Page 98 of Storm of Fury
His balls felt like they sucked up into his abdomen.
And he couldn't help looking at Solveig again.
"I would break Aslaug's heart."
"I will cut yours from your chest if you even think about it! I have another sister."
"Who trembles at the mere thought of mating with me. Would you condemn them both to such a fate?"
Two spots of fury ignited in her cheeks as Solveig stared straight ahead, seemingly ignoring him.
Back to Aslaug. The right choice. The perfect choice, if one was thinking in terms of an alliance.
But when he opened his mouth, he couldn't speak her name.
His treacherous gaze returned, once more, to Solveig.
"Don't you dare."
She stood so stiffly, she had to interpret his interest.
Solveig would never make demands of him.
She would never want his heart.
Unless it was on a stake.
They could live separate lives.
An alliance in name only.
His gaze drifted, just briefly, to her thin lips. Hardly the sort of woman to inspire lustful thoughts—she was no beauty like her sisters—and yet there was something about her that drew his gaze.
His restlessdrekisoul—which yearned to wander forever—twitched within him.
Solveig's cheekbones cut like the sharp ledge of granite in a fjord, her eyes as dark and fierce as a falcon. She was a sheer force of nature; uncontainable; unconquerable; a never-ending challenge.
He'd climbed the highest peaks in this world, far to the south, where the freezing winds cut his skin to the bone. Flown over volcanoes deep within the South Pole, where Fire whispered so deep within the surface he could barely hear it. Thrown himself off a cliff in mortal form, the wind rushing past him as he plummeted toward the sharp rocks below, shifting shape at the last minute. Pushing, always pushing the boundaries of what was possible.
It was the only time he ever felt true freedom.
To be bound to another felt like a cage.
And yet, a part of him suddenly wondered what it would be like to try and tame her.
Solveig reminded him of a Moroccan dervish. The mere thought of being mated to her left him somewhat breathless—as if the oxygen was thinner here in the throne room.
It was a horrible idea. They'd tear each other to pieces. Spiral out of control. Destroy everything in each other's paths.
Marduk suddenly realized the room was silent, everyone watching as the pair of them stared at each other.
"I have made my choice," he said softly, staring into her blazing eyes.
He could sense her holding her breath.
"Excellent," the king said with a clap of his hands.
"I choose Solveig."
