Dead Chaos (A Valkyrie Novel - Book 3)(39)

After a long trek, we stopped and dismounted within a circle of gigantic icicles that gleamed despite the meager daylight. They were large and close together, close enough to provide a protected barrier against the wind. Joshua worked on lighting a fire using a small pile of wood we'd brought. Fen's idea and a pretty smart one, considering all we could see were miles and miles of snow. We hadn't been able to tell if the odd tree we passed was suitable for firewood.

Fire and some hot soup warmed us up a bit and we settled down to rest both the horses and ourselves. The biting wind and snow had taken its toll but I was impatient to get moving. The last thing I wanted was to sit around doing nothing.









Chapter 36




I got to my feet and walked away from the reach of the warm fire, needing to move my tight muscles. As I ducked behind a large rock, the sound of footsteps closed in on me. I'd left to be alone; I hadn't expected anyone to follow me. A figure rounded the corner.

"Bryn, are you okay?" Joshua asked, his voice gentle and concerned. I sighed to myself.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get away for a bit," I answered. Oddly I was glad he'd followed me.

"Do you still want to be alone? I can leave—-"

"No, please stay." I smiled as I grabbed at his arm to stop him in case he decided to leave.

"Okay, if you’re sure," he said as he came to stand beside me. He'd strategically placed his body between mine and the brisk wind, and I realized Joshua had always been the gentleman, always making sure I was comfortable first.

I shivered as another icy gust buffeted us. Perhaps it had been a bad idea coming out here. Privacy wasn’t worth the price of freezing to death.

I rubbed my arms. "It's so much colder here than I'd expected it to be."

"Here, I can help a little," Joshua opened his fur and beckoned me forward. I was about to decline when another gust of wind made me change my mind. I snuggled against him, telling myself it was just for a moment and we’d go back to the others soon.

My body warmed against the heat of his. My fingers shook and I rubbed them together, getting them warm again. Huddled there within Joshua’s fur coat, feeling the warmth from his coat and from his body, I felt safe. For once, I felt that no matter what happened, everything would be all right in the end.

Joshua put his arms around me, tightening his hold, and I breathed in deeply as the warmth soothed my flesh and my bones and my heart. Cocooned there, I looked up at him and found his face just inches from mine. I came undone the moment his gaze alighted on my lips. I drew in a shuddering breath as the distance closed between our lips.

I was almost shaking all over, and the shivering had nothing whatsoever to do with the biting cold around us. At last, his lips closed over mine and he pressed close. The heat was unbearable and yet so indescribably beautiful that I didn't want him to stop.

And he didn't.

His hand went to the back of my neck, drawing me closer. His lips claimed mine again, harsher and more desperate it seemed, yet more gentle than before. I struggled to breathe but breathing was the least I cared about right now. I just wanted more of Joshua. I wanted to feel his skin beneath mine.

Kiss after heated kiss drew us deeper into our passion and I was sure I would explode soon. Even the frozen fingers of the gusting wind tugging at our clothes didn't disturb us. Joshua’s lips roamed desperately, first my cheek them my neck, leaving a trail of fiery kisses as he went. When his lips touched my collarbone, he set my mind and body ablaze.

When his lips reclaimed mine, it was in desperation again, as if nothing could stop him and he wanted as much as I wanted. I pressed closer and he pulled closer.

And then the sound of boots crunching on stony gravel drew us apart.

But it was too late. We both looked around to see Aimee standing a few feet away, staring at us, a smirk twisting her lips.

"I thought you might need company, Bryn. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one," Aimee said with a suggestive wink and turned on her heel.

Joshua and I stared at each other. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Nothing to be sorry for." I smiled and touched the side of his face. It was all it took to bring the heat back up between our bodies and I had to force myself to take a step away.

And to breathe.

"Let's get back to the others." Joshua took my hand and we jogged back, realizing only then how bad the weather had gotten.

We hurried back the camp and prepared to head out again after feeding the Sleipnir.

"How much farther?" I settled on Ara’s back and glanced at Sigrun who'd been our guide. She knew the map well enough and I trusted her directions.

