by Quinn Loftis
My father left his spot at the table to come over to me. He wrapped me in a hug. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, Father. Thank you. I spoke with Myra, and she assured me Dayna is alive and on her way to Tara.”
He let out a relieved sigh. “That is good news.”
“Dayna is a survivor,” I said. “Of the three of your daughters, she is the one you should never have to worry about.”
“You’re a survivor, too, Allete. You’re every bit as strong as Dayna is. Lizzie is strong in her own way, different from you and Dayna, but still strong. I am so immensely proud to have each of you as my daughters,” he said. “I am sorry I put you in such a terrible position with Cathal. You should never have had to endure his abuse no matter the form. Truly, Allete, I am sorry.”
I shook my head. “I don’t blame you, Father. I know the difficult choices you must make. I understand you cannot just think about the well-being of your family. You’re a king. You have an entire nation looking to you for leadership.”
“Which is the very reason I should have never set up the arranged marriage,” he argued. “What kind of example did that set?”
“That sometimes sacrifices have to be made in order to ensure the safety of everyone else,” I said.
My father shook his head. “It doesn’t seem so simple anymore.”
“It is that simple, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy. I know the decisions you’ve made over the years have rarely been, but I do not blame you. No one can blame you until they’ve been in your shoes and wrestled with the weighty concerns of running a kingdom.”
“Thank you, Allete. You are a wise woman, and Clan Hakon is very blessed to have you as their queen,” he said.
“I am only what you and Mother taught me to be.”
He kissed my forehead, then returned to the table where the other men examined the map of Tara. I took a seat in the rocking chair by the hearth. Torben had built a nice fire. The glow lit the room, adding to the light from the lanterns. The shadows from the flames danced over the walls, and I watched them as if I were watching people dance at a gathering. In my mind, I could hear music and the chattering voices of people as they talked and laughed. That part of my life, attending court and dancing at balls, was long gone. I found I didn’t miss it. My life was dancing with swords now instead of suitors. I was no longer the eldest princess of England—I was the wife and queen of Torben, Jarl of Clan Hakon.
My lips turned up as I thought about all the times I had dreamed of undertaking grand adventures. Little had I known my life would wind up being one big adventure. Was there danger? Yes. But danger was better than boredom any day. I couldn’t wait for Dayna to be a part of this life, and I had no doubt she would be coming to live with me at Ravenscar when all was said and done. I couldn’t wait for Freya and Babs to get a dose of Dayna. The thought made a laugh bubble up out of me. I quickly pressed my hand to my lips as if that could stop the sound. I glanced at the table, but none of the men paid any attention to me.
Yes, it was going to be fun to see Clan Hakon get acquainted with Dayna Auvray. Things would never be boring with her around.
“Allete?”
Torben’s voice drew me from my musings.
“Would you mind repeating the prophecy from yesterday?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said. I stood, then moved closer to the table. I was worried I might not remember it all, and I didn’t want to have to get my book out and read it. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on thinking about exactly what I wanted to know. I wasn’t sure at what point I started to speak. But one minute, I was thinking. The next, I was repeating every word I’d spoken the night before.
When I was done, the three jarls stared at me with mouths hanging open. They blinked, glanced between me and Torben, then back to me again.
“What?” I asked, confused as to why they were gaping at me as if I’d grown two heads. No one answered. “You do realize the dragon is symbolic, right?” I asked. I was beginning to wonder if they thought we were actually going up against mythical being and not an evil king.
“Of course.”
“Yes.”
“Obviously.”
All three jarls spoke at the same time, appearing a little sheepish. I nearly rolled my eyes, but I stopped myself. They had thought I was talking about an actual dragon.
After that, they continued to discuss our plan of attack. I soon grew weary of deliberating combat strategies. Finally, a couple of hours later, the jarls and Torben said their goodnights. Torben and I curled into the bed together, and I pressed a kiss to his chest. “Everything went well today,” I said.
He ran his hand down my back as he nodded. “It did.”
“Are you okay?”
“I was just thinking about what you told me earlier, about Brant, Dayna, and Clay being on their way to Tara. I’m wondering how Brant is handling everything,” he said.
“I imagine my sister is doing everything in her power to drive him crazy,” I said fondly. “If nothing else, she will keep him distracted.”
“He’s serious about her,” Torben said. “Do you realize that?”
“I kind of figured it out when he went after her without telling anyone what he was doing.”
“I just don’t want you to be surprised when they get home and he demands to marry her.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I would pay to see Dayna’s response when Brant demands anything from her, including marriage.”
“Would she deny him?” Torben asked.
“I don’t think so, but not because he demanded it. It’s because she’s as crazy about him as he is about her. Dayna needs a strong man. Brant will be good for her,” I said. “Let’s just hope they both hold their tongues, so they don’t get killed for being annoying.”
Torben chuckled. “If Brant were killed outside of battle, it would definitely be for being annoying.”
