Vikings' Brides Box Set

by Jessica Knight

  We finally come to the front doors of the castle and once we enter, the cold air wraps around me, causing me to shiver. We shake our heads to try and get the water off us, but all that happens is his hair slapping me in the face. I sputter when a strand hits me in the month. Ah, goddess. Gross.

  He barks out a loud laugh and slaps me on the back. “Sorry, Trident. That was funny. I needed that.” A few painful moans fill the air. Lord Grimkael’s laughter dies down, and his face grows solemn. “I must go in there and check on my men. Are you going to be alright?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re forbidden to leave the castle.”

  “Lord—”

  “Do not argue with me. If you leave, I won’t be so kind like I have been. I’ll throw you in the dungeon.”

  “Why aren’t I there now?” I ask, curious as to why I’m not sitting in the tunnels, planning my escape.

  “I do not listen to other Lords,” he snorts, offended. “Fuck them.” He pushes by me and vanishes into the medical wing.

  I’m not surprised by his response. On any other day I’d laugh, but today, right now, I want to go to sleep and wake up to forget all this happened. I swear to goddess the moment I get my Sylvie back; I do not care if Jericho is catapulting fireballs. I’m going to marry that woman and make her mine.

  “Sir Trident,” a soft voice comes from the steps.

  I bow slightly when I see the Queen of the kingdom coming down the stairs in a flowy night gown. I avert my eyes. It usually isn’t customary for anyone to see her in something so intimate. This late at night, it is usually only her and her husband, Lord Grimkael.

  “Lady Sassa, I apologize for my appearance. I had no idea I’d be seeing you this late.”

  “Oh, stand up. You do not need to bow. I thought we were friends.”

  “Lord Grimkael would kill me if I didn’t,” I say with a small smile.

  “That man. Do you know where he is?”

  I hear the worry in her tone, and it makes me straighten up. “He went to the medical wing to check on a few warriors that were injured.”

  She lays her hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, and I’m so sorry for what happened. Grim and Einarr will do everything to help you get her back. You know that, don’t you?”

  My heart clenches at the thought of never seeing Sylvie again. That can’t happen. Maybe I can somehow find a way to give them the money they are looking for. I’ll do anything to get her back. Anything.

  “I know.” I can tell she doesn’t believe me by the fake smile I give her. “May I be excused, Lady Sassa? I would love to bathe and go to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day, and honestly, I’m ready for this one to be over with.”

  “Oh, of course. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Aye,” I mutter, not really planning on getting out of bed tomorrow. I want to plan how to get my woman back with or without Lord Grimkael’s approval. I want to make sure the Alands never expect me, so a certain amount of time shall have to pass, but that means Sylvie may not believe I’m coming for her. She may doubt my feelings, and the thought of her doubting my love for her almost has me missing a step and falling down the stairs.

  I can’t let too much time pass, for too many reasons. The first one is her safety. Her father will be furious at her, and who knows what he will do to her. That is my main priority. I rub my chest when the intensity of how much I miss her hits.

  Sighing and practically dragging my feet, I kick open the door to the bath and start dropping all my gear to the floor. I pump the well, and cold water rushes out. I don’t even bother lighting the fire underneath to make it warm. I don’t care enough. Lowering my body into the ice-cold water, I grab the soap and scrub. I try not to think about the last time I was in the bath, making love to Sylvie, but the memories assault me.

  I’m not a man to cry, but tears burn my eyes. I’m numb. I try and think about my next step, but the only thing I can see is the smooth lines of her body against mine. Oh, the natural curve of her spine leading down to the two dimples that grace the top of her ass make my cock start to plump. Now isn’t the time. I don’t feel like getting hard. Even in my darkest time, my body wants her. I’m not going to do anything about it. The next time I come, it’s going to be when I see her again.

  I’m going to fill her up over and over again until she’s bearing my child.

