by Alice Wilde
“I highly doubt it,” Li says. “For some reason, they didn’t finish what they set out to do with the dead, and they didn’t set sail after sending the dead to shore. If there are any people on board, there are likely too few of them be much trouble.”
I can’t help but feel a pit in my stomach over the plan, but I bite my tongue.
“Done,” Ero says as he finishes clearing the rowboat. “We’re going to need materials to start a fire, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check the other boats for anything valuable.”
“I’ll check the boats,” Li says.
“Guess I’ll start a fire,” says Roan.
Before I can ask to join him, there’s a loud splash and I turn just in time to see Ero emerge from the ocean. I wouldn’t have believed it possible, but he’s somehow even more attractive completely drenched, clothes plastered to his body in such a way that he might as well not be wearing them.
“Are you going to stare or join me?”
“There’s absolutely no way I’m going swimming,” I snort. “It’s too cold!”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Ero says with a grin and dives once again beneath the waves.
I roll my eyes and turn back to discover Roan’s already left and out of sight, so I assist Li in checking the boats, but there’s nothing of use or value in any of them.
Ero joins us on the beach, upwind from the bodies, as we wait for Roan to return.
“Shouldn’t Roan be back by now?” Ero asks, shaking water from his hair like a dog.
Just then, we hear a shout from across the beach and turn to see Roan racing toward us. I can’t quite hear what he’s saying, but then we see them, a group of men on horseback charging over the grassy ledge in full pursuit of Roan.
“Get in the boat!”
Li and Ero leap into action, dragging the only empty rowboat down to the water’s edge.
“Annalise, get in,” Li orders.
“What about Roan?”
“He can take care of himself,” Ero says, plucking me off the ground before I can argue any further and tossing me into the boat as he and Li pull it out into the water. Li jumps in to join me just as Ero shoves the dinghy hard and swings himself aboard in one quick movement.
I cling to the edge of the boat as Li and Ero begin to row with ferocious speed.
“Please, Roan, don’t leave me,” I breathe to myself as I look back toward the shore scarcely in time to see Roan shift into his leopard form just as one of the men on horseback swings a sword where his human head had been only a moment before.
My stomach twists as I watch Roan bound out of reach of the men and into the ocean. The horses rear up and whinny, stopping just short of the water as the men shout and curse at us from the shore.
I gasp as my lungs suddenly draw breath. Roan is safe. We are all safe…at least for the present.
Five
Annalise
Roan swims alongside our rowboat until we reach the ship and manage to pull up alongside it.
It isn’t the largest ship I’ve ever seen, but it certainly isn’t small, and it is more ship than just a few men should be able to sail.
A rope ladder is dangling over the side, which Ero grabs hold of to keep us held against the side of the boat and to allow Roan to climb aboard without capsizing us.
“I think I should go first,” Li says, “to make sure the coast is clear, or at least safe enough for the rest of you to board the ship.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” says Ero.
Li grabs hold of the ladder and begins climbing as I watch after him anxiously. I may not know him very well compared to Roan, but I can’t deny that he’s always been brave. Roan shakes water from his coat, and I realize he hasn’t shifted back into his human form yet.
“Roan, you can shift in front of me. We are married,” I say.
Roan’s leopard looks at me but then shakes his head furiously, water droplets flying everywhere.
“Fine, suit yourself,” I say, covering my face with my hands in a desperate attempt to shield myself.
Li pulls himself over the edge of the ship, disappearing from view. I wait with bated breath for him to let us know what’s going on. A few minutes later, he leans back over the railing, looking down at us.
“There’s no one,” he calls. “Climb aboard.”
“After you, princess.”
I grab hold of the ladder and start climbing, only to realize it’s much more difficult than Li had made it look. The ladder sways with every step, the ropes bending and changing with each movement, and my skirts make the process that much more frustrating. Ero tries to hold it as steady as possible from his place in the rowboat, but there’s only so much he can do against the ebb and flow of the waves.
Li reaches out to me as I finally get close to the top of the ladder. I reach out for his hand, but just as I do, my foot catches on my dress. Time seems to slow as I feel my feet slip from the rung and my heart stops in my chest. But before I can plunge into the ocean below, Li’s hand is clasped tightly around my still outstretched wrist, holding me fast. He’d swung over the edge of the boat, dropping several feet before grabbing the rope ladder in one hand and me in the other.
“That was close,” I gasp in relief.
“No,” Li says, “this was merely a precaution on my part. Check your other hand.”
Looking, I find that while my feet may have slipped, one of my hands is still clenched tightly around the rope.
“You’re stronger than you think, but we may have to make some adjustments to your dress.”
Li pulls me high enough that I can slip my feet back onto the rungs and then replaces the hand he’s holding back onto the ropes. I’m still trembling slightly from the rush of falling, but I finish the climb on my own, Li following close behind.
The ship is completely empty, almost as if there was never any crew at all.
