Eva was trapped. Whatever this man wanted, he’d surely get it for she had no way to defend herself. He was the largest man she’d ever seen. Even if she called for help, she wasn’t certain she’d be heard so far from the hall. At least not in time to be saved.
She backed toward the lake, prepared to throw herself in if, at any point, that would be to her advantage. Though, admittedly, she’d prefer not to since she couldn’t swim.
He did stop then, several paces from her. “I’m not here to harm you,” he assured her softly. “I need to speak with you.”
Eva didn’t trust him. “What could you possibly need to say to me? I don’t even know you.”
The man bit his bottom lip, as though considering his options. He looked around them, back to the path and along the shore. Then he whispered. “Your brother sent me.”
It took Eva several hesitant breaths before she realized that he’d spoken inNorr?na, the language of the Ostmen. The language of her cousins. Only her parents and Dallan knew she spoke it, having learned it while she fostered in Dyflin.
If Dallan had sent someone instead of following her himself, he must be in more danger than she’d realized.
“Why did he sendyou?” she answered in the same tongue, still wary of the complete stranger she now found herself trapped with alone.
The man moved slowly, taking one step at a time until he stood two arm-lengths from her at the edge of the water. In the light of the waxing moon, she saw him clearly enough. He sat down, removing his bag and his sword, then laid on his back with his hands behind his head, facing the night sky.
Showing her he was no threat. And that he wasn’t leaving any time soon.
Eva followed his lead, sitting down and pulling her knees toward her chest, wrapping her arms about them protectively. She thought he’d forgotten her pointed question entirely until his deep, rich voice uttered a gentle answer.
“He is worried about you,” he told her, still speakingNorr?na. “The king won’t let him see you for fear of treachery. I am to take word from you to him, act as messenger. When we speak of your brother, we should use the foreign tongue.”
“Don’t you think that would be equally suspicious?” she countered skeptically. None of this sounded like a good idea.
He shrugged. “Better than they know for certain what we say. From what your brother has told me, the king isn’t overly fond of him.”
“Better he not defy the king at all,” Eva retorted. “Did my brother send a message? Or are you here for no reason other than introducing yourself? Which, I might point out, you’ve yet to do.”
“Your tongue is nearly as sharp as my sister’s,” he chuckled, turning his head to look at her. “I am Finn.”
“Son of?”
“Ulf.”
She heard the hesitation in his response, his voice barely audible over the lapping waves. “You’re an Ostman?”
“Half of one, aye.”
Eva’s curiosity was piqued, for outside her relatives in Dyflin, she’d not met any other Ostmen. She’d certainly never met any who weren’t of noble lineage. It explained how he knew their language.
Finn didn’t give her a chance to ask anything further. “Dallan wanted me to tell you that he plans to free you, and you shouldn’t worry over him.”
“I don’t want him to,” she hissed. “I’ll not have him trade his life for my own. I chose this so that he wouldn’t have to.”
He sat up, his arms supporting his giant frame as he leaned back in the damp sand. “You chose to be a hostage?”
“Someone had to do it,” Eva explained. “Sitric came to me for help, and I knew it would be better for me to go with Brian than my cousin or my brother.”
“Your brother seems to disagree.”
Sensing this may be her only chance to stop Dallan’s nonsense before it went too far, Eva moved closer to Finn, pleading with her eyes as she spoke. “Youmustmake him leave. If he becomes a hostage, he may never be king. I won’t have him give up his future for me.”
Finn stilled at her words. “King?” His voice was low, dangerous. “King ofwhat?”
“He didn’t tell you who he was?” Eva had trouble believing that. She loved her brother dearly, but he erred on the side of boastful to be sure. “How did he convince you to help him then?”
Finn ran a hand over his face, worrying his bottom lip again.
