Page 40 of Elf Shot

Layla took his face in both of her hands. "Arne, if you don't pull your shit together right now, I'm going to leave you here, and as soon as I get back to Midgard, I'm going to call Seamus for another date. I want to know what those freckles on his cheek taste like," she said, pulling away from him. Arne let out a snarl so low that the hair on her arms rose.

"No," he said, hands tightening around her.

"Why not? You don't know who I am. Why do you care?" she replied.

Arne looked at her, his eyes searching hers. The golden light that had been coming out of his skin was slowly vanishing into the air like mist.

"You are…you are mine," Arne said, confusion making his brow furrow.

"Am I? This is the first I'm hearing about it. Maybe I've wasted my time coming here. Probably for the best we never went for that drink."

Something flickered in his eyes. "The drink. We were going to… Layla."

"What?"

"I kissed you when the sky was burning with souls and stars," he whispered. He pressed his face to her neck and breathed her in. "My mate. My Layla."

"Yeah, we need to talk about the mate thing, but I'm willing to let it slide when you're acting crazy," she said. The last of the golden light vanished in the air, and Arne shuddered all over.

"Layla… Layla." Arne pushed back from her. He looked from her to Tor and then Ciara. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"We are here to save your ass," she said and climbed out of his lap. "Now, get up. We are leaving."

"You brought my mate into this place? Are you fucking insane?" Arne demanded, getting to his feet and closing in on Tor.

"Have you tried to get her to do anything she didn't want to do? Either I came with her, or she was coming alone. Good to see you too," Tor grumbled. Arne looked ready to explode when there was a knock at the door.

"My prince? Are you in there?" a voice called through the door.

"Shit, you need to look debauched," Layla said and ruffled his hair. She lay back on the bed, the swords digging into her back.

Arne opened the door, and Tor grabbed Ciara, pinning her to the wall and hiding his face in her dark hair.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" Arne demanded. The warrior looked in and flushed.

"Apologies, my prince. We only wished to know your whereabouts."

Arne let out a frustrated growl. "Well, now you know. Gods help anyone who disturbs me again before dawn!" He slammed the door in the warrior's face. Tor dropped Ciara and took a hasty step back. Layla didn't think she had seen her cousin so red-faced in all her life.

"Shit, we need to find a way out of here," Layla said.

"Portal crystal," Tor replied.

Layla fished around in her pockets for it. She pulled it out, but Arne's hand closed on hers.

"It won't work. Vili's wards in his territory nulls portal magic. He wants to be able to control who is coming in and out. We need to get out of the mountain and through the forest as fast as we can," Arne replied. He pulled off his breast plate, leaving him in a sleeveless tunic. Layla may have admired his arms a little bit in the process.

"Here, I brought these for you," she said, dropping the glamor. His face was unreadable as she slipped off the swords and passed them to him. He gripped them tight.

"You carried them all this way?" he asked.

Heat crept up her neck, but Layla shrugged. "Thought you might need them."

Arne loosened the straps to his size and put them on. "Vili and his warriors will be feasting for the rest of the night. We don't have much time until my absence is noticed."

"So what's the plan?" Tor asked.

Arne went to the back of the room where a heavy woven standard hung. He pulled it aside to reveal a small door. "We go out the back way. Only Vili and I know about this passageway. It's an escape route if the mountain is attacked."

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