Into the Fire (The Unseelie Court Book 4) by Gwen Rivers (free ebooks romance novels .TXT) 📗

Soladin. “This is about dethroning Fenrir and taking the power out of my mother’s hands. With three of the four thrones out of her grasp, she’s trapped.”

“I won’t.” He hesitates. “Have you thought about what we do when we get Gretchen back? We may have neutralized the FBI special unit, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t threats to us here.”

“I’m going to help her start the life she wants,” I say. “She can get out of town, go to college, and do something great.”

“And you think she’ll keep our secret?”

“It won’t matter. By the time we let her loose, we’ll be back on the other side of the Veil. One way or another.”

He scrutinizes my face. “You sure you don’t want to stay here?”

It’s the first time either of us has mentioned it. In many ways, life in Midgard is simpler. Hide in plain sight, pretend to be normal.

“I tried to run away from my responsibilities before. It didn’t end well.”

We are both silent for a time, enjoying the chill breeze and each other. I want to tell him about what Angrboda said, about me needing to take Underhill’s place, but I find I can’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I focus on something else.

“Chloe told me you were in Asgard.”

“Not by choice.” He holds my gaze. “You know I was trying to get to you.”

I did. “You said Harmony helped Freya capture you but you never said why.”

“Freya,” he spits the goddess’s name like a curse. “She wanted…well, it doesn’t matter now. She’s not going to get it.”

He looks to me and I feel that tug, the connection between us burrowing deeper than I ever believed possible.

“No more secrets,” I whisper.

Aiden scrubs his free hand over his face. “She said she wanted to have my child. To protect her from Loki’s wrath.”

He’ s mine. A spear of that same possessive energy burns through me. The goddess had been with him and wanted to take back what was mine.

“Nic?” Aiden let’s go of my hand and I see that mine is engulfed in flame. “It’s okay. I didn’t touch her.”

“I’m going to kill her,” I murmur. Not with the heat, I am feeling but with cold detachment, with surety.

“You can’t. If Underhill is successful, the gods of Asgard will all be needed at Ragnarök.”

I say nothing. Where there’s a will, there’s a way and I have some magic on tap, thanks to our baby.

“How do I control this?” I ask holding my hand aloft like a torch.

Aiden studies my hand. “Try and picture dousing the flames in your head, like you’re coving the fire with a jar.”

I concentrate, but the flames burn brighter. “It’s not working.”

He covers my hand in his again, the two of us burning together. “This power is different from mine. It’s tethered to you but also to the child. And she can feel what you feel.”

Without warning, he sinks down to his knees and presses his face against my stomach. “Hey now, little one. It’s all right. I’m going to take good care of your mommy and you.”

The flames wink out.

Aiden looks up at my hand and smiles. “Have you thought of any names yet?”

I shake my head.

He rises to my feet and then takes my hand again as if nothing had happened. It’s these moments with him I love best. The times when I can forget the things I’ve done and the destiny lurking around the next corner. It doesn’t matter that he’s a wolf god and I’m an uncrowned fey queen. We’re just Nic and Aiden, strolling in the moonlight.

I stop and pull him close. “Promise that you’ll take care of her. Genetics are against her, with Pharaildis on my side and Loki on yours. You’re the only good influence she will have.”

“She’ll have you,” he murmurs with total sincerity.

I love that Aiden sees me as good, even though I’m not. “How can you possibly say that after all the things I’ve done to you? All the pain and the suffering I’ve caused. Don’t you know the Unseelie are wicked by nature?”

He shakes his head. “No, they aren’t. You aren’t. I see you and where you come from.” He gestures back to the house. “All good things. No amount of Loki’s DNA can fuck that up.”

I let out a relieved breath, the first one since I found out I was with child. “I don’t know what kind of mother I’ll be.”

“The best kind.” He grins. “Because unlike my mother, your priorities are in order.”

I’ve never heard him talk negatively about Sigyn before. “What changed your mind?”

“Harmony.” He picks up a rock and bounces it in his palm, then chucks it out into the sound. “I guess I never felt worthy of her love. Nari was gone and I’d killed him. So there was no going back for me. I accepted that she stayed by Loki’s side even when he treated her like dirt because she didn’t think I was any better. But to have a newborn babe and give her over to Freya…?”

“That’s messed up.”

His expression is grim. “She’s a coward. That’s not loyalty. She’s no better than Lachesis leaving you alone without your memories. Call a spade a spade. It’s neglect and abandonment.”

I’ve never heard him talk this way before and tilt my head to take him in. In the short time we’ve been out, his nose has healed completely and he is just as physically flawless as he was the first time I saw him. But there is a change that goes beneath the surface, a new light around him. “You seem…different.”

He threads his fingers through mine. “I feel different. Better. Whole.”

I smile. “Because we’re together?”

He shakes his head. “I mean that’s part of it, but it’s more than that. You are my world, and our daughter will be too. But Nic, I feel…content. I’m at peace with myself and with the wolf.”

Acceptance. I smile and squeeze his hand. “That makes me so happy to hear, you have no idea, Aiden.