Never before had any woman affected him this strongly. It was as if she belonged to him, as if he’d been waiting a thousand years for her.
“Yes, I have cooked a meal for us.” His wife stepped back and went to fetch two wooden bowls. She ladled thick stew into the bowls and tore a small loaf of bread in half. “Come and sit.”
He did, dipping the bread into the stew. He tasted chunks of venison and root vegetables. After the day of training, he was exhausted and it felt as if he’d never been this hungry before. When Oda sniffed the food, she trotted over and put her head in Eric’s lap, sending him a hopeful look.
Katarina smiled. “I suppose she wants you to take pity upon her.”
Eric tossed Oda a scrap of meat and finished the remainder of the stew. Katarina offered him more, and he took it gratefully.
“In the morning, I want to join you,” she said. “While you train, I mean.”
He doubted if she would find it interesting to watch. “There’s not much to see. Your brother and Valdr are helping me, but it will take a few more weeks before I regain my strength.”
She tore off a piece of bread and did not make eye contact. “I mean thatIintend to train, as well. I want to be able to defend myself better.”
Her assertion surprised him, and he should have expected it. While he understood her feelings of vulnerability, he didn’t want her to feel that she had to train unless she wanted to. “I don’t intend to ever leave you unprotected, Katarina. All here will guard you.” He might not have the strength yet, but there were half a dozen men who could protect her.
Katarina set her spoon down and reached out for his hand. “I know this. But I want to know how to fight, if there is a need. I couldn’t defend myself the last time, and I won’t allow that to happen again.” Her face grew somber, and she confessed another fear. “What if you are killed? What will happen to me then?”
Her words hardened his mood, for they revealed her lack of trust. “Hrafn will guard you if I am not there.” But he didn’t want to face that possibility. He fully intended to see this through, no matter how long he had to train.
“My brother would give his life for mine,” Katarina said softly. “But I don’t want him to die. Leif would slaughter him if it meant claiming me, for he is not a forgiving man. And he believes that I belong to him.”
“You don’t.” To emphasize his point, Eric caressed her cheek. “And I swear none of us will let him harm you.”
She studied him for a moment and said at last, “I want to tell you everything that happened on the night Ingirún died. I think you should hear all of it.”
A flash of memory intruded, of the young girl with darker blond hair, who used to follow behind Katarina. “You don’t have to, if it’s too painful to remember.”
But she shook her head. “You need to hear all of it.”
“If you want to.” He moved closer to her and waited for her to continue.
“Hrafn was away on a hunting trip,” Katarina began. “Ingirún was visiting with her friends, and they let her walk back alone at night. A group of men came upon her and attacked. She screamed for help, and I ran to her.”
Katarina’s eyes filled up with tears, and pain lined her face. “I couldn’t save her. They forced themselves upon her, and before I could pull them off, they struck her head against a stone.” Her voice grew quiet, and she admitted, “Then they tried to do the same to me.
“Valdr came, along with Leif, and they saved me before I met the same fate as my sister. It’s part of the reason why I considered wedding Leif. I felt as if I owed him my gratitude for protecting me.”
“Leif is dangerous,” Eric said. And whether or not the man’s drinking had caused him to behave badly toward Katarina, there was no excuse for it. The Viking was clearly a man who had wanted to control her, treating her like a possession.
“It’s not over,” she said quietly. “He will not forget what either of us did, and we are not safe.”
Eric reached down to rub the dog’s ears. “I won’t let Leif harm you. And I agree that you should learn to defend yourself, in case I cannot be there.”
A faint smile edged her mouth. “Thank you.” She picked up the soiled dishes, and he joined her, pouring water into a basin. Katarina sent him a curious look. “What are you doing, Arik?”
“Helping you.” He suspected that few Viking men would do such a thing, but he wanted a way to occupy himself.
“I can manage.”
Eric knew that, but it took no time at all to help her wipe out the wooden bowls and put them away.
After they had finished, she regarded him with suspicion. “You are not the same as you once were, Arik.”
“No,” he agreed. “A great deal has changed. But I hope you are not displeased by the man I am.”
A strange look passed over her face, but she shook her head. “No. I am very glad you are here with me.”
