Her heartbeat quickened, but she was left impotent in her anxiety. She could not overpower Tolan and the other man. Even if she managed to escape them, where would that leave her? She looked around the unfamiliar wood and decided it didn’t matter. She would rather be alone in the wood than being led to God only knew where by a man who was proving himself to be her enemy.
Going deeper into the forest would only result in her getting lost further. She had to figure out a way to escape. She could ride back the way they had come and hope for the best. When they started on their way again, she would decide on a way to run.
Chapter Eighteen
‘Do you see that?’ Aevir’s voice was a barely more than a whisper. Much of the day had passed in open ground with copses of forest too small to hide an enemy. The dark wall of forest ahead of them promised many more hiding places. It also revealed a barely perceptible sliver of smoke rising above the treetops to disperse in the clouds.
Oleif followed his stare and, though his face was impassive, he said, ‘Aye. I see it.’
Aevir raised his hand in a quick subtle gesture that brought the score of men riding with him to a halt. They had followed the tracks all day, choosing the small group that appeared to have the lightest rider and that began closest to the farmhouse. Aevir was almost certain that Ellan was that rider, as all the other Saxons who had made their escape were larger than she. If he was right, then she was only moments ahead of him. It was a risk, because the tracks had taken them west, not towards Stapleham.
While he was certain the group had only been made up of three people, they could have met up with more warriors in the darkness of the forest. It would be best to proceed with caution and not ride in with the haste he would prefer. Conferring with his men, they decided to split up and approach the group from several directions at once. Not only did they have surprise on their side, he hoped to have numbers on their side as well. He would know soon enough.
‘There’s only one fire.’ Oleif held tight to his reins as he stood in the stirrups and surveyed the treetops. ‘They likely haven’t met up with anyone else yet. We could stay back and follow them.’
Aevir stared at the trail of smoke as if it could tell him what Tolan had planned.
Sensing his leader’s hesitation, Oleif pressed. ‘It could possibly put an end to this once and for all. We’d know who the traitors are. Which Scots are talking to them.’
Aye, all of that was true. However, Ellan would be in the middle of whatever battle would result. As it was, Aevir was confident that he would be able to take her back from the two men keeping her captive with very little trouble or risk to her. If he allowed the small group to continue on their mission and meet up with others, then he couldn’t know she would be safe.
‘Nay, I cannot risk her. We’ll capture them all and take them back to Banford. They can answer to Jarl Vidar for their crimes.’
He quickly gave orders and the group dispersed. Oleif took a handful of men to creep around to their western side, while another group would approach from the north-east. Aevir led the group from the south-east. It was the most direct approach and the one most susceptible to being noticed.
Taking his sword in hand, he forced himself to wait and give the others time to find their positions. His horse shifted impatiently beneath him, eager for the release of the pent-up energy he could feel building in Aevir. Aevir allowed his mind to go blank. He lived for moments like this. The thrill of impending battle made his mind go quiet. It was why he had risen so quickly among the ranks of warriors.
There were no thoughts of Sefa, or his mother. Both beloved to him and lost to him for ever. There were no thoughts of status or wealth or the stain of his low birth. There were no thoughts but of striking down the enemy that stood between him and his goal. Victory.
Except this time he could not quite get to that place of calm. Ellan’s face kept intruding. It was the impish smile when she had asked if he would be interested in marrying her. The grin suggesting it had been a jest, but those eyes had been fathomless with longing. It was the look of wonder on her face after their first kiss. The way she had looked upon him as if he were the only man in the world for her. It was that look, as much as the taste of her and the feel of her against him, that had made him crave more of her.
What if he had told her that he would marry her? What if he had taken her that night of their kiss? Shaking his head, he decided that there would be no more regrets between them going forward.
‘You are mine, Ellan,’ he whispered.
He would make it so and no man would stand between them. Not Jarl Vidar and not Tolan.
Raising his fist, he gave the silent order to move forward. Both groups had been given enough time to get into position and he could not wait any longer to have Ellan safely in his arms again. More snow had begun to fall, but not nearly enough to cover up the tracks that led into the depths of the trees. He almost imagined that he could smell her, but it was a fanciful notion and one that he made himself ignore to focus on the issue at hand.
Voices came from up ahead, two males deep in discussion about something Aevir could not quite make out. The mild disagreement worked to keep them distracted so that Ellan was the first to see him. She stood next to her horse, her eyes almost wild as she looked around the forest, as if looking for an escape. She stopped when she saw him. His heart clenched at the terrified expression on her face.
Motioning for her to be quiet, he indicated that she walk away from the two men. She stepped away, and he focused on the two men. One of them was Tolan. A swift rise of anger threatened to overrule Aevir’s better judgement, but he managed to keep a hold on it. Now was not the time to give into emotion. He nudged his horse faster and his group broke into the small opening in the trees where he vaulted down off his horse. Tolan looked up in horror, but he had no time to reach for the sword strapped to his own horse. The best he could manage was the knife at his belt.