“Then they’re perfect for each other and everyone else. They can annoy one another to death, which will save the rest of us.” I fell asleep that night thinking about the future I truly hoped would come to pass. I wanted to see my sister married to Brant. I wanted to see her training to be a shieldmaiden. I wanted to see her be an aunt and a mother. I wanted so much, but I knew wanting it wasn’t enough. I would have to fight to make our future a reality. And I would work until my dying breath to see that come to pass.
“If I’ve never mentioned how much I dislike being on a boat for days on end, forgive me. It’s only fair you should know as much about me as possible. Why? Because it gives me the opportunity to complain about the fact I hate sailing on a boat for days on end. Did I mention that? I can’t remember.”
~Dayna Auvray
“Why would anyone willingly choose to get on a boat with a bunch of other people?” I moaned as I sat up and attempted to stretch. It was nearly impossible to get a good stretch with my hands tied together.
“It’s rarely a choice,” Brant said. “Usually, it’s just the only option to get where you need to go.”
“If it were my only option, then I can tell you I would suddenly not need to travel wherever the boat was going,” I said.
“Are you telling me there are no long trips on the water in our future?” Brant asked.
I snapped my fingers, then pointed at him. “You are a quick study, warrior. My mother would say that means you are a keeper.”
“Your mother would say anyone who would take you is a keeper,” Clay clarified.
Brant laughed, but he turned it into coughing when I gave him a sharp glare. “Don’t be sour, love,” he said, still trying to smother his smile. “My mother would have tried to pay you to take me as your husband.”
My interest was piqued. I was still sitting on the floor of the cell, so I turned until I was facing Brant, who was across from me in his cell. Clay was behind me in the cell on my other side, but he didn’t matter as long as he kept giving his little input about my betrothing.
“Why would your mother have tried to pa
y me to take you?” I asked. “You’re a handsome man—strong and physically able to take care of a woman. Surely, the women in your clan find you to be a compatible companion.”
“Aye, compatible, but not necessarily tolerable,” Brant said. “If you haven’t noticed, love, I’m a bit rough around the edges.”
“Aren’t we all?” I asked. “Isn’t that what life is about? Living and learning and smoothing out the jagged places that can hurt others?”
“It takes some of us longer than others,” Brant said.
I shrugged. “I’d rather you be rough around the edges and honest than smooth with the tongue of a lying snake. Allete had one of those for a month. I don’t care how refined a man is, if he’s as abominable as Cathal, then I’ll take an unrefined man every time.”
“It’s a good thing because I didn’t have any plans to let you get away,” he teased.
“Is that why you stole one of my father’s boats? To come find me?” I asked, a smile growing on my face. “I figured you just went around rescuing women all the time.”
“Sorry, Little Princess, I’m not that noble. In fact, when we get to Ravenscar and you meet the clan, you’re probably going to hear all about how un-noble I am. We might ought to talk about that before you meet them.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you trying to tell me that you have had many women in your bed?” I heard Clay cough and choke behind me, but I didn’t turn to face him.
“Had,” Brant said firmly, “is the important word in that sentence. I’ve kept my promise to you. There hasn’t been anyone else, and there won’t be anyone else.”
“But I am going to meet women you’ve been intimate with, aren’t I?” I asked. Was I having a little too much fun at his expense? Absolutely. Should I be kinder and not make him feel like I was going to stab him with his own blade? Probably.
Sighing, he rubbed his face. “Yes, you will. But none of them was ever interested in anything more than a way to scratch an itch,” he said.
“How many?” I asked.
“A few,” he said vaguely.
“A few as in three…or a few as in three times a few more?”
He cleared his throat before he answered. “More than three but less than a few times three.”
He sounded so miserable trying to explain it to me without actually having to say the number of women he’d been with. I tried extremely hard not to laugh. “Sounds to me like there’s a flea infestation in Clan Hakon if there’s that much itching going on. I’ll have to let Allete know so she can take measures to get the plague under control.” I could hear Clay snickering behind me. “Besides,” I continued, “it’s not like I can be angry with you. I’ve had my own itches that needed scratching, so I completely understand.” That shut Clay right up.
Brant’s eyes widened comically. “You’ve had itches?”
“Didn’t you just say the women you slept with had itches? Is it really so hard to think I would also need the occasional scratch?” I asked.
“You’re just now coming of age,” he practically growled. He glared past me to Clay. “Weren’t you the one in charge of her safety? How could you let this happen?”
“I was Allete’s guard,” Clay sputtered. “The king couldn’t pay me enough to be Dayna’s guard.”
“I love you, too, Clay,” I said dryly. “Now what is your problem?” I asked Brant.
“You’ve been intimate with men,” he snapped.
“And you’ve been intimate with women,” I snapped right back. “Why am I supposed to accept your past behavior if you aren’t willing to do the same for me?” This was one of my biggest irritations when it came to the difference in the treatment of the sexes.
Brant stared at me with his mouth hanging open, but nothing coming out. He knew he didn’t have an argument because I was completely right. If he expected me to be okay with him sharing himself with other females, then he couldn’t throw an axe if I’d been with other men. Not that I had. I was as pure as the freshly fallen snow. Unlike the man I planned to marry, I had standards. But I didn’t want him to know that just yet.
