we’ll take them to the mainland often. I’m not signing up for living as a hermit on that island. And my parents are coming to visit soon.” Eiric snorted, but she went on, “Plus, you’re all human, or at least human-shaped, most of the time. They’ll do just fine.”
“There’s no internet on the island,” he reminded her.
Lottie groaned. “Are youtryingto get me to change my mind?”
He held her to his chest. “No, I’m trying to make sure you’re not making a life-altering decision out of fear.”
Lottie pushed herself back so she could stare into his eyes. “I’m making it out oflove, you stubborn dragon.”
His gaze turned golden with heat, and he kissed her deeply. “Then you should know I’ll never let you go.”
He tumbled her back onto the couch cushions and kissed her again. Lottie locked her arms around him and let go of all her worries for the night. She’d found a home and a family here in Norway, and she couldn’t wait to start her new life on Drageøy with the kids.
Whatever life threw at her, she was ready with Eiric by her side.
Epilogue
Magnus
The fuckingwitch was still unconscious by the time Magnus parked Eiric’s car in the marina, so he had to carry his limp form to one of the boats the clan kept moored there. The man wasn’t heavy, yet at the scent of his blood, Magnus’ stomach roiled again.
He shouldn’t have chewed his hand off, but it had been the fastest way to make sure the witch could cast no more spells. The other option would have been to remove his tongue. However, Magnus’ dragon fangs weren’t exactly suited for procedures that required surgical precision. If he’d tried to do that, he might have chomped off the man’s head.
He wished to return to his house on Drageøy, brush his teeth, and then drink half a bottle of whiskey to purge any witchy remains from his stomach. But he needed to take care of his prisoner first.
He started the boat’s motor, wrinkling his nose as the machine sputtered to life and belched a cloud of exhaust. The witch stirred and moaned weakly, so Magnus bound his remaining hand to the bench—he didn’t want him to wake up and jump overboard in a fit of fear.
Their village healer would have to examine that hand of his, even though Torvald was old and had never had any real training as a doctor. Magnus had been meaning to send someone to be educated in human medicine for a while now, but something more important always came up first. They were lucky that dragons were a resilient bunch, and that any scrapes and bruises they managed to collect healed fast. He touched his ribs, where the burn still smarted from his confrontation with the witch. The area itched like hell: new skin grew underneath the watery blisters.
Magnus wished he’d asked Charlotte to bandage the witch properly, but Eiric’s human mate had been through enough that day. During their walk back to her house, Magnus had expected her to be overcome with the shock and succumb to hysterics, but she’d handled the situation with surprising calm. She’d even tried to attack the witch herself.
Magnus grinned at the memory. Eiric had chosen well. They were well suited to each other. And if a slight sting of jealousy accompanied the thought, Magnus stamped it down. He could barely keep his head above water as the leader of the clan. As a king. He had no time for courtship.
Rationally, he knew he was expected to produce an heir sooner or later, but that could wait. First, he needed to pull their clan from under the memory of his father and into the new era, much like Eiric had said. Magnus would chew off his own tail before admitting to his baby brother that he’d been right, but he wasn’t an asshole. He knew when to listen to good advice.
The witch’s mouth opened and closed, and the fingers on his good hand moved. Magnus made sure the boat was moving steadily in the direction of his home but kept one eye on his captive.
Several minutes later, the man woke up, flinging insult after insult at Magnus.
