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  Defending Her Vikings

  Norsemen Academy, Volume 4

  Skye MacKinnon

  Published by Peryton Press, 2019.

  Defending her Vikings © Copyright 2019 Skye MacKinnon

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organisations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Basically, please don’t pirate this book.

  Cover by Peryton Covers.

  Published by Peryton Press.

  Perytonpress.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Defending Her Vikings (Norsemen Academy, #4)

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 1

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 2

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 3

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 4

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 5

  Old Norse Vocabulary

  Resources

  Also By

  About the Author

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 1

  The Archivist led us through the secret passage, away from the hustle and bustle of the Academy. Above us, students were going about their business, unaware that there was a Viking and his mother in the building. Asger’s expression was one of wonder, his eyes wide, his lips slightly parted as he took in our surroundings. We’d not even seen any computers or technology, yet he was already amazed.

  Heather didn’t seem fazed by being back after such a long time, but she was smiling as we hurried down the stairs and towards the Archive. I wonder how much time had passed since Hjalmar and I disappeared. Hjalmar had promised me that it would only be mere minutes, but that was before he went missing and we had to rely on old-time travel tech. At least the Archivist had recognised me, which meant we hadn’t returned before I’d met him. He was muttering to himself, probably about having to clean his shoes. Oops. Based on my time travel performance just now, I wouldn’t have made it into the fast track stream. My stomach still felt queasy.

  He hadn’t deigned us with any words besides ‘follow me’, so when he stayed quiet, I couldn’t hold it back any longer.

  “When are we?” I asked.

  He didn’t reply, but the tension in his shoulders increased. Something was going on, something that went beyond me puking on him.

  When we entered the archive, he looked around warily, checking if anyone else was around. Luckily, we were alone. He led us in a small back room adjacent to his office. Two battered leather sofas lined the walls, but together with some dusty bookshelves, they were the only furniture.

  “Is there a bathroom down here?” I dared to ask. I really wanted to clean up my face and wash out my mouth.

  “Straight ahead, a small door on the right next to the entrance to the secret passage.”

  I nodded my thanks and hurried away to make myself feel a little more human. Not just because I felt disgusting, but also because I had the urge to present myself in the best light to Asger. And the Archivist. And Hjalmar, once we found him again. My heart was splitting itself in three, even though that was completely idiotic and selfish. Besides, the Archivist hadn’t shown any interest in me. I was simply interested in him because he was so mysterious. I didn’t like secrets and mysteries, that’s what it was. Nothing else.

  The bathroom looked like it hadn’t been used in decades, but at least the tap worked. I threw some water on my face and washed out my mouth, then rubbed some water into the worst stains on my uniform. I was going to murder whoever had decided to make our jumpsuits white. It was entirely impractical.

  I gave up when I seemed to only make it worse, smudging the dirt to places that had previously been almost clean. Once I found out what was going on, I’d be able to go up to my room and change. And shower.

  When I returned, Heather and the Archivist were talking animatedly, while Asger sat on a sofa by himself, staring at the tablet the Archivist was holding in his hand. I wonder what he saw it as. Witchcraft? Or had his mother prepared him for this by telling him what kind of tech we had in the future? He looked entirely out of his depth. I sat by his side and put a hand on his thigh.

  He looked at me in surprise, then put his hand on mine and squeezed. The tension in the way he held himself decreased a little, but he still seemed uncomfortable.

  “What are they accusing him of?” Heather asked the Archivist, and I stared at her, wishing I’d heard the full conversation. Was she talking about Hjalmar?

  “Murder. Obstructing the course of justice. Kidnapping. Plus a few other, even more ridiculous things. I don’t know how anyone could believe he did any of those. I barely know him and yet I doubt he’d be able to do even one of those. He’s an honourable man.”

  Heather nodded. “That he is. He may have a rebellious streak, but I raised him to stick to the law, Viking or modern. He always had a disadvantage back home as the son of a stranger, a woman who appeared out of nowhere, so I didn’t want to give them an excuse to turn him into a scapegoat.”

  “Wait, what’s going on?” I blurted. “Is Hjalmar here?”

  The Archivist turned to me, his expression grave. “He’s been imprisoned for the past two weeks.”

  “Two weeks?” I interrupted. “I’ve been gone for two weeks?”

  He nodded, then glared at me. “What were you thinking? A first-year student travelling in time? Without experience, without permission?”

  I blushed. “I had Hjalmar with me. He’s a teacher, so it wasn’t like I did it by myself.”

  He pointed at my hand; his eyes cold. “I thought I could trust you, instead, it turns out you’re the thief. You pretended to be all innocent and trustworthy, yet you’d broken into my Archive to steal that ring. Was it fun, playing me? Did it make you feel good?”

  I gaped at him. “You believe I stole the ring?”

  I ripped it off my finger and threw it at him. “Have it. I didn’t take it, I didn’t play you, I never pretended to be anything I’m not. But if you believe that, I guess that tells me everything I need to know about you.”

  Anger ran through my veins and I was tempted to jump up and storm out of the room. Asger squeezed my hand and I looked at him.

