Viking Heart (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors Book 3) Read online

  Amber continued, needed to share, needed to vent and mourn. “Before Sean…didn’t come home, he’d been acting weird. Off. It started after Veronica vanished. All he did was stare out at the bay. He barely talked.”

  When she saw a tear roll down Megan's cheek, she shook her head and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Meg. I just haven’t…I dunno…I’ll stop talking.”

  “It’s okay,” Megan murmured, tying up her dress. “Tell me everything. I need to know.”

  Amber wiped the tear from Megan's cheek. “Like you said, it’s nothing that can’t wait till later.”

  When Megan only frowned, Veronica said softly, “Tell us everything, Sis. Megan’s a queen now. Details matter and she needs to have them.”

  “A queen,” she whispered. “Right, because you married a king.”

  As depressing as this conversation was, that reminder warmed her heart. Nobody deserved to be a queen more than Megan. And a Viking queen to boot. Perfect.

  Okay then. Though tempted to tell them her and Sean’s sex life had dwindled down to nothing, she figured that was better left for another time. So she focused on whatever else she could think of. “He was having horrible headaches. They started after Veronica vanished.”

  Megan and Veronica shot each other a look.

  “What?” she asked, trying to adjust to the awkward dress that was a tad too tight around her cleavage and hips.

  When they hesitated, she narrowed her eyes on Megan. She appeared less sad but instead contemplative. “Out with it.”

  Megan inhaled deeply. “There’s likely nothing to it, but Kol’s been having severe headaches too.”

  Amber had no idea what to make of that. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  Veronica refilled her cup. “Here. Drink some more.”

  Definitely. Amber took another gulp before she again stared into the fire. Likely the only reason she wasn’t a raving, incoherent lunatic right now was because of this blessed mead and her sisters. Though she remained worried about Sean and downright wary of Kol, she needed to step away from both and seek answers. She needed to understand what had happened to Megan and Veronica since they arrived here.

  “All right, ladies,” she finally said. “We need to debrief. Fill me in on everything that's happened since you embraced Viking society. No worries, I can take it.”

  “Ever our open-minded girl,” Megan murmured and nodded, strong despite the news about Sean. “Sure, if you think you’re up for it but it doesn’t need to be now. Why don’t you adjust first?”

  “No. Now.”

  Veronica and Megan met one another’s eyes again and apparently came to the same conclusion because Megan nodded. “Okay then, here goes.”

  After that, it was a whirlwind of astounding information. When Veronica traveled back in time it didn’t take her long to fall in love with Raknar. Apparently, he had broken the pact with the seers and embraced his inner dragon. When that happened, her sisters made their own pact with the seers to protect them and the Scottish MacLomain clan. A pact that almost ended up fulfilled when Yrsa, Raknar’s former wife, and their sworn enemy, wasn’t entirely defeated. That, it seems, was when they had returned to the future.

  “I can’t believe I have no recollection of that,” Amber whispered as they sat her down. “Neither did Sean for that matter.”

  “That’s because everything was reset to how it was supposed to be.” Veronica placed Amber’s hand over her stomach. “When he made contact.”

  Veronica’s belly was swollen and round. Amber couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed sooner. Then again, it had been well hidden beneath her sister’s heavy fur cloak. “No.”

  Veronica smiled, tears in her eyes, and nodded. “Yup. And though you don’t remember it, know that you were there when I first found out. Every step of the way until you couldn’t be there anymore, Sis.”

  Overwhelmed, Amber put a hand over her mouth and shook her head. Veronica had lost a child years ago so this was such a blessing. So incredibly happy for her, she flung her arm around her sister’s shoulders and rested her head against Veronica’s, all the while keeping her hand on her stomach. “I’m so incredibly happy for you.” Her words were husky with emotion. “Boy or girl?”

  “He’s a boy.” Veronica put her hand over Amber’s. “We’re naming him Matthew.”

  “For your lost son,” Amber murmured, pleased.

  “Something like that,” Veronica said softly.