“Did you check below deck?”
“Of course.”
Ero joins us on deck.
“Roan won’t come up until we toss him something to wear,” Ero says.
“I don’t know that we’ll find much here,” I say.
Li walks over to one of the masts, checking the sail.
“Don’t rip the sail,” says Ero, anticipating Li’s next move. “I’ll have a look around first.”
Ero disappears below deck and reappears a few minutes later carrying a bit of fabric.
“I have no idea what this was used for, but it’ll have to work.”
Ero tosses the material over the side of the boat and Roan joins us a few minutes later, the fabric knotted around his waist. His body glistens with sweat and salt water, and his red curls even more wild than usual.
“What do you make of this?” asks Ero.
“Nothing,” answers Roan. “I know what it is.”
We all look at him curiously.
“I stumbled on that group of men in the forest. They’d apparently been camped out there for a number of days. They were the ones responsible for what we saw on the beach.”
“What exactly did you overhear?” Li asks.
“They murdered everyone in a nearby village and arranged that scene to make it appear as though Vikings had done it,” Roan says. “They were hoping to lure some real Vikings in to make it look more authentic, but instead it was us.”
“Why would they do such an appalling thing?” I ask.
“They seem to believe that something like this would help them gain more support from other territories to wage war against the Vikings.”
“By killing their own people?”
“I didn’t say their plan made much sense.”
“So why did they chase you?”
“I may have walked straight into their camp with a thing or two to say,” Roan says uneasily.
“Roan, you could have been killed!”
“I know, but I wasn’t—and now we know what happened.”
“How is that information going to help us?”
&n
bsp; “I don’t know that it does,” says Li thoughtfully. “Unless we can use this to help garner support from real Vikings. I doubt they would take too kindly to people trying to frame them for this. What do you think, Ero?”
Ero walks over to the railing and looks out toward the beach.
“I don’t know. I suppose it would depend on the Viking. Some may revel in the idea that others were doing the dirty work for them and making them seem all the more ferocious.”
“So, now we’re trapped on an empty ship with no plan and murderous people on land,” I say. “What good was any of this? If we couldn’t get Roan’s family to help, how are we supposed to get help from the Vikings?”
“We’ll find a way,” Li says. “One step at a time.”
“My family will help, I’ll make sure of that. Besides, we’re not trapped on this ship,” says Roan.
“What do you mean?”
“Ero,” Roan says turning to face him, “you’re going to have to figure out whatever you did on the ship we took from France and get this thing moving.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ero says. “I have no idea how to control whatever that magic was. I don’t even know how I did it.”
“Roan might be on to something,” Li says. “We might be able to sail this ship to some extent without a crew, but if you were controlling the sea and wind, we’d be able to reach Scandinavia in no time.”
“You’re insane,” Ero growls. “Do you have any idea how risky this idea is? How would you even manage to set course and sail in the right direction? And if I can’t control it, what then?”
“It’s better than sitting around and doing nothing,” says Roan.
“Sure, until we end up dead.”
“At least we’d die trying,” Roan says.
Ero glares furiously at Roan and then storms below deck.
Roan and Li move to follow him, but I grab their arms to stop them.
“Wait, let me try,” I say.
Roan’s jaw tightens, but he nods in agreement.
“Thank you,” I say, rising on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.
I descend below deck to search for Ero, and I’m stunned to find the ship isn’t quite as empty as Li made it out to be. There are a fair number of crates and barrels stacked around the space, as well as hammocks for sleeping. Although it’s not well lit, there’s enough light for me to catch sight of Ero’s shining hair. He’s sprawled out in one of the hammocks, one leg dangling over the side.
“Ero,” I say quietly.
“I heard you come down the stairs, princess. There’s no use trying to convince me this idea is any good.”
I make my way through the cargo toward him, trying to think of a way to convince him to help, or at least try. Finding a crate near Ero’s hammock, I take a seat.
“I won’t try to convince you the idea is a good one,” I begin, “but it is an idea, and the only one we have at present.”
“No, it’s just the most convenient one.”
“I’d hardly say asking you to strike up a storm to carry us across the sea is convenient,” I say with a nervous laugh.
“Fair enough.”
“What would it take to convince you to try?” I ask.
Ero cocks his head to the side as he regards me.
“Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“Yes,” I say with more certainty than I feel.
Ero raises an eyebrow, the expression making him look unexpectedly devilish.
“Come here.”
I hesitate but stand and walk toward him, unsure of what to expect from him.
“Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
I give him a piercing look but turn so that my back is to him. I feel a slight tugging at the back of my dress and the fabric loosens around me. My heart begins to pound inside my chest.
“Ero—”
Then I feel his breath against my neck as he moves my hair aside.
“What is it about you that captivates Roan so entirely?” Roan whispers against my skin, sending chills across my body. “What kind of bewitchment have you placed on him?”
