The Heart's Warrior (18 page)

Jonas’s words filtered through her mind. He pitied any man partnered in battle with Elezer, because he was known to desert the field and his partner was often cut down. She must warn her father to partner with Knut.

“Thank you, Elezer. You are truly noble.”

Kerstin saw from his delighted expression that her praise pleased him. “I’ll return to you safely and we’ll find a way for us to be together.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Elezer chuckled and fingered the end of her long

braid. “Come with me. I have no doubt you could blend in.

You’ve dressed as a boy and fought valiantly on more than one occasion. No doubt your healing skills would also benefit the wounded.” He cast a wary eye toward the bed.

“You’d be free of that scarred giant once and for all.”

She shook her head. “I won’t betray my people, or my husband. I gave him my pledge.”

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“Has he consummated the marriage yet?”

Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. “This isn’t a proper conversation between us.”

“There must be a way for us to be together,” he said with thick emotion.

A forlorn tear slid down Kerstin’s cheek as she looked up at his dear face. How she longed to confide her feelings, but it would be dishonorable to do so now she belonged to another. If nothing else, Kerstin was loyal to the death and she would never betray Jonas now they were wed. She resigned herself to living a loveless marriage with a man who hated her.

The smile on Elezer’s face faded, replaced by a gleam of loathing. He pushed Kerstin away and reached for the thin dagger at his side. Clutching it in his hand, he approached the bed with caution.

Kerstin stared after him. “What are you doing?”

“There is a way for us to be together, Kerstin. Go outside. It’ll take only a moment and you’ll be free of him.

Turn around and go outside now—”

“Nay!” she cried and hurried to grab his arm. “You can’t murder Jonas while he sleeps. He’s not even able to defend himself.”

Jonas’s words came back to haunt her. He promised to have his door guarded so Elezer wouldn’t try to murder him in his sleep. The fact that Elezer intended to do just that brought a blaze of disbelief to her mind.

Kerstin clutched Elezer’s arm and pulled with all her might. Her feet skidded across the floor, her puny weight no hindrance to his strength. Surely this was a jest.

Elezer couldn’t be serious.

“Nay, Elezer. Think! If you kill Jonas, there’ll be nowhere for you to hide. The king, Sigurd, my own father and even I are bound to hunt you down.”

Elezer laughed, a low, maniacal sound that stunned her. Never had she seen this side of him and she stared in shock. “I’ll claim it was self-defense, Kerstin. If you testify that Jonas attacked me, no one will question us.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Sigurd will question it. I won’t lie. What about your honor?”

Elezer’s eyes filled with a malicious light. Even his face looked shadowed with evil. Kerstin stared aghast. He 119

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behaved as if he were two different men.

“We’ll flee to the south, Kerstin. We can go to the Eirikssons. They’ll offer us protection.” He laughed, the sound diabolical.

A gasp of dismay escaped her lips. “You speak of

treason. I’d rather die than do such a thing. The Eirikssons murdered my mother. I’d never seek sanctuary with them.”

His head whipped about and he glared at her. His

blue eyes, sparkling and merry only moments before, now glittered with disgust. His anger rushed at her and she longed to run and hide. She could not, since she stood between Jonas and death. If she left the room, Elezer would murder her husband while he slept.

As children, Elezer had chased her and stolen kisses even when she tried to shoot him with her toy arrows.

After Bjorn’s death, he had given her comfort and she loved him for it. Was this the man she came to trust? Did she even know him?

“You’d rather die than be with me?” he demanded.

“You aren’t yourself, Elezer. You’re upset because Jonas made me his wife and because we go to war.”

He laughed. The abrasive sound filled her heart with grief. “He’s my enemy, Kerstin. Killing him is the only way to get what I want.”

He thrust her aside and Kerstin started to scream.

Men crowded the steading. One of them was bound to hear her...and Elezer would be taken away in chains. She stifled the cry. How could she do that to the man she loved?

Drawing herself up, she jutted her chin, her

shoulders tensed. Indeed, she felt sickened. She could never live with herself if she allowed him to murder Jonas, but neither could she cause Elezer’s death.

