Mischief's Mate (The Immortal Mates Book 1) (22 page)

Chantelle knew nothing of the dragons that stalked the mountains in this northern country. Some made it their home, others only their hunting ground. An unarmed, naive mortal would make an easy meal for them. But that was the least of her worries. For the dwarves and giants were far more dangerous than the dragons. They would take her and send her to the mines. Or worse make her their concubine.

His musings ceased when she put a comforting hand on his arm. Looking at her hand on his arm had his inner beast howling in triumph. She was finally touching him of her own accord.

“Please. Don’t you see I’m right?”

He covered her hand with his and felt her shudder. Loki was ready to tell her to go back into the castle and to behave herself, when Hoder and Thor made their way toward them.

“Are we ready to leave?” Hoder sounded anxious.

Loki knew he wanted to get their mission over with as soon as possible. Then Emma would be safe and he could have her begin her education. They all knew they were going to need to acquire a tutor for Emma. But nothing could be done until she was well.

“Not yet, brother?”

Hoder stopped mid-mount, “And why ever not?”

“It seems Chantelle wishes to join our quest.” A look of worry flashed across Loki’s face.

He saw the look Hoder was giving him. Loki knew his brother was going to side with Chantelle. Emma was her sister and; it was her right to seek retribution.

“I do not see why this is a problem.”

Thor shoulder his way through the group, “You do not see at all, Hoder.”

The blind immortal just shot him an annoyed look, “Let us mount up and be off.”

“Wait.” The three immortal men stopped where they were. “We can’t take the horses.”

“Why ever not?” Thor looked as if this was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard.

Before Chantelle could answer him the roar of classic rock music surrounded them. Everyone stood thunderstruck as a silver Hummer pulled up in front of Valhöll. As soon as the window rolled down Chantelle let out the breath she was holding.

There in all her gothic black and purple glory sat Arabella. How the hell had she gotten here? Scratch that, where had she gotten them a Hummer on such short notice?

“Hey, not all present are immortal yet. So shake a leg.”

Chantelle didn’t like the way Bells had said the word yet. She knew something and she wasn’t going to tell. But still she was here and in a monster of a truck that would get them through anything. So she wasn’t going to turn away this gift horse.

She hurried over to the passenger’s side door. Throwing it open Chantelle put her foot up on the lift; ready to hoist herself into the truck and out of reach.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Loki had his arms around her and her feet on the ground in moments.

Thor didn’t even spare them a backward glance. He just hoisted himself up in the passenger’s seat, closing the door behind him with a resounding clang. Chantelle could have sworn he had shot Arabella a pissed off look.

Hoder followed suit, but before he slid all the way into the back of the Hummer, he turned his silver eyes toward them. “Enough. She’s coming with us. So get over it.”

Chantelle stopped struggling against Loki and he loosened his grip. As soon as she felt his arms slacken, she pulled free and dashed for the open door. She sat all the way in the back so he couldn’t drag her out at the last minute and leave her behind.

With a resigned sigh Loki got into the truck. From his seat in front of her, Loki turned to see the look of triumph on Chantelle’s face. She may have won the battle but not the war. Two could play her little game; victory would be his. There was no way his innocent little female could best him at a game of wills.

Moving to sit beside her Loki smiled when she eyed him with suspicion. Yes, she should be suspicious. Because he was going to use this little trip of theirs to make her see just what he was to her.

“Move over so I may sit.”

“There is more car than you know what to do with, sit somewhere else.” But the smile that lit his face made realization dawn. “There is no way I’m riding with you the entire trip.”

“It is either this or nothing.”

“How long do you plan to keep me a captive audience?” Chantelle smiled; check.

“For weeks if I have to. You need not fear. By the time we make it to Castle Malus you will be a very willing audience.” Checkmate.

With a long suffering sigh she moved over. She just wasn’t in the mood for verbal combat. Chantelle would save that for later, when they all tried to figure out where they were going to sleep.

