“Always am,” I said lightly. Then I stepped into his hand, and he launched me upward. I hadn’t been ready for the push, and I flailed, trying to get my bearings. A strong hand gripped my inner thigh at the same time another held tight to my boot, pushing me higher. Sweet mother. Tore’s hand on my thigh was all kinds of distracting. It was nothing less than a miracle that my fingers locked onto the ledge of the opening in the rock wall. I pulled myself up, willing my stomach to settle down already. Tore putting his hand on my thigh for five seconds constituted the most action I’d gotten in months. Sad.
A quick scan of the cave told me I was alone, so I focused on finding something that looked like it might be part of a mystical weapon. The boys had sketched me a blueprint, so I knew the eventually-assembled Gud Morder would have a guarded hilt and two entwined blades that spiraled to make a point. What I didn’t know was which piece I should be looking for, or if it would glow blue like the boys believed the finished weapon would. The only thing I knew for sure was I wasn’t the only one hunting for this thing, and I needed to track down whatever piece was hiding in this tiny cave. Fast.
It didn’t take long to spot the titanium-colored blade resting atop a bed of green moss. It consisted of two twin pieces that swirled around each other in a double helix, creating a sword base that was every bit as beautiful as I knew it would be lethal. The energy coming off the piece was so intense, it glowed like a Christmas tree. As I moved closer, I recognized the pattern in the metal—it was a perfect match to the etchings in my armor. I had no doubt that this was the piece we’d been looking for.
“Talk to me. You’re either in awe, or you’re dead.” Tore’s growly voice came from below.
I peeked my head out of the cave and looked down at him. “Just about a dozen night elves up here. Don’t worry, Protector. I killed them all.”
“Ha-ha.” He didn’t look amused.
I turned back toward the weapon and bent so I could pick it up. “Please don’t make me pass out,” I muttered. As my arm neared the piece, my cuff began to vibrate. The titanium took on a pearlescent sheen, and I remembered it was infused with the same crystal as my armor. The pieces must have been communicating—either that, or the tiny pieces of the gem ground into the metal were communicating. Either way, their synched pulses were clearly in resonance. My fingertips scraped the moss as I grabbed the piece, and energy shot from my necklace to the armor, then down to the piece of the weapon. Small pulses of power came off the weapon, radiating into my body. Yep, definitely what I came here for. One down, seven to go. I tucked the hilt into the suede pouch I carried on my belt, and I peeked back over at Tore. He darted his eyes between the opening of the cave and his communicator.
“Ready?” I called down.
He held out his arms. “Jump. I’ll catch you.”
“Are you sure you can catch me?” I teased. “You guys have me on that extreme muscle-gain diet, remember?”
He rolled his eyes, and I took the moment to appreciate how hot he looked with wet hair. And also, to appreciate the definition in his broad, muscular, naked chest. Not that I paid attention to such trivial things when focused on a world-saving quest, or anything.
“One. Two. Three!” I shouted. Then I jumped, pinching my eyes shut and praying to any deity around that the Norse demigod would catch me.
Tore let out a whoosh of air as I slammed into his solid arms. His warm breath tickled my neck as he asked, “Did you get it?”
I barely managed a nod. Being in Tore’s arms was awesome. His wintry scent wrapped protectively around me like a warm blanket. It felt safe, and comforting, and exciting. Tight muscles gripped my body and sent heat to my belly, where a throbbing sensation sent thousands of nerve endings into overdrive. I looked up to meet Tore’s eyes and saw that instead of the icy-blue I’d gotten used to, they’d shifted to a warm indigo. And instead of the practiced calm he usually gave off, his expression was confused; vulnerable; almost wild. His tongue slipped out from between pale lips, tracing a path along the lower one and sending my heart into overdrive. Sweet freaking mother. But as I shifted in his arms, willing him to bring said lips close enough to claim mine in a kiss, he set me on my feet and dove into the water without a word. Sigh. I desperately needed to get some action before I did something super embarrassing in front of my protector. With a frustrated grunt, I dove in after him, and we swam quickly back to Bodie and the Macks.
The water had its desired hormone-freezing effect. Back on the shore, I gave the original Mack a fist bump of excitement. “I got the piece,” I said with a grin.
“Well done, Allie,” Mack praised.
“Great job,” Bodie chimed in.
But Tore stayed silent, putting his boots on with stiff movements.
“You okay?” I slipped into my own shoes.
Tore shrugged. “That was too easy. Nott knows you’re after the weapon pieces, and it sounds like a night elf nearly recovered this one. That elf’s backup should have arrived already. Something’s off.”
I reached out to touch his shoulder. “I got it, so you can relax now.”
He gave me a tight smile and pulled his weapon free, leading the way to where Johann waited.
Halfway through the forest trek, my armor sent a sharp pinch from my shoulder down to my elbow.
“Ow!” I cradled my arm.
“Allie?” Tore turned around, concern lining his features. When I looked up, panic seized my heart.
“Look out!” I screamed.
In a flash, a dozen night elves rappelled from the trees around us. They dropped to the ground in hunting crouches, each brandishing an illuminated, red weapon in their black-clawed hands. Since there wasn’t time to strategize, I reacted on instinct, falling into my training and pulling my sword from its sheath. The Mack Pack circled around me while Tore let out a fierce cry and used his broadsword to hack into the nearest dark elf. The Macks raised their swords, then shoved them deep into the earth, creating a glowing, blue ring around me. Whoa. Then the Macks stepped outside of the shield, drew new swords from sheaths on their backs, and charged into the fight. They cut down night elves with terrifying ferocity, making me extremely grateful that all of Elora’s sons were on my side.
A flash of red caught my eye, and I gripped my sword as one of the night elves charged at me. I readied myself to deflect its attack, but the second the elf reached the glowing, blue shield, it hissed in agony and flew backward. The shield had deflected it. So cool!