Page 75 of The Viking in the Vault
Then, she was a stranger. A small alien female who spoke in words I could not understand…yet somehow I knew, instinctively, that she was mine.
Now, she is so much more.
Brilliant, bold Elena, who has lived her life on shifting sand.
I want to be solid for her, unwavering.
“Is it weird that I don’t really want to go in?” Elena asks.
I peer down at her. “Why?”
“Everything changed last time I walked in here,” she says, hooking her thumbs through the straps of her backpack. “I just um…I don’t want thinks to change again.”
I reach for her, lifting her chin so she meets my eyes. “Elena,” I murmur. “Some things may change, but I am here. I am steady. I will keep you safe.”
She bites her lip, breath hitching. It reminds me of last night, when I buried my face between her thighs and tasted her sweetness, better than chocolate?—
“Ahem,” someone coughs from the door.
Ves is standing in the open entryway, brows raised. They avert their eyes when ours snap toward them, clearing their throat again.
“Just came out to see if you two were here yet,” they say. “We’re all ready to go if you are.”
Elena lets out a breath and a small laugh. “Thanks, Ves,” she says, stepping past me and toward the entrance. “Come on, let’s not keep everyone waiting.”
Fenrik pads ahead after her, as if he belongs to her and not to me…and I follow, casting one last glance at the sky before stepping into the frozen vault of the Eiskammer.
The entry hall is pristine, the ice cores encased in glass that make them appear as crystalline pillars in a vast temple. To our left is a corridor with warm light spilling out, which appears to be a row of offices. Our group is standing outside, talking amongst themselves and checking over their gear.
Cosmia and Rishik, who I have come to know after much interrogation.
Ves, the young Skoll who has spent much of our relationship protecting Elena from me.
And the leaders: Ren Kallisto, who I’m fairly certain distrusts me, and Davina Ferhalda.
“About time,” Cosmia teases, adjusting the settings on her datapad. She lowers her voice, a blush painting her cheeks. “Figured you two might still be tangled up in bed.”
Elena’s entire face turns red. “Cosmia?—”
Ves smirks. “Theywerehaving a moment.”
I frown. “Yes…we had many moments, but we were called back to work,” I say. “I would have liked to spend more time between Elena’s?—”
“Bookshelves!” Elena interrupts. “He was really interested in learning more about Earth’s science?—”
“Yeah, okay,” Ves snorts.
Ren Kallisto clears her throat from up ahead. “Please remember this is a professional expedition,” she says, the Merati’s green eyes looking at me as if I’m a stain she would like to scrub out. “If we’re finished discussing people’s personal lives, I’d like to move on to the briefing?”
Elena shoots me a look, mortified. I do not understand why this is such a delicate topic. She is my fenvarra. I pleasured her last night. I am proud and have nothing to hide.
Still, for her sake, I nod. “Yes, let us proceed.”
Kallisto narrows her eyes at me, clearly not convinced, but Davina steps between us. She’s wearing a long coat that flares at the bottom, a thick fur stole around her neck, towering over the others—save for me, of course.
“Before we begin, I wanted to pass on regards from Page and Thorne,” Davina says under her breath as the others gather around Kallisto. “They had to return to the Obscuary, but Thorne would like to catch up more when we’re done here in Snowveil.”
“Of course,” I say. “I’ll see it done for a steadfast ally.”
