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  Chapter 1

  It was quiet as the girls and I walked back toward the portal we’d come through, and I was still questioning what had just happened. It all seemed incredibly surreal.

  I possessed three small dragons now, and I’d just met a huge, ancient dragon who spoke to me inside my head. Before a few weeks ago, I’d assumed dragons were things of the past, or at least they weren’t anywhere near Asgard.

  By Odin, had I been wrong.

  I shook my head as I looked around at the two beautiful women beside me and the three small dragons that ran in front of us.

  This wasn’t where I had envisioned my life going, but I wasn’t upset by any means. Now, I just needed to figure out what I was going to do about the orders Nidhug had given me.

  The giant dragon told me I was the last hope to save the dragons, and I needed to find the man who got them banished from Asgard in the first place.

  And that meant I needed to go to Helheim.

  I was used to being a warrior, but Helheim was totally different. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to travel there since the world would drain me of all my joy, so we’d have to figure out some sort of spell to stop that from happening.

  Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have not one, but two beautiful sorceresses on my side.

  Kaspyr, the beautiful strawberry-blonde, was part Valkyrie, and her powers were linked to dragons somehow. She’d told me I made her stronger somehow, and ever since we’d magically soul bonded, I knew she was right. I could feel her power, and it was greater than ever.

  Asta, the sexy white-haired elf girl, had the ability to control and create weather, and her powers had also grown since she’d bonded with me as well.

  Now, I was bound to two beautiful women for the rest of our lives, and together we were raising our three baby dragons. It was strange to think that just a few weeks ago I was nothing more than a warrior for Asgard. I hadn’t seen my war band in several weeks, and I wasn’t sure when I would see them again.

  It didn’t really matter too much, I was a good warrior and everyone knew that, but there were enough warriors in Asgard that I was sure I wouldn’t be missed. I had a lot of other things to worry about, like the fate of the entire dragon species.

  “So, are we going to talk about this?” Kas asked, and she looked at me and raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

  “I’m not sure what we have to talk about.” I shrugged.

  “The fact we’re going to have to go to Helheim to try and find some guy who got the dragons banished?” Asta asked with a smile. The elf girl was always too bubbly for her own good. “Do you know who they’re talking about?”

  “Maybe,” I said with a shake of my head. “But I’m not sure.”

  “How are we supposed to get to Helheim anyways?” Kas asked.

  “Can’t we take a portal?” Asta suggested.

  “Well, yeah,” Kas answered. “But we are going to have to figure out how to stay there.”

  “Yes,” Asta said with a small nod. “Helheim isn’t a very forgiving place.”

  “Have you been there?” Kas’ eyes widened.

  “No.” Asta shook her head. “I have not. But I know of it. Everyone knows of it.”

  “Right,” Kas sighed.

  The portal was just ahead now, and I stopped and called the dragons over to us.

  “Blar,” I said. “Come here.”

  The small blue dragon flew over to me and landed on my shoulders. He was nearly too big at this point, but he clung to me still, and I reached up and scratched him under his chin.

  Inger, the female red dragon we’d hatched from an egg, flew over to Asta to sit on her shoulder. The little girl dragon was quite fond of the elf girl, which made sense considering Asta had been the one to name her.

  Uffe, Inger’s male twin, made his way over to Kas, and she leaned down, picked him up, and held him in her arms. He wasn’t the most proficient flyer yet, but we didn’t want him to lose his confidence, so Kas helped him out every so often.

  Blar was the largest of the dragons since he’d hatched before the twins, but he still wasn’t of great size himself. In his short time, though, he’d learned to breathe fire, fly, and take on an opponent more than twice his size.

  The twins were working on their fighting skills as well, but all three of them were coming along nicely.

  Even the girls had become quite proficient with their blades. Kas often wielded a large greatsword that her Valkyrie mother had left for her, but she also had the new blade she’d gotten from our trip to the dwarf world. The girls had enchanted some metal for the small man in exchange for some weapons, so Kas received a sword while Asta received double daggers. The weapons were enchanted and specifically designed for each of the girls.

  I’d received a sword as well, one that I could summon out of dragon fire so it never became lost. It also had the ability to change length depending on my needs. I needed to continue to practice with it to ensure I was completely in control of the blade, but I had confidence in my abilities.

  “Ready?” I asked my companions.

  “Yes.” Kas nodded.

  “Lead the way, Rath.” Asta smiled.

  The girls and I grabbed hands, and I nodded to each of them before I stepped through the portal. It wasn’t the first time we’d gone through one of them, but the feeling of being whooshed through thin air wasn’t something I thought I’d ever get used to.

  I felt Blar clench tighter on my shoulders as the air whirred around us, but just as quickly as it had come on, it stopped.

  I opened my eyes to reveal we were back in Asgard, but not in the same spot we’d left from. I couldn’t be positive, but I thought we were at least a few miles away from the city. It was afternoon already, and the sun was high in the blue sky above the woods we were currently in.

  “Where are we?” Asta asked, and her yellow eyes glanced around curiously.

