Page 74 of The Viking in the Vault
Fenrik grumbles in response, letting out another long-suffering sigh before resting his giant head on my thigh, making himself very comfortable.
I snort. “I think he’s bored of our deep, emotional revelations.”
Ragnar makes a low, thoughtful noise before nudging Fenrik’s face with his foot. The hound lets out an affronted chuff but doesn’t move, just rolls his eyes in a very dog way.
“He has heard me say these things before,” Ragnar mutters, like it’s obvious. “He knows my heart.”
“You’ve said these things before?”
“We had many discussions about you before I had a translator,” Ragnar says. “One-sided, of course—but Fenrik is an excellent listener.”
I blink up at him. “Oh, so Fenrik already knew we were soulmates?”
Ragnar nods, completely serious. “Of course.”
I can’t help it. I laugh, reaching down to scratch behind Fenrik’s ears. He lets out a pleased little grunt but still doesn’t move, content to take up as much space as possible.
“I should’ve just asked him about it from the start,” I tease, shaking my head.
Ragnar leans in, pressing his forehead to mine again, his lips curving. “He would have told you that I am yours.”
Fenrik makes a disgusted little sound.
Ragnar immediately turns to glare at him. “You whine at the door to be let in, and now you have complaints?”
Fenrik lifts his head just enough to stare at Ragnar before huffing out a breath like you two are ridiculous, then flopping back down.
I cover my mouth to smother another laugh. “I think he’s over it.”
Ragnar grumbles something under his breath in Skoll before shifting, pulling me onto his lap. He doesn’t seem to care that Fenrik is still half sprawled across us, just wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close.
His chest rumbles against mine, deep and sure.
“I am not the tide, fenvarra,” he murmurs. “And I will not melt.”
I don’t answer right away.
Because I don’t know if I believe him.
But I want to.
So, I let my fingers tangle in his beard, let my head rest against his shoulder. I let myself close my eyes, breathing him in, letting the steady weight of him settle around me. Ragnar makes a pleased sound, his arms tightening, and Fenrik lets out one last, final sigh before he burrows his face under the blanket and pointedly ignores us.
I smile against Ragnar’s skin.
For now, for this moment?
I let myself believe.
26
RAGNAR
We return to the place that breathed life into this love.
The sun is low in the sky as Elena, Fenrik, and I arrive at the entrance to the Eiskammer, light bouncing off the ice-encrusted, massive double doors in shades of soft pink and gold. The cold does not bother me, but I feel the way Elena hunches into her coat, the way she tucks her chin against the wind.
It is different from the last time we stood here.
