Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (8 page)

“Where are you going?”

“Enough hugging.”

“You’re really not going to kiss me? Not even on my cheek?” She scowled. “At least admit you missed me.” Her expression became mutinous. Stubborn girl. I let her go, and she sat up.

“Are you ready now?”

“No.” All the shuffling around had messed her hair. I pushed the lock from her face, my hand lingering on her skin. She didn’t dislodge my hand. “I’d missed this. Talking to you. Your crooked smile.”

“I don’t have a crooked smile.”

“Do too. It’s sexy.” She rolled her eyes. “That too,” I added. “You’re the only girl I know who looks cute rolling her eyes.”

She laughed. “You’re so weird. Did you find her?”

I rolled a lock of her hair between my fingers. “Find who?”

“Your sister, silly. Who did you think I meant?”

My grandmother.
I didn’t want to think about her.

“Did you know that it took Rhys and Nara nearly seventeen years to exhaust their leads? And that is despite the fact that they can siphon memories.”

“Siphon memories? What’s that?”

“Tap into scrambled memories and find relevant information. They had to work even harder to sift through Immortals’ memory banks because the Norns were involved. In the last few months, I’ve learned how Rhys and Nara infiltrated most of the private clubs, business, and mentoring program for the younger Immortals left behind when their Immortal parents died, or when some idiot Valkyrie or Grimnir turned one.”

She frowned. “So what are you saying? You need more than sixteen years to find your sister?”

Direct and to the point, that was Celestia. I’d missed that. “I hope not. I wanted to do it weeks ago, but I’ll settle for a week. Her birthday is coming up.”

“Why do you think your sister is on Earth with the Immortals?”

“The Norns hid me there, so chances are they did the same with her.”

Celestia frowned. “The Norns took her from Ironwood Forest?”

“No, they didn’t. She was never there.”

“Your grandmother told me she abandoned her in Ironwood Forest when she found out your sister didn’t have the dragon strain.”

I sat up, resigned to discussing my grandmother. Despite all the great things she’d done for her clan, she was my family’s skeleton. “She never mentioned Ironwood Forest or dragon strain to me. She said she kidnapped Einmyria to punish my parents, bragged that she knows where the Norns took her, and plans to call her when she’s ready.” Celestia went pale. “Sorry. I really didn’t want to discuss her.”

“It’s okay. So you think she bit your sister?”

“Yes. That’s why I must find Einmyria before my grandmother calls her.” Or find my grandmother and make a deal with her. Somehow, I didn’t think ordering the old Jötun to tell me where my sister was would work.

“If your sister is on Earth, do you think she’d respond to a call from your grandmother?”

“I have no idea, but I hope not.”

“Me too.” Celestia looked at her watch. “Oh crap! I completely forgot. We shouldn’t be talking.” She scrambled off the bed. “Your parents want you by their side to receive the guests. Man, I’m an idiot.”

“No, you’re not. We have some catching up to do.” Going to the ball meant less time spent with her. “Come with me. You can meet my new friend, Karle. He’s a Jötun dragon shifter and the sappiest person I’ve ever met. You’ll probably like him.”

Celestia shook her head. “I can’t. I left my cousin, Hayden, and Officer Sullivan at the club, and I don’t know how long Syn can keep them distracted. Just get dressed and make an appearance, Eirik. One hour and then leave if you hate it.”

“Do you know why they want me to attend the stupid ball in the first place? And don’t start lecturing me about Mother being humiliated or people coming to honor me. Those are not the real reasons they are here.”

She grinned, and just like that, the fog lifted. Karle was right. A smile from your girl packed quite a punch. And Celestia was mine even though she’d laugh in my face if I dare say it.

“Your mother wants you hitched.”

Okay, that wasn’t cool. She was supposed to be jealous, or at least pretend to be, not enjoy my predicament.

“It’s not funny. You sure you don’t want to come? You’re going to miss out. You could help me choose my future bride.”