  “Hjalmar,” he said simply. “Hjalmar.”

  I nodded and fought the rage I felt towards the Archivist. Asger was right, this wasn’t about the Archivist and me, it was about Hjalmar and how we could help him.

  “Where are they holding him?” Heather asked in her soft voice.

  The Archivist gave me one more glare, then turned back to her. “I’m not sure. He could be here at the Academy, or in the Time Agency Headquarters. It depends how dangerous they think him to be. I believe Headmistress Tape has vouched for him, but in the end, it’s not her decision.”

  “I can’t believe they hacked his bracelet,” Heather muttered. “It’s against the law.”

  He laughed harshly. “A lot of things are against the law, but recently, the TA hasn’t cared much about that. Their new leader has brought a lot of change, and most of it bad.”

  “Who is that?” Heather asked.

  “Sophie Blackhart. She got elected into the post about a year ago, but it feels like it’s been longer than that, looking at how many things she’s changed.”

  “Is she Fabio’s daughter?”

  “His niec
e. Fabio died a couple of years ago, then we had Qohrie Chavez in between, but he died prematurely.”

  Heather lifted an eyebrow. “Suspicious circumstances?”

  “Some people think so,” the Archivist replied in a low voice.

  “Could we stop talking about politics and focus on Hjalmar instead?” I interjected. “Do I understand this correctly, they hacked his bracelet, pulled him back into the present and imprisoned him? For murder?”

  He nodded. “I doubt they knew about you being there with him until you didn’t return to class. There’s been quite a search going on for you, so you better stay out of sight unless you want to be interrogated. Or expelled. I don’t spend enough time in the teachers’ common room to know what they have planned for you.”

  “Where do they think I am?” I asked. “If they knew I was in the Viking past, why didn’t they send anyone to come and get me?”

  “Hjalmar’s bracelet fried when they got him here; so they don’t know where exactly he’s been. And there are some teachers who don’t think we shouldn’t invest resources into finding a student who broke all the rules.”

  From the way he looked at me, he made it very clear that he was one of those people. In a way, he was probably right. I had broken the rules, but when I’d decided to go with Hjalmar, those rules had seemed insignificant compared to the prospect of meeting Vikings.

  “We need to find out where he’s being held,” Heather said. “And what exactly he’s accused of. Since I’m his mother, I’m best set to ask those questions. Lainie, you need to stay hidden for now. Asger, same goes for you. You’re not used to the people of this time and their scheming. You’ve been raised to be honourable, just like Hjalmar, but people nowadays don’t always respect the code you follow. Archivist, would you mind bringing me to the headmistress? I think I need to have a word with her.”

  He bowed his head. I was amazed by how nice he was to Heather. I didn’t think he had it in him. Then he turned to me, his eyes blazing with annoyance, and I deleted that thought. He was an arse.

  “Stay here,” he snapped. “Don’t touch anything. If I see so much as a fingerprint on my desk, I’m going to send you back into the past and will make sure you stay there.”

  I was speechless. Did he really think that badly of me? I was going to have to change his opinion of me. I wanted him to like me, for some strange reason. Maybe it was because I loved a challenge, and the Archivist was the ultimate challenge.

  Heather got up and smoothed down her dress. Her long hair was braided around her head, making it look a bit like a diadem. She was stunning. I didn’t have any doubt that she’d be able to find out all the information she wanted. She knew how to handle herself; after all, she’d lived in Norse society for decades, where women didn’t have as many rights as they did in the present.

  She said a few words to Asger in Old Norse. The only words I picked out were Hjalmar’s and my names.

  “Don’t touch anything,” the Archivist repeated and stormed out of the room without gracing me with another look. How rude.

  “I’ll see if I can get us some food on the way back,” Heather promised, making me aware of how empty my stomach was. Probably because I’d emptied its contents on the Archivist’s shoes. Which he hadn’t cleaned properly yet. Poor guy. Maybe that was the cause of his bad mood.

  “Alone,” Asger grunted in his heavily accented voice. “What doing?”

  Good question. Who knew how long the other two would be gone?

  I guessed we could sneak into the Archive and do some exploring, although I doubted the Archivist would be happy about that. He’d probably hate me even more if I did that. The alternative was staying put and wait. Boring.

  The time travel had made me tired, but I was way too wired to sleep. So many questions, so many problems to solve. Somewhere, Hjalmar was sitting in a cell for a crime he hadn’t committed.

  I allowed myself a small smile. At least he wasn’t dead or lost in time. Maybe we could break him out of prison. Or get him out the legal way. Probably better, especially if the Archivist was helping us. He seemed to be a stickler for rules.

  Asger put a large arm around my shoulders. Blacksmithing had done more to his physique than a gym ever could. I remembered how I had explored his body in my dream. In our dream. It had felt so real. Even now, it seemed like a recent memory, not the fading fragments dreams usually left behind. I could almost taste him on my lips.

  I let him pull me against his chest and snuggled into his embrace. Maybe this time should be used for bonding. Verifying if my dream had been accurate. A scientific experiment.

