Page 76 of The Viking in the Vault
“And…he wanted me to give you something,” Davina says, smirking.
She reaches into her satchel and pulls out—unsurprisingly—a book. Whatissurprising is the cover, which features a blue alien male and female human entangled in an erotic pose, with the titleIce Planet Barbarians.
I frown. “What is this?”
Davina presses her lips together, clearly struggling not to laugh. “Thorne said it might help you understand how humans should be wooed.”
Elena groans and drags a hand down her face. “Oh my gosh.”
I flip the book over, scanning the description on the back as my translator works to make sense of the words. It speaks of a human woman, lost on an alien planet, taken in by a warrior who wishes to claim her as his mate. I frown. “This is…accurate.”
Elena chokes out a strangled noise. “Jiminy Christmas.”
“Who is Jiminy?” I ask.
Ves wheezes, appearing over Davina’s shoulder. “Please tell me you’re going to read it,” they say.
“Or Elena could read itto him,” Cosmia chimes in, biting back a laugh.
I ignore them, turning the book over again. “This is a guide to human courtship?”
Davina coughs. “Loosely.”
Elena groans. “It isnota guide to human courtship.”
“It is about an alien male wooing a human woman,” I point out, flipping through the first few pages. “With pleasure, protection, and…” I trail off, cocking my head at a word that doesn’t translate. “What is this word?”
Rishik is looking over my shoulder. “It’s pronounced cunni–”
Elena yanks the book out of my hands and shoves it in her bag. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Yes, please do,” Dr. Kallisto says from up ahead. She rubs her temples. “Can wepleasefocus?”
Elena clears her throat. “Yes. Sorry. Work now, embarrass me later.”
Ves grins. “You’re not getting out of this, Draycott. We’ll have plenty of time at camp tonight.”
Dr. Kallisto exhales sharply, shaking her head as she adjusts her gloves. “If we’re quite done discussingliterature,” she saysdryly, giving the entire group a look that could freeze the walls of the Eiskammer further, “we need to review the plan.”
The teasing dies down as everyone straightens. Even Ves looks a little chastised.
“As you all know,” Kallisto continues, folding her arms, “we’ll be retracing the path of Elena’s initial descent into the lower chambers. Given the recent seismic activity, we’ll need to be especially careful with load distribution on the ice. Any wrong step could trigger another collapse.” She glances at Elena. “We can’t count on anyone else being rescued by an ancient viking.”
Elena swallows and nods. I don’t like the reminder of how she nearly perished in this frozen place. She looked so frail when I first saw her…
Kallisto continues, pulling up a holographic projection of the Eiskammer’s sublevels. The shimmering map flickers in the cold air, highlighting the layers of ancient ice beneath our feet. “Our primary objective is to locate the site where Ragnar’s pod was discovered and assess the surrounding core samples. There’s a high probability that additional cryopods, or even aship, could be encased in the ice beneath the collapse zone.”
A heavy silence settles over the group.
A ship.
My heart pounds at the possibility.
I am the first Skoll to wake from the ice. But if there are others—if a ship is buried here—then I am not the last.
Elena glances at me, her expression unreadable. “Fenrik will track from where we found Ragnar’s pod,” she says, filling the space of the silence. “We’ll work our way deeper and see where it leads.”
Kallisto nods. “The rappel will take us to the chamber where Elena fell. From there, we’ll follow the seismic fractures. Cosmia, Rishik—I want you both collecting core samples along the way.”