“Can we get on with this now? Or do you still have to beg your female to behave?” Thor threw a toothy grin over his seat. But his smile turned to a look of shock when Arabella gave him a brain-duster. “What the bloody hell, woman?”

“Behave yourself. Besides, where is your mate?”

An annoyed look passed over his roguish looks. “How should I know? I refuse to chase after someone so broken. So weak.”

Arabella smiled wide like a Cheshire cat, “Well, then zip it. Some people all they know is pick, pick, pick. If you behave I just might tell you where to find her.”

Everyone in the Hummer looked at Arabella as if she had grown another head. Chantelle could not believe that her friend would know where Thor’s mate was. But she had warned her about Loki at the Serpent’s Den. So why not? That would mean that she had known about this entire situation all along.

“You knew and didn’t tell me?” There was disbelief in Chantelle’s voice, tears building in her eyes.

Arabella turned in her seat to face them. “Yes. And don’t look so shocked. You should know I can’t just tell people their future willy nilly. No all-seeing being can, not even a queen.”

“But Emma.”

“I knew she would be safe. Now as for the rest of you…” The others listened on in rapt attention, “I am going to drive you to Castle Malus. I have camping gear in the trunk. The drive is a little over five days. So please for the love of all that is holy, don’t start shit with each other.”

Chantelle just watched her friend with tired eyes. She wanted to argue with her. To tell her that placing Emma in danger to assist fate wasn’t cool. But all her words and accusations died in her mouth. She knew that Arabella’s gift didn’t allow her to divulge info in one big plot synopsis. It was more like magic eight ball answers. No, she couldn’t be mad at her. Not when she was risking herself trying to help them.

As Arabella began to drive off, Chantelle settled her body against Loki’s. She was tired, not getting any sleep the night before. Instead Chantelle had opted to stay with Emma all night.

She felt Loki take her hand in his, “Sleep my love. You are going to need your rest.”

Chantelle snuggled closer to the warmth of his body. She knew that at some point in time she would have to be taught to fight as a warrior. That the sparring Savannah and the Academy had taught her wouldn’t be enough. Chantelle was playing for keeps. Soon she would face the woman who dared to try to take her happiness.

For now though she would shut everything off and just rest. There was no doubt in her mind that Loki would take care of her. She wanted so desperately to rest in the assurance of his love.

Savannah found herself wondering about Valhöll. She couldn’t seem to sleep with all of her pent up energy over what had happened the last few weeks. She needed to move about. To burn off all her anxiety.

Rounding a corner her heart plummeted to her knees. There in a very precarious position was Bragi and some bite-sized bimbo. She wanted to storm over there and slap the taste out of the girl’s mouth, but then she thought better of it.

Clearing her throat, Savannah watched as Bragi pulled away from the dark haired girl. He quickly rearranged himself and turned to face her.

“Savannah, what are you doing up this late?”

Standing a little taller, she promised herself she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She should have known that he was a lying bastard, her gift told her they weren’t mates. But Bragi had used such pretty words to charm her.

Gesturing to his crotch, “I guess I could ask you the same thing?”

Bragi stepped toward her, “I can assure you it’s not what it looks like.”

He thought she was stupid, that had to be it. Because that was the lamest thing Savannah had ever heard in her life. In her life she had heard a lot of crap from guys like Bragi.

She might have given him the benefit of the doubt if the tart hadn’t spoken up, “No, it’s so much more.”

Savannah looked over at the girl. She wanted to scream, but decided that if she had to be a bitch at least she would be a classy one.

“If I knew you were into sloppy seconds I would have brought you the rest of my dinner.”

A bright smile painted Savannah’s lips when all the girl could do was gape. Humming softly she turned and headed in the direction of Emma’s room.

“Wait.” Bragi called after her but she kept walking as if he hadn’t said a word. “Savannah, I said wait.”

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. Savannah had the presence of mind to pull away from him. Whatever he had to say she knew she didn’t want to hear. More lies. What other deception could he come up with? Savannah had been lied to her whole life, so what was one more liar, really?

