Page 12 of Drengr
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. That one had slipped out; I'd not meant to mention his pointy teeth. Yet.
"Uhm... No. I was just wondering because your teeth are sharper than mine. There is a legend on Earth about beings with pointy teeth who bite the necks of humans and drink their blood. They're called vampires. When I saw your teeth, I had to think of that. It's silly, sorry."
Errik chuckled with amusement. "We don't drink blood. Sometimes, in battle, we smear the blood of our enemies on our faces, but I have never felt the urge to drink it. And most of the time, we don't bite... only once in our lives."
My heart skipped a beat. "When?"
"After the Brullaup. Wait, Steff told me what you call it on Peritus. Wedding. During the wedding night, when mates bind themselves together for the rest of their lives, they will mark each other with a single bite. No blood drinking involved." His gaze swept over my mouth, and I resisted the temptation to show him my blunt teeth.
I looked away from him before my ovaries caused me to do something I'd later regret. "Shall we sit? Steff did a great job with this. It's like a proper date. The candles look so realistic, as if they're real fire."
I reached out to touch one of the artificial flames, but before my finger got close enough, an iron grip clamped around my wrist. I looked up at Errik, who stared down at me with the most intense expression yet. He was holding my hand so tightly that it was almost painful. How had he moved this fast? He shouldn't have been able to stand next to me like that.
He was so close, his body almost touching mine. I could smell him, sandalwood and sea salt. The scent made my head spin.
"What are you doing? You would have got burnt!" His voice was like thunder.
"The flame is real? But how? We're in space? Isn't that too dangerous?"
With a tsk, he let go of my hand. "Silly female," he muttered, almost as if to himself.
As soon as he stepped back, I could think clearly again.
"Let's have some food," I said and sat down, ignoring the flickering candles that may or may not have been real.
10
Errik
My skin tingled where I'd touched her.
We'd been told to avoid touching so as not to invoke thefýst too early. Unlike Njal's mate, who'd had to calm him by kissing him in front of everyone, I wanted Holly to move at her own pace. Not because I was a decent male. Because I was scared of what was happening.
As soon as she'd entered the room, my mating axe had burst into flame. Only a life of battle and discipline had stopped me from clutching my crotch protectively. It still hurt, although it had become a deep ache that I could just about ignore. Only when I moved did it flare up again. Like when I'd had to prevent the female from burning herself. And now I'd touched her. Had I started thefýst? Or had that begun the moment my mating axe had started to hurt?
It was hard to know. We were in new territory with these Peritan females. They looked Vikingoid with their two arms, two legs, upright gait and facial features, but that didn't mean much. A surprising amount of species across the galaxy were Vikingoids, but we weren't compatible with most of them. Looks could be deceiving.
This female's looks were muddling my mind. She was even more stunning in person. The light of the artificial flames danced over her silver hair, creating a sea of sparkling stars upon her head. Her eyes were beautiful from up close. They were the colour of honey, warm and soothing, with tiny flecks of gold around the black pupil.
Now she sat opposite me, staring at her empty plate.
"I was told to ask you whether you want Peritan or Vikingr food," I remembered.
Holly smiled at me. Warmth like pure sunlight spread through me, lit up my heart. I wanted her to smile at me forever.
"I would love to try some more Vikingr dishes," she said. Her voice was so melodic. I could close my eyes and simply listen to her.
Was this thefýst? Was I going crazy already? I seemed utterly bewitched by this female. Everything about her was beautiful. Surely no living being could be this perfect? I had to be in the grip of thefýst. It was altering my perception.
As if in a dream, I heard myself give the command to the Valkyr. Steaming bowls of haensa soup appeared in front of us a moment later. My favourite.
"What's this?" Holly asked, inspecting the bowl curiously.
"Haensa soup. Haensa are animals, small with scales. They're bred for meat and eggs. But this will be artificial haensa meat, since we haven't stopped at a space station to restock in a long time."
"How does it work, your ship cooking for you?"
Her attention was back on me, the soup forgotten.