“Get dressed, doofus,” she snapped and started for the door.

I was in front of her before she reached the door. “Where are you going? What if I change my mind after you leave? You have to stay here and personally escort me to, uh, wherever they’re holding the party.”

“I’m not holding your hand, Eirik.”

“Then I’m not going. Stop by my parents’ quarters and tell them you failed.” Instead of going to the closet, I headed for the bed. “I can go back to sleep and dream. Like I said, you are much nicer in my dreams.”

She groaned. “You are the most annoying guy ever.”

“Bye. See you next time they haul you in here to manipulate me.”

“Fine. I’ll wait here while you change.”

I did a U-turn and walked toward her.

“And FYI, this was a one-time deal. Next time, I’ll say no. Echo or no Echo.” Her arms crossed, she glared at me. Damn, she looked adorable when she pouted, and her lips were tempting. I moved in to steal a kiss, but she pressed a hand on my face and pushed me away.

“No kiss, huh? Okay. At least, smile. You’ve done the impossible and gotten me to agree to this farce of a party. If I end up with a troll bride, it’ll be your fault.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. By the time I entered my walk-in closet, she was seated on my bed.

“So what have you been up to, Dimples?” I asked as if I didn’t already know.

Silence greeted me.

“Still pouting?” I called out.

“I don’t pout.”

“Then talk to me. What did I miss? Are you dating anyone? Is he treating you well? If he’s not, I can take care of him for you.” Her sweet laugh reached me first, and my chest tightened with feelings I couldn’t explain.

“Well, now that you asked, there’s this really nice guy…”

“Ditch him. Nice is boring.” What the hell was his name? I’d seen him stop by TC. It was time to have a little chat with Stubby. He was a little on the short side. “Tell me about school.”

“You sure you don’t want to hear about Wes?”

She was too damn chipper, probably enjoying my reaction. She also sounded like she’d moved closer to the walk-in closet. “Does Wes have a last name?”

“Lyons. He’s really sweet. And if you hurt him, I’d never forgive you. I wasn’t sure about dating him, but I could see myself doing it now.”

And I could see myself dropping him from five thousand feet to his death. “Sweet is not for you, Dimples. Sweet is nauseating. You chew and spit out sweet guys because they are wusses. When are you graduating?”

“In two months, so I’m busy making sure I enjoy the little time I have left in high school. Then there’s the prom. I plan to attend, of course.”

With Wes?
Over my dead body.
“And when not doing school-related stuff or hanging out with Wuss, what do you do?”

“Wes, not wuss,” she corrected. “And FYI, I love sweet guys. When not with him, I work on spells. And you? When not accepting challenges from other dragons or hanging out with Immortals, what do you do?”

“I search for my grandmother,” I said.

“What?” Celestia appeared in the entrance of my closet, took one look at me, and whipped around, her face flaming. “Sorry.”

“No need to be. I’m decent.” I had my underwear on.

“Did she escape?”

“No. Mother let her go.”

“Why? Can I turn around now? I hate not looking at you while we talk.”

I grinned. I liked her looking at me. “Sure. I’m not showing anything you haven’t already seen.” She groaned and muttered “shameless” before moving away. I yanked on my pants.

“Anyway, my mother wanted to lock her in some dungeon for eternity, but I didn’t think it was necessary.”

Celestia cursed.

“What?” When she didn’t answer, I walked to the doorway. She was pacing. “You alright?”

She turned, her eyes zeroing in on my bare chest and moving to my abs. I leaned against the doorway and let her look her fill. I might be shirtless, but I had pants on, yet she was blushing. She looked up. I expected her to hit me with a snarky comment about walking around half-dressed.

“Did you bite her? Please, tell me you bit her and she is bound to you.”

“Damn, you are bloodthirsty.”

She glared at me. “I’m serious, Eirik. Did you?”

