The Pagan's Prize (21 page)

It appeared that Ingigerd had been wrong, Zora thought,
jabbing her spoon into the bowl. Rurik favor her? Hardly. He had easily and
without regret left her alone on their wedding night, proof that he wasn't in
too much of a hurry to beget his legal heirs. She hoped that he would take all
the time in the world, and when he finally came to her door, he would find her
gone!

***

Zora awoke deep in the night to the feeling that
someone was watching her, but the feather bed was so warm and comfortable and
she was so bone-tired that she readily fell asleep again without lifting her
head to look.

When she did open her eyes with a start much later that
morning, however, she remembered the odd sensation as vividly as if she could
still feel it. Yet this time the feeling was almost menacing whereas last night
she had not felt threatened.

Was it just a lingering remnant of her bad dream?
Trying to recall the nightmare that had so suddenly awakened her, she rolled
onto her back and gasped in surprise. A lithe, strikingly lovely young woman
with the glossiest black hair she had ever seen stood at the foot of her bed,
glaring at her.

"Who are you?" Zora yanked the coverlet to
her breasts even though she wore a light linen shift. "What are you doing
in my chamber?"

"I am Semirah." The woman spoke proudly in a
husky foreign accent, her agate eyes fixed upon Zora's face as if studying her
every feature. "You are Lord Rurik's new wife, yes?"

Zora nodded, wondering how this woman had slipped past
her guards. Then she noticed that the fur covering at the single window across
the room was hanging askew, bright golden sunlight spilling onto the planked
floor.

"You climbed in my window," she said in
disbelief. Semirah smiled as if pleased with her cunning.

"Why have you come here?"

"To see you for myself," snapped the woman,
walking around the bed with the sleek litheness of a cat until she stopped even
with Zora. Caressing the nearest pillow with slim white fingers, her voice
became a throaty purr. "What a pity for you to spend your wedding night
alone. Lord Rurik spent his with Semirah, a mere Khazar slave, instead of his
most beautiful royal bride."

Zora gaped at her. So it had been Semirah on his mind
when he left her so abruptly last night! Stung by a sharp and wholly unexpected
pang, Zora angrily swallowed it down.

"Did Lord Rurik send you to taunt me with this
news?" She drew herself up to a sitting position to better face the woman.
"If so, you can tell him for me that I couldn't care one whit if he had
spent last night with all six of his women!"

Semirah appeared momentarily flustered. "You . . .
you are not displeased that I share your husband's bed?"

"Not in the least and why should I be?" Zora's
anger was growing. How dare he allow this woman to come here! "I was
forced into this marriage by my uncle, the grand prince. I do not wish to be
here but home in Chernigov! Surely as a slave, you can understand—"

The woman tossed her ebony hair. "I rejoiced the
day Lord Rurik bought me from slave traders in Kiev and then brought me here.
Rejoiced!
All was well until now, when a
wife has come into our midst."

"And I'm telling you that you have nothing to fear
from me," Zora insisted. "You and the other concubines are welcome to
Lord Rurik. The less I see of him, the better."

Semirah shook her head then, her dark eyes grown
hostile. "No, lovely princess, we have much to fear from you, unless . . ."
The concubine appeared about to say more, but hearing a noise suddenly outside
the door, she fled with agile grace to the window and climbed through it just
as Nellwyn entered the room.

"So you're awake," said the slave woman with
a cheery smile. "I was just setting up a loom for you and I heard your voice,
so I thought I should come and rouse you. Having a bad dream, were you?"

Wondering how Nellwyn could have known, Zora stared at
her in confusion.

"You must have been talking in your sleep. Vasili
says I do the same thing—"

"Ah yes, a bad dream," Zora agreed, catching
on. Grateful that Nellwyn had discerned only one voice instead of two, she rubbed
her temple. "But I awoke so suddenly . . ."

"Aye, and just as well. A nightmare is hardly the
way to start a bright sunny day like this one. Would you like some breakfast,
my lady?"