"A mile east, just beyond that line of mountains." Sigrun mounted her horse and drew alongside me. She pointed at the horizon and I wondered how I'd missed seeing them. Craggy, dark mountaintops so sharp and pointed that snow could barely find a place to fall and stay in place. "The castle is within the valley beyond the mountain."

I nodded as I tightened my great, warm coat around me. Joshua cleared up all traces of the fire and we set off again, quickly growing cold once the blast of snow and frozen air hit us. We reached the ridge, which provided some protection from the wind, and approached the entrance to the valley. The entrance itself was nothing more than a crack in the mountain with fallen splinters of rock some as tall as the mountain itself. We maneuvered the horses around them, the snowy terrain made more treacherous by rocks pointing out from beneath the blanket of white.

We moved slowly through the craggy pass as the snow abated, and we paused to take in the sight of the castle of Jotunnheim residing in the valley like a gigantic porcupine. Tower after tower rose, each one a different height, and different size, some fat, some thin, some too wide to be called a tower.

The castle looked… strange, almost alien. An angry monstrosity in the middle of a snow-covered valley. My heart thudded as we began to descend a rocky path hacked out of the mountainside.

When we reached ground, we dismounted and huddled behind a monolithic rock that seemed to threaten to teeter and fall. Ara and the other horses were silent, aware, almost expectant. I shivered. Between us and the castle entrance, the snow-covered ground lay broken by jagged black rocks and boulders that looked like a giant baby had had a tantrum and thrown his rock toys out of his cot.

"So what's our plan?" Aimee looked over at Sigrun and myself. "The rocks will provide cover as we make our way to the castle, but then what?"

"Within the castle walls there are more of these rocks. It is quite labyrinthine in there, so we do need to stay together. There is one thing to also look out for, though." Her voice held a seriousness that had all heads turning to her. "The guards are quite deceiving."

"Deceiving?" I frowned. "In what way?" Sometimes Sigrun was as frustrating with information as Hugin.

"They will look like gigantic rocks, but they are alive. The Jotunn have the power to shape shift. So be careful."

I nodded. I knew well enough what a Jotunn was capable of doing to a person in a fight. They could transform, turn fingertips into deadly daggers, and grow so large they could crush you with their little finger. I wasn't scared. No way.

"Right. Let's do this." Weapons at the ready, we left the horses and the safety of the stone monolith and ran, following Sigrun as she weaved between boulders and spires, mimicking her as she hid behind rock as large as dragons.

We stopped near the unguarded entrance, the gigantic gate held high above us by enormous chains. Sigrun peered around the wall and motioned for us to follow. We rounded the castle wall and beelined for Sigrun, who hunched down behind another thin splinter barely wide enough for the four of us to stand hip to hip.

"Which tower is it?" I whispered to Sigrun, sheathing my sword.

"Mord is the tallest tower."

Of course it was.

I peeped around the rock, searching out the tallest tower and was both amazed and horrified at the height of it.

"How will we even get up there?" The question came out in a puff of misty air.

"Well, Bryn. There are these things called wings—" Aimee and Joshua snickered and I made a face at them. Great time for Sigrun to prove her wit.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." I hid a smile. "Where can Aimee and Joshua wait?"

"We will have to find them a safe place outside." Sigrun looked passed me at the two einherjar. "Once we find a safe area, you have to stay put. We can't risk losing you. We need to get everyone back home safe."

They nodded and my heart twisted. The thought of leaving them unprotected made me panic. But they were Warriors in their own right, not mortal humans. I had to keep reminding myself of that. They were fully capable of defending themselves, or defending me.

"Right, let’s find them a good spot."

"We need to get closer to the castle," Sigrun urged. I nodded and we followed her again as she raced ahead from gigantic rock to ginormous splinter. The castle wall rose before us so suddenly I was taken aback, almost skidding into the rock. I'd been concentrating so hard on running that I hadn't kept track of our goal.

I scanned the area for a good hiding place and almost whooped. "There." I pointed at a rock that had fallen over and made a little lean-to against the castle wall. Perfect.

"Yes. This will do." Sigrun nodded.