The Heart's Warrior (9 page)

They kept a watchful eye on Kerstin, seeming eager to overhear the latest gossip from Moere.

Kerstin shifted with irritation. Why couldn’t they mind their own business? Maybe she shouldn’t have come here. A strong woman would have stayed and faced Jonas.

But she wasn’t courageous, not really. Jonas made her feel things she didn’t understand. Things she couldn’t seem to control. Feelings she had never known before.

Maida returned with a platter of bread, cheese, and cold venison. Kerstin accepted it with gratitude and stuffed her mouth full so she wouldn’t have to answer Elezer’s questions. The charred meat congealed in her mouth. Ravenous as a goat, she chewed on the stale bread. At least the cheese tasted fresh and good.

“May we speak in private?” she asked after she

swallowed several gulps of warm ale to wash down her meal.

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“Of course. Leave us,” he bade his people with a wave of his hand.

The men and women moved to the other side of the

room but Kerstin saw them casting glances over their shoulders. Unless she and Elezer whispered, all could still hear their conversation.

Coughing at the heavy smoke, she came to her feet and took Elezer’s hand to draw him up with her. “Please, let’s go somewhere more private.”

He nodded, following eagerly. As he passed through the doorway, she recalled how Jonas had to duck, his shoulders almost too wide to fit through the threshold.

Had he been able to remove the arrowhead from his shoulder yet? What if he couldn’t get it out—?

What was she doing fretting over that beast? She had come to her beloved, to seek haven from Jonas. She shouldn’t be so disloyal to Elezer.

Kerstin took a deep breath, grateful to be out of his hall where she could smell clean air again. She led Elezer toward the south meadow. Sheep and goats grazed on the new spring grass. She caught the pungent scent of loamy soil. The fertile ground was ready for planting, yet Elezer had not sowed any crops. What would his people eat when the snow came?

Elezer laughed and squeezed her hand as he kept up with her brisk stride. “You must be eager to see me, Kerstin. You’re so secretive about this visit.”

They crossed the pasture and entered a copse of tall trees sheltered from prying eyes. A large tree stump sat in the middle of the glade with the dull head of an ax imbedded in its center. Wood chips and sawdust littered the ground beneath their feet. Large logs lay on the ground, waiting to be chopped by the woodsman.

Kerstin grasped the handle of the ax and slumped

down on the stump. She kicked at a chunk of tree bark and slipped her bow and arrows off her shoulder and laid them at her feet. “My visit has never been so serious, Elezer. I wish you wouldn’t joke about it.”

His brows quirked in a puzzled frown. “Look at you, all sad-eyed. Come, can’t you give me a sweet smile?”

Bending on one knee beside her, he took her hands in his own, his voice soft and repentant. “What is it, my love? Is 56

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it your father? Has he perhaps—?”

“Aye, my father,” she blurted.

Elezer lowered his face and kissed her hands. With a grimace, he touched a vicious cut on her right forearm.

“Is your father—dead?” he asked, his tone almost

hopeful.

Kerstin looked at him but saw tenderness in his eyes.

She must have heard him wrong. “Of course not.”

She tore her hands out of his grasp and rose. She paced back and forth, crunching wood chips beneath her feet. Elezer stood and watched her in silence. His loose woolen shirt rippled about his waist as the wind breathed through the glade. What would he do when she told him of the king’s plans?

Elezer frowned. “Perhaps one of your brothers is

unwell?”

Again, that buoyant tone filled his voice and she whirled about to stare at him. His eyes crinkled with compassion. If she didn’t know better, she would think he wished her father and brothers ill will. That couldn’t be true. He often spoke with admiration for Alrik. But more than once, she had sensed his dislike for her brothers. In return, they had made it clear they could barely stand him, which wasn’t surprising. She was their baby sister and they were overly protective of her. In their eyes, no man would ever be good enough for her.

She held her hands in a plaintive gesture, her voice quivering with emotion. “Father is going to make me marry that hideous man.”

Elezer drew back. “What man?”

“The king and my father have made a pact with

Sigurd of Hawkscliffe. I am to wed Jonas the Strong Arm this very day. I ran away before they could force me to marry him.”