  “Damn it,” I hiss, pressing my palm against my forehead when a tear falls. A warrior doesn’t get emotional. A warrior can’t go into battle with emotions. I chant the mantra in my head over and over again. The emotions swirling inside me are new. I’m angry and sad, but her body withering against me is seared in my mind, and lust, being the evil mistress that it is, strokes the inside of my cock. It’s maddening. My cock is hard, standing a few inches out of the water, tempting me to get myself off.

  I’m really not in the mood for it, though. I ignore it and continue to bathe the dirt, mud, and blood off my skin.

  I only know one thing. I need her more than I need my next breath. And I know I won’t feel alive until I get to breathe her in again.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sylvie

  I groan, placing my hand against my head from the throbbing on the right side of my skull. My eyes flutter open. Everything in front of me is blurry. I can’t make out anything, but I know it’s dark. Dirt sticks to my skin, and the air is damp and cold. I close my eyes again, blocking out my fuzzy surroundings for a second before trying to open my lids again. The entirety of my head hurts.

  “Ow,” I whimper as my fingers brush over the egg-sized bump on my head. Goddess, what happened? The last thing I remember is running away from my father, and then everything went black. I try opening my eyes again, and this time when I open them, things are a bit clearer.

  “No, no, no,” I repeat when I notice the old wooden walls.

  I roll to my side and crawl until I can reach the wall. I drag my hands up the rough, splintered wood and use it to lift myself up. I slowly get on my feet, my head swimming with pain and my legs trembling. I place my other hand against my skull to support it, so I don’t fall over and hurt myself again.

  There’s a small window that allows light in and that’s the how I confirm where I am. It’s the old cage in the basement Father made a long time ago. The door to the cell is pure iron, heavy and strong. There is no way I can get out of here.

  I can’t believe he knocked me out hard enough for me to be out for so long, let alone put me in here. How dare he! He could have thrown me back in my tower and locked the door and window, but no, he wants to punish me for loving someone.

  I fumble along the wall as I search for a weak spot that I can—I don’t know—punch through or something.

  “Like you’d be able to punch through a wall,” I mumble to myself and shake my head at my foolish thought. I grip the iron bars and look out to the hallway. Cobwebs hang on the torches, and the dirt floor looks freshly swept. There’s a wooden chair to the left, sitting against the wall, empty, but a plate is on the ground full of old bones. Someone was here, but who?

  Father has what he wants now. I have nothing.

  “Aya,” I whisper, remembering that my father used her as leverage. I can’t believe him. I grip the bars until the metal digs into my skin.

  “Hey! What’s going on? Let me out!” I yell, my voice echoing off the walls. It is the only thing that answers me in return. I stumble back and sit down, my back against the wall as I look forward, waiting for someone to enter.

  My stomach grumbles and my throat itches. I need water. It’s lonely and cold down here. I know Trident would keep me warm if he were here. He must be so worried about me. I have no doubt he will come. But I can’t be too hopeful. I can’t have expectation because I don’t know when he will be here, and every day that passes will feel so long.

  I don’t remember falling asleep, but the next time I wake up, my father is at the door, staring at me and holding a plate of food. We stare at each other for a
few minutes until he smiles, but I still keep my mouth shut. I have nothing to say to him. Nothing.

  “I brought you some food,” he says, opening the smaller door at the floor that is the perfect size of a tray and slides it through.

  Instead of reaching for it, I stay where I am. The last thing I want to do is give him the satisfaction of eating the food he made me. I’ll wait until he leaves.

  “You must eat, Sylvie.”

  “I must get out of here, is what I must do. Away from you and this dreadful place.” Damn, I did not mean to speak to him, but the anger got the best of me.

  “You’ll get used to it, Sylvie. We only want what is best for you, and that Karsten is not it. You’ll get over him and then you’ll see I’m right.”

  I dig my fingers in the ground, letting dirt embed under my nails. No matter how much time passes, nothing about this will ever be right.

