Page 100 of Vow of the Undead
I leaned into him, enjoying this kiss too much. Maybe it was that he mentioned Odin and it was so rare to hear those words aloud, like I was in the room with another believer. Maybe it was simply that King Drakkar answered every single one of my questions without hesitancy. He always did.
“Because if you don’t marry me, the alternative is your insanity.”
That was it, that was all he said to explain this threat that loomed over me.
“And death is better?”
“No, but I’m selfish. I will not watch the Gods play with you like a toy. You deserve to die honorably, to fight and ascend to Valhalla. And Silver, I know you’ll fight back when I come for you. I know you won’t let me try to kill you without throwing everything you have at me, and that effort will give you a chance to honor them.”
I searched his eyes. None of this made sense. “Why would you help me go to Valhalla when you hate Odin?”
He inhaled, deeply, purposefully, and teased out my bottom lip with his thumb. As if he’d trained me, I tilted my face up, kissing him hard. When he pulled away, I sucked in a breath and grazed my teeth over my lip. A low hum vibratedin his chest as he watched my mouth, and then forced his eyes to meet mine.
“It’s what you want,” he said. “Anyone who loves the sagas and history as much as you would. And Odin won’t be there for long. It may be his palace, but palaces can be taken, just like I took Mara’s Keep.”
“You should be worried about your own sanity.”
He only laughed.
“Why would you care if madness takes me?”
“I didn’t, at first—” he cut off. A moment of silence followed until I felt his chest rumbling against me. He chuckled and then clucked his tongue. “You almost tricked me again. Now I’ll take what I’m owed.” Before I could respond, his warm hand dipped beneath the coat draped over my shoulder and his palm pressed against my bare chest just below my collarbone. He shoved me to the side and behind the throne.
Against the cold bronze back of the king’s chair, he pinned me.
He kissed me with his whole body. Every inch of him pressed against me until he pulled away just as quickly as the kiss had begun. I gasped, almost reaching for him.
“I told you before, Lux. You fascinate me. I once only admired your ability to reject control. Then I noticed the way your lips inevitably part when your heart has lost its rhythm. You spent time here with me in the castle and I learned more about you. And now…” I knew he pressed in closer to me based on the heat of his body. His hand found my hip and his thumb hooked around the bone at my hip, his fingers were hot on my skin even through the fabric of my skirts. “Now I admire all of you. How could I watch you succumb to insanity?”
“How do you know about…” I couldn’t say the name—my name.Don’t think about it. Ignore it. Ignoreit.I coughed and cleared the word away. “What can you tell me about the lost history?”
His only response was a sigh. Perhaps he was disappointed I’d forgotten to kiss him again before presenting him with the question. Silence followed.
Instead of taking the kiss that he was owed, he let go of my hip and found my hand.
“Come,” he said, lacing his fingers through mine, as if we were the husband and wife he claimed he so desperately wanted us to be.
My heart skipped, but I didn’t know if it was for the answers I so desperately wanted. The answers I came to Mara’s Keep seeking in the first place.
Or because his hand fit mine like it was designed to mold together. All at once, he felt familiar, like I’d known him for an entire lifetime.
Anticipation buzzed in my veins, not unlike the moments before the send off at a footrace. I craved the skip to the next moment, to know everything about our history all at once.
When we emerged from the throne room, the hall was empty, devoid of life, and yet, I still felt eyes on us. I twisted to scan the dark stretch of stone behind us but only saw what appeared to be an open door. Nobody stood in the hallway.
King Drakkar squeezed my hand tighter and tugged me closer to him. With his lips at my ear, he whispered. “Stay close.”
As we wound through the maze of halls, the stake rubbed the skin on my leg raw. I was supposed to be killing the king, not letting him lead me through the castle like a pet on a leash. I’d sworn that the promise of the lost history wouldn’t tempt me, yet here I was tracking his every step with my hand tightly in his.
Glancing over his shoulder, he yanked me closer and then pulled me into a nearby room.
“What—” I started.
He pressed his finger to my lips with a low shush. Falling silent, he waited by the door. We’d arrived in another bedchamber, this one plain but with another fireplace that looked suspicious, though this fireplace did have a back to it. The ashy stone was covered in gray where it wasn’t charred black. The bed appeared unused.
King Drakkar chewed at his bottom lip with his regular, human-looking teeth, his fangs weren’t descended, and yet the crease between his brow hinted at worry. What did a vampire king have to be afraid of? I slid my gaze to him.
After a tense moment, he turned and, with a smirk, nodded toward the bed. “Are you ready for this?”