His mouth dropped open. “What?”

Rushing to Elezer, she flung her arms about him,

kissing him, trying to feel the passion she had shared with Jonas the night before.

She failed. Elezer’s lips felt quite cold compared to the heat of Jonas. She had always thought Elezer’s body so strong and masculine, up until she recalled the iron-hewed arms she had clung to last night.

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How soon she forgot her resolve not to compare the two men. Why could she not forget the excitement of kissing Jonas? The dangerous thrill of being near him and sparring verbally?

Nay. What she shared with Elezer was love, real and complete. More lasting, more enduring. He would make her happy. With Jonas, she felt constantly under attack, knowing how he wanted only to use her to supply him with heirs.

Elezer held her to him as she sobbed out the entire story, excluding her conversation with Jonas and his heavy, soul-filled kisses.

“So,” Elezer breathed against her ear, his hands

splayed across her back, “King Hakon plans to join with Alrik and Sigurd to help him fight against the

Eirikssons?”

She nodded. “They will be a formidable foe and I’m to be the sacrifice. They intend to break our betrothal and force me to wed Jonas, a man I detest. Help me, Elezer.

You cannot let it happen.” Desperate, she cupped his face in her hands and stared into his eyes. “Please, say you’ll make me your wife now, before Father or that barbarian gets here. Don’t wait. Take me to York where we can find a Christian monk to wed us this very day.”

A whisper of wind laced around them, the glade so peaceful it seemed nothing in the outside world could interfere.

Elezer stared down at her. “Do you have any idea

how lovely you are? Even dressed in boy’s clothes, your dirt-smudged cheeks are as charming as a wood sprite’s.

You look like an angel, not a witch or a boy. Ah, and your mouth, so pink and tempting.”

Her cheeks flushed with heat and her heart melted.

No one had ever said such things to her. No wonder she loved him.

“Of course I’ll wed you,” he murmured.

Lowering his head, he kissed her. She held him tight, thrilled by the thought of being his wife.

“Elezer,” Kerstin breathed his name with passion. “I love you so. Tell me what I long to hear.”

He stiffened and she saw fleeting hesitation in his eyes. “I—I love you, Kerstin.”

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Her heart warmed. His words meant everything to

her. As long as she believed he loved her, she would fight to be with him.

“Take your hands off my wife.”

Kerstin gasped. Pulling free of Elezer, she spun

around and faced Jonas Sigurdsson.

Dressed in full battle gear and chain mail, he stood before them with his conical helmet tucked beneath his left arm. In his right fist, he brandished his gleaming sword. The same sword that had been stained with the blood of her warriors yesterday.

Kerstin stared at that weapon and despair filled her, cold and daunting. She thought she had more time. How had he found her so soon?

His face was cast in shadow, but she caught the flash of malice in his eye and the harshness of his chiseled face.

She almost felt his fury rushing at her, strong and potent.

A ripple of fear swept her as she swallowed and stood her ground.

Glancing at Elezer, Kerstin saw he was white with shock. Whether from fear or anger, she didn’t know.

Doubt shadowed her mind. Would Elezer defend her? Or did he fear Jonas too much to jeopardize his own life for her sake?

“Do you know the punishment for adultery?” Jonas

asked, his tone smooth as honeyed butter as he lifted the heavy sword.

“We aren’t married.”

His fierce gaze and the steady tick of a nerve in his lean cheek belied his easy manner. “We are husband and wife in the eyes of our king.”

“I am a Christian and will only be wed according to God’s laws.”

His blue eyes darkened as his gaze rested on Elezer.

He was no warrior, Jonas could kill him so easily. Fear wrapped around her like a damp blanket. “Elezer has done nothing to earn your anger. Please don’t harm him.”

“Harm him? Of course not, little witch.” Jonas’s voice remained soft.

The over-grown, thick-headed brute. “Don’t call me a witch.”

His gaze stabbed her, his mouth curved in a cruel 59

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smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t you fear I might change my mind and kill your lover, little witch?”