  Her eyes met Veronica’s. “Are you married as well, then?”

  She shook her head. “No. We were waiting for you.”

  “Me?” she said, surprised. “Then you had that much faith I’d be coming.”

  Megan rubbed her shoulder. “We had no doubt.”

  Amber took another sip of mead and shook her head. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to fit into all this.” Her eyes met Megan’s. “You know how much I care about Sean. The idea of hooking up with another guy seems really wrong. On so many levels.”

  “I don’t mean to contradict you because I love Sean to death. Hell, he was…is, my best friend, but you’ve been seeing other guys besides him the past three years,” Megan reminded. “What happened lately to change that?”

  “It’s just how supportive he was after you left," Amber said, troubled. “Maybe not so much lately but that’s only because he’s been off his game.”

  “Sure, I get it,” Megan said. “And I’m so damn grateful he’s been there for you.” Her sister grew exceptionally quiet. “But I need you to know something.” She hesitated before continuing. “I’m starting to think there’s a strong connection between Sean and Kol.”

  Megan shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t say ‘starting’ because I’ve been feeling this way since I decided to leave the twenty-first century behind and return to Naðr.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kol called me Sea Siren, Sean's nickname for me, within days of meeting him. Then when I returned home, Sean spoke as though he was Kol and told me his brother was in love with me.” She shook her head. “Since then, Kol has time and time again reminded me of Sean. Or at least of how Sean was before he nearly drowned three years ago.”

  “Did drown,” Amber said. “But they managed to bring him back to life half an hour later.”

  She hadn’t met Sean at that point so had no idea what to make of Megan’s comparisons. Apparently, he had been one hell of a flirt with a charming personality. Not the Sean she knew. But she still fell for the somber, more reserved version of him. Regardless, there had always been some small part of her that wondered if she could bring him back to the man he’d been before.

  “Right,” Megan agreed. “The doctor brought him back to life…but a different life with almost an entirely different personality.”

  “Not a bad one,” Amber defended.

  “No, not bad,” Megan agreed. “Just different.”

  “There’s another similarity between the men.” Veronica gave Megan a pointed look, one that said she hoped she’d take the ball from there.

  And her big sister did because that had always been her role.

  Megan nodded. “A pretty big one I’d say.” She met Amber’s eyes. “Though he started to act a little odd beforehand since Veronica and I returned Kol has been about as off as Sean was. He spends too much time staring at the ocean and as far as we know, hasn’t been with any women.”

  All right. That was strange. But... “Um, did you not see the woman in his bed when I arrived?”

  “Yeah, I saw her leaving,” Megan said. “Yet I’d bet just about anything he didn’t sleep with her.”

  Veronica sighed and shook her head. “The man’s in a perpetual state of torture of his own making because honestly I’ve never met a guy who…”

  When Megan frowned heavily and made a disgruntled sound, Veronica snapped her mouth shut.

  “What?” Amber looked between them. “Something I should know about Kol ahead of time?”

  She blinked away images
of his unforgettable face and astounding body.

  Megan squeezed her hand. “Nothing you need to worry about right now.”

  Amber arched her brows. “Excuse me? If I’m part of some pact with seers and truly here for Kol, I think I deserve to know all about him.”

  “She’s right,” Veronica agreed and squeezed Amber’s other hand. “It’s nothing bad. Kol is an amazing guy who would die to protect his own. That aside, some women, certainly none from this era but likely ours, might think he’s a bit of a womanizer.”

  Womanizer? “Could you be more specific?”

  “Well, as a general rule of thumb he tends to like sex.” Megan cleared her throat. “A lot of it. With various partners.”

  “Oh,” Amber mouthed then took another swig from her mug. No blushing flower when it came to that department, she shrugged. “Can’t blame a man for that I suppose.”

  Veronica pinched back a small grin. “No, we didn’t think you’d judge him for it.”

  Amber pursed her lips and shrugged. Her sisters knew her well. “It’d definitely be hypocritical of me.” Still, she couldn’t help but frown. “So how is this supposed to work between us when we’re obviously not good at committing to just one person?”

