Page 15 of Wolves of Winter
That might be, but he didn’t scoot away when I sat down beside him, before lying down and curling my body close to his side. Roots wound around us, holding in our body heat. It was cozy and his breath was warm on the back of my neck. Silence reigned for a few minutes before I had the courage to speak.
“Skarde?”
“Hmm?” he mumbled.
“What scares you more?” I asked. “That Jovi is Eir, or that she isn’t?”
I thought he wouldn’t answer, but was surprised when he said, “I don’t know. Both unsettle me. I don’t want to fight my brother. But if she’s not…”
“Eir is still missing,” I finished for him. “And you have no idea where to search for her. But what if… what if she’s gone? What if she doesn’t want to be found?”
To that, there was no reply.
***
Torsten
The general fell to the ground, clutching his ruined eyes. Blood and thick, viscous jelly slicked my fur flat. It bubbled in my wounds and seared my fur, cauterizing the gaping wounds I’d sustained. Fortunate for me, in a way, but it still stung like hell.
The other generals and their creatures eyed me warily as I leaped from the fallen giant’s chest and prowled forward, powering through the pain. My ribs ground together, tightening like a band around my lungs. It was hard to pull in a breath. The giants would recover themselves any minute now and kill me. I’d go down fighting, taking as many of them to Helheim with me as I could. One or two less giants to hunt Jovi down.
Suddenly, as if summoned out of thin air, Jovi swung down from a nearby giant’s back. She dropped almost fifteen feet straight down, using one of the giant’s leather straps like a makeshift vine. Her pale hair had darkened to a deep grey hue and there were smudges on her face and body, but never had I seen a sight more beautiful. Part of me worried that Jovi’s presence had been just a dream or a cruel trick. The other part was certain that my blue-eyed witch had found her way into Muspelheim.
She impacted the earth with a soft crunch, barely audible above the general’s continued roars of pain. It wasn’t until she’d straightened to her full height that I realized she was naked. Completely and gloriously nude. When she stepped out of a cloud of smoke and ash, the firelight painted her in shades of gold and red. Her eyes glinted dangerously, and she clutched an oversized sword in her hands, wielding it like a true warrior.
However, my gaze was torn away from her when a fire giant took notice of her presence. He lifted his blade to shoulder height, preparing a swing that would cleave her in two. I tried to fling myself forward, just as a pit-mutt lunged from the darkness and latched its teeth onto my shoulder, dragging me backward.
I needn’t have worried. Before the giant could let loose, Jovi twisted her hips and thrust her sword into the ankle of the nearest giant, slicing through its tendons like they were fishing twine. By the time the giant swung, its fellow was pitching forward, unable to support its own weight. The axe sunk in with a sickening thunk, splattering us in scalding ichor.
That succeeded in drawing all attention to Jovi. Every giant and monster on the hill were now swarming her direction. I opened my mouth to warn her, but she was knocked off her feet. A puff of ash and dust was kicked up into muggy air. In the blink of an eye, Jovi was out of my sight. Her screams echoed in the valley, and in response, I tried to summon my berserker strength. But the wolf never surfaced. The rage and beast-like savagery I’d run from for so many years was suddenly gone. My entire life I’d wanted nothing more than to be rid of the curse of my father’s bloodline, but to be without it now left me feeling extremely vulnerable.
I struggled onto all fours and limped after her. When I caught sight of her again, she was dashing across a plateau of volcanic stone. She stumbled around the fray, miraculously avoiding any injury. But the smell of sizzling skin reached my nose when she got too close to a giant’s blade. She blew on her palm with a wince, momentarily distracted by the pain, as one of the mutts made a grab for her.
“Watch out!” I shouted.
She ducked just in time. The mutt went sailing over her head, crashing into the leader of the pack as it readied its own leap. As the demons closed in around Jovi, I sprinted towards her. Her eyes flew open as she finally noticed me, but then a sudden crack in the ground grabbed our attention as it released a burst of fire, forcing her to leap out of the way. Before I could blink, a giant was on her. It seized her in a fist the size of a Sedan and I felt my heart start pounding as I realized what this beast could do to her. Not to mention how incredibly fragile she looked, dangling from its meaty hand, a matchstick in the grip of a vise.
Chapter Six
Torsten
“Torsten,” Jovi screamed. “Torsten!”
“Magic!” I screamed into her mind. “Use magic and go for the eyes!”
A hand circled around my throat, and I was slammed into the hard rock at the feet of a particularly nasty looking giant. This one was smaller than the others, but seemed to make up for a lack of height and girth in strength. Spots danced before my vision, and I was sure I’d pass out.
Just then, the hand that squeezed my windpipe was knocked loose when Jovi brazenly jumped onto the demon’s back. I didn’t know how she’d freed herself, but I was grateful as she grabbed onto his horns, yanking his head back. It gave me the opening I needed. The giant’s scream died to a gurgle when I tore into his throat, then pulled off the arm of the giant that stood over me, just for good measure. Blood sprayed across my face, wetting the stone beside my head.
I threw myself at her, cushioning the fall before the giant had a chance to fling her across the valley with what remained of its strength. Jovi’s pale blue eyes sparkled up at me like a thousand diamonds, catching the light of the fires of Muspelheim. She smelled like brimstone wrapped in a summer rainfall. The feel of her curves against my body made me lick my lips.
“You shouldn’t be here, Jovi,” I whispered.
“Yet here I am,” she said with a breathless sigh.
I tugged her chin up and pressed my mouth to hers in a searing kiss.
***