  “Fuck?” he asked, just like he’d done this morning.

  I laughed.

  “Maybe.”

  ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 2

  It felt weird doing this in the Archive, in a dusty room that neither of us had ever been in. The Archivist and Heather could’ve come back any minute. And yet, I craved to touch Asger. His chest was hard against my cheek, his heartbeat a constant drumming in my ear. His shirt was rough fabric, nowhere near as soft as a modern shirt would have been, but it suited him. Rough on the outside, but soft on the inside. He’d already proven that.

  I hardly knew him, yet that dream had formed a strange bond between us. It'd shown me a future that could happen if I let him close. In the dream, I'd already made the choice. Already committed to him. Now, I had to decide if I wanted it to happen in the present as well.

  I lifted my head and looked at him. He blinked down at me and his lips curved into a gentle smile.

  "Lainie," he whispered, pronouncing my name in an exotic, beautiful way. I wanted to ask him to repeat it again and again, but it seemed a little silly.

  "Asger," I replied, my voice husky. Before I could further debate whether this was a good idea, he bent down and pressed his lips to mine. He tasted exactly like he had in the dream. In the memory. Whatever it had been.

  I opened my mouth, letting him in. His kiss was hard and fast, without any hesitation at all. He wanted this as much as I did. All thoughts fled my mind as I returned his kiss with the same passion. It felt like I'd kissed him a hundred times before. Familiar. Like home. For some reason, I knew exactly where he liked to be touched, how he wanted me to respond, what sounds he made when I nibbled on his bottom lip. Past, present and future were getting muddled up, but I didn't care, as long as I was in Asger's arms.

  Never moving his lips from mine, he put his hands on my hips and lifted me up in one strong motion, settling me on his lap. Despite the hardness of his muscles, he was surprisingly comfy. I melted into his embrace, his kiss all I could think about. When had life become so wonderful?

  His tongue danced with mine, his lips fought against my own. We were united in this battle of kisses, pausing only for occasional ragged breaths. The way he held me was driving me crazy. His warmth went straight through my skin and into my heart.

  I slipped my hands underneath his shirt, not caring that one of the buttons bounced off and fell to the floor. I'm sure Asger would be able to fix it. And if not... better view for me. His belly was flat as a board, despite this bulk, so I wouldn't mind looking at it more often. His skin was hot beneath his clothes. Maybe I should help him out of those, make him a little cooler. And give me the benefit of the view.

  “Take off your shirt,” I whispered.

  “You too,” he replied with a wink. Cheeky Viking. I got up, cursing my jumpsuit. There was no way to elegantly pull it over my head. I had to step out of the whole thing, leaving me bare. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing; the others might return soon so we had to be quick about it.

  I took off my shoes and shimmied out of my jumpsuit. My bra was a pretty lace one, but my panties were unsightly knickers that Heather had given me. I guess Hjalmar wasn’t used to modern lingerie though, or he simply didn’t care, because he stared at me with so much desire in his eyes that I launched myself at him, ending up in his arms once again. He’d taken off his shirt and skin met skin, just befor
e our lips joined into another passionate kiss. He pulled me into his lap until I was straddling him, my breasts pressed against his chest. His erection pushed against my core, stopped from entering me only by the fact that he was still wearing trousers. I wanted him so badly.

  His hands ran up and down my back, then settled on my bum. I squealed when he squeezed my cheeks, and he groaned as I jerked my hips against his cock.

  “I want you,” I whispered, our lips still touching.

  “Fuck?” he asked with a cheeky wink.

  “Fuck,” I confirmed. Then stopped smiling.

  Fuck. “I don’t suppose you have a condom?” I asked, hating to break the moment.

  “Condom?”

  Urgh, of course he had no idea what that was, and I wasn’t about to launch into a lecture on contraception. I doubted he’d have a problem with me becoming pregnant, but I did. I had only just started my studies and I was determined to finish them, preferably without a baby to look after.

  “It’s to stop you from making me pregnant,” I explained. And to stop me from getting any Viking diseases, but I didn’t say that. I had to ask Heather about that. Not that I assumed Asger to have an STI, but better safe than sorry.

  He nodded in understanding. “I can... feel good.”

  Before I could clarify what he was trying to say, he flipped me onto my back and ripped off my panties. Yes, actually ripped them to pieces. Now I really was bare for him. He smiled down at me, then spread my legs, his eyes greedily focusing on my core.

  Was he going to...

  Yes, he was. He slipped off the sofa and kneeled in front of me.

  “Feel good,” he repeated, spreading my legs a little wider. Cool air hit my core, making me shiver, but then his lips were there, kissing me in that most intimate place. Heat shot through me and I arched my back, barely able to stop myself from moaning.

  He traced a line of soft kisses along my sensitive skin, before following the same path with his tongue. That alone almost made me come. He flicked my bud with his tongue before starting to kiss me again. His beard tickled my skin, but it was surprisingly soft. I’d thought it would be all scratchy, but in fact, it only added to the sensation.