Page 130 of Clash of Storms
"Bloody hell. You're as bad as your brother," Tormund rudely interrupted. "One glimpse of a pretty girl and you're as dreamy as a lad getting his first glimpse of a lasses undergarments. At least wait until she's back in human form."
Sirius drew back, squeezing his eye shut. "Do we really need him alive?"
"Yes. Yes, we do,"she replied.
28
Battle raged as they flew toward Hekla.
Lightning glinted off long-distant armor. The distant clash of swords came faintly on the wind. And lashes of Chaos magic swirled as if the northern aurora danced across the field.
Sirius longed to fly ahead and engage the enemy but Malin was so new to her wings and this form, they were forced to remain low. She flailed at every thermal, clawing at the skies, but he could sense her determination—and her joy—as they remained linked.
"I'm flying,"she told him, lightheaded with joy. "I'm really flying."
His heart felt fit to burst through his chest with pride. This fight was not over—the war not yet won—but this moment filled him with pure happiness. "When this is over I'll take you east, over the glaciers. You've never seen anything like them."
"May I see your volcano?"
"Is that a euphemism, my love? Are you planning on seducing me?"he teased.
"It shouldn't be too difficult."
He ought to make her pay for that. Hours of sensual torture. Making her beg him to claim her. But if they survived the coming battle, he quite suspected he'd barely have the willpower to deny her."You do realize there will be consequences to claiming you?"
"The mating bond."Malin turned her head to glance at him and almost swooped straight into him.
"Careful now."He showed her how to straighten out, even as a lingering doubt filled him.
She sensed it, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with waves of possessive warmth and protective sensations.
"I'm not afraid of the bond, Sirius. I want it. I've never wanted anything more in my life. I told you I loved you, you foolish dreki prince. I meant it. I want forever in your arms. Which is why you are going to be careful with yourself when we arrive. If you get yourself killed, I will curse you to the ends of the earth."
Careful. He'd never been careful in battle. It was part of what made him so invincible, though he wasn't reckless either. "I'll be as careful as I can be—as long as you stay safe. But the queen must die."
As they arrived, he pulled back from the link between them a little, focusing on the battle.
Lashes of green Chaos magic clashed as Árdís faced her mother, straining under her newfound powers. The queen stood among her warriors, lightning glinting off her gold-scaled gown, and she alone was keeping theZilittulines from being overrun. The bracelet the queen still wore might restrain all her elemental powers, but it had never been meant to contain pure Chaos, and as she threw her hand out, five green collars whipped from her fingers and slammed about the throats ofdrekiloyal to the prince. They collapsed in screams, hands trying to tear the burning collars from their necks.
Amadea.
Rage burned within him as he locked upon her like a hawk.
The urge to dive upon her and tear her to shreds nearly overwhelmed him, but the one law alldrekiobeyed was to fight in mortal form; any more than a handful ofdrekifacing each other in the skies could ignite the sort of storms that could change weather patterns all over the globe. If they set off a cataclysmic winter through Europe, then the European clans would rise in force to punish them.
Sirius flared his wings as he glided to the edges of the battle, feeling an odd sense of confusion as he tried to brace himself to land. He hated this sense of vulnerability as his claws reached out, trying to find where the grass began when the depth of his vision failed him.
There. He banked awkwardly, nearly throwing his passengers from his back as he landed with more surety.
Graceful it was not.
"Rurik!" Freyja barely waited until they'd landed before she slid off his back and ran toward the fight.
Tormund was somewhat slower. "Mother of dragons," the giant breathed, crumpling to the ground and kissing it. "Never again."
Humans.
Sirius let the shift wash over him as he reformed into mortal shape. Malin echoed him, landing in a sprawled huddle of naked flesh, as wobbly as a newborn foal. Sirius knelt by her side to help her to her feet.