It was too late. Aevir put his sword to the man’s jugular before Tolan could release it from its sheath. One of the warriors stepped forward and relieved Tolan of the burden. The other Saxon had run as soon as Aevir and his men had broken into the clearing. His cry of pain told them all his fate. A moment later Oleif and his group rode in from the west side.
‘Where are you heading, Tolan? Not Stapleham,’ Aevir said.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ Tolan puffed himself up and demanded, as if he did not have a sword to his throat.
‘Do not play daft. You stole Ellan and we have come to bring her back,’ Aevir sneered, not even trying to hide his hatred for the man before him.
Tolan sneered right back. ‘I have not stolen her. She is my betrothed, my bride. It is quite impossible to steal what belongs to one.’
If the urge to lay a fist into a man’s face had ever been so strong, Aevir couldn’t remember it. ‘Your betrothal is broken. You made certain of that when you kidnapped her and fled to meet your conspirators.’
‘You have no proof of conspiracy.’
‘I have proof that you are far away from the path to Stapleham and nearly in Alba. It is all I need to return you to the Jarl. He can decide what is to be done with you.’
The first real spark of fear lit Tolan’s eyes since they had begun their talk. Aevir stared him down until the older man’s eyes flicked away, westwards. ‘Who is waiting for you there?’ Aevir asked.
‘Take me, take Ellan, and you’ll start a war.’ Tolan warned.
Suspicion dawned. ‘You never intended to marry her, did you? Who were you delivering her to?’
Tolan’s expression turned mulish.
‘Secure his wrists and tie him to his horse,’ Aevir ordered his men. ‘Gag him as well. If he won’t tell us the answers we seek, then we won’t listen to him the whole way back to Banford.’
Aevir shoved the Saxon towards his men and turned to find Ellan. She stood nea
r the edge of the trees, her eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. He went to her immediately, sheathing his sword and pulling her into his arms, only to have her stiffen and pull away. Her beautiful face was windswept from the frigid winter air, but he didn’t think that’s why her cheeks were so red.
‘Ellan.’ Her name was a whisper past the ache in his throat.
‘What is going to happen now?’ she asked, her gaze aloof as she watched Tolan being bound.
‘We go back to Banford and hand Tolan over to the Jarl.’
She shook her head. Sparks fairly flew from her eyes when she met his gaze. ‘I want to go to Alvey. Can someone take me there?’
He reached for her again only to have her bristle.
Her voice came out low and scorched with fire. ‘How dare you touch me now?’
‘I would dare even more for you.’
She swallowed. ‘We both know that’s not true.’
Anger, pain and regret that he had caused her to look at him with such wariness rushed through him. They didn’t have time to deal with it now. First, he had to get her away from here and whatever dangers that awaited them in the forest. Tolan’s words echoed in his head. Someone waited for her in the depth of this forest. It was best they leave it as quickly as possible. Then they could talk.
‘Come, Ellan, we have to get out of here.’
She silently followed him back to the horses. He helped her up on to her horse and she took up her reins without glancing at Tolan. They were forced to ride single file through the forest. After they reached the open moors where she rode with Aevir on one side and Oleif on the other, Aevir spurred them to go faster.
* * *
Ellan didn’t think she would ever forget the relief she felt when she saw Aevir’s face through the trees. His face had always been precious to her, but at that moment it was as if God above had sent him to her. The thought was dangerous in light of recent events, so she had quickly turned to anger to shield her from it.
Aevir could have stepped in the night before to save her. He could have gone to Lord Vidar to claim her hand even before Tolan had arrived in Banford. There were any number of ways this end could have been avoided. But he had not chosen her, so she would not allow her feelings of relief that he had found her to sway her.
She tried to ignore him, figuring that would be the easiest way to keep herself from falling under his spell again, but as they rode and her body became even more tired and cold, she found that her resolve was slipping. Finally, she blurted out, ‘You didn’t have to say what you did.’
He glanced over at her without slowing his pace. She was half-afraid that her words had been lost in the wind. Night was well upon them now so she could not see his expression.
‘What do you mean?’ His pace slowed a bit and her mare matched his bay in her stride. Oleif continued ahead.
Her bottom lip wavered, forcing her to swallow a few times so that her voice wouldn’t follow suit. I would dare even more for you. She could hear those words as plainly as if they had just passed his lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. ‘You didn’t need to imply that you would...that I mean more to you than...’ She blamed her complete exhaustion on speaking of this now, or at all. She was simply too tired to hold the pain inside any more.
His hand covered hers and he drew them both to a stop. Warriors parted, streaming past them on either side. Though she could not see his expression very well, she could feel the intensity of his eyes on her. ‘Do you not realise that I just risked a battle with unknown assailants going into that forest to take you from that Saxon? That I would risk everything to—’
Before she could think better of it, she struck his shoulder, the one that hadn’t been injured. ‘Stop it. Do not say what you do not mean.’
‘Ellan! I—’
‘Nay. You would not. You have proven that I mean nothing to you.’