“You will do as I tell you, Kerstin,” Elezer said.

A whirl of movement caught her eye and she inhaled sharply as Jonas rose from the bed. He moved so fast, Elezer had little time to react. She saw the flash of steel and wondered where Jonas got the knife. The furs

covering his body tumbled to the floor as he pressed the gleaming blade against Elezer’s throat.

“And you will do as you are told,” Jonas growled.

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Kerstin’s eyes widened and she gaped at her

husband. Standing naked beside Elezer, he crouched slightly, a brutal expression on his face as he prepared to slice Elezer’s throat. His body gleamed with perspiration caused by his fever and he appeared completely

undisturbed by his nakedness.

“Drop it,” Jonas ordered in a deadly whisper.

Elezer’s eyes bulged as a drop of blood trickled down his throat. His expression became one of horror. He shuddered, dropped his weapon and the dagger clattered to the floor.

Kerstin clasped her arms around her, trying to still her trembling body. She hardly believed this nightmare.

She wanted to awaken, safe and secure in her own bed.

Jonas’s expression chilled her as he kicked Elezer’s dagger aside with his bare foot. It rolled and bumped against the leg of the table. One corner of Jonas’s mouth lifted in an icy smile, a conqueror, a savage. He would kill Elezer. Would that be any less painful for Kerstin to bear?

She knew Jonas capable of administering a swift death.

His muscles bunched as he prepared for the final thrust.

“Nay, Jonas, don’t harm him,” she said. “He’s not thinking right. He knows only that you’ve taken the woman he was to wed. It’s me you should blame. I—I encouraged him. Please, Jonas, don’t kill him.”

“See how she sweetly begs for your life?” Jonas

sneered, his words laced with venom as he spoke in Elezer’s ear. “Have you forgotten my warning? I promised to kill you the next time you touched my wife.”

Kerstin’s throat went dry, her eyes wide with terror.

****

Elezer’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to swallow.

His eyes rounded and he breathed in short pants. No longer did he appear fierce or confident. A coward, he reeked of fear.

“Do you wish to challenge me?” Jonas asked.

According to Danelaw, Elezer could challenge Jonas in combat and meet him honorably to win Kerstin’s hand.

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It would force the king and even Alrik to accept the outcome. When strong and healthy, Jonas would have no trouble defeating Elezer. Now, still weak from illness, he hoped Elezer didn’t notice his trembling hands. If the cur accepted combat, Jonas might lose both Kerstin and his life. A gamble, but if he knew enough of Elezer’s character, the man would refuse.

Elezer’s mouth flopped open. “I yield. I yield.”

Jonas’s laughter filled the room and he let the other man go, stepping back, prepared to fight if Elezer reached for his dagger. Out of the corner of his eye, Jonas saw Kerstin’s ashen face and wide eyes. She gave a

shuddering sigh of relief.

She loved Elezer. The knowledge twisted like a knife in Jonas’s gut.

Through the open window, he heard the voices of

thralls as they returned from the cow byre carrying pails of morning milk. They laughed, oblivious to the horror going on inside this room.

Elezer clasped his bloodied throat and scrambled for the door. Jonas stared after him with contempt, the knife still clutched in his hand, absolutely unconcerned with his nudity. As he watched the man fumble for the door latch, he felt nothing but disgust. He had no respect for Elezer of Lade. Could Kerstin understand why? She had

witnessed his cowardice firsthand. How could she love such a man?

Without a word Elezer turned the door handle, threw open the panel, and raced out of the room.

Jonas heard Kerstin’s mournful gasp and saw tears hovering on her lashes. Her hair surrounded her like a flaming cloud. Seeing the man she loved brought so low must hurt her deeply. He thought it for the best, to show her Elezer’s true nature. She must find out eventually.

Better now than later.

Still, Jonas hated injuring her feelings. A look of anguish marred her naivety and beauty. Jonas had torn her from her secure world and forced her to abandon all her innocent girlhood dreams.

Innocent? Bah! She murdered Bjorn, hadn’t she?

What was innocent about that? The only reason she tried to keep Elezer from stabbing him was out of fear the king 122

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would have her killed.

Rubbing his shoulder, he sought to ease the

throbbing ache there. The pain had lessened and he was able to tolerate it now, though his legs trembled with weakness.

“Were you able to remove the arrowhead?” he asked.

Standing still as stone, Kerstin nodded.

He thought to thank her, both for removing the

arrowhead and for defending him against Elezer. If not for her, he wouldn’t have awakened in time. Her actions confused him. If she wanted him dead, she could have left him when he collapsed, or have stood back and let Elezer stab him. Would a witch save his life just to please the king?

Kneading the nape of his neck, he fought his

confusion. He didn’t know what to believe. “Close the door, wife. I don’t care to expose myself to the entire household.”

“Then get back into bed.” Kerstin did as he asked, pausing at the door, her back to him. She braced her hands on the solid panel, leaning her forehead against the wood as she visibly trembled.

All at once, he could not stand to have her look at his scarred body. For some reason, he longed for her approval.

It almost unmanned him to know that she had seen each and every scar on his torso. He grabbed some furs and covered himself.

“Why did you spare his life?” she asked in a soft voice.

Jonas didn’t answer and Kerstin turned to look at him. Though he could not comprehend why, he hated the thought that she might loathe him if he killed Elezer.

He pointed to a brown crockery pitcher of water on the table. She handed it to him and he tilted the brim to his mouth and drank in thirsty gulps. Droplets ran from his lips, down his throat and to the bandage covering his chest. When he satisfied his thirst, he handed it back to her and wiped his mouth with one arm.

Jonas reached for his knife and lay back on the bed, clasping the weapon in his hand, conscious of her watching his every move. He dragged the furs back over himself until he was fully covered, except for one arm, 123

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which lay relaxed above his head. If Elezer returned, he would be prepared. He closed his eyes with a sigh.

“You’re not invincible after all. The encounter with Elezer has sapped what little strength you had.”

He hated for her to discern his weakness.

“You’re weak from loss of blood and in no condition to fight Elezer. I misjudged you, Jonas. I think your greatest strategy lies not only in strength of arms but also in bluffing the enemy into believing you’re fiercer, stronger, and more lethal. It certainly worked with Elezer.”

True! How he detested that man. “Elezer is a coward.

No doubt you mourn your lost love.”

She grew quiet for a moment. “Why didn’t you kill him? I know you could have done so, even in your

weakened state.”

She thought so? He wasn’t so certain, though he

would have fought to the death. Jonas opened one eye and peered at her. “Be grateful I let your lover live.”

Kerstin rolled her eyes and walked to the other side of the bed. She no longer seemed frightened as she leaned against the wall and stared at the fire. This pleased him.

In time, he hoped they might come to trust one another, though he doubted it.

She shook her head. “Elezer has never been my

lover.”

His other eye opened and he frowned, though her

words caused elation to race to his heart. “Perhaps you only meant to make Bjorn sick with your magic potions.”

He lifted his brows and watched her squirm. “You’ve been known to avoid marriage with anyone but Elezer. I’ll grant it’s possible you didn’t mean for Bjorn to die.”

“I gave him nothing. Elezer and I were not in love until after Bjorn’s death. I had no reason to murder your brother.”

Jonas didn’t believe her. Her actions in fleeing to Elezer proved she was capable of duplicity. Closing his eyes, he sighed, his chest expanding beneath the heavy furs. “You wear your heart on your sleeve, Kerstin. Be careful not to give your enemy an advantage.”

“Are you my enemy?”

“I’m your husband.”

“You have spared Elezer’s life twice. He’ll come to 124

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know your tactics well and it’ll give him an advantage.”

With his eyes closed, he grinned and arched his neck.

“I’m wise enough to know a willing wench is more

pleasurable in my bed than an angry one. You love Elezer.

If I kill him, it would make a martyr out of him and you’d hate me even more. It’s better that I let him live. As time passes, he’ll show you what a gutless swine he really is.”