Page 35 of The Viking in the Vault
I step fully into the room, leaving the door open as I sit down beside her. The bed creaks under my weight, but it holds. I wait for Elena’s cue as to what she wants me to do. First she reaches down to pick up the holo…but then she moves closer.
I extend my arm to wrap around her.
I try desperately to control my breathing, my pulse. She doesn’t seem to notice as she holds the holo in her lap, Fenrik curled up at our feet. I tentatively reach out and touch her face, wiping a tear away with my thumb.
“Why?” I ask.
She closes her eyes and bites her lip before sighing deeply. She seems upset as she turns on the holopad again, then shows me an image.
It shows a village, flooded and broken. Buildings are submerged in water, streets turned to rivers. This is destruction…familiar in its devastation. She scrolls through a few more pictures, and I recognize some of the structures and the style of the buildings.
This was her home.
“Varra,” she says quietly.
Family.
“Safe?” I ask.
She frowns…then nods. “Safe, but…not safe?”
She gestures again at the holopad, where she pulls up a moving picture of her family. They’re older than they were in the images from the photo album, huddled together in whatlooks like a much smaller house, with many boxes and bags around them. They speak toward the screen in Elena’s language, smiling. One has a little girl and boy with her, and she’s crying.
Elena gives me a new word to add to my lexicon: “Hurricane.”
She continues to scroll through the footage. Soon, she’s crying again, and I extend a hand to cover hers, stopping her. She looks up at me.
She’s so close…I could distract her. It would be the perfect moment to kiss her, to claim her, to show her that she isn’t alone.
But her people are unlike mine. Ves told me to be cautious. And this…she could perceive it as taking advantage.
I would never, ever hurt her.
I cup her face in my hand, resting my forehead against hers. Elena reaches up and grasps my forearm, closing her eyes. The scent of her tears fills my lungs, and I know my initial thought was correct.
Now isn’t the time.
“Safe,” I murmur. “Safe, Elena.”
I open my eyes to find her looking at me, and I know she has a thousand things she wants to say to me. I feel the same…but for now, it’s still not possible. I take her hand and splay it across my chest, over my heart. “Fen,” I say, telling her the word for heart.
She repeats the word, quiet as a prayer.
I hold her hand against my chest, letting her feel the steady thrum of my heartbeat. “You are not alone,” I murmur, the words halting on my tongue, foreign. I’m unsure if she’ll understand, but I need to say it. For her. For myself.
Elena doesn’t reply. Instead, she rests her head against my shoulder, her breath warm against my neck. I’m still holding her hand, my thumb brushing over her knuckles in a way I hope is soothing. Fenrik shifts at the foot of the bed, letting out a low, contented sigh, as if the moment has his approval.
She sits like this for a while, her body leaning into mine, her hand still pressed against my chest. The holopad rests forgotten on her lap, its glow dimming as it powers down. The quiet of the room wraps around us, broken only by the faint sound of the wind outside and the rhythm of her breathing.
I close my eyes, letting the moment sink in. This is what I’ve craved without realizing it—this closeness, this trust. Not the heat of battle, not the icy resolve of survival, but this: the gentle weight of another soul beside mine.
Eventually, she shifts, pulling back just enough to meet my gaze. Her eyes are swollen from crying, her lashes wet, but there’s something in her expression that feels…lighter. She reaches up, her fingers brushing against my beard, tracing the edge of my jaw. The touch is fleeting, hesitant, but it leaves a trail of warmth in its wake.
She lowers her hand, resting it on my arm instead, and I take it as a sign that she doesn’t want me to leave. Carefully, I shift, pulling her closer until she’s resting fully against my side. She doesn’t protest. In fact, she leans into me, her body soft and warm against mine.
“Safe,” I say again, the word a promise as much as a reassurance.
Elena sighs, her breath hitching slightly as if she’s still fighting the remnants of her tears. I want to take that burden from her, to shoulder it myself, but I know I can’t.
