Chapter 4 #3
I do as I did when I was violated times before this and bide my time. When men are lost to their carnal lusts, that’s when they are at their weakest, and I will attack. I close my eyes and wait for the intrusion of pain, but I do not feel it.
Instead, I feel the drip…drip…dripping of warm blood coat my lips.
When I open my eyes, who I see standing feet away has my heart skipping a beat.
Surely, this is a dream…
Ulf the Bloody is before me, and he holds my attacker’s head in his hands with a ferocious grin.
“Milady, are you all right?” Aedan, my dear and trusted friend, asks as he crouches down beside me and shoves the headless corpse off me.
But I am not, and it has nothing to do with my injuries and everything to do with the man who still makes me forget my own name.
Ulf tosses the man’s head in the air and catches it, unaffected by the scene we both created. He knows better than to coddle me. He always knew me better than I knew myself.
Aedan yanks the blade out of my hand and gently helps me sit up.
I cannot speak. It feels as if I’ve forgotten how.
I cannot do anything but look at my Viking.
Ulf’s long blond hair is tied back in a braid with the sides shorn short.
He wears silver beads throughout. His beard is long, but I notice he now has some silver nestled amongst the blond.
His eyes still hold me captive as I attempt to decipher what thoughts he has.
The large scar running down his left cheek reminds me of the times I ran my fingers across it, marveling at its beauty.
No matter how much time passes, I will always love this man.
“You are far from your kingdom, princess,” Ulf says, using my former title as a pet name because that is what I was when we first met.
“And you are far from yours,” I counter just as quick. “Why are you here?”
“Apart from saving you from your humble men?” he quips, which infuriates me.
I soon forget nostalgia and stand. “I do not need saving.”
“I beg to differ.” In response, he tosses the head he holds at me.
I dodge it, not impressed by his antics. “I had it under control.”
Aedan rolls his eyes. “Not even five minutes and yer bickering like an old married couple. Nice to see ye again, milady.”
He wraps me in a warm embrace, which feels like home.
“It is wonderful to see you too, Aedan. How I have missed thee.”
“Aye, I as well.”
I wish we could stay embraced forever, but I need answers because it’s not safe here. “Why have you come?”
“A thank you never hurt,” Ulf says with a smirk.
“Your face will when I slap that grin from it.”
A deep rumble erupts from Ulf as he crosses his bloody arms over his broad chest. “Is that any way for a Queen to speak?”
“Senkin paskiainen.” It’s out before I can stop myself, but sometimes, calling one a shithead cannot be controlled.
The air is silent until Ulf bursts into husky laughter. “I am pleased to know your tongue has not forgotten. What else does it remember?”
In response, I pick up the decapitated head and toss it back at Ulf, which hits him in the chest with a squelch.
“If you refuse to answer, then you are of no value to me, and I shall seek the truth on my own.”
I attempt to leave, but Aedan gently grips my upper arm. He is one of the only men whom I allow to touch me without losing a finger.
“We are here because rumor has it Daneland will be attacked.”
“By whom?” I ask, horrified because this is news to me.
“By other Danes from Scandinavia. The land there does not flourish. The Danes starve. There is great famine.”
“So they incite war in my homeland?”
Ulf shrugs, unmoved.
“This is so typical of your people. How dare they come here when I have provided nothing but sanctuary!”
“And your people believe in nothing but peace and harmony?” he sarcastically questions. “It wasn’t one of your men about to use you as nothing but a warm burrow for a few seconds to satisfy his lust?”
I inhale slowly because he’s right. “It was, but he’s no longer in my service. He’s gone rogue, as have many others.”
Aedan crosses himself, clearly needing the Lord. “How many and what are their plans?”
“The man who had a misfortunate encounter with my sword shared that there are hundreds. And their leader is…Aethelbald.”
My revelation stuns both Aedan and Ulf.
“Forgive me, milady, but Aethelbald is the eldest son of Aethelwulf, is he not?”
“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.