I clench my teeth. “What do you want Ero?”
“I want you to stop bewitching us.”
Ero’s words catch me off-guard.
“What are you talking about?”
“Before you,” Ero says as he runs his fingertips slowly up my naked arms, “we were an invincible team. Li, Roan, and I against the world.”
“I highly doubt that,” I mutter.
“Why?” Ero asks, pressing his lips to my neck as his hands find the neckline of my dress.
My mind scrambles for the answer I had on the tip of my tongue only a moment before, when I could still think clearly. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, least of all with Ero, and certainly not now. Ero yanks at my dress, but he’s only loosened it enough to get it partway off my shoulders.
“Ero, this isn’t like you,” I say, trying to pull away from him but finding his grip on my arms to be too strong.
“Of course it is,” says a dark voice, and I freeze.
“Damien?”
Ero’s nails dig into my skin, holding me in place.
“Miss me?”
The shock wears off as quickly as it had come and I scream, but Ero’s reflexes are too fast and one of his massive hands claps over my nose and mouth before there’s enough time for anyone to hear. His other arm wraps around my body from behind and lifts me into the air, dragging me further into the ship and away from the main deck. Away from Roan. Away from Li. Away from anyone who can help.
Six
Roan
The lass has been gone far too long for my liking. I know she’s trying to win Ero over and help keep things working smoothly between all of us, but I wish it didn’t require so much alone time with Li or Ero…especially Ero. Li has his moments, but he has too much honor for me to worry about him with Annalise.
Ero on the other hand…
He has a darker past than most demons, at least from the little he’s told us of it. While he may make a great Viking, I doubt there is much space in his heart for compassion or love, if any at all.
An odd sound interrupts my thoughts for a second…
Oh, yes, not to mention the fact that Ero’s annoying as all hell. Sure, I’m far from perfect myself, but I’m no womanizer…and that’s not something I can say about Ero. He may not wish her any ill intent or even have any regard for her, but from the things I’ve heard of his exploits with other women, I doubt he hasn’t thought about having her or that he has her best interest in mind.
Perhaps I should warn Annalise. I don’t want her to think I’m jealous of her time spent with him—even though I am—but I love her and want to protect her. I’m afraid that of the three of us, it’s Ero who poses the strongest threat when it comes to crossing boundaries.
“Roan?”
I look up from the mess of a knot I’ve been making to see Li crossing the deck.
“Huh?”
“I need you to stay calm, but Annalise has been gone a long time,” Li says, his face showing an alarming amount of concern.
“And?”
“I can’t link with Ero. I think something might be wrong.”
I immediately try to link to Ero. Nothing. I try my link with Li.
“It’s fine between us,” Li says in my head almost instantly. “I checked earlier, but only for a moment.”
I hadn’t even noticed him try to link, and it makes me wonder how many times I haven’t realized one of the others was in my head, but this isn’t the time to think about that.
“I’ll kill him if he’s hurt her!”
Li stops me before I can run down into the hull.
“Wait.”
“There’s no time!”
“I think it might be Damien,” Li says carefully.
I stare at Li, the rage in me mounting by the second.
“Then there
’s not a second to waste,” I growl. “Ero or Damien, if he’s hurt her, I’ll tear him limb from limb.”
“You can’t do that. We can’t do that.”
I shove Li aside and make my way across the deck.
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Ero to be alone with her.”
“If you kill Ero, Annalise will never forgive you,” Li says as he easily steps into stride with me. “You’ll lose what little we’ve offered to get your family to help, as well as whatever Viking allies we may have managed to attain. You’ll lose Annalise. We all will.”
I stop dead in my tracks at the words. He’s right, as much as I want to hate him for it.
“What do you propose we do, then?”
“We’re going to rescue her, of course, but let me handle Ero.”
I grind my teeth but nod.
Li disappears below deck, and I follow warily behind.
Seven
Annalise
I can barely see even the impressions of objects down here, the deck below a far darker and damper place than the ones above. It almost feels as though we are underwater…and I almost wish I was. If Roan or Li don’t come to find me soon, it will all be over.
My feet touch the wooden panels, but Ero quickly turns me to face him before pushing me roughly to the floor and pinning me to the ground. Somehow, his hair still appears to glow even in the pitch-black darkness, illuminating his otherwise unrecognizable face, his mouth twisted into a menacing grin.
“You thought you could escape me?” Damien’s voice asks darkly. “You’re too weak to cut me out. Day by day, little by little, you grow easier to find, easier to manipulate. You’ll never escape me. Not you. Not them. Our bond is too strong for that.”
“We will defeat you,” I say forcefully, although I can feel angry tears welling up in me.
“You can’t even function when you’re together,” Damien laughs.
“Li and Roan will be here any moment,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
“Why don’t you go ahead and call for them then?”
I scowl at him and then I shout as loudly as I can, but even to me, the noise sounds muffled.