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Dai chuckled. “She knows what she’s about, does Heledd.”

“She tells me that she makes a rather memorable fish pie,” Rhiannon said.

Dai’s grin widened. “That she does, miss. If Nest would ever let her into the kitchen, I daresay she’d make one for you and the master if you asked.”

“Well now,” Rhiannon’s father said. “We shall have to remember that the next time Nest decides to take a few days to visit her sister.”

“Indeed,” Rhiannon said. “Mayhap we could even go as far as to persuade Nest that another such trip should be made very soon.”

Dai looked so pleased that Rhiannon’s natural smile emerged. “It must be some time since—”

The front door swung open so far that it crashed against the wall. The resounding thud was immediately followed by the clatter of running feet. Everyone swung around in time to see Eifion stumble to a halt in the center of the room. His hair was windblown and his expression stricken.

He took a deep, ragged breath, then cried, “Vikings! Two boatloads of ’em. They just landed on the beach.”

Rhiannon’s father stiffened. “Are you sure, lad?”

“Yes, Master Iorwerth. I saw the shields along the length of their longboats shinin’ in the moonlight. There’s no mistakin’ their craft, an’ there’s no mistakin’ they’re carryin’ a lot of men.”

“How many?”

“Too many to count, Master.”

“Rally the men, Dai,” Rhiannon’s father barked the order, and Dai took off at a run. Her father turned to her. “Find Heledd. The two of you must leave immediately. Hide in the trees on the hill behind the house until you see the infidels’ boats put out to sea. God willing, they will find nothing here worth stealing and will leave as quickly as they have come.”

“But, Father—” Horror clogged her throat. Even if Dai were to round up every man and boy who lived and worked at Bryn Eithin, he would muster only five. Five farm laborers against a horde of pillaging Vikings.

“Now, Rhiannon.” His tone brooked no argument. He withdrew his dagger from the small scabbard at his waist and pointed to the back of the house. “Go!”

Rhiannon fled the room. She ran directly to her chamber and pushed open the door. Heledd was laying Rhiannon’s seawater-stained gown across the back of a chair to dry.

“Heledd! We must leave.”

The older woman looked at her in alarm. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Vikings.” Rhiannon could barely say the word without fear capturing her voice. Gwynedd’s children were raised on stories of the devastating destruction the marauding Norsemen reaped. Vikings had no reverence for churches, monasteries, or holy relics. Gwynedd’s men were considered no obstacle to their looting; Gwynedd’s women were too often their prize.

Gripping Heledd’s hand in hers, Rhiannon pulled her out of the room. Which way? They could reach the hill by running the length of the longhouse and going through the stable attached to the other end of the building, but the fastest route was through the front door and directly across the yard. Once they were beyond the yard, they could remain in the shadows until they reached the trees.

“How close are they?” Heledd asked. Her ruddy complexion had paled, but her tone remained calm.

“Eifion saw them on the beach.”

The older woman nodded, her expression grim. “Then we have no time to lose.”

Heledd’s words propelled Rhiannon to the front door. She pulled it open and stepped outside. An eerie silence hung over the yard. No seagulls cried. No voices called.

A shadow crossed the open space, melding into the darkness beside the stable doors. Seconds later, two more shadows flitted across the yard. Rhiannon tightened her grip on Heledd’s hand. Were the moving figures friends or foes? Where was her father?

“Hurry, bach.”

Heledd’s whispered warning drew Rhiannon’s attention back to the distant trees. That was their goal. And they must reach it while it was yet attainable.

Turning away from the stable, they hurried along the length of the longhouse, staying in the darkest shadows beneath the eaves. Across the yard, a crack of light appeared, widening as the door to the kitchen opened. A narrow silhouette appeared.

“Myfanwy,” Rhiannon gasped. “She must have returned to the kitchen before Eifion arrived back. She knows nothing of the Vikings on the beach.”

“What of Nest?” Heledd asked.