buries himself deep inside of me and I feel his release fill me.
Our bodies both give out, they collapse on the bed. His chest presses against my back, his cock still deep inside of me, twitching with his release. Our breaths come out in pants. I let out a whimpered sigh at the same time he groans against the back of my neck.
He rolls off of me, but doesn’t roll away. Instead, he gathers me in his arms and wraps himself around me. I press my front against his side, wrapping my hand around the side of his neck, my fingers slowly moving up to the tattoos on the side of his head.
“Sylvi can take over. She understands how I rule, she would not make any big decisions without me. She will keep things running until I return. Kjeld and Sten will stay as her personal guards. They are my most trustworthy men.”
I hum, smiling to myself as I reach up and touch my lips to the underside of his jaw. “You are a good man, Aaric,” I exhale.
He hums. “We must find out what this entity wants with you, why he attempted to harm our child with magic.”
“Yes, we must.”
“We also much ensure that your sister is alive and well. Runa will not be able to join us, we need her to protect Sylvi.”
“What about Quest?” I ask.
He hums. “He can aide us, but he is busy with the seeress.”
I don’t respond to that. I want to be angry with him for bartering a woman’s life, but I can’t. He did what he thought was right and Seeress didn’t seem overly upset, just annoyed. Hopefully, Quest will be good to her, it seems as though they indeed had unfinished business.
“Hvíla, víf,” Aaric whispers. “You must regain your strength.”
“I must?”
He hums. “Yes, I plan on doing more of what we just enjoyed in just a few hours’ time. You need your rest.”
My lips turn up into a soft smile and I can’t deny that I want more of what we just did. A hell of a lot more.
AARIC
Sylvi is pacing in my af-hús when I arrive. She stops as soon as she realizes that I’m in the room.
“Aaric,” she breathes, but doesn’t run toward me.
It shouldn’t affect me, but I miss the way she would run into my arms when she was younger. Sylvi and Oili are more like my children and less like my siblings, I have raised them since they were young. It is hard for me to remember that they are grown women now.
“How is she?”
Nodding my head, I walk over to my chair and sink down, dipping my chin toward the stool in front of my desk. Slowly, I lift my arms up, placing my elbows on the scarred wooden desktop. Looking across from my desk, I smile at Sylvi.
“She’s good. Quest has assured me that the babe has survived and is in good health.”
Sylvie lifts her hand to her chest, letting out a breath. “I’m glad, I thought for sure…” Her words trail off.
“What about you? How are you?”
Sylvi sinks her teeth into the corner of her lips, looking down at her lap, then lifts her gaze to meet mine. “It’s the fate of the gods, Aaric. I can do nothing but follow the path that they have laid out for me.”
“Even if that path means it does not include Gunnar?”
I expect her to cry, but she doesn’t. She lifts her chin, looking down her nose at me. This moment, I can see exactly what Liv meant when she said that Sylvi was ready to take my place in my absence. She is very much royalty.
“That path does not include Gunnar, the gods have made it clear, Aaric.”
“They have,” I say with a nod.
She clears her throat, then lets out a sigh. “What happens now?”
I grunt, leaning back in my wooden chair as I look at her. “I must travel to Bunafi with Liv. I need someone to be in charge of the kingdom in my absence,” I begin. Sylvi nods her head once. “It will be you, Sylvi.”
Her breath comes out in a gasp, she lifts her head and her eyes widen as she watches me. “Aaric?” she rasps.
“Liv has assured me that you are very capable. Kjeld and Sten will stay behind as your personal guards.”
There is a moment of silence, then Sylvi shakes her head. “I cannot,” she exhales. “I cannot.”
“Perhaps, but you have no choice. Tait does not know the day-to-day