‘How could you think that?’ Before she could respond he leaned over and crushed his mouth to hers, taking it in a deep kiss that gave no quarter. Her mare pranced nervously from the proximity of his horse, but he only moved his hands to her reins to hold them tight. Not that she had done anything to hint that she might try to escape the kiss. She craved every touch he gave her and opened beneath him eagerly even in her anger, greedy for another taste of him when she had thought him lost to her for ever. Their heat melded for only a moment before he pulled back, his breaths ragged.
Moving only far enough away to gaze into her eyes, he asked, ‘Do you not know that you are a part of me?’
‘How could I know that? You gave me away. You plan to marry in the spring.’
His mouth twisted as if he were in pain and he glanced behind them to make certain no one followed. When he turned back his eyes were clouded. ‘Perhaps I’ve changed my mind.’ His voice was so soft that she wasn’t certain if he had actually said those words or if she had wanted them so much she had imagined them. ‘Come. We’ll talk later,’ he said and urged both of their mounts forward.
‘Wait!’
‘We can’t stop now,’ he called back as his bay took the lead.
‘I’m going to Alvey. Either take me there or I’ll go myself.’ She needed to get away from the farmhouse where she had fallen even more in love with him. There were too many memories there. Painful memories that would crush her if she were forced to live with them and not have him.
He looked back and gave her a nod, and she released a breath of relief. Between the storm that had been threatening for days and the unknown threat in the forest behind them, she knew he was right to press onwards. With her heart in her throat, she urged her mare faster.
Chapter Nineteen
The storm came on swiftly once night had fallen. The wind became stronger and colder, seeming to blow right through Ellan’s bones. The fluffy white tufts of snow from earlier became denser with every hour that passed until it seemed they trudged through walls of snow. She had hoped that it would be enough to keep the exhaustion creeping over her at bay, but after what seemed like endless hours of riding, she felt her eyelids drooping. Once she woke up to the sensation of falling and opened her eyes, expecting to see the ground rushing up to meet her. Instead, she managed to catch herself on the saddle just as a strong hand pressed to her back.
She thought he only meant to right her, but large hands grasped her waist just below her ribcage and lifted. ‘You’re too tired to ride alone.’ Aevir’s deep voice reached her through the wind.
‘Nay, I can stay awake,’ she said, even though she wasn’t entirely certain she could. The colder she became, the more exhausted she felt.
He made a rough sound in the back of his throat and brought her on to his bay, opening the cloak wrapped around his shoulders. She mumbled another protest and meant to stiffen away from the welcome embrace of his arms, even as she snuggled close to his warmth and he enfolded her in the fur. The feeling of peace and well-being that immediately washed over her was unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been. This had been the way between them from the beginning. When she was with him, she felt like she was home. Secure. Despite her best intentions, she pressed her face to the hollow where his neck met his chest and breathed him in.
After he finished tying her horse’s reins to his saddle, he tightened his arms around her. His mouth pressed into the hair at the top of her head as he said, ‘Sleep. I have you.’
His chest was as hard as his arms. Sleeping on him shouldn’t have been comfortable, but it was and her eyelids started drooping almost immediately. When she meant to sit up, her body somehow melded into his, moulding itself to the hard plains and ridged muscle. He was so much more comfortable than he should have been that she went back to sleep.
* * *
The world was white when she woke up again a little while later. The falling snow was so dense that she could barely make out the other warriors. Aevir’s large hand pressed her sho
ulder, holding her tight against him. ‘We must stop for a bit. The snow is too heavy.’
She realised that they had come to a stop and that’s what had woken her. ‘Where are we?’
‘Still far away from Alvey. A day. More at this pace. We split with the others a short while back.’
They were in another forest, though the only forest they had passed through since Tolan took her from Banford was the one in which Aevir had found them. ‘Are we lost?’
Fixing her with a grim smile, he shook his head and said, ‘We’re not lost. We’ve strayed from the path to take shelter in the trees.’
Unravelling her from his cloak, he made certain she was stable before dismounting. Oleif seemed to come from nowhere to wrap his meaty hand around the reins as Aevir reached up to lift her down. She could barely make out the shadow of his large frame in the darkness.
‘Take care of the horses,’ Aevir said to him as he lifted her down. ‘I’ll prepare the tents.’
Aevir untied a rolled-up bundle of canvas from the back of his saddle as Ander took the one from Oleif’s horse. Oleif walked away with the horses, but she had no idea what he meant to do with them.
‘What can I do?’ she asked.
‘Hold this.’ Aevir pressed a bundle into her arms. ‘I need to make a place in the snow.’
The tent was heavier than expected, but she didn’t let that show as she followed him. Even in the darkness he was striking. The fur draped over his wide shoulders and fell down to the top of his boots, emphasising the power in his frame. He took the large knife from his hip and knelt beneath the low limbs of a fir where he hacked off the entire bottom row on one side. Then he went to another nearby and repeated the action until he had several large boughs in a pile. Working quickly, he used one to scrape away the layer of snow that had only just begun to accumulate beneath the one of the trees. The white powder was much deeper out in the open, already coming up to her ankles.
Longing for Her Forbidden Viking Page 17