"Yes, thank you," Zora replied distractedly,
mulling over her strange encounter with Semirah as Nellwyn bustled out the
door. What could the Khazar woman have been thinking? One moment she was
flaunting that Rurik had slept with her, then the next she had seemed startled
when unable to rile Zora. Then she had ended with such a cryptic statement . .
.

Throwing back the covers, Zora decided not to bother
trying to decipher anything. What went on between Rurik and his concubines was
none of her concern. She had to concentrate on escape and until she got a good
look at the compound, she wouldn't know how best to proceed.

Zora had already changed hastily into the same blue
tunic she had worn at the wedding—Rurik had obviously not given any thought yet
to her wardrobe—by the time Nellwyn came back bearing a tray.

"I'm going for a walk," Zora announced.
Helping herself to a roll drizzled with amber honey, she took a bite as Nellwyn
settled the tray on a table.

"A walk? Now there's a fine idea. I'm sure the
guards will be happy to accompany you wherever—"

"Without the guards." Pushing aside the fur
at the window as the slave woman spun in surprise, Zora peered outside. Seeing
no one near, she hoisted herself onto the narrow sill. "Don't look so
worried, Nellwyn, I'll be back soon."

"Aye, I certainly hope so, my lady. What shall I
tell Lord Rurik if he comes by to ask for you? I've a feeling he might,
especially since he stopped here last night."

"My husband was here?" Zora asked, startled.

"Indeed he was, long after you went to bed. He
came into your room, but you mustn't have heard him. I scarcely heard him come
in the door myself, I was so busy stoking the fire. He near scared the wits
from me."

Remembering the sensation of someone watching her in
the dark, Zora shivered. Why would Rurik have done such a thing? And had he
then summoned Semirah to his longhouse, or had he already partaken of his
carnal pleasure?

"If Lord Rurik should ask for me, tell him that I'm
still sleeping," Zora said tightly, then she jumped to the ground.

"But I can't do that, my lady! I'd be lying and no
one crosses Lord Rurik if they've any sense . . ."

Nellwyn's protests faded as Zora hurried to the rear of
the longhouse to elude her guards, then she set off at a brisk pace between two
more buildings. Licking the sticky honey from her fingertips after finishing her
roll, she smiled to herself. It felt so wonderful to walk at will and without
Rurik hounding her every step.

She drew stares from those she passed but she had
expected as much. Ignoring the Varangian warriors and slaves alike, she set her
sights on the impressive timber fortifications that ringed the compound.

She was determined to find a way out. There might be
only one or two sets of gates through which to enter, but surely Rurik had
created several secret exits for use in times of danger. Her father had them in
his palace in Tmutorokan, and in these times of strife, Rurik would be a fool
not to. If she kept her eyes open, she might spot one.

Undaunted by the armed men both on the ground and
standing sentry on sturdy scaffolding built against the two-story palisade, she
pressed on, amazed anew by the compound's size. Occasionally she noticed hints
of smiles on warriors' faces, and she wondered at their lack of discipline.
 
Surely they must know that she was their
commander's new wife. How dare any of them look at her so! Then an older,
thickset warrior wearing an eye patch came toward her as if about to speak but
instead of stopping, he walked right past her.

"I take it, my lord, that you'll wish to resume
overseeing the men's training now that you're back?"

Zora whirled, her face hot with indignation as she met
Rurik's amused gaze. He had been following her, the rogue! With him standing
only some eight feet behind her, no wonder his men had been hard-pressed not to
smile. How ridiculous she must have looked to have him dogging her so closely,
and without her being aware of it!

"Tomorrow will be soon enough, Nils. Until then,
you're still in charge. I expect to see a lively demonstration of my
druzhina
's battle skills this afternoon
before the feast."

"Their prowess will please you, Lord Rurik. If we
marched today against the usurper, his men would fall like chaff before our
swords."

Braggards!
Zora seethed.
Did they not know that no
amount of training would save them from her father's fierce warriors?

