The presence of Matheus did nothing to deter his attackers. Instead, the man who had named himself Matheus’s uncle had a thin smile upon his face, as if he’d been waiting for a distraction like this.
“You can’t win,” he said smoothly. “There are too many of us.”
“Tell that to the men who are already dead,” Ragnar countered. He raised his sword and the blade was covered in blood.
“Lay down your weapon, and we’ll let the boy go,” his enemy said.
But there was no trusting a man like this. He would say what he wanted to and the lies held no meaning. If Ragnar dared to set down his weapon, he and Matheus would die.
One slashed his battleaxe toward the boy, and Ragnar spun, deflecting the blow. Though he knew the odds were not in his favor, he would do all that he could.
And then he heard Elena’s scream.
Chapter Nineteen
Elena rode hard, a spear in her hand. Though she had never used the weapon before, her true advantage was being on horseback. She saw Ragnar cutting down the men surrounding him while Matheus hid behind a shield.
A white-hot anger filled her as she rode toward the men. She ignored their weapons, screaming at the top of her lungs while she guided the horse into the fray. The animal trampled one of the men, and Ragnar lifted Matheus, handing the boy to her.
“Take him and go!”
He intended to sacrifice himself for both of them. Elena understood that, even as she held the boy in front of her.
“Now!” Ragnar commanded, just as another man struck.
But Elena gripped the boy with one hand, wielding her spear in the other. She saw another man attacking and drove the spear forward, watching it splinter as a sword struck the wood.
“Get on!” she called out. Ragnar started toward her, but his path was blocked by another man.
He met her gaze steadily, nodding for her to go without him. Instead, Elena held her ground. She had come this far, and she wasn’t going to abandon him to die.
She let out another scream, diverting the man’s attention, but the horse reared at the sound, causing her to lose her balance. Elena grabbed for Matheus, holding him tightly before she took the brunt of the fall from the horse. She landed on her back, and all the breath was driven from her lungs.
Panic filled her, but she managed to scramble away, still fighting for air.
She found Matheus and was grateful to see him unharmed. Ragnar stood a short distance away, his last enemy on the ground.
To the witnesses, he stared hard. He cleaned his sword and sheathed it once again, daring anyone else to attack. No one did.
When he reached Elena’s side, she hugged him tightly. Matheus came and took his hand. Ragnar ruffled the boy’s hair and said, “I’ll teach you to fight if you wish to learn, son. But this wasn’t the right place for it.”
“Come with me,” Elena said. “Please.”
“I need to see about the ship. I’ll come later,” he promised.
But although they were safe now, she didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want him believing that she would be better off without him, hundreds of miles away.
Elena mounted the horse, and Ragnar lifted Matheus up in front of her. Let him believe that she was going to remain obedient, then. She had another plan in mind and it was time to see it done.
Three other men arrived at that moment, and she rode toward them, reminding them of her orders. Hring sent her a knowing look and smiled. “As you command.”
Her kinsmen had taken Ragnar by surprise after they were away from the fighting area. They’d bound his hands behind his back and he was hooded. From the muffled sounds beneath it, Elena suspected they had gagged him as well.
He was going to be terribly angry with her. Furious to the point where he would be ready to tear her apart. While she ought to be frightened, instead, she imagined how she would ease his fury, seeking to soothe the angry beast. This strong, virile man would be her captive. And she would do whatever she wanted to him.
“Bring him in,” her kinsman Hring ordered. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the chains Elena had arranged. Though she ought to be embarrassed, she said nothing.
“Do you want him unbound?” Hring asked.
