“Your words reflect your heart, for there is no deceit to be heard. I have not seen your beloved, but the trusted word is that Saxons captured them near the bluff's edge.”
Captured by her own kind? What ill fortunes have forsaken my love?
“How reliable are your eyes?”
“My son was hunting and saw your queen, accompanied by a Viking with a scar across his face. He cursed this very land and all who flourished. His profanity was heard from kingdoms afar.”
I shake my head because this sounds like Ulf. “Thank you, my friend. Here, accept this reward for your bravery to do what no man had the gall to do.”
I toss him my money pouch.
He catches it, and when he feels the weight, he knows his riches are grand.
Even if he fools me, I must take the risk with no other choice. The stars betrayed me. As do the gods.
Ulf is with Emeline, and they are captured. He has failed to protect her. But so have I.
“What will come of us, Skarth the Godless?” he asks, peering at me with lost hope in his eyes.
The country we once called home is facing change, and I fear it will incite war.
Perhaps all will see the good Emeline’s reign brought us. Now, all our futures hang in the balance.
A war is coming, and I fear we may not win.
I will sacrifice all I am to save her.
Ulf the Bloody, however.
I will happily surrender to their demands because that arsehole can burn in hell for an eternity for all I care.
I abandoned my horse a mile back and kept to the shadows, for I needed to be one with the darkness to find my beloved and save her from a fate I had destined her to.
The trees are my friends at this moment of truth, but they can only provide sanctuary for so long.
I don’t know what I will do once I see Emeline. It has been so long. The moment I see Ulf, however, I will rip off his arms and beat him to death with them.
He will use this leverage against me, reminding me that he provided for my family when I could not. The thought turns my belly, and I wish to burn this kingdom to the ground, but this fault is mine alone. I will accept whatever consequences the gods deem fit, but will I like them?
No, I will not.
I do not understand how they have been taken. Both are smart, unless it's a ploy to gather information. I do not want to believe my sons are in jeopardy, but this may be the only reason Emeline would venture out alone.
Not alone, I remind myself, as Ulf stands in my place.
A branch snaps under my boots. I freeze, listening for any intrusion, for I know better than to make a sound. If I do not keep focused, then this would have all been in vain.
I follow the fresh tracks as the Saxons are careless. Or perhaps they do not want to conceal their path. England is crumbling, and a new leadership awaits to overthrow it. This makes the Saxons cocky and careless, and it will be their downfall.
The terrain is wet, the mud thick, thanks to the constant downpour. It seems the heavens are crying for England, too. I crawl on my belly toward the bluff's edge and peer below me. The fire is bright. As are the drunken cheers of those Saxon bastards who provoke their prisoners.
I need a moment to compose myself because this was not how I envisioned our first meeting. Nor did I predict my beloved would be tied to a stake and stripped almost bare.
I will eviscerate every man who touched her and subjected her to such derogatory ways.
A string of profanity catches the wind, which can only mean one thing—Ulf is close by, shackled and caged. The sight pleases me immensely as his hands cannot touch what is mine.
But what if they already have?