“How many?” Brant finally asked when he’d seemed to collect himself.
Glaring, I refused to answer.
“Dayna,” he said with warning. “How many?”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know how many of the men in your father’s kingdom I’m going to have to kill,” he answered without blinking.
I rolled my eyes. “Put your axe away, big guy. There’s no need. Unlike the women you have apparently known, I am capable of ignoring itches.”
He snapped his mouth shut. “Wait. What?” he asked.
I guessed I needed to speak Viking. “I said to keep your sharp things put away. I’ve kept my legs closed. No need to go on a murdering spree all over England trying to find any male who knows if I have a third nipple.”
“By the gods,” Clay muttered behind me, making me laugh.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Brant muttered.
“Probably,” I said in a much-too-chipper voice.
There was a twinkle in Brant’s eyes when he leaned closer to the bars that separated us. His lips twitched slightly as if he were fighting a grin. “So, do you?”
I laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Absolutely.”
“Considering I’m not inclined to succumb to any itch scratching, you’ll have to wait until after the vows are spoken to find out.”
His face went suddenly serious, and he motioned for me to move closer. Leaning in, I waited.
“You know I would want you no matter what, right?” he asked. “I wouldn’t care if you’d been with the whole of England, I’d still want you. I’d still think you were the most incredible woman to have ever been created, and I would know I was the luckiest man alive if you would take me as yours.”
I swallowed down the tears that started to build. “I do know because I wouldn’t have given you the time of day if I had thought any different for even a second. But thank you for saying so.”
He reached up to run his finger down my cheek. “Any man is lucky to breathe the same air as you, Dayna Auvray.”
“I have to say, Northman,” Clay spoke up. “You might almost be worthy of her.”
Brant shook his head. “Nay, but I’ll be damned if I let any other man attempt to be worthy.”
If I had been on the fence about Brant, he would have just pushed me straight into his lap. If he hadn’t already had my heart, he’d have just stolen it. But it wouldn’t do to let him know that. I patted his hand. “And I’ll be damned if I don’t remind you that you once didn’t feel worthy of me if you ever forget.”
“I would expect nothing less, Little Princess.”
I was about to tell him where he could shove his Little Princess pet name when the door that led to the top deck opened. Brant and Clay both rose to their feet. I didn’t feel whoever was coming down warranted that much of my energy.
I shuffled so I faced the stairs, watching as Gisele descended. Her face scrunched up in obvious disgust when she scanned the room. Yes, welcome to how the prisoners travel, I thought as I glared at the witch.
“I see you are all still alive,” she said. She held her hands together as if letting them go would somehow cause her to get dirty.
“If you’d like us to stay that way, then you might want to send down some fresh water and food,” Brant said, his voice tight with barely contained rage. “And some blankets for Dayna so she can keep warm.”
It was then I realized I was shivering. How long had I been? Shaking my head, I focused on Gisele, who gave Brant a look that would have had a weaker man withering where he stood.
“Fine,” Gisele said finally. “I will have the necessary items brought down. We will reach our destination in a couple of days.”
“What happens then?” I asked.
Gisele shifted her gaze to me. “Then we go to war.” She stepped forward, motioning for Brant to
give her his hands. “There’s no need for those right now.” Brant held his hands up, and Gisele reached through the bars and touched the rope. It dropped uselessly to the floor. Scuttling gracelessly to my feet, I held my tied hands up to her. She did the same to my bindings, then to Clay’s as well.
After a while, a soldier came down carrying three blankets. Then, a few minutes later, he returned with three cups, a pitcher of water, and a loaf of bread. The bread might have been a little moldy, but I was so hungry I did not mind.
When he was gone, I spoke to Brant and Clay. “So, we’re going to Tara for war? Why do I have a feeling I’m going to see some other Vikings there besides Calder’s men?”
“And your father as well,” Clay said.
“Cathal has to answer for the death and destruction he caused,” Brant said. “Not to mention how he treated your sister.”
“They are going to show up to fight Cathal, yet aren’t aware Calder and his two witch friends will be there?” I asked.
“Myra is with Allete,” Brant reminded me. “I’m sure she isn’t helpless or clueless.”
I nodded. “Hopefully, she’s got some idea about what her sister is up to.” I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, then returned to my spot on the floor with my back against the wall. My shoulder touched Brant’s through the bars, and that small amount of warmth helped chase away a little of the chill. Brant had tried to give me his blanket—Clay had as well—but I flat-out refused. They needed to keep warm just as much as I did. Stupid men. If I didn’t keep an eye on them, they’d kill themselves trying to keep me alive before we ever arrived at Tara.
“Freeze or starve to death because you were trying to keep me alive and I will make Gisele raise you from the dead just so I can beat you with one of her dead birds.”
Brant laughed. He obviously wasn’t taking me seriously.
“You wouldn’t be laughing if you talked to Calder’s men whose hands I cut off,” I said. “I don’t make idle threats, Brant. Do not die.”
“What did they do?” Brant asked in a cold, controlled voice.