CHAPTER EIGHT
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the runaway daughter of our esteemed jarl."
Thora's hands froze where she stroked Kata's head.
She turned, her stomach rolling. Muli, a member of her clan.
One of her father's adversaries. While Muli always managed to avoid being banished for his dishonorable deeds, he'd always sworn to exact revenge from Kori Thorfinsson.
Thora had heard only hints of what had caused the animosity between the two men, and it had started around the time Kori had claimed Thora's stepmother, Geira.
She momentarily raised her eyes toward the heavens, thanking the gods she'd dressed once Ari had left the camp. With a hand resting on the axe in her belt, she rose.
"I don't care that you've found me. I'm not returning home."
Lips pulled back in a feral grin, he chuckled. Beside her, Kati gave a low growl. Some of the amusement left Muli's gaunt features. He spit on the ground and sneered at Thora and her wolves.
"I have no intention of returning you to Grindafell. Not yet, anyway. You are the key to my vengeance."
Dread formed an icy shell around her heart.
She pulled the axe free. Though she shouted the command to attack several times, Kati responded at the first, leaping toward Muli, teeth bared and snarling in warning.
The tall man had barely seconds to react, not even enough time to draw his own weapon before he turned to run.
The wolf latched onto his shoulder, the momentum of the animal's attack driving him to the ground.
Agonized screams echoed around her, accompanied by Muli's desperate attempts to free himself from Kati's mauling.
Thora shouted encouragement to the wolf, falling into a momentarily stunned silence when Kata appeared beside her, half-standing and leaning against Thora's legs.
The she-wolf gave a menacing growl. Only Thora's hand on her neck stopped the wounded yet determined animal from the frail attempt to leap into the fray.
Hoofbeats thundered behind her. She turned at the moment Ari reined in his steed and leapt from the animal's back. He rushed to her side, sword drawn and ready. He skidded in the dirt, stopping short to watch the wolf's attack.
"I heard you scream."
He never looked at her, focused on the wolf and man engaged in battle.
Thora turned back just at the moment Muli finally yanked free of Kati's jaws and ran, pleading with the gods to call off the beast. Kati chased for a few yards, barking and growling.
Once he stopped, Muli slowed as well and turned.
"I'll find you again, bitch and I'll kill your mangy dogs!"
He turned, his bellowed threat fading along with him when he disappeared into the trees.
The excitement from the encounter left Thora's legs weak and wobbly when she turned to Ari.
He met her stare with amusement twinkling in his eyes.
Despite the scare of moments ago, she found herself smiling, then a giggle escaped.
When Kati trotted over to them, she knelt before him and ran her hands affectionately in his fur, allowing him to lick her chin.
"You are a good boy, Kati. Thank you for chasing Muli away."
She stood and faced Ari once more. The humor had fled, replaced with an intensity she found both alarming and intriguing.
"You know him?" Ari asked.
She nodded. "He is from my village. He hates my father, though I've only heard the stories secondhand. But if he's been searching for me, then so have others."
She turned away and began to pace. Time and again, her gaze fell to Kata. While the wolf healed nicely, she was still unable to travel any great distances. But there was no choice. She spun about to pierce Ari with a determined stare.
"We have to leave."
"But your wolf –"
"I know. But I can't take the chance he will bring others back here. At the very least, we must leave the immediate vicinity."
He gave her a brief nod. "I've caught more fish, I think we have time to eat before we find a new place to settle."
At the mention of eating, Thora's stomach reminded her of her hunger. Ari chuckled, the lines in his face once again softening. Why did she find all of his expressions so enticing? A different hunger rose, and she clenched her fists in annoyance.
After easing Kata back to her resting spot, she helped Ari prepare the fish and stirred the fire before placing the skewered portions over the flames.
The fish would cook quickly. She dug the last of her flatbread from her sack and returned to sit beside Ari.
Breaking the bread, she handed him a piece and accepted a portion of the savory perch. Silence hung heavily between them.
"Tell me more of this Muli. He intends you harm."
It wasn't a question, but Thora nodded anyway. "I don't know all of it. My father told me Muli has resented him for a very long time. Something happened during the raid when my father… met his new wife."
