“Not as far as we need to be,” I say darkly now, and Bjorn nods his agreement.
We fall silent then. With a deep inhalation, Bjorn suddenly stands, heaving up out of the hot pool and offering me his hand. I take it and he hauls me out. As we brisk off, then dress, him in his all-black leathers and me in my quilted crimson robe, he lifts his chin.
“Ström and Baldur are back.” Bjorn feels their presence nearby, even before I do. “We should talk to them and get Mikkel. Decide what to do.”
“And give them their rings,” I say as I scoop them up into my palm. AsI gaze at them, I see them sear with a small blaze of our etheric fire before it subsides.
“To bond us better, as one,” Bjorn says as he watches it, too. “Now that we can all finally get along.”
I nod, heaving a deep breath as I ready myself.
Then turn with Bjorn, heading out to whatever comes next.
21
FRIEND
My drakes and I sit in the lofty underground dining hall now, devouring an incredible feast the Thorsen twins prepared for us. Dressed in my tawny leathers again, rather than my robe, I see how everyone is back in their own leathers also, since our crazy group sex the night before.
Baldur wears something new today, however, rather than his invalid silks. A stunning set of white battle-leathers, tooled in light blue and gold, he shines like a diamond in the dawn now, restored to his full glory, at last.
Finished with our feast, we push plates away; I feel the incredible synergy that races through us all, now that we’ve banished the Black Dragon’s curses. Even Lærke surges with renewed energy today, since she’s bound to us via her brother. It’s nice to feel everyone sitting here at the table like family now, hale and whole, at last.
As I gather myself—ready for what comes next.
I take the remaining silver rings out of a little crimson silk bag I found, which now lives in a pocket of my leathers, then place the rings on the bag at the table. Everyone fixes on them, as Bjorn and I clasp our left hands upon thetabletop.
His and my rings touch; a pulse rocks through us and those little curls of etheric fire flare suddenly, through our rings. As I gaze around my drakes, I see them marvel at the treasures we’ve been gifted.
The story from King Örn Magnussen already explained as we ate.
“The thing we need to do next,” I continue now, “is to find this place of power Hedda used to create the Black Dragon. Because Bjorn’s right; a place like that might really help us. Not to mention that we may need to set up some kind of guard on it, if the wights of the Black Dragon Five feel drawn to it, because of where the Usurper was created.”
“I’ve had a bit more time to study Hedda’s scrolls since last night,” Baldur chimes in now, his beautiful blue eyes blazing with a clear ring of opal-white around them as we talk. “I am of the opinion now, based on everything I’ve learned about Hedda’s ceremonies, that severing the souls of the Black Dragon Five from the creature can actually be done. It is massive magic, and tricky in the extreme… but I believe more than ever now, that if we could make a Soulstone withpreciseancient Bloodwalker runes upon it, like Hedda used, to resonate with each mate of hers on a soul-imprint level… then we could ritually entrap the souls of the Five away from the Usurper. The Stone would need to be coated in additional containment sigils to trap the souls and hold them safe. We’d need to draw them out of their wight-bones, to prevent them from fully returning to the creature, then kill their wights. Finally, we’d need to shatter the Soulstone during an additional special Bloodwalking ceremony. To release the Five’s souls back to the Void of Ancestors where they should be—rather than be tethered to the creature anymore.”
“Do you think you have enough knowledge from Hedda now to make this Soulstone?” I ask him point-blank, because we can’t even think about getting started on this agenda until Baldur’s certain.
“Enough to begin the ceremony, yes, and prepare the Stone.” He glances at me as his eyes darken, his brows knitting. “Once I’m in, however, it’s a matter of generating the right power that we’ll need to search the massive endlessness of the Void, for memories strong enough toform an accurate imprint of Hedda and each of her drakes. I can’t look for their souls directly; they’re not in the Void of Ancestors right now. They’re incarnate and bound to the creature. What I can do is get Rikyava to use her Bloodwalking ability to contact those who knew the Five in life, while I gather their memories and form a soul-picture of each dragon. Then I’ll harness the Five’s power by painting a Soul Sigil with my power, which accurately reflects their soul-imprint.”
“You’d need to do thatfive timesin a row. Contacting maybe evenhundredsof dragons out in the Void to get an accurate picture of each of the Five.” Ström whistles now as he watches Baldur. “Plus, you’d have to do it all in one ceremony while we stay out in the Void with our group’s power. That’s a fuckingmassiveBloodwalking. Might take hours. Even days.”
“Maybe.” Baldur nods as he glances at me. “We can’t do it alone. We need a serious natural power spot to harness as much energy as we’ll need, to do what I’m envisioning.”
“All the more reason to find this hall where Hedda built the Black Dragon and use it for our own aims, against her,” Mikkel says as his dark eyes glitter, flashing bright copper.
“Before we can even do any of this, however, we’d need to clear the black veil in the Void that’s been preventing Rikyava from getting any accurate information out of the Ancestors, except for when Aesa and Hekla pushed through it, using Insinio Brandfort’s power,” Ström says now, aware of everything that happened at the chapel in Chambord. He glances at me, his gaze wary. “We can’t do shit in the Void, and trust what we’re getting, until that extra curse around your Bloodwalking ability comes down.”
“When we faced him in Copenhagen, Emil insinuated it was his Bloodwalker, Litha, who put that curse on you.” Mikkel’s dark gaze penetrates me. I feel retribution simmer in him, though it’s calmer than I’ve ever felt before. “That’s two curses she trapped you with, in the Void—the black veil, and the Excommunication curse.”
“All as she masqueraded as our ally, Ruta Bein.” Ström growls as his green eyes flash brimstone murder. He glances at me. “She could have put those on you anytime, Rikyava, with you barely noticing it. You’ve had a lot of interactions with Ruta since you came back to Sweden a few months ago.”
“Who knows how long Litha has been masquerading as Ruta?” I seethe also as I think about it. “Hell, she could have put those on me as a youngling if her impersonation of Ruta goes back far enough. Or maybe Ruta never even truly existed… she might have been Litha the entire time. Who knows what Litha is capable of? Or how far back this plan of hers even goes.”
“All we know is that she placed that black veil around Rikyava so she could manipulate her, and us, into looking for the Black Dragon’s artifacts atUnhaemmertenand liberating the souls of the Five.” Bjorn growls now as he taps the table with one finger. “We did that… so why is the black veil still in place?”
“Maybe there’s something else she thought we could be used for.” Ström crosses his arms, bitter. “Alfhild was like that. She’d simply curse people and let those curses stay indefinitely. Because she never knew when she’d need to use someone again, in the future.”
“Heinous bitch,” Lærke says suddenly, with a vicious growl.