  “Let’s see,” Kas said, and she pulled her enchanted map out of her bag.

  “What does it say?” the elf girl asked as she peered over Kas’ shoulder.

  “We’re about five miles away from the city,” the sorceress said. “We need to head south.”

  “Do you think we can make it back home before nightfall?” Asta inquired.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered.

  I glanced around us once more, and that was when I saw a mark on one of the trees nearby.

  It was a red triangle, and my heart started to race inside my chest.

  “Rath?” Kas asked. “What are you staring at?”

  “Wait, what’s that marking there?” Asta murmured as she narrowed her yellow eyes at the symbol.

  “We need to get out of here,” I said quickly.

  “What’s going on?” Kas asked as I grabbed her and Asta by the arms and yanked them along.

  “We’re in enemy territory,” I explained. I knew that symbol, it was from one of the tribes that lived on the outskirts of Asgard, and they resented Odin and his teachings. My war band and I had fought one of their groups before, and they were fierce warriors.

  I pulled the girls through the woods, but suddenly something flew right in front of my face and forced me to a halt. I turned to my left to see a dagger stuck in the tree. It was very clearly aimed for my head, and that meant we’d already been spotted.

  “Fuck. Get behind me.” I quickly drew my sword from its sheath
and took a step in front of the girls.

  Blar growled as he climbed onto only one of my shoulders and poised himself to attack. He was ready to go on my command, but I held my ground.

  The enemy knew we were aware of their presence now, and they had two choices: they could try and throw another weapon, which we’d see coming, or they could come out and fight like men. I knew these people, though, and I had a feeling they would choose the latter.

  I only hoped it wasn’t a large group of them.

  The girls and I were well trained, but if it was a battle of twenty against the three of us plus the dragons, then I wasn’t sure we’d make it out without a scratch. I knew we would still win, but there was more risk somebody would get hurt.

  I stared at the trees across from us until one soldier stepped out. He was a tall, tan male, and he wore deep-brown pants with a red tunic on top. He didn’t have a chest plate on, only some arm guards, but he had a long straight sword in his hand and a threatening look on his face, and under his eyes were two red smears I presumed were blood.

  After the first male revealed himself, four others stepped out of the woods. They all wore similar outfits and each had some sort of red smear on their face. One man had it on his forehead, another bore two across his chin.

  I realized then the man on the far right, the largest of them all, held a deer over his shoulder, and I watched as he dropped it on the ground, bent his neck from side to side to crack it, and gripped his sword.

  It was obvious we’d interrupted a hunting party, but at least that meant it was five against three, or five against six, if I counted the dragons.

  “Girls,” I said quietly, and I stepped in front of them to the right. “I’ll handle him.”

  I’d trained the girls myself, so I was confident they would be capable of taking him out, but I wasn’t about to let them try it alone. The guy was huge, probably twice my size and weight, and he looked mean.

  A large scar ran from his jaw down to his exposed clavicle bone, and when I made eye contact with him, he let out a low, almost inhuman growl.

  “We’ve got the other four, then,” Kas said, and she pulled her sword from its sheath. The large blade was enchanted to fit into a small sheath, and it grew as she yanked it out. The purple sheen of the steel matched her eyes, and she whipped the sword out in front of her and took a fighting stance.

  “Yes,” Asta agreed with a sweet smile. “We’ll take care of them.”

  The elf girl pulled out her blade and at the same time she cast a rain spell over top of it. Then the small sword turned into an axe, and she twirled it around her hand before taking her stance as well.

  “We’ll see,” I chuckled. I figured I could probably take out the big guy before the girls finished off the other four, and if that was the case, then I’d probably jump in to help them.

  They seemed pretty excited, though, so if they looked like they had it covered, then I might allow them to continue on without me.

  But first I needed to take out the mean-looking sonofabitch at the end.

  I nodded to Blar on my shoulder, and the little dragon narrowed his blue eyes and nodded back at me.

  “Let’s go!” I shouted, and I lunged forward and took off running toward the man at the end.

  The girls let out fierce, high-pitched war cries behind me, and the enemy followed suit before they ran toward the girls.

  I wanted to glance back and make sure my women were okay, but the big male was headed right for me, and I needed to focus on him.

  Blar held on tightly to my shoulder as we ran, but just before we got to the guy, he dove forward and let out a huge blast of blue fire. The male was caught off guard, I assumed partially because it appeared to him as though a dog was riding on my shoulder, but more so because of the fire that had just blasted in front of his face.

  The blue flames crackled through the air, and the man cried out as he raised his arms and crossed them in front of his face to shield himself.

  I took the opportunity to jump through the flames and bring my sword down from above.

  The male was smart, though, and he glanced up at the last second and managed to dodge out of the way so I landed where he’d just been.

  The large brute let out a growl that turned into a yell as he ran toward me once more, but I was quick, and I yanked my blade out of the ground and swung it low so it was aimed for his shins.

  This guy apparently had some intelligence to go with his brute strength, though, because he saw my attack coming and jumped over it just in time.

  I turned my head to him and smiled. It was nice to have a worthy opponent.

