Men shouted. Chaos erupted. Ada stumbled backward, away from the flames, her heart racing.
This was it. The signal.
Now she just had to pray that Magnus had seen it. That he was close enough to strike before her father realized what she'd done.
That she'd survive the next few minutes.
CHAPTER 34
The flames roared to life faster than Ada had expected, climbing up the wagon with hungry speed. She stumbled backward, her heart hammering, as men began shouting all around her.
"Fire! Get water!"
"The supplies…"
"Someone put it out before it spreads!"
Chaos erupted. Men scrambled in every direction, some running toward the flames with buckets, others rushing to save what they could from the burning wagon. The smoke thickened, acrid and choking, making Ada's eyes water.
She backed away further, toward the edge of camp where the trees began. This was it. The signal. Magnus had to have seen it. He had to be coming.
Please be coming.
Then she heard it, a roar that cut through the chaos like thunder. War cries from the ridge above, followed by the pounding of hooves and boots.
Ada's chest loosened with relief even as fear spiked through her. They were there. Magnus was there.
Warriors poured down from the ridge, their weapons gleaming in the firelight. Ada caught glimpses through the smoke—Harald's distinctive armor, Ragnar's massive form, Erik moving with lethal grace. And there, leading the charge, Magnus on his stallion, his sword already drawn and stained red.
Steel clashed against steel. Men shouted orders, curses, prayers. Conall's soldiers scrambled for weapons, tried to form some semblance of defense, but they were caught completely off guard. The surprise was total.
Ada pressed herself against a tree, staying out of the way as the battle raged around her. She searched desperately through the smoke and chaos for Magnus, needing to see him, to know he was safe.
A soldier stumbled past her, clutching a wound in his side. Another went down screaming as one of Harald's men struck him from behind. The smell of blood mixed with smoke, making her stomach turn.
Then rough hands seized her arm, yanked her away from the tree.
Ada gasped, tried to pull free, but the grip was iron. She was spun around to face?—
Her father.
Conall's face was twisted with fury, his eyes blazing with a rage she'd never seen before. His fingers dug into her arm hard enough to bruise, hard enough to make her cry out.
"Ye," he snarled. "Ye did this. Ye betrayed us."
"Faither—" Ada tried to pull away but he dragged her forward, into the center of the camp where the fighting was thickest.
"Ye're nay daughter of mine!" His voice rose to a shout that cut through the battle noise. "Ye're a curse! A poison tae every man foolish enough tae trust ye!"
Men turned to look, both friend and foe pausing at the spectacle. Ada saw Magnus in the distance, fighting three men at once, too far to reach her.
"I gave ye life!" Conall shook her hard enough to make her teeth rattle. "Raised ye. Clothed ye. Fed ye. And this is how ye repay me? By sidin’ with that Norse savage? By betraying yer own blood?"
"Ye were goin' tae kill Magnus—" Ada's voice came out strangled. "Ye tried tae use me as a weapon against him."
"Because that's what daughters are fer!" Conall's face was purple now, spittle flying from his lips. "Tae serve their faithers! Tae dae as they're told! But ye—ye've always been trouble. Always thought ye were better than what ye were meant fer."
He released her arm only to grab her hair, yanking her head back. Ada gasped in pain, her hands coming up instinctively to try and loosen his grip.