  “Hard to say.” Megan shook her head. “But when I first arrived here I can promise you that I couldn’t envision making any sort of commitment to Naðr.”

  “Yeah but at least you’re the committing type.” Amber glanced at Veronica. “And I assume you finally fell in love for the first time. Pretty intense stuff, right?"

  “You say that as though you know what it feels like,” Veronica said softly.

  “No,” Amber defended, unwilling to share what she’d contemplated telling Sean about her feelings for him. “There’s definitely been no falling in love for me. Nor will there ever be.”

  Megan squeezed her hand again. “And that’s okay. There’s plenty else to do here besides be around men and risking your heart.”

  “I never said anything about not being around men.” Amber pursed her lips. “Based on what I’ve already seen, they’re bound to be entertaining enough in this era.”

  Veronica chuckled. “You have no idea, little sis.”

  Amber took another sip and tried to mentally prepare herself. “So what else should I know about your time here?”

  Megan sighed. “Well, as always we’re on the brink of war. This time with King Alrek, who supposedly inherited Yrsa’s dark magic when she died.”

  Loosened up considerably by the mead, Amber eyed Veronica. “That had to be something going up against Raknar’s ex, huh?”

  Veronica twisted her lips and shook her head. “She was a piece of work.”

  “A lot’s happened, Amber,” Megan continued. “But better that you hear about it as you go. Like I said, one step at a time.”

  “Okay.” Amber couldn’t help but eye Megan’s stomach before meeting her eyes. “So will you be getting pregnant too?” She grinned. “Because that’d be awesome.”

  “We’ve talked about it.” Color stained her sister’s cheeks. “Naðr would love to, but we both feel it’s best to wait until after this pact is fulfilled and the war is won.”

  Amber smiled and nudged her, words encouraging. “So you’d like to as well?”

  “God, yeah,” Megan murmured.

  “So…” Amber cocked her head. “Whatcha doing about birth control in the meantime?”

  Veronica’s brows shot up. “Right. Now that’s something you’ll want to wrap your mind around as soon as possible.”

  Amber looked at her in question.

  “Well, you know how Raknar embraced his inner dragon and got us into all sorts of trouble.” Veronica slanted a look at her. “I noticed you didn’t comment much on that.”

  “Ah, the dragon part.” Amber took another sip before continuing. “Definitely hard to imagine but I figure if I truly traveled back in time then the concept of dragons existing isn’t such a far-fetched idea.”

  “That’s our girl.” Megan grinned at Veronica. “I knew she’d believe it a lot more readily than we did.”

  “Should I assume that the whole inner dragon has some power over getting pregnant then?” Amber’s eyes went to Veronica. “Because last I knew you were on birth control.”

  “I was,” Veronica agreed. “And you’re right. The guys' dragon magic can do quite a bit including impregnation.”

  Amber widened her eyes. “Jeesh, you make it sound so clinical.”

  Megan snorted. “Trust me, there’s nothing clinical about what these men can do in the sack.”

  Amber glanced from sister to sister, amazed to see both equally flushed. “Damn ladies, what have these men done to you two?”

  “Better yet, what haven’t they done,” Veronica murmured with a little smirk on her face.

  Now she was truly amazed. Her sisters had never been all that sexual. That was Amber’s thing. So her curiosity was peaked. How the hell had these two traveled back to such a primitive time with a bunch of bearded barbarians and ended up this lustful?

  Then she thought of Kol and released a gusty breath.

  If his brothers were anything like him, she was getting an inkling of their situation.

  "Their dragon blood also keeps them disease free." Veronica tapped her front tooth. "And the reason they have such beautiful teeth."

  Amber arched her brows, not concerned in the least about diseases or dental hygiene at the moment but trying to go with the flow. "Gotta love a healthy guy with a great smile."

  "Right," Veronica said. “Definite bonuses.”

  Megan brushed Amber’s hair back from her face. “So I guess the next question would be, do you want to get some rest or do you want to meet the Sigdir brothers?”

