Page 78 of Vicar
Chapter Thirty
WHILE VICAR COULD haveguessed at a great number of reasons why he and Trinity had ended up going their separate ways when they were younger, his speculations were nowhere near the truth. A truth they witnessed when another memory manifested near the exit of Mt. Galdhøpiggen’s cave. Around the same age they had been when they first slept together, his younger self had just followed her in from outside.
She wasn’t a ghost but flesh and blood.
“You can’t keep coming here,” his younger self seethed. “It’s far too dangerous.”
“No,” she countered, spinning on him. Her eyes blazed. “It’s the opposite of that.” She raked a hand through her hair and glanced over her shoulder at a tunnel that led down in the mountain’s underbelly. “This is the only place that will keep him away, and you know it. Because he’s coming for me. I feel it. You feel it.”
“He’s coming for you,” Vicar countered. “But he’s never caught up, Trinity.” He shook his head, pain in his eyes. “I won’t let him,” he swore. “You know I won’t.”
“We can’t keep doing this, Vicar.” Young Trinity had just as much pain in her eyes. “You can’t.” She shook her head. “I can’t for my sisters.” She choked up. Tears welled. “But above all, I can’t keep doing this to you.”
“Damn,” Jade said softly. “You’re talking about your other half, aren’t you, sis?”
“Yes,” Trinity murmured, clearly starting to remember along with him. “While I loved Vicar,” her tortured eyes went to him, “and Ididlove you...still do,” her gaze returned to Jade, “what I was becoming would have failed you, Maya and Raven. Failed Aunt Elsie.” She frowned. “It would have let you all down.”
“So, what were you going to do?” Jade asked tentatively, meeting her frown. “Because it doesn’t sound good.”
“The only thing I could think of,” she whispered as the memory continued unfolding.
“You’re not doing anything to me,” young Vicar growled, yanking her into his arms before she headed deeper into the mountain. He cupped her cheek and shook his head. “My kin barely notice the difference in me, so there’s no harm in it. All’s well.”
“All is not well,” she ground out, a little bit of both her selves. “While you’re an incarnate and an impressive one at that, you were never supposed to take on the attributes of a Múspellsheimr dragon.” She shook her head. “Not in this life.”
“Yet I am.” He stood up a little straighter. A dark sort of pride flashed in his eyes. “And it’s only making me stronger.”
“See.” Trinity sighed. “This isn’t you. Not the ‘you’ I first met.”
“Any more than you’re the version of you I first met.” He searched her eyes. Tried to make her understand. “Yet I still love you. Love you so much that—”
“I know.” Trinity yanked free and backed away. “You love me so much you’re willing to soak up my ever-emerging Múspellsheimr.” She wiped away a tear. “Anything to help me. To keep me balanced.” She wiped away another tear. “Keep me balanced even as I break you. As I—”
“No.” He pulled her close again and kissed her before she could say another word. Kissed her like he was afraid of losing her.
“No,” she groaned, tearing her lips away before she melted against him. “Don’t you understand? Neither you nor my Alfheim magic will ever be able to stabilize me. Múspellsheimr magic is too powerful when it comes to dragons.” She shook her head. “I’ll never be like I once was.” She gestured deeper into the cave. “So I’m going back. I’m going where I can’t do any harm to you or my sisters. Going where my other side can flourish, and I won’t drain you anymore.”
