Free You Both (Vampire Assassin League Book 29) by Jackie Ivie

again. So...you’re telling me you’re a thousand and forty-ish?”
    “Something like that.”
    “For some reason, I actually feel much better. Go on. Please. It’s fascinating. Really.”
    “If a man wanted a kona, he had to find one from elsewhere. He also needed land to raise a family. Above all, he needed gold. So...we sailed with whatever clan we could in order to gain that.”
    “I’m going to guess that a kona is a wife. Yes?”
    “Very good. We went on many raids. Attacked and ransacked many villages. Did many bad things. Saw very few women I would consider for a kona. But we thought we had time. We had years of freedom before shackling ourselves.”
    “And then what? You took a hit in a battle, maybe?”
    “Nothing so skoruligr . Our death would not even allow us into Valhalla . Nor could we fight in the Ragnorok. ”
    “ Ragnorok? ”
    “The day of destruction that faces us all. That is the day Odin will gather the great Vikings gathered in Valhalla and fight.”
    “Wow. You’re getting a crash course on Norse gods with this story, too, Steph. Bonus!” She rested her forehead on him for a moment.
    “You talk to yourself?”
    She lifted her head again. “Yeah. All the time. Mainly because I am the only one who listens.”
    “Not anymore, my elska . Now, you have me. I will listen.”
    A weird lump formed in her throat. And her eyes blurred. This was going beyond complicated. The last thing she needed was to have feelings for Ethelstone.
    The very last thing.
    “Um. So. What happened? I mean...what is an unmanly death? To an Icelandic Viking?”
    “We hit an iceberg. The ship sank. It was very foggy. Cold. Athlerod and I climbed atop a bit of the deck and floated. That was probably stupid, but we didn’t want to die.”
    “Why was it stupid?”
    “Drowning is a quick death. Freezing...is not.”
    “What happened?”
    “We begged Thor to save us. And he did. He sent Akron.”
    “No. Wait. Akron just appeared? In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?”
    “We didn’t see him at first. It was dark. We were shaking. Athlerod was turning bluish to my eyes. I suppose I looked the same to him. Akron appeared out of the mist, almost like a part of it. He’s a large man and he wears a large cape, which makes him look even bigger. We thought it was Odin at first.”
    “Are you saying he teleports?”
    “I do not know his methods. He can appear wherever he wants to. Anytime he needs to. I do not know how.”
    “And he offered you guys eternal life?”
    “No. He offered us immortality.”
    “What’s the difference?”
    “A vampire is a walking corpse. Cold to the touch. They have no pulse. No heartbeat. No need to breathe. They possess very few emotions. Even less conscience. All they really desire is blood.”
    “That does not remotely describe you.”
    “I know. Because I have been favored by the gods! And found you.”
    “This...mating thing...you spoke of earlier...um. You weren’t just talking about making love, were you?” Her voice sounded as unsure as she felt.
    “A vampire has one chance to regenerate. Gain back all that life means. Akron told us of it. If we were supremely lucky, one day the being slated as our companion would come into our sphere. And we would be mated.”
    “Oh. Hell. Are you saying I was slated – that is the word you used –to be a vampire’s mate? It was like...my destiny? From birth? Wow. Don’t you think there should have been something in my horoscope about that? I mean...some warning? Anything?”
    He studied her for a long moment. Shivers accompanied his regard, and they just kept coming. And then he smiled. Her heart did another flip. She had to look away again.
    “This is really happening, isn’t it?” she asked the fire.
    “ Ja. ”
    “Oh. Ethelstone. That is—. I can’t—. This is—. It’s just—. Scary. All right. It’s downright scary .”
    “You are safe with me, elska .”
    “Please don’t call me that. Okay? It’s too soon,