Chapter 16 Skarth the Godless
Sixteen
Skarth the Godless
I wake before anyone else.
And although I’ve only had a couple of hours’ sleep, I am rested.
That’s because I am finally with my family.
It doesn’t bother me as much as it would have in the past, waking to see Emeline’s hand in Ulf’s.
He continues to prove his loyalty time and time again.
And although he is in love with my woman, I cannot hate him.
He saved my children, so I’m indebted to him for the rest of my life.
The urge to stab him in the throat always lingers, but it’s not as predominant as it once was.
I must accept that Emeline loves him.
Will I share her?
Absolutely not.
She is mine, and I will happily string Ulf up by his cock if he ever proposes such a thing.
But if she wanted to, then I would give in.
Emeline is a modern woman who has never allowed society's norms to dictate how she lives or loves. That is one of the many reasons I fell in love with her.
But it still hurts to see her take comfort in someone other than me. Especially when that someone is Ulf.
“Good morrow, Skarth the Godless. I am famished. Shall we go hunt?” Even his voice is infuriating.
I merely grunt in response, not interested in speaking to him as I continue surveying the damage done to the monastery structure. Just because I have accepted Emeline’s feelings for him does not mean I want to be anywhere near him.
“Did someone not sleep well?” he mocks with a grin.
“You were clearly dropped on your head at birth.”
A laugh erupts from Ulf. “Cheer up, Vinr. We finally have a fair fight on our hands.”
“I will only be cheered up when I am staring at Aethelbald’s head on a spike.”
“That visual does rather warm the cockles of my belly. And what of Emeline?”
“What of her?” I ask, glaring at Ulf.
He smirks, enjoying seeing me riled up. “I meant what of her crown?”
“I do not know what the future holds for any of us,” I confess truthfully. “If I were told weeks ago that you would be the one to save my children, I would have scoffed. But here we are.”
Ulf is quiet, which is a first.
“How did this plan eventuate?”
“Because your sister is one incredible woman,” he replies with pride. “She knew that with the predicament Emeline was in, you too would be in danger. So she offered herself to Aethelbald. She had to prove her loyalty, which is why she did what she did.
“She always had a plan. She offered a reward to whoever found me, and when she did, we waited for the opportunity to strike. We waited for Aedan’s return, and I recruited as many men and women as I could. The English are pissed off.
“As much as they are opposed to a queen ruling, they would rather Emeline than King Dickhead.”
I couldn’t have chosen a better term for the king.
“We have a small army, but their fighting skills are average. Aedan and his men will teach the English. As for Vikings, our numbers are small, but who we have are skilled warriors.”
“But?” I prompt because there’s always a but.
“But with Inga and Bodil siding with Aethelbald, they are reluctant to help.”
“Cowards,” I mutter in disgust, shaking my head.
“Aye, this is true, but we do not want cowards fighting in battle with us. They’ve done us a favor. When have we ever had the odds on our side?”
“You are right. As much as I hate to admit,” I add. “So we compile the men and women we have and propose a compromise, one which will no doubt be rebuked, leaving us no choice but to go to war.”
“As I see it, yes. The only advantage we have is that there is no collateral as such. King Dickface does not have anyone he can hold as ransom.”
“You forget King Tiny Dick also wants the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, meaning those kings are potential collateral. Word has been sent, but with so much at stake, we cannot trust anyone but ourselves.”
“We mustn’t hesitate, then. This war must come soon.”
And again, he’s right.
“Yes, this stops the possibility of betrayal from traitors. We do not allow anyone to fight if we believe them to be rogue.”
Ulf nods. “We commence training today, and we gather soldiers from the other kingdoms. However, I fear there is not enough time for those men. We can only rely on who we have now…which is not a lot. Maybe a couple of hundred.”
“Then we make do with what we have,” I reply. “We ensure the fighters we do have amount to tens of thousands of men. We give them a reason to fight.”
“And what would that reason be?”
“Their freedom,” Emeline says, startling both Ulf and me as we didn’t hear her approach.
No matter how many times I lay eyes on her, she always takes my breath away. She appears well rested, but we both know that she won’t be at peace until those who wronged her are dead.
“Where is Aedan?” she asks, always worrying about others.
“He waits outside the monastery walls, in case King Dickbreath decides to attack.”
Emeline’s lips twitch. “King Dickbreath? A vast improvement indeed.”
“What do we do with Loki and Sune? I think they are safest with us, but—”
“No, I agree. We cannot send them away. They will be safe here, but if forced to fight, your sons are brave warriors.”
“We need to incite war sooner rather than later,” I state, as Ulf said earlier. “We do not have time to waste.”
She sighs heavily. “You are right. I wish we had Wessex and Mercia behind us, but it will take too long to gather enough troops. It’s each man for himself.”
“You know that palace better than anyone. If anyone can breach those walls, it’s you. The question is, do we ambush, or do we declare war?”
Emeline ponders my question before smiling. “Both?”
“Oh, hugrekki, you are truly diabolical.” I seize her by the waist and pull her toward me so I can plant a kiss on those delicious lips. “We feign to come to an agreement whilst our men infiltrate in secret.”
“He will believe I want to make peace if you and I meet with him. We abandon our weapons and go in unarmed. We simulate an agreement because he knows our army cannot match his. But he will not come to any agreement unless it involves both of our deaths.
“He will play along, however, and we must let him believe he has the upper hand. Once we are inside, we stall until our army is in place. Then we attack.”
“How do we sneak in over two hundred men?” Ulf asks, making a good point. But that’s because he doesn’t know the layout.
“The dungeons are dark, haunted, and the soldiers are superstitious. They do not venture down there unless they must. And guarding the dungeons will be the last thing on Aethelbald’s mind. He won’t waste manpower on prisoners who are already dead.
“So we enter via the sewers. We follow until we come to a secret passage that leads us into the dungeons. No one knows of this passage because I concealed it, knowing one day it would come in handy.”
“I call dibs to enter unarmed with you and Skarth,” Ulf says, folding his arms across his chest. “I’d rather face death head-on than wallow in shite.”
“You’ve wallowed in far worse,” Emeline counters, and I can’t help but grin.
However, when she turns to me, I realize I’m not off the hook. “That also applies to you.”
She turns on her heel, leaving us alone.
“What did you do?” Ulf asks with curiosity.
“I had sex with Inga and Bodil,” I reply without emotion. I’ll own whatever judgment anyone wishes to bestow on me.
“At the same time?” Ulf asks, mouth agape.
I nod.
For once, Ulf doesn’t have a smart reply. I assume that’s because he knows the act was against my consent and done to hurt Emeline.
“We will prevail, minn vinr. There is no room for defeat.”
And he’s right.
This is the final war, a war that will change the world as we know it.
We cannot lose.