“Yes, I did and yes, she is bound to me, which means I can control her.” Theoretically, since it hadn’t worked so far. “So as long as my sister is with me, she’ll be safe from Granny.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about it that way.” She frowned. “Since you can control her, you can just call her and demand she tells you where Einmyria is, right? Before you answer”—she pointed at the shirt in my hand—“put that on. Your mother is going to send an army in here if you are not out there in the next five minutes.”

I ignored her orders. I liked her eyes on me. No matter how hard she tried to keep her gaze locked with mine, she kept heading south to my chest and abs every few seconds. All the crazy physical regimen paid off if she noticed.

I reached inside the closet and came out holding my mace. I lifted it, whipped it above my head, and commanded it to bond with me. The chain wrapped around my arm and the head stopped above my bicep. Then it bonded.

“Whoa. How…? Where did it go?”

“I bonded with it. It’s easier to carry this way.”

Her eyes followed the chain of the mace. “It looks cool and badass.”

I had distracted her from discussing my grandmother. I couldn’t control, call, or demand answers from someone I couldn’t find. My dragon senses were useless when it came to following her scent and pinpointing her exact location. It was humiliating. Shifting and all these magical manipulations would have been easier if I’d learned to shift as a child. We had five-year-old guests who shifted without breaking a sweat, but it still hurt like crazy when I did it.

“About your grandmother. You can call her, right?” Celestia asked.

She was tenacious. “Yes, nosy, I can.”

“But…?” Celestia moved closer, her eyes narrowed as though she could see through my BS.

“But nothing.” I pulled at the shirt and adjusted the sleeves.

“There is a problem,” she said. “Out with it. What is it?”

I loved having her this close. Her scent drifted to my nose, and the urge to shift didn’t surprise me. I gave my dragon side a moment with her, knowing she would be distracted and the conversation about Granny would be forgotten.

My eyes shifted until I could see the flecks of white in her blue irises. I picked up on her heartbeat. The sharp rise in tempo said she was alarmed. Her eyes widened and volleyed between my face and my arms, which were scaling at an accelerated rate.

The panic in her eyes almost made me engage Odin’s rune, but I squashed the urge. She hated everything reptilian, but my dragon was a part of who I was. For us to be together, she’d have to get used to him. I waited, expecting her to run or move back, but she didn’t. Her heartbeat was still elevated, but it stabilized. She was no longer scared.

“How do you do that?” she whispered.

“I will it, but other times, the shift is beyond my control.” It happened when she was in trouble or when I thought about her. “It’s annoying when that happens.”

She made a face. “Do you feel differently as a dragon?”

“Yep. I hate greens, but love meat. Love mead, but dislike other drinks. I act differently too. I have the manners of a hippo. I admire myself a lot. I’m a total douche. That’s just not me.”

She laughed. “Oh please. That’s so you. Just in another form.”

“No, it’s not. I’m fun, humble, and charming.”

A knock resounded on the door.

“Did you just say charming in the same sentence as humble?” Celestia asked.

I loved the twinkle in her eyes and the fact that she could see through my bullshit.

“Tell them I’ll be ready in a few.” While she walked to the door, I slipped back into the changing room. The scales disappeared, and my eyes went back to normal. I heard her voice mix with Litr’s, and then the door closed. She appeared in the doorway, her back to me.

“So about your grandmother…”

Man, she was like a hound with a bone. “I want a chance to talk to her instead of controlling her just because I bit her.” That much was true. “I want to get to know her better.”

“Are you serious? You already know her. She’s the woman who plotted against you and your mother. She kidnapped your sister just so your parents could suffer and then abandoned her after biting her. She thought you belonged to her and would have bitten you too, and she nearly killed me.”

“I know she’s done terrible things.” Yet she was the key to unlocking the mystery that was my mother. “But she’s a dragon shifter and might teach me a thing or two, like how to control the shift. Mother claims she knows stuff, but I think she’s making things up as she goes.”