Go down. Down…
“You wish. You’ve got to buy me dinner, take me on a few dates, and get me wet before I even consider going down.”
I began to climb.
No.
No, this can’t be happening.
Heat swelled in my chest—the power of the cosmos and something else, my own personal darkness winding up to wrap around me like a protective cocoon. “Oh, it’s happening all right.”
Pressure on my head, trying to push me down. Arms wrapping around my waist, desperate to peel me off the wall.
Fuck.
Ice trickled through my veins and morphed into cold fire. The phantom grip on me vanished, then I was shooting toward the circle of light above, propelled by a new force I didn’t understand.
NO!
The infection, the entity, the fucked-up thing trying to infest me, screamed a wretched, ragey sound.
But I was out, cradled in blinding light, wrapped in tendrils of darkness. I was out but I wasn’t. The chasm yawned below me and the screams of the infection battered against the walls of this light-filled sanctuary.
For a moment I was a child in the womb, protected and cherished, but danger was a hairbreadth away and my gut knew this wasn’t over, not yet.
There is a price, child. A sacrifice. This voice was soft and feminine. You must agree to pay it before I can help.
“Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice.”
I will claim it when the time is right. Agree to pay it. It’s the only way I can save you.
“The only way to save me from the infection?”
Yes.
There was no other option. I wanted to live. “Then do it.”
You will burn with cold fire for a while, but when the burn stops you will be free from the draugar.
Draugar? What the—
Fire filled my veins and this time my scream made it out of my throat.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The light shattered as I exhaled, ready to let loose another scream.
“It’s okay, Cora. You’re okay.”
Pippa?
The room came into focus. My room.
I was home.
I was back.
“She’s shaking,” Leif said. “Blankets now!”
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Pippa said.
“Fighting it. It’s working and—” My teeth chattered so hard they cut off my words. “Fuuuck.”
Leif threw a duvet over me and tucked it in, but my body continued to be wracked with tremors. This wouldn’t work. I needed more.
I looked from Tor to Leif. “Take…off…your…clothes.” The words spilled out between chatters.
Tor stared at me in confusion.
“Body heat,” Leif said, catching on.
He peeled off his shirt, revealing cobbled abs and taut pecs that flexed when he moved. My pulse jumped in my throat before settling into an eager flutter.
“Yes!” Pippa said. “Do it.”
Tor stripped quickly until his epic bronzed body, encased only in snug boxers, was on display. A spiral of warmth licked at my lower belly despite the cold fire burning through my veins.
The guys climbed into bed with me, bracketing me with their powerful bodies, velvety skin kissing my frozen flesh and lending me their heat. God, they were like twin furnaces. Mine. Oh yes, please. The chattering eased a little.
I looked down the bed and into Rune’s hazel eyes that swam with golden flecks. “Rune…”
He bounded onto the bed and laid his golden form across my legs.
“God yes.” I snuggled down as my trembling body fed off their heat.
“Fuck, you’re like ice,” Leif said.
“Cora’s, what’s happening?” Tor asked.
I filled them in on what the voice in the light had said. “She’s helping me. Burning it out of me.”
“You made a deal with an invisible entity?” Sloane pointed out. “What’s the cost?”
“Does it matter?” Jasper snapped. “She’s going to live.”
My gaze flew across the room to a corner where Jasper was a misty form, barely hanging on. He’d believed in me. He’d known I could fight this. I couldn’t let him fade away now.
“Jasper, take what you need.”
He locked gazes with me, and a small, wistful smile lifted his lips. “Not today, Cora.” Then he melted away.
Sloane tucked in her chin. “I best report to Anna, let her know we can pause on the red alert for now. Then I’ll find Conah. We need to figure out what the fuck is going on here.”
“I’ll come back with you,” Pippa said. “There’s nothing more I can do here.” She smiled at the guys. “You need to keep her warm until this cold burn passes.”
They closed the door behind them, and I was alone with my mates. In bed. Naked. And all I could think about was curling up to stay warm.
God, my life was twisted.
The chill abated a little as the guys’ body heat seeped into me, but the cold burn was a steady ache in my blood that wouldn’t let up. I curled up against Tor’s wide chest with Leif pressed to my back, making sure to avoid the gauze-covered claw marks.
They held me silently for long minutes as my body shook, but even through the tremors, I was acutely aware of their velvet, taut skin against mine, the warmth of Leif’s breath on my nape, the brush of his silken hair on my shoulder, and the steady thud of their heartbeats.
I wriggled a little, and the steady tempo sped up. Fingers flexed against my skin, digging in slightly at my hip and waist.
We weren’t meant to be this close, and yet we were. It was new, but it was a natural progression.
Inevitable.
How could I have fought this even for one moment?
Leif stroked my side, fingers trailing down to my hip, and Tor took over the motion, hand sliding over my hip and onto my butt.
A gasp slipped past my lips and my pulse sped up, heat blooming low in my belly.
You can warm her up quicker if you make her orgasm, Rune said.
Leif tensed.
Tor cupped my ass. “What?”
Make her come and it’ll heat her up and ward off the worst of the cold burn.
The burst of desire in my belly intensified at the thought of being touched by them. I ached to have Tor’s thick fingers inside me and Leif’s hot mouth on my breasts. Oh shit, just thinking about them