Was he toying with her? Or would he truly kill

Elezer? According to Danelaw, adulterers were to be tied together and drowned. Though she was innocent, Jonas had the power to see it done. Oh, how she despised him.

“Come now,” he urged in a low and dangerous tone.

“Beg me, Kerstin. If you make your speech pretty enough, I might be persuaded to depart without burning Lade to the ground.”

Her mouth dropped open and she felt the blood drain from her face. She took a faltering step. All these people would lose their home because of her. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“You don’t think so? Plead with me, Kerstin. I like to hear you beg when you’re desperate. It humbles and softens you.”

The fiend! “I’ll never beg you for anything.”

His blue eyes smoldered. “You haven’t been in my

bed yet.”

She swallowed a painful breath and shook her head.

“Never.”

One of his brows quirked. “You seem so certain, little witch. I told you, I always get what I want.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elezer pick up the woodcutter’s ax and skulk toward Jonas. It shocked her that Elezer tried to kill in such a cowardly fashion.

With his attention focused on her, Jonas did not see the danger. She opened her mouth to warn him just as Elezer raced toward him with the ax raised high. Kerstin cringed, prepared to see Jonas’s head cleaved.

Ducking to the side, Jonas moved gracefully out of the way. With two deft blows of his sword, he struck the ax from Elezer’s hands and kicked the man’s feet out from under him. Elezer yelled as he fell flat on his back in the leaves littering the ground.

In those scant moments, Jonas could have killed

Elezer more than once. Kerstin had watched him do it before. She’d never seen a man more skilled in battle than Jonas the Strong Arm. She stood transfixed with the knowledge. Why had he spared Elezer’s life? He had no reason to be merciful.

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With both hands, Jonas raised his sword high in

preparation to plunge it downward into Elezer’s chest.

“Hold!” Kerstin screamed and launched herself at

Jonas’s back.

He didn’t budge at the impact. Kerstin felt as if she struck a wall of granite. She fell back, stunned, trying to push the wild maze of hair out of her eyes. Looking up, she saw that he glared at her, as if she were a bug he might stomp into the ground.

She clasped one of his legs and bit him hard on the calf. He grunted and shook her away. “Cease, witch, or I’ll end your lover’s life here and now.”

Her lover? He said it before, the fool. He didn’t know her very well; but if he thought Elezer had already claimed her, he might let her go.

She scooted back, panting hard. “I already belong to Elezer.”

Jonas’s expression darkened. Placing his heavy foot in the center of Elezer’s chest, he poised the tip of his sword at the fallen man’s throat. The gleaming steel drew a bead of blood.

Uncertainty flooded her. Had she earned her freedom or sealed Elezer’s doom? Slowly, Kerstin rose to her feet.

Sawdust and dirt clung to her hair and clothing, but she ignored it. She glanced at Elezer. He stared at Jonas’s sword, eyes wide, mouth slack, waiting for the final thrust that would end his life. Sweat dappled his forehead.

Jonas’s eyes glittered like shards of glass and a sneer curled his lips. “Have you lain with my bride?”

Elezer’s mouth tightened with fright. He visibly

trembled. Why did he not answer?

Jonas’s sword shook with anger. He would kill

Elezer.

“He hasn’t touched me,” Kerstin said in a shrill voice.

“Even so, you and I are not wed so there can be no adultery.”

“Your father’s word is all that matters. We will have a marriage ceremony for the benefit of your people and your pride, but you belong to me.”

“How dare you?” she said. “You’re nothing but a

heathen. A beast.”

His glare hardened and she regretted angering him.

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“I would dare anything for you, wife. Whether you are willing or not matters little to me.”

Inside, she seethed with fury. She longed to throw herself at him and scratch his eyes out.

Jonas’s gaze dragged back to Elezer. “Have you lain with my bride?” His voice thundered and birds fluttered from the treetops surrounding them.

Elezer flinched. “She is untouched, though she

offered herself to me. I would have wed her this very day.”

Jonas glanced at Kerstin. “Did she tell you she

belongs to me?”

“I—I didn’t—” Elezer stammered in confusion. “We

are betrothed.” A look of pain crossed his face.

Jonas shook his head. “Your betrothal is broken by order of the king.”