Page 20 of Vicar
Or so she thought until Vicar fell in on her other side and informed her she would be going no further than the great hall until he was good and ready. Torc only chuckled and shrugged when she shot him an aren’t-you-going-to-stand-up-to-him look. When he put up his hands in defeat, shook his head, and backed away, all the while grinning, she moved on to her next target.
Better yet, focused on the tall, dark-haired Viking woman eyeing her with amusement.
How curious because most females with Vicar in their line of sight were doing no such thing. Either they seemed frustrated, jealous, or willing to share, but not amused. So Trinity headed her way and asked her what she found so funny. It turned out she was Vicar’s cousin, Liv, and her humor was solely directed at Torc.
“I enjoy anyone willing to toy with that one.” She snorted at Vicar. “And at your expense no less, cousin.” The corner of her mouth shot up. “Might our new friend, Trinity, be the great divide that finally convinces you to send Torc on his way.”
Liv didn’t bother waiting for a response but rolled her eyes at Torc, spun on her heel, and strode inside, gesturing over her shoulder for Trinity to follow. While she instinctively liked Liv, allowing anyone to order her around went against her newfound grain and would do her no favors trying to gain the upper hand with Vicar’s followers.
“No,” she said and kept eyeing the courtyard. Soaking it up. From the transparent dome overhead to the godly storm brewing beyond. One that called to her in a way she couldn’t explain. “I think I’d rather get the lay of the land.”
Vicar didn't respond but watched her in that predatory way of his. A look mixed with enough intelligence and cunning to let her know she had a worthy adversary. Something made more obvious when he nearly let her leave through another exit, only for Jade to stop her before she could.
“Don’t.” Jade grabbed Trinity’s arm and shook her head. “Leviathan and Destiny’s powers added extra protection to the dome. Protection that can harm people coming or going.” She scowled at Vicar. “Somethingsomeoneshould have told you, but I suspect he’d rather you make a fool of yourself.”
“Right,” Trinity said slowly, grinning at him. “Makes me look impetuous and foolhardy. Not quality leadership at all.” She nodded once with approval. “Good one.”
“In his defense, you sort of had a one-track mind when you tried to barrel out into an incoming storm.” Jade nudged her away from the exit. “I get that you’re going through some shit right now, but you need to get a grip, sis. Get back to the girl determined to fix Vicar, not the one determined to outrank him.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I pictured this naughty side of you a little differently.” She frowned at Vicar. “Andyou.I’m a fan, you know I am, but if you let my sister put herself in danger again, I’ll kick your ass.” Her eyes ignited with Celtic magic. “You know damn well I’ve got the power to back up that threat.”
“I really do!”came a little voice in their minds, echoing Jade’s sentiments before another memory manifested nearby.
“It’s happening to you guys like it did to Thorulf and me on our adventure,” Jade murmured.
Though Trinity tried to watch with a detached eye, she couldn’t help but feel the fury of her little dragon as she kept slamming into the transparent dome, only to be repelled time and time again.
“We’re older now,” she noted, eyeing little Vicar, who tried to stop Trinity. “Not much but some.” She shook her head. “And I feel nothing like I did the first time I met you.”
“No.” Vicar considered his younger self with equal detachment. Or so it seemed. “I still feel the same, though.” He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “I feel...”
When he trailed off, Jade urged him to go on.
“Very Sigdir,” he finally said, yet seemed perplexed. “I didn’t understand why Trinity wanted to come here so badly when this wasn’t my home. Not then, anyway.”
“No, it was the Sigdir Fortress when you were a child,” Thorulf reminded, joining them. “Though you did enjoy the Realm even at that age.”
“Get me in, Vicar,”little Trinity demanded. She stomped her foot and narrowed her eyes at him.“Right now!”
“Youneveracted like that as a child, Trinity.” Jade shook her head. “You’re like an entirely different dragon.”
“Not entirely different.” Trinity hid her confusion at her little dragon’s emotions. “I feel like me. This me. How I should be.”
Because who wanted to be the sweet pushover she’d been before?
“How curious.” Jade considered little Trinity and Vicar. More so, the worried and defeated look on Vicar’s face. “So you acted this way here, and Vicar clearly didn’t like it.”
“No,” big Vicar concurred darkly, vague as usual. “It was...hard.”
“It is, is it not?” Thorulf clasped his shoulder in support. “I lived with it, with you, as did our kin.” He eyed the little ones again. “Not then, though. You were all Sigdir at the beginning.”
He was? Hard to imagine.
Before the memory sucked her in any further because it was trying too, chiseling at a heart she had no use for, Trinity headed for the Keep. Maybe she could find another Múspellsheimr dragon to show her around. Maybe she could...
She slowed and frowned when an unusual feeling swept over her. A warmth that spread through her veins. Not in a welcoming fiery way but another altogether.
One that, alarmingly enough, made everything change in the blink of an eye.
