“That he is,” I confirm to Aedan.
Both men are silent, but both know how dire things are.
“And now, my sons, Loki and Sune, have been taken, and I am unsure who has them. That is the reason I am here…I need to find them. And only one man can help me.”
I hold back my tears because the circumstances I face are beyond calamitous. I doubt I will survive with my head intact this time.
Ulf walks over to me, but I stand tall. I know he won’t hurt me. He stops mere inches away, his towering stature making me feel nothing but safe because his arms keep the beasts away.
He reaches out and strokes along the top of my exposed shoulder. Instantly, my body shivers. With two fingers, he brushes down my arm. Eyes locked, he tugs at the material of my sleeve, tearing it with ease. He gently grips my wrist and begins wrapping my wounded hand.
No matter how much we quarrel, our love for one another always wins out in the end.
“We will find them, Emeline. I promise you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, allowing a single tear to fall.
“Who is sitting on the throne in your absence?”
“My mother.”
“Then her life is at risk. As are the lives of your people,” Ulf cleverly says. “Tell me everything.”
“I was forced into marriage by one of my own ealdormen, who is responsible for my sons’ disappearance. When Lord Gunter, counsel to Prince Ludwig, Duke of Miltenburg, came to my court, doing the prince’s bidding, I, of course, refused. But my three ladies-in-waiting were slain for my arrogance, and my sons taken by Lord Rufus.
“I believed they were taken to be used as collateral so I would accept Prince Ludwig’s proposal, but now, I am unsure who has them. Mayhap my own counsel who wish for my brother’s children to rule as they would rather a mere boy on the throne than a woman? But now, I fear another enemy lurks. Aethelbald wants revenge for what I did to his father, his grandfather, and to Wessex.
“I cannot trust anyone,” I confess.
Ulf has finished tending to my hand, but he doesn’t let it go. Instead, he encloses his big hand over mine. “You can trust me.”
“How I’ve missed thee,” I whisper, my heart nigh on exploding.
He draws my hand to his chest, placing it over his heart. “And I you.”
“What of your people?” I ask because I cannot expect Ulf to abandon his people for mine.
“Their lives also benefit from our union because if what you say is true, then Daneland is at risk. As are all lives of any Northmen who set foot in England.”
“You are prepared to fight another war for me?” I ask, touched.
He squeezes my hand. “I will do anything for you.”
“Ulf—” I don’t even know what I wish to say because I didn’t even realize how much I missed him until right now.
And just like that, I return to where it began to end this…once and for all.
Five
Queen Emeline
After much arguing, Lord Louis finally agreed to ride back to Northumbria and do as asked. He was to imprison my ealdormen and torture Lord Rufus until he confessed to where my sons are. If he didn’t, then Lord Louis was under my order to persecute Lord Rufus’s family and make him watch until he broke.
My nephews, if still in the care of monks, were to be brought back to my palace and imprisoned in the dungeons—the place where my father once kept me. I know how this place can break even the strongest, but I cannot be virtuous any longer.
My entire counsel cannot be trusted, and although Northumbria needs me, my children need me more. I cannot find them behind my palace walls, which is why I’m not going back until they are safe in my arms.
I understand the choices I make leave Northumbria susceptible to attack. But I am a mother first and foremost, and for the first time in my life, I’m putting myself first.