  Blar landed next to me, then, and I gestured for the little creature to fly up and wait for my signal.

  The enemy looked at Blar curiously, but I could tell his confusion wouldn’t deter him. Instead, he raised his large sword above his head and brought it down with the intention to split me in two.

  I used my own sword to block his attack, and when he pulled his away and then brought it back, I did the same. The metal clashed together violently and created a deafening ringing sound that made my teeth rattle.

  Blar was to my right, so I glanced over to where he hovered in the sky and gave him a slight nod.

  Then the little beast dove down and scratched the guy across the back. I thought that would deter my enemy somewhat, but it seemed I was wrong, because it only made him angrier. He let out a screech of pain when Blar ran his talons across him, but then he clenched his teeth, looked me in the eye, and shoved into me.

  I lost my footing on a rock behind me, and the guy went tumbling over me. He grabbed a hold of my sword as we rolled across the ground, and when I finally flung him off me, he got to his feet, smiled at me, and held up two blades, mine and his own.

  He thought he had me then. Who could fight without a sword after all?

  I smirked back at him as I held my hand out, and I made eye contact with the guy as Blar breathed a huge blue flame over my hand. My sword appeared back in my palm a split second later, and my opponent looked down at his now empty hand with a dumbfounded expression.

  His confusion was his downfall.

  I quickly tossed my blade up and caught the handle underneath so I could throw it like a spear. The large sword went straight into the warrior’s chest and pinned him against a tree.

  He looked at me with his dark-colored eyes, but then blood began to ooze out of his mouth as the light behind his eyes dimmed. His sword slowly slipped out of his hand, and I sauntered over to him with a grin on my face.

  “It was a pleasure being your opponent,” I said before I grabbed my sword and ripped it out of the man.

  Blood spilled from his wound like a crimson waterfall, and he collapsed onto the ground.

  I heard the clanking of metal then, and I remembered the girls were still in battle, so I twirled around to help them. Just as I turned around, though, I saw a man fall to the ground, with his throat cut open and spurting blood. Above him was Asta, and the beautiful elf smiled at me sweetly. There was a streak of blood across her face and body, and some had even made it into her long, white hair, but still she looked as innocent as ever.

  “We’re done,” Kas said with a grin, and she walked up to stand next to the elf girl. The sorceress was also covered with blood, but far more than Asta.

  Kas was nearly drenched, and I had to take a second look to make sure I was seeing her correctly. There was blood all over her clothes, and several streaks across her face and neck.

  “What happened to you?” I asked, and I could feel my eyes widen with concern.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, but then she followed my eyeline and looked down at her tunic. “Oh.”

  “Kas fought very well,” Asta giggled.

  “I can see that,” I chuckled as I did a quick once over on the sorceress.

  “I may have gotten a little carried away,” she said, and she bit her lip.

  I walked over to the girls then and looked at the bodies
on the ground. I could very quickly and very clearly tell the difference between their kills.

  I’d seen the man with his throat slit go down, but there was also another male who bore one confident and well-placed stab through the heart and nothing else. Those both had to be Asta’s kills. Her fighting style matched her bubbly personality. She wasn’t messy and brutal, she was accurate and eloquent, unlike my beautiful strawberry-blonde companion.

  Kas’ kills were incredibly gory, and I had to chuckle as I looked down at the dead men. One was missing his right forearm and his left leg from the knee down, and there was also a huge hole in his stomach. The other male bore a large gash down his chest, but what had killed him was the fact his head had nearly been taken clean off his body. It was no wonder the sorceress was covered in blood. Seeing her kills, it was a miracle there wasn’t more blood on her.

  “What are you laughing about?” Kas scoffed.

  “Oh, nothing,” I said with a smile. “I love both of you so much.”

  “As you should,” Kas laughed, and Asta nodded as she smiled.

  Uffe walked up to me then, turned to glare at Kas, and shook himself off. Blood splattered all around, and I couldn’t help but laugh again. Even her dragon companion thought that was far too much blood.

  “Uffe!” Kas squealed, and she shielded herself from the blood splatter.

  “I do not think that will help the situation,” Asta whispered to the strawberry-blonde.

  Kas said nothing, she just shot a glare in Asta’s direction before she sheathed her weapon, lifted her chin, and pointed to the south.

  “Home is that way,” she said, and she walked off in a playful huff.

  I shook my head at the strawberry-blonde. She was gorgeous, but she was ruthless as well, and in a battle like the one we were just in, where she didn’t have a lot of time to prepare spells, she was a beast with her massive blade. I’d seen her when we’d gone against the Jotun. The frost giants were twice her size, but she’d still managed to do some serious damage to our enemies.

  The great sword she wielded now was even more effective than the one her mother had given her. This one was specially made for her so it was incredibly light, it also shrank down to a smaller blade when she wielded it with only one hand, and it grew even smaller still when she put it away on her hip. The massive sword was perfect for her, and I’d noticed that her form was even better since she didn’t have to put so much effort into holding the blade steady. Her mother had left her a grand sword, but it wasn’t practical for the small half-Valkyrie woman.