“Incredibly hard,” Clara retorted but I heard the laughter in her voice. “You don’t want to cause an accident, do you? Besides, Geir understands things are different in House Ironheart. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Geir replied. “It’s an honor to drive you anywhere you need to go, Your Majesty, and I’m an expert at minding my own business.”
“I volunteer to switch to the other car,” Clara continued. “That way there’s plenty of room for our new guest. I’m sorry, sir, I don’t think I caught your name. I’m Clara Helsdóttir, consiliarius for House Ironheart.”
“I’m Heimdallr.”
“Oh.” I didn’t need to lift my mouth from his throat to know she must be staring at him with awe. Her voice trembled. “Welcome to House Ironheart, sir. We were on our way to visit Her Majesty’s other residence in Reykjavík.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Well, then. Yes. I’ll hop into the other car so we can get on the road. Take your time, Your Majesty. We’ll wait in the vehicles as long as you need.”
Heimdallr moved closer to the rear of the SUV, and my dark alfar surrounded us in a loose arc, hopefully shielding us from any prying eyes.
If I could make myself focus on anything but swallowing more of his blood.
A gust of wind rippled the damp sweater against my back, sending chills down my spine. I didn’t mind the cold, but wetandcold in the middle of winter in Iceland… It was a lot, even for a vampire queen. I pressed my tongue over the punctures, stemming the steady flow of his blood. Even with my eyes closed, I could see the glow of blood shimmering around us. My wristno longer bled, but I’d dripped blood on the sleeve and down the front of my sweater. Heimdallr’s forearm had bled through his shirt in several spots. Even though Gunnarr had bitten him deeply, the wounds had already sealed over. They no longer bled.
But my two punctures still released a steady stream of blood. I gave him a knowing nudge in the bond, and he huffed out a soft laugh. Though he didn’t deny allowing the bite to keep bleeding just to torment me.
I barely had to even think about pulling the blood to me. Droplets immediately sank into me, lifting from our stained clothing. Making me shiver with delight. I could simply absorb his blood still dripping from his throat too… but it was ever so much more delicious to drink it straight from the source. To feel the heat of his skin against my lips. Taste the magic on my tongue. The quiver and vibration of energy pulsing in every drop.
I drew in a shaking breath through my nostrils. Now the water. The same idea—in reverse. I didn’t want to pull the water to me. I wanted it to drip out of our soaked clothes and water the earth. The ground was eager for moisture, especially water that had touched a god and a goddess’ daughter.
Droplets hovered against my skin. Pooling together into fatter drops. Dripping from my fingers. My hair. Until I was completely dry. Then I focused on each of my Blood, willing the water to slip from their wet clothes. I couldn’t fix the tears in Heimdallr’s sleeve, but we were otherwise dry and clean.
I lifted my tongue and his blood immediately spurted into my mouth, an eager flood not stemmed in the slightest. Even as he jostled me climbing into the vehicle, adjusting me on his lap. Dörr sat beside us, and the rest of the Blood took the same seats as before.
The vehicle started moving. Hopefully the human driver was too focused on the road to worry about what I was doing in the back. What Iwantedto be doing.
The more blood I drank, the more I wanted Heimdallr inside me.
:I don’t mind in the slightest,:he whispered in my mind.:In fact, I would love it. Take me on the busiest street in Reykjavík. I don’t care.:
I finally tore my mouth away from his throat. Squeezing my eyes shut so I wouldn’t see the beckoning blood on his skin, I panted softly, trying to bring myself under control.:I care.:
Hunger still gnawed at my nerve endings like a million hungry little rats. I let out a ragged laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t even know where I could put any more, even though I still want it.” I swallowed hard, trying to shift my mind to something else. “What was whispering in the darkness?”
“Pure chaos. The antithesis of life. Sometimes called the Screaming Madness.”
“Are they Loki’s creation?”
“Not that I’m aware of, though he has certainly embraced their encroachment into our realm. He welcomes anything that might spread chaos in the Nine Worlds.”
“I’m not aware of any such creature in our Darkness,” Dörr said.
I shook my head. “They weren’t of Hel’s realm. I heard them at the edges of the rainbow bridge.”
“They’re closer every day,” Heimdallr replied softly. “Only a hundred years ago, I couldn’t hear them at all.”
“What do you know about them?”
He drew a long, sighing breath before replying. “They’re not of this dimension, our reality, the universe of the Nine Worlds. They lay beyond it, as you said, at the furthest reaches of the universe as we know it. Now they press against the fabric ofthe universe, trying to pierce the thinnest, weakest spots to gain entry. As magic fades from the Nine Worlds, the fabric becomes thinner. I honestly despaired we would ever be able to turn the tide, but I’ve seen glimmers of hope in the last decades.”
Opening my eyes, I searched his face. “What gave you hope—so we can do more of that?”
His golden eyes gleamed like brilliant twin suns in the darkened interior of the car. “More queens being born. Not just any queens, but extremely powerful ones. For instance, queens strong enough to escape Jörmungandr and touch Yggdrasil directly. Young, new blood in the goddesses’ great houses. Magic rises in Miðgarðr, and with magic, there is always hope.”