“It really wasn’t what it looked like back there.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake. Did you drop your pants and then just fall into her?” Savannah tapped her foot as if waiting for an answer.

“I…”

Shaking her head she held up her hand, “Stop. Just stop. I may not be as old as you, but I’m not a child either. Go back to whatever it was you weren’t doing and leave me the hell alone.”

Without a backwards glance she left a dumbstruck Bragi standing there. Savannah didn’t have time for any of this. With her gift she knew Bragi wasn’t her Fatum Anima. But he didn’t need to lie to her. She wouldn’t have minded if he would have been honest. With her gift, to see the destined mates of others, she knew that they weren’t meant to be. But a little honesty would have been nice.

Rounding the corner she entered Emma’s room. She had promised to keep watch over her when Chantelle went off with Loki to kick some ass and take some names. Now she found herself alone with the healer.

Tomas, she remembered Bragi telling her his name. Savannah had seen the tight lipped smile he had given the healer. She wondered why there was tension between them. And then she realized that there was just bad blood between them.

Shaking her head she began to pace the room. Her eyes darted between Emma and Tomas. His dark brow furrowed in concentration. He seemed as if nothing else in the room or the world mattered. Nothing except saving Emma. Tomas straightened in his chair beside the bed. Savannah moved closer to the bed and sat down taking Emma’s hand.

“How is she doing?” Her voice trembled with unshed tears.

“There has been no change. But I do not expect any for at least a week.”

A week, where the hell were they headed, no man’s land? Savannah didn’t understand why when they had the power of magic they did not use it to travel.

She fussed with Emma’s hair, “Why so long?”

Tomas searched her eyes. She knew he was looking for understanding, but she wasn’t taught any of this at the Academy. They had focused on training the girls to wield their powers and to ready them for mates.

He stood from his seat and closed the distance between them. Tomas kneeled down in front of her taking her hands in his. The moment their skin touched an electric current shot through her and her breath caught in her throat.

She found herself wondering why Bragi hadn’t filled her in. But then the memory of what she had seen in the hallway flashed in her mind. Pushing it aside she swore she would forget the tall redhead. As a matter of fact, she never wanted to see another ginger ninja, again.

“They cannot use magic. It causes a subtle shift in the environment. Anyone who possesses magic would feel the shift.”

She nodded. That made perfect sense. Now that she knew the reason behind their thinking, she found herself feeling a little better. Tomas seemed capable enough to keep Emma safe. As soon as they had brought Signe to justice, everything would be well again. Emma would be whole and they would return home. Chantelle would return and they could start their new lives together.

Savannah stood from the chair and began to pace again. Waiting had never been something she was good at. But she needed to find something to keep her busy.

“How did you become a healer?”

Tomas took her place on the bed, “I did not become a healer I was born one. I am a Dryad.”

Savannah tilted her head to examine him. Come to think of it he did have a very earth Spirit look about him; dark wavy hair and hazel eyes. The more she thought about it the more she found him darkly attractive. A stark contrast to the fair skinned redheads she normally liked. But it was a welcome change. It caused an odd shift in the area of her heart and Savannah pushed it aside.

“I thought Dryads were only women?”

His chuckle was deep and it sent shivers down her spine. Standing he walked toward her and stopped mere inches from her. His power flowed over her and she welcomed the tingle over her skin.

“Did they teach you nothing at the Academy?” Savannah shook her head. “Most mortal books about myths have the incorrect information.”

“They were a little more focused on us learning how to control our gifts.”

Savannah blushed, all of a sudden she felt stupid. As if she didn’t know how to talk to him. That was never a problem for her, but for some reason he just left her tongue tied.

Tomas took her hand and led her toward the bed. She felt her heartbeat speed up. Savannah found herself wishing they were in her room and it was her bed he was leading her to. At the thought guilt flashed through her mind. Here was Emma laying there holding on to life by her fingertips and she was ready to jump Tomas. What’s gotten into her with these immortal men?