Page 8 of Winter Goddess
Chapter Three
It's just like old times. My men and I, on a quest to find allies and defeat demons. Except that I'm now a Goddess and can teleport us, saving the need for portable thrones, Gates and flying. My advisors have told me that it's polite to teleport to a Gate in the Dragon Realm rather than into one of their settlements. Not that I have any idea about their Realm. It's shrouded in mystery and few people have ever seen it. Dragons are reclusive by nature and prefer to send their ambassadors to other Realms rather than allowing envoys into their lands.
Algonquin gave me a book about dragons and I touched it, so now I have the entire contents of it swirling in my brain. They're not quite settled yet and a light headache is pulsating behind my temples.
I laugh softly.
"What?" Frost asks immediately.
"I have a book in my head." I giggle at the absurdness of the situation. "I touched a book and now it's in my head. Goddess powers are weird."
He laughs as well. "Are you saying you weren't weird before?"
I put my hands on my hips in mock outrage. "I've never been weird. I'm normal, it's just that the rest of the world isn't."
"Ooookay then," Crispin says from behind, arriving with the other two. "Let's just pretend I didn't hear that, otherwise I'll take that as an insult. I'm not weird. I'm Crispin."
"Ye say that as if that's a special category," Arc mutters.
"Well, it is," Crispin replies cheerfully. "There's Wyns, Crispins and weirdos."
Storm sighs. "Could we all be a bit more serious? We're about to journey into an unfamiliar Realm and we have no idea what awaits us there. Maybe we should be preparing for that rather than behaving like children."
"Are you accusing the Princess of this Realm to be childish?" I protest with a grin. "I could have you punished for treason."
Storm bends down and whispers in my ear, "If anyone's going to do punishing, it will be me."
I shiver at the sweet promise in his tone. I love his dominant side, even though he's not had much of a chance to show it recently. Once all this is over, I'm going to lock my guys into a bedroom and not let them out until we've spent some quality time with each other. Naked, preferably.
I take a deep breath. I’d better behave like Royalty from now on. According to the book in my head, dragons are fiercely proud and keen on following tradition. Even though I have no idea about what their traditions are exactly, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of pomp and ceremony. That's why I'm wearing a dress. Urgh. It seemed more appropriate than the jeans and blouse I was wearing to the Council meeting. People here have kind of got used to my ungodly dress sense, but the dragons haven't met me yet. Dress it is.
"Ready?" I ask the guys and I can feel their ascent through our bond. "Hold onto me."
Arc hugs me from behind, his broad chest tight against my back. I wish I had time to enjoy his touch, but that's wishful thinking. The others take hold of my arms and off we go.
There's no way to describe teleporting. It's instinctive, a raw power that is far too slippery to put into words. I think of the place I want to go, and then we're there, even though it's a lot more complicated than that.
It takes less time than the blink of an eye.
Warmth assaults my senses, the kind of heat that presses against your body and makes you want to rip off your clothes. I'm glad I predicted this and am wearing one of my lighter dresses. The guys will be sweltering in their armour. I send some cooling air to them, wishing it was me rather than the air that hugs them. Arc has already stepped back, no longer embracing me from behind. Probably because five huge women are staring at us.
They're at least six feet tall each and very, very wide. Not fat, just... wide. Like their shoulders and hips are broader than they should anatomically be. These women certainly aren't human.
Elaborate helmets cover their heads, each of them having differently shaped horns sprouting from the glinting metal. They remind me of Viking helmets, even though I know that the Vikings never actually had horns on theirs. That's just a myth, just like so many legends and stories.
The woman in the centre of the five steps forward. Her bright red hair frames a stern face. A large scar makes its way from her left cheek up to her hairline, giving her an even fiercer look. She could be wearing a summer dress like me and still look like a warrior.
"Princess Wynter?" she asks in a pleasant, but serious voice.
I step forward as well, sensing that my men are taking their positions behind me.
"Yes, thank you for the invitation. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
The woman bows her head. "I am Agierth, Protector of the Sky. These are my sisters Ynade and Torsei," she points to the two women on the left, "as well as Gayghys and Fraedurth."
I know already that I'll have trouble remembering those names. They're not exactly common.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I reply, not quite sure if there's a protocol I should be following. "I've been told that Ada, my Mistress of Arms, is with you?"
