Chapter Twenty-Six
TOR GRIPPED THE hiltof Loki’s Dagger, ready to use it at a moment’s notice, when a raven flew into the cave and shifted into a goddess who both mesmerized and terrified. With long, twisting reddish hair that had a life of its own, a dark flowing dress that hugged her every curve, and a face that flickered between stunning and grotesque, he understood why Mórrígan was so feared.
Her power was beyond substantial.
Like nothing he had ever felt.
“It has been too long, my little one,” Mórrígan purred in greeting, her eerie yet beautiful eyes trained on his mate. She made a little fluttering motion with her hand. “You have been flittering about like a little bird.” Her brow swept up. “Or perhaps like a mighty raven?” A cunning grin curled her mouth. “Either way, you have been playing a long game of cat and mouse, so I do hope you summoned me with good news.”
He felt physically ill with the goddess’ sole focus on Raven. What had his mate been thinking going up against this monster alone? She was far too dangerous. Too ruthless. It made him sicker still to know his child was beneath them, tiny and helpless against this kind of power.
“Idohave good news.” Raven gestured with disgust at their surroundings, then issued a sly smile, catching Tor off guard when she closed her mind off to him. “I only regret I had to make you wait.” She shrugged a shoulder. “But I saw an opportunity behind what you had done to me all those years ago.” Raven tilted her head in question and frowned. “If you wanted me to breed for you, why didn’t you just ask? Because I knew what you were about the moment I conceived.”
The goddess offered a loose shrug. “You know it is not in my nature to ask.”
Mórrígan’s hair grew until it wrapped around Tor and reeled him closer. While tempted to cut it off him, he didn’t want her wrath turned on Raven. Best to keep her focused on him. Not just that, but the goddess was putting him in the perfect position to use Loki's Dagger against her.
“So, how did you enjoy your handsome dragon, my little raven?” Mórrígan murmured once she had him close enough. There could be no doubting why she was the goddess of sexuality, among other things. When she ran her fingers down his cheek, they felt like Raven’s. When she grabbed his cock, it felt like Raven’s warm grip. “I know you weresolooking forward to feeling him deep inside you.”
Though Mórrígan’s familiarity with Raven was alarming, he knew it was all a show. The goddess was more of an intimidator than a deity who enjoyed being amongst the people. Her knowledge of Raven was superficial at best. She would have tracked his mate like a rat in a cage rather than befriend her.
If Raven was jealous of Mórrígan seducing him, she showed no sign of it. Even when his damnable cock swelled like she was the one touching it. To be expected, since the goddess evensmelledlike Raven now.
Hell, if she wasn’t mimicking his mate to an alarming extent.
“Tor was satisfying enough to get the job done,” Raven said dismissively, acting the part well when she spoke of creating a child together. There was a reason for that, though, wasn’t there? Something just out of reach. Something he wasn’t catching on to fast enough.
Until it hit him like a stake to the heart.
Raven was separating Mórrígan’s spirit from her body the only possible way she could.
She was pulling the goddess into her own body.
He had been so caught up in discovering he had a son that it hadn’t occurred to him this was by far the most foolproof way to go about it. Otherwise, Mórrígan might have found her way into another. Possibly even him.
This way, no one but Raven suffered.
“No,” he nearly growled but bit his tongue. What she was doing was foolish, not to mention dangerous. He tried to think straight. As much as he saw her plan clearly enough now, he must be mistaken. After all, Mórrígan would know. She would feel her spirit breaking from her flesh and entering Raven.
Orwouldshe?
He got the sense, thanks to his blasted arousal, that Raven had pinpointed the goddess’ weakness. She might thrive on war and enjoy controlling fate but arousal? It was as distracting to her as Raven’s scent in heat was to him.
Downright irresistible.
Which meant no, the goddess might very well be missing what Raven was doing to her.
“I see how he could be satisfying.” Mórrígan looked Tor over as though she couldn't wait to sample him. “Very, very satisfying despite his disgusting Norse genes.” She arched a brow, evidently imagining the possibilities. “Do you think I could handle his dragon?” She tightened her grip on his arousal and licked her lips. “Because if his human half is this impressive, I can only imagine what his dragon could offer.”
Tor clenched his teeth and pulled on every inch of willpower when her skin sheened with Raven’s inner dragon. It took everything not to yank the monster against him and taste Raven’s essence as it slowly pulled the goddess out. Seeped her into another body without her being wiser.
Thankfully, what was happening beyond the cave kept him from losing himself entirely. The window that had opened up had become wider and wider. The battling more ferocious.
Raven’s plan had been set in motion.