  “Isn’t it the middle of the night?” Amber frowned. “I don’t want to wake everyone up.”

  “Actually, it’s morning and I know they’re all eager to meet you.” Megan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Everyone’s been looking forward to your arrival.”

  “I know how you both arrived in Scandinavia to begin with.” She narrowed her eyes at Megan. “Any thoughts on why I was the lucky one plunked down in a guy's bed when I got here?”

  "No clue." Megan chuckled. “Gotta say though, that method of time travel so suits you and Kol.”

  Veronica chuckled as well. “And he is Kol ‘the lucky’ after all.”

  “Not that lucky,” Amber assured.

  But she got the impression based on their expressions that Kol was consistently very lucky, especially when it came to the opposite sex.

  Sex.

  A word she needed to get out of her mind when it came to him. As it was, they had already come damn close. And she had a feeling the experience would have been one for the books. When her cheeks heated, she stood and started to take another sip. “Heck, I probably shouldn’t be drinking this. It’s morning after all.”

  “Late morning.” Veronica waved away her concern. “Besides, you’re with Vikings now. The majority of what they seem to drink is mead or ale and it doesn’t matter where the sun is in the sky. I’ll have Kjar get you some mountain water.” She stood and removed her cloak, fanning herself. “It’s so friggin’ hot in here.”

  “Wow, you’re really popping.” Amber smiled and again put her hand on Veronica’s belly, incredulous. “How long have you been here? Looks like just about nine months.”

  “Just shy of six, actually. The baby grew three months’ worth when I was back home. Apparently, he was growing according to time as it passed here. Something to do with time going by faster here than there.” Veronica put a hand to the small of her back and arched slightly. “So yeah, it’s almost time, thank God.” She rubbed her belly. “I love having him close to Mama, but he’s a fireball.”

  “Dragon blood,” Megan said. “What do you expect?”

  Amber’s mouth dropped. “No?”

  “Yeah, he’s a little shifter,” Veronica said proudly, eyein
g her stomach.

  What an odd reality she’d been dropped into. But between the alcohol and seeing her sisters so happy, she was accepting it all better than she might have imagined. “So who’s this Kjar who’ll be getting me water?”

  “He’s our master shipwright,” Megan said, pride and respect in her eyes. “And grandson to Heimdall.”

  “Heimdall?...as in the god that oversees Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge from Norse Mythology?”

  “The one and only.” Megan nodded. “So, yes, Kjar is a demi-god but trust me, he won’t strike you as one.”

  “Not at all,” Veronica agreed.

  Amber couldn’t help but grow more and more curious about the men who had obviously come to mean so much to her sisters. “Gotta say, I’m not tired in the least so how about you introduce me to the brothers…and Kjar.”

  “You sure?” Megan eyed her. “You’ve already been through a lot and meeting them isn’t going to be…how should I say this…”

  “Calming,” Veronica filled in. “No, there’s nothing relaxing about meeting these Vikings for the first time.”

  Yet she could tell her sisters were eager to introduce her as they ushered her toward the door. Megan threw the cloak over Veronica’s shoulders. “Keep this on. I’m tired of hearing Raknar complain about you not wearing it out in the cold.”

  “Easy for him to say,” Veronica muttered. “He doesn’t have a creature who can breathe fire inside of him.”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “No, he is a creature that can breathe fire.”

  Amber downed the rest of her mead. “Hey, has anyone seen my stone?”

  “I’ll send one of my girls back in to look for it.” Megan snorted. “They’re always looking for a chance to poke around in Kol’s lodge.”

  Amber could only imagine. “Your girls?”

  “Vikings call them slaves.” Megan wrapped a fur cloak around Amber's shoulders and nudged her along. “But I call them my girls, or friends because they are. I set aside treasure for them and they’re free to go whenever they like.”

  Veronica pulled off her cloak and wrapped it over her arm. “The poor king has had to find at least three dozen new slaves since she arrived. Megan just lets them all go.”