How would Ari react to know that her stepmother had come into her life as a lowly slave? She eyed him cautiously then decided to share some of her past. She sat up straight, a deep breath lifting her shoulders.
"My father took his wife as a slave at first, in revenge against the man who murdered my mother."
"I see." He bit into the fish in his hand, seemingly uninterested.
"I would have been his next victim if my uncle hadn't saved me. I was barely twelve summers yet."
She dared a glance at him. After his unconcerned manner of moments ago, the fury tightening his face surprised her. Why? He'd proven himself capable of cruelty, yet knowing he possessed anger for what she suffered oddly eased some of the concern she held about his honor.
"I assume he is now dead."
"Yes." Thora held his stare. "My father killed him. Not only to avenge my mother and me, but also to ensure my stepmother, Geira, didn't fall into his clutches again. In taking her as his slave, he saved her."
"And Muli was involved in this somehow?"
"Only as one of the warriors who went on the raid. My father never told me directly, but I learned Geira punched Muli during the journey."
Ari chuckled. "It seems Muli is not a very strong warrior."
Thora smiled. "No, he's a coward who preys on those weaker than him. Muli bought a slave from my uncle, then ended up beating her to death."
She shuddered as she recalled the sight of the badly disfigured body of the woman who had betrayed Geira when they'd both been taken during the raid all those years ago. Muli had battered her beyond recognition.
"Only a coward beats a woman."
Thora nodded. "Yes, though I've heard at one time he was quite a fierce warrior in battle."
"I find that difficult to believe."
Thora shrugged. "I only know what I've heard. But whatever happened on that journey left Muli and my father enemies. He's lucky he hasn't been cast out."
"Your stepmother must be an impressive woman."
"What do you mean?" While Thora agreed, there was a time when she'd disliked Geira immensely and had treated her very badly.
She found herself unwilling to share that with Ari.
Shame over her selfish and cruel behavior still tasted bitter on her tongue, despite the sacrifices she'd made to win back Odin's favor in the past few years.
"She was taken as a slave, yet is now your father's wife."
"Yes. She is a brave woman." Especially after the way she'd saved Thora from a deadly wolf attack. The very wolf who had birthed her beloved pets.
"Like you."
Thora gaped at him. "What do you mean?"
"You stood up to two outlaws and then again to me, and today to this Muli. You are brave."
"I have my wolves to protect me."
"True, but you still were ready to fight if necessary."
Thora narrowed her eyes. "You said I couldn't defend myself."
"Not against two, but today you could have."
Did he truly believe that, or did he taunt her again? He seemed sincere and delight shimmered through her to think he thought her capable. Why should she care? She owed him only the debt for saving her life.
In an attempt to dislodge the troubling thoughts, she bit into her food, the flaky moist fish satisfying her hunger as well.
The rest of the meal passed in companionable silence.
With a start, Thora realized how at ease she felt beside him.
She frowned. She shouldn't be comfortable with him, she needed to focus on getting free from him her debt.
When they finished eating, Thora carefully wrapped the remaining portions of fish for later. She stood and turned to resume her packing. Ari's hand on her arm stopped her.
"There is no need to panic."
She wanted to believe him, but knew Muli to be a cruel man, yet one who somehow still maintained, no, enjoyed, several allies in the clan. If any of those warriors had traveled with him, they could be upon them soon. She refused to speak aloud the depth of her worry, for fear of making it real.
"I am not panicking. But it's no longer safe here. I want to leave."
"Soon. But not now."
"Yes, now."
He tilted his head and considered her. "Why?"
She hesitated before answering. The men who would accompany Muli were vicious and cruel.
She didn't want to tell Ari about the terrifying images her mind insisted on rousing.
Damn his insistence on keeping her, for those situations might truly occur.
If Muli had indeed convinced others to join him in searching for her, Ari would be outnumbered.
The very thought sent a chill along her spine that left her breathless with fear.
Why should she care? She wanted to be free of him, didn't she? Yet, the idea of Muli and his collaborators harming Ari, or worse, left a lump that threatened to expel her meal.
"Thora? Why do you insist we leave this very moment?"
She sighed. "Because Muli may have others with him. We cannot hope to repel them all should he decide to attack."
A smile slowly curled Ari's lips. "Are you worried for me?"