She set out again, imagining that Rurik was following
her but determined not to give him a second glance. To her dismay, he caught up
with her in only a few strides and began walking uncomfortably close to her . .
. so close that his hand brushed hers and she started, struck by an undeniable
rush of excitement. Damn him! Crossing her arms tightly in front of her, she
trod on.

"Are you enjoying your walk?"

"I was until I discovered I had two shadows,"
Zora muttered, still refusing to look at him. She could not believe it when she
heard him chuckle. He may find his treatment of her amusing, but she did not!

"You know, Princess, you could have used the door
instead of climbing from your window. The guards are there to protect you and
escort you whenever you go outside, not to prevent you from leaving."

"Protect me from what?" she retorted,
irritated all the more that he must have been stalking her since she left her
dwelling. "Sometimes you're not a very good liar, Rurik. You've put guards
at my door because you don't trust me. I'm not an idiot."

Rurik sobered. "You're right, I don't trust you."
Amazed that she had addressed him by his given name, yet not wanting to dwell
upon how much it had pleased him or how beautiful she looked with her leonine
hair still wild and tousled from sleep, he added, "Have you found what you're
looking for?"

She stopped to glare at him. "I don't know what
you mean. Must there be some motive behind everything I do?"

He sighed, gesturing to the palisade. "You won't
find the secret exits you seek, Zora, they're too well hidden. And you'd never
come upon one without someone noticing what you were doing anyway. I suggest
you abandon your plans for escape and accept your new life here as my wife. It
will make things easier for you."

"I care not if my time here with you is easy or
hard," she countered, her eyes flashing brilliant blue fire. "All I
care is that it is mercifully short."

"It will be hard, then, that I promise you,"
said Rurik, exasperated by her stubbornness. When she gave no reply and tramped
on without him, he stared after her, shaking his head.

Loki take him, how could a woman who appeared so
innocent and vulnerable in sleep vex him so completely when awake? And how
could this one woman have captivated him to the point where his most exotic
concubine had failed to tempt him?

Even the ale he had consumed last night in the hall
with his men had failed to spark his desire when he finally summoned Semirah to
his longhouse. Never before had he held a warm, seductive woman in his arms only
to be consumed with thoughts of another whose lips seemed so much redder,
breasts so much more exquisite, and skin so much softer.

Thank Odin that Semirah was proud. He doubted that she
would reveal to anyone his lack of interest. And if the same thing happened
again tonight with Radinka, his Bulgarian beauty, or tomorrow night with
Kerstin, the Finnish mother of three of his sons, he might very well have to
change his plan. Perhaps only when he had his fill of Zora would life here
settle back to normal. His concubines might be willing to bear his indifference
for a time if they believed that he would then welcome them lustily back to his
bed . . .

It was an idea,
by Thor, and a damn good one!
Rurik decided as he strode to catch up with
Zora. But he wasn't ready to abandon his most important lesson yet. His
imperious princess would know that another woman had lain in his arms last
night, and would tomorrow and the next day. Whether he made love to his
concubines or not wasn't important. All that mattered was that Zora learn her
place. She was just another woman to warm his bed.

"Hold!" he demanded, not surprised when she
refused to stop.

Her heart pounding, Zora sensed that Rurik was closing
the distance between them but she couldn't have been more surprised when she
was suddenly swept up into his arms. His taunting smile astonished her all the
more. She had hoped her defiance would have angered him. She had sworn to make
his life a hell and she would, too, doubly now that he had just promised to
make her life as difficult as possible. But she hadn't expected such a reaction—

"I told you to hold, woman," he said huskily,
gripping her hard against his massive chest. "I expect my commands to be
obeyed without question."

Flustered by the heat in his eyes, Zora began to
wriggle in his arms.

"I'm not one of your warriors who you can just
order about, nor one of your concubines who worships the ground you walk on! Do
not forget I am here against my will and I plan to act accordingly!"

"Then perhaps if I sling you over my shoulder and
walk with you around the compound so everyone can see my new bride with her
pretty bottom to the sky, you will come to understand that I will not tolerate
such defiance. I had thought the feast tonight a good time to introduce you to
my retainers, but this method might make a more lasting impression—"