A steady stream of heat spread through his body. His fingertips tingled and began to glow a yellow-red shade, reminding him of flames. As if in a dream, his hand moved to the valley between her perfect breasts, where he pressed his now-glowing palm over her heart and closed his eyes. He let the overwhelming emotion flow from him into her still body. His only thought was how much he loved her.
“Bernard, you need to stop now.”
Freyja sounded far away, but he reached out and mentally grabbed on, using her voice as a lifeline. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings and realized he was lying on something flat and hard. Reaching out with his hand, a coolness soaked into his palm and his fingers brushed over something rough. A minute passed before he realized he lay flat on his back on the concrete road.
He tried to sit up and was saved from falling back when a pair of strong arms gripped his underarms. As he propelled upward, dizziness along with a slight queasiness assaulted him, and he let out a low groan.
“Gently, my friend,” Mikhail said, his voice next to his ear. “I’m not certain what the two of you did, but it worked. The barrier is broken.”
Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew what Mikhail said was important, but another, even stronger thought propelled him to open his eyes. “Alva...” His voice didn’t sound like his own, but he didn’t care. The last few minutes before losing consciousness flooded his mind, and all he wanted was to see Alva’s beautiful face, her sea-green gaze staring at him, so he would know she was all right.
“She is okay, Bernard,” Ailuin answered and pointed. Bernard turned to see Alva leaning against Freyja, the goddess’s scarlet-painted fingernails disappearing and reappearing as she stroked through the Huldra’s white hair.
His heart stuttered a few times before returning to a steady rhythm. “Why isn’t she awake?”
“You’re lucky she’s only sleeping.” Mikhail rested one hand on Bernard’s shoulder. “Do you think you can stand?”
Bernard nodded but immediately regretted his decision when Mikhail and Ailuin pulled him up. He swayed on his feet, his stomach threatening to rebel. Gritting his teeth together, the pain from his clenched jaws settled the undulating motion in his midsection.
Pulling in deep breaths, the soothing scent of lavender filling his nostrils, he calmed and felt a tiny surge of healing power coming from where Ailuin still gripped his shoulder. “Thank you, Ailuin, but you need to stop. We don’t know what’s going to come at us next, and you and Lamruil are our first line of defense.”
“What about me?” Freyr said in an insolent tone. “And don’t forget my sister. It’s been said together, we are quite scary.”
Bernard gave the god a crooked grin. “I’ve no doubt those rumors are true. I don’t consider you or Freyja defensive. Rather, you are our very powerful offense.”
Freyr pressed his lips together as if holding back a grin and rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s more like it. I’ve always liked the offensive line better.”
“Yes, dear brother, because the offensive line gets all the glory, and yet it’s the defensive line that saves the day.”
Bernard glanced over and caught Freyja’s glistening amethyst gaze, laughter in their depths. He tilted his head in silent agreement. The longer he stood without moving, the more his strength returned. He studied Alva’s serene face. “She will be okay, won’t she?”
“Yes, elf lord. I would have it no other way.” The goddess lowered her hand and caressed Alva’s cheek.
He stared at her, confused. “Elf lord? What are you talking about now?”
Lamruil laid one hand over Bernard’s shoulder. “You, like your father, are of royal lineage. You are one of the few remaining lords of Alfheimr, my friend.”
Bernard’s brows rose in surprise. “Huh.” He noticed a pink flush spanning across Alva’s cheeks, and some of his anxiety lessened. Until she awakened, however, he wouldn’t stop worrying. He never realized how important it had become for him to be able to look into her mesmerizing eyes. He hugged his newfound discovery close, wanting more than anything to tell her how much he loved her.
“How would you feel about going into the lion’s den and finishing your mission before she wakes up?” Émilien leaned closer. “I know you want to stick around, but the longer the war remains on this course, the harder it will be to reverse.”
Bernard scrubbed his face, then let his hands fall back to his sides. His leg muscles trembled and he still felt as weak as a kitten. “Just get me to the Japanese Embassy. I have to be there at least fifteen minutes before I arrived the first time, so someone will need to somehow stop the first me; otherwise, all of this will be for nothing.” He caught Mikhail’s gray gaze. “I can be a bit stubborn when I set my mind to something.”
His best friend rolled his eyes and chuckled. “That’s no shit. I thought Natalya was stubborn—”
“Hey, I heard that!” his wife hollered behind them.
“Of course, she did,” Bernard muttered.
“I heard that too, Bernard.”
With his lips pressed together, Ailuin chuckled. Or maybe he was choking. Bernard couldn’t tell and twisted his neck to see Ailuin shake his head, his face turning red from the effort to not laugh out loud.
“Before we find ourselves in any more trouble, I think that’s our cue to leave.” Mikhail took the lead, heading off along Massachusetts Avenue, which meandered roughly northwest. Ailuin and Bernard followed, and after a few long strides, caught up. “Bernard, what are you going to do?” Mikhail asked.
“I’m hoping not much. If we stop the first me from reaching the ambassador, that should change those events. I just have a bad feeling about all of this. Not dejá vu, but something close to it.”
“Well, you did come here before, so that’s not an unusual reaction,” Ailuin said, matching strides, even though his legs were longer.