  “I’ll be back later to talk.” He kicks the door with his foot, and it makes the metal rattle and shake.

  I watch him leave. Anger boils in my throat with everything I want to say. “Why?”

  He stops in his tracks and peers over his shoulder. “Why what?”

  “Why do you care so much about who I am with? Why do you hate me so much that you’ll keep me down here, locked away? Do you realize how much I resent you right now? You took away the one thing that made me happy. You don’t care about me. You don’t care about my happiness. All you care about is yourself. I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  “They took from us.”

  “No, they didn’t take from you. That’s how you see it because it has been embedded in your mind to believe it. You actually had nothing to do with what happened, and neither does Trident. We shouldn’t be punished for something our families can’t seem to get over. It’s pathetic. I’m ashamed to be a part of this. I’m disappointed that my father would use my best friend against me.”

  “We are broke!”

  “And whose fault is that!” I scream, getting to my feet. “You shouldn’t hurt other people for our mistake. If you are broke, find a good way to fix it. Not this. This isn’t right.”

  “You are so naïve, girl.”

  I grip the bars and lean forward until my forehead hits them. He looks like he has aged a few years. The crinkles around his eyes are worse, but there is something there, something that shines for just a moment. He knows I’m right. He knows it!

  “You can’t do this.” My chin quivers. “Don’t leave me down here.”

  “I must. I don’t trust you not to run off to that man.”

  “I love him.”

  “You can’t.”

  “Why? You haven’t given me a good reason.”

  “I have. You just won’t accept it.”

  “Because it’s a silly grudge. It isn’t a way to live life.”

  Quicker than I thought he could move, he is front of the door again, nearly nose to nose with me if it wasn’t for the iron clad bars in the way. “You are selfish. I thought I raised you better than that. I thought I raised you to think of your family before yourself.”

  “I could say the same thing about you! Like father, like daughter, I suppose,” I sneer, banging my fist against the bars, wishing it was his face.

  “If you don’t shape up, you’ll be no daughter of mine.”

  “Then put us both out of our misery and let me go. Because if you are this man now, I want nothing to do with you. Not being your daughter is the best thing that could ever happen to me!”

  My voice breaks, but I hold strong. A tear falls out of the corner of my eye. No matter how it hurts, this must be said.

  “You are cruel. You are controlling. You and Mother are abusive. You are using me for your own gain. I hate you. I have grown to hate you, and I want nothing to do with you. I want to be free of you. Let me go, and you’ll never hear from me again.”

  “You’re our only hope.”

  “It shouldn’t be up to your child to save you from the mistake you made. You shouldn’t want to ruin my life because you ruined your own,” I whisper, wiping the tear that escaped my left eye.

  His lips rub together, and he huffs, pounding up the steps until he comes to the large door that opens into the main floor of the castle.

  “Get back here! I’m not done with you,” I shout, tugging the bars with all my might until my arms hurt, and I collapse. My head begins to pulse in stress and pain, and more tears escape. “I’m not done,” I say to my father’s ghost. I drop my head in my hands and let it all out. I cry. I cry for me and Trident. For the life that we will never have.

  I hate myself for it, but I cry for the broken relationship I have with my parents. I don’t want to cry for them. They aren’t worth it, but at the end of the day, they are still my parents and I have memories, good ones. Great ones. My favorite is when my father would read to me every night when I was a small girl, or when my mother brushed my hair every night before bed.

  They were such small things, kind, and loving. It’s hard to believe that those people do not exist anymore, but my parents are different people now. The parents they used to be wouldn’t stand for this. They are full of hatred and revenge.

  I’m not sure how or why or when it happened, but everything started to change a few years ago. It was a slow development and it steadily went downhill. I probably will never know what happened, but whatever did, it’s taken all the love out of my family and left with me with something cold.

  I thought all there was left for me was harsh words and brisk attitudes, but then Trident swooped in with his smart mouth and huge heart and wrapped me in warmth—his love. I was safe. He made me feel like I belonged again.

