Chapter Four #3
Aaron despised fear mongers. The war had crippled Norway, robbed the younger generation of hope. Only unity could heal this country. “Where are the gods now?” Aaron looked about the tent. “Who is here? Two men, flesh and bone and blood.”
“And where is our young king? Sitting on his cushioned throne in Oslo. Instead of showing his face, he sends an outlander to convey his demands.”
Aaron fisted his hands at his sides. Silence hovered between them.
This was no longer a conversation, but a pissing match.
Erik wanted to intimidate him, not support the crown.
The old man despised Aaron’s past and would use it as leverage against him if he could. His mouth sagged in disappointment.
“Remember my original thoughts, Jarl McNally? If I divulge your past to the young men outside, they’ll resist you.”
“Aye.” Aaron couldn’t deny it. “But I’ll offer your bloody head on a pike as a deterrent for future disobedience if you do.”
Men with extensive assets could afford to be critics. Erik’s title, wealth, and comitatus offered him protection. The boys Aaron recruