The Heart's Warrior (8 page)

Her vow tore at him. Fury pulsed hot through his

veins and his face hardened. “Then fight me, little witch.

It’ll do you no good.”

47

Leigh Bale

****

found her back pressed up against the coarse trunk of a tall pine.

Lowering his head, he grazed his mouth over her

temple. She stiffened against him, feeling his warm breath against her flesh, drugging her into

submissiveness. Her limbs felt heavy and she wanted to touch him even as she remembered he was her enemy.

What were these sparks between them, luring her into complacency?

A vision of Elezer flashed through her mind. She

must be loyal to him. As soon as she returned to the hall, she would escape this planned marriage—she knew of a method.

“I think I would greatly enjoy taking you, witch. But that won’t be the way of our marriage, at least for the time being.”

Kerstin swallowed. “You mean you won’t—?”

“Don’t look so pleased.” His expression hardened. “If I tire of your games, I will take you no matter what your feelings toward me might be. I want children, whether you’re willing or not. Don’t test my patience.”

Children! He must be jesting. Even if she couldn’t escape, she could slip an impotency powder into his food.

Yet, his words befuddled her and she frowned with suspicion. “Why would you be lenient?”

“No matter what you believe, I’m not a cruel man.

We’ll take time to become accustomed to each other.”

“Time won’t help us.”

“It’s all I can offer.”

“Give me more time before we are wed.”

Jonas shook his head. “I cannot. The battle with the Eirikssons is upon us now.” He let her go, his voice gruff.

“I marry you out of duty, nothing more.”

She couldn’t resist returning a verbal jibe. “‘Tis just as well, for as I’ve told you, I love another.”

His gaze turned menacing and Kerstin stepped back, feeling as if he had struck her. He thought her useful only for the alliance between their people. Still, she longed to be a cherished wife, not a bargaining tool.

Peace. She saw it disappearing from her life. Perhaps 48

The Heart’s Warrior

49

there would be peace for their people, but not between her and Jonas. He wanted children? She would die first!

Locking her jaw, Kerstin drew away and wrapped

her arms about her against the icy wind. A plan formed in her mind. It would be so simple. By the time Jonas found out what she was up to, it would be too late.

“Come.” He picked up the torch. “I’ll return you to your father’s house so you won’t flee or cast another one of your spells.” He gripped her arm and pulled her down the path. “Swine! Louse! I’m not a witch and I don’t cast spells.” Kerstin struggled to release his hold. “If I were a man, I’d take a sword and carve the runes in your damnable hide. If I’m a witch, then you are a demon.”

She pulled and lunged against him, but it did little good. He hugged her tight, his strength wrapping around her entire body like a giant vice. A hulking brute, nothing but muscle, sinew and steel.

“You’re a lowly serpent,” she hissed. “It’s too bad my arrow missed its mark.”

In the shadowed darkness, she saw his eyes narrow on her face, his mouth hard. “Cease your evil words, Kerstin.”

Jonas halted and stuck the torch in the ground.

Lowering his head, he grazed her lips with his own—soft and decadent. Light flared in his eyes, as if he realized he liked kissing her. Growling deep in the back of his throat, he blew out a harsh breath and kissed her fiercely.

Nothing less than Kerstin expected, his mastery, his strength, all there in that single kiss. It went on and on, filling her with a yearning she could not comprehend. His grip on her arms lessened and he held her tenderly. She could have broken his grasp, if she wanted to.

She responded by slow degrees, she couldn’t stop

herself. Even Elezer’s kiss had never consumed her with such hunger. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of his warm skin, feeling his lips on hers. The combination was strangely exotic and she longed for more.

Her heart sang and her veins pulsed. Then, she

knew, if they did become lovers, she would be lost.

Before she finished her thoughts, Jonas set her to her feet and backed away. He brushed his fingertips against 49

Leigh Bale

her cheek. A faint moisture from their kiss glistened on his lips. The urge to taste his musky spice once again rose strong within her and she squelched it by sheer force of will. He drew in a shuddering breath, his eyes lost their glazed expression. Brushing a hand across his forehead, he blinked, then shook his head. He gave her a scorching frown. “I won’t let you bewitch me.”

She felt breathless, her head spinning, ashamed of her reaction to his kiss.

Poor betrayed Elezer.

Again, Jonas took hold of her wrist, snatched up the torch, and pulled her with him toward the hall. He didn’t pause as she tripped over a stone and struggled to see her way down the dark, winding path. Nor did he allow her to fall. He was fast and strong and caught her several times, setting her aright without a word, then tugging her along again.

At the hall, he thrust her inside. Alrik still sat beside the king, his spine stiff as he spoke with Hakon and Sigurd of their plans against the Eirikssons. His face held a worried expression. The wine had brought a healthier glow to his skin. Perhaps the strong drink dulled his pain.

When he saw her standing beside Jonas, his eyes softened and he relaxed, as if relieved she was safe.

Without asking for his leave, Kerstin jerked free of Jonas’s grip and hurried to the privacy of the storage room where she slumped against the shelves of

provisions. With a shuddering sigh, she resigned herself to what needed to be done.

She could not marry Jonas and destroy all future

happiness for herself. If she wed Elezer, then she would be safe from Jonas’s vengeance. Elezer would protect her.

He was Earl of Lade and he respected Alrik. He respected her. Her father would be annoyed and the king would be furious when they found out, but she had no other choice.

With swift proficiency, Kerstin grabbed a leather sack and filled it with food supplies. She knew a secret way out of the hall, but must be careful in her escape.

She would dress warm and go alone. She wasn’t

frightened. Though a difficult journey, she knew the way 50

The Heart’s Warrior

51

to Lade, for she had traveled it many times before.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t be followed. Plans of war continued to embroil the men and should occupy them for a long time.

Until she was safely married to Elezer.

51

Leigh Bale

“Elezer!” Kerstin saw him the next morning outside his hall at Lade. She limped across the yard of his steading, cursing the rock in her shoe.

Standing with his back to her, he faced a mass of scraggly bushes. At her call, he turned, his hands adjusting the front of his breeches. Had he been relieving himself where everyone could watch?

“Kerstin!” His eyes widened with surprise and he

pushed a mop of unruly bangs out of his eyes. His wrinkled clothes looked as though he had slept in them again. It was late morning and it appeared he had just gotten up.

Minin’s words about him being lazy haunted her.

Perhaps he had stayed up late working the night before.

It didn’t matter. He was here and a leap of joy caused her to laugh. She had made it! Although ragged and tired, she was free of Jonas.

Kerstin trudged toward him in her mud-spattered

clothes and shoes. Leaves and twigs clung to her tangled hair. She stepped over garbage littering the yard. Dogs barked and chickens scattered. Elezer’s dismal hall sat to one side, no welcoming stream of smoke rising from the single chimney. Why had no one lit the cook fires and started a meal to break the fast?

Fence rails drooped against rotting posts and doors sagged on their hinges. Wasn’t that the same broken watering trough she had seen the last time she had been here? Why had Elezer not mended it? Surely his kindness, his keen mind and handsome looks were not his only good attributes.

“Kerstin, are you hurt?” His concerned gaze lowered to her foot and he hurried to help her.

She shook her head. “I’m just tired.”

Having traveled through the night, she was weary

from climbing rocky hills, wading across icy streams, 52

The Heart’s Warrior

53

battling the wind and rain. She had rested when she couldn’t take another step, but fear of being caught by Jonas drove her onward.

Elezer engulfed her in a giant hug and swung her up in the air. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. His exuberance caused the bow and arrows strapped to her back to slap against her side. His dear face and twinkling blue eyes warmed her. Then, she noticed his long, blond hair hung lank around his bearded face.

Smudges of dirt blotched the front of his tunic and he smelled of sweat and smoke. A bath would do him no harm.

“Oh, Elezer! How glad I am to see you.”

Still cradling her in his arms, he studied her hair, her torn clothing, and dirt-smudged cheeks. Dressed in boy’s pants, she wore a warm, leather jacket fringed with bear fur.

Mortification burned her cheeks. She didn’t look

much better than he did. How she longed for a hot steam in the bathing hut back home. Memories of Jonas

watching her there caused her pulse to race.

“Truly, Kerstin, I want to laugh at your clothing. But you look so delectable in those boy’s britches, I’d rather strip you bare and couple with you instead.”

His blunt candor caused a keen thrill to rush over her. The morning wind swept through the yard and she shivered. Her teeth clacked together and her stomach growled.

“You’re exhausted and cold. Tell me,” he said in a teasing voice as he carried her toward the hall, “why have you left your father’s house? You know it’s not safe for you to cavort around these hills alone.”

The mournful lowing of cattle needing to be milked and fed came from the cow barn. Looking around, Kerstin noticed a few people moved about their labors. On her father’s steading, her own people would have milked the cows and been churning butter by now.

She sighed. Sometimes Elezer’s lack of diligence

frustrated her. Why wouldn’t he organize his people and work beside them, like Alrik did? She spent long, hot hours in the kitchen preparing meals and sewing

53

Leigh Bale

garments to wear. In her free time, she practiced with her bow and arrows, or gathered herbs for cooking and healing. Only during feasts and special occasions were she and her people idle.

She stared at Elezer’s handsome face. He needed her to help him learn what to do. She loved him with all her heart and had to fight back tears of emotion. Wrapping her arms tight about his neck, she buried her nose against his throat, but withdrew. He stank of burnt grease. Jonas had smelled of mint and—

“Oh!” It wasn’t fair to compare the two men.

“What is it?” Elezer sat on a bench inside the hall, holding her in his lap.

“Please, can I have something to eat?” she asked.

“Of course. Maida!” he called in a nasty tone. “Get up, you lazy hag. Bring food right now.”

A lump covered in furs lay upon the floor by the far wall. It moved and a woman dressed in crumpled clothing jumped up and scurried toward the cooking fire. As she passed, Elezer kicked his foot at her, almost tripping her.

Throwing a fearful glance over her shoulder, Maida grabbed a bucket of kindling and squatted next to the fire pit. Kerstin frowned. She had never liked the rude way Elezer treated his thralls. He should rule with kind firmness. She would teach him how to treat people better.

As he gazed at her, his eyes glowed with tenderness and her heart melted. She could forgive him almost anything when he looked at her that way.

As the heat from the hot, muggy hall seeped into her bones, she stopped shivering. Her nose crinkled with the unpleasant odors of unwashed bodies and the smoky fire.

The scent of animal fat filled the air. Maida must have burned the meal the night before. The woman’s skills in food preparation seemed sadly lacking. Once Kerstin wed Elezer, she would give Maida some cooking lessons.

Looking about, Kerstin saw that Elezer’s home was no cleaner now than when she had last been here with her father. No one had changed the rushes in many months and chicken bones and trash littered the floor. Ashes lay deep in the fire pit and were undoubtedly the cause of the gray smoke filling the hall. The long tabletops held 54

The Heart’s Warrior

55

uncured animal hides and dirty dishes from last evening’s meal. Some of the bad smells apparently came from the garbage piled in the corners. With a grimace of disgust, Kerstin gazed at Elezer instead.

Yes, he was in bad need of a woman to direct his

household. Inwardly, she tensed. Once she married him, it would be her responsibility to repair these oversights. She didn’t mind, but it would be a great chore to clean up the mess.

Elezer was an intellect, with a robust singing voice. A learned man, he spoke four languages and read the runes as well as she. What did it matter that his home was ill kept? She could fix that. Once they were wed, he
had
to change for the better.

Elezer’s beard didn’t hide the twitch of his smile.

“Your father will rebuke me when he finds out you’ve come here. I’ve tried to tell him I have no control over you, but he never listens.”

With a frown, she slid off his lap and sat beside him on the wooden bench.

“Ah,” he breathed in, his hands caressing her arms,

“it cannot be as serious as all that. Tell me, what has your father done to upset you?”

Hearing their voices, thralls rose from hard pallets and moved about the hall, setting out a belated meal.