  “Please, come for me,” I pray to Trident, hoping in some magical way that he hears me. I kick the food away and curl in on myself.

  The sun slowly sets, and the light coming through the small window starts to fade, encompassing me in onyx. I push my hands under my head to use as a pillow and try to close my eyes, but the critters around me shuffle as they crawl through the dirt. It makes me uneasy. The bugs aren’t on me, but my skin tickles from the thought.

  I try to put it out of my mind, but it only gets worse. I sit up and scurry to the wall, wrap my arms around my legs, and tug them to my chest. I can’t sleep in here. It’s impossible. All the little noises, the howls of the wind shaking the castle, the evil thoughts filtering through my head—it’s all too much to let me sleep.

  I close my eyes anyway, but all I do is breathe, which is fine because I need to. I sink into a floating, half-awake state. I’m still aware of my surroundings. At least it is better than being fully awake. I think about Trident, Aya, Lord Grimkael, and worst of all, my mother. I can’t help but wonder why she didn’t come down with Father. It isn’t like her to not get the final word in. She must be up to something, something I know will make me furious. The worst of the worst pop into my mind.

  What if she is planning a physical punishment?

  What if she is planning another party?

  I gasp, snapping my eyes open when that thought ignites another. What if… goddess, what if she makes me marry someone while I’m stuck in here? Surely, she can’t do that, can she? Nothing can be done about it tonight. All I can wish for is Trident to come before my mother gets any ideas.

  I must be patient. All I can do is wait. Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Trident

  Four weeks. It’s been four brutal, long, agonizing weeks since I’ve seen my Sylvie. I tried escaping once, but Warlord Einarr tackled me to the ground and shackled my wrists. Lord Grimkael was disappointed, to say the least. It’s how I ended up back in the dungeon with my previous dislocated shoulder aching because the Warlord tackled me so hard, it popped back out. Leiva had to leave her room full of injured warriors to come pop it back in.

  The downside of being in the dungeon is I’m right next to my mother and father. And they won’t shut up about how it is all my f
ault that they are in here.

  “If you would have just listened to us, none of this wouldn’t have happened,” my mother hisses, gripping the bars that separate us.

  “I won’t be here long, but I’m not sure how long you will be here. I’m not sure I care right now,” I say, staring forward.

  “You are so disrespectful to your parents. The goddess shall never forgive you for that.”

  I laugh, hitting the back of my head on the stone wall. “I’m sure the goddess shall have something to say about your deceit, too.”

  “She will agree with me.”

  “Now I know you’re delusional.”

  “Don’t speak to your mother that way.”

  “You two are sick in the head. You clearly think you can speak to me however you want because you are my parents, but the moment I take control of my own life, you try and degrade my decision. Just because you are my parents, does not mean you know what is best for me. Sylvie is what is best for me. This family? All this family does for me is make me angry. If you want at all to save the thread our relationship is holding onto, you’ll leave me alone.”

  “You’d pick her over us?” my father asks, creeping forward from the shadows until the sun reveals his face.

  “Aye, because she would never do this to me. She would never make me choose. She’d let me do what makes me happy, even if she is unhappy about it.”

  “You think you know her after so little time.”

  “You and Father had an arranged marriage, Mother. Do not talk to me about getting to know someone. You didn’t know him at all when you met. Don’t be a hypocrite.”

  I wait for either of them to say anything, but it seems I’ve finally stunned them silent. Aye, they know I’m right. That’s what is so maddening about this entire situation. They are so obligated to this feud, so dedicated because it has gone on for so long, I don’t think they realize just how silly it is. It’s controlled their entire lives.

  At one point, I believed everything they said. I truly thought the Alands were terrible people, but I got to know Sylvie. I got to experience her light, her beauty, her everything, and it changed me completely. I knew the moment I saw her that she wasn’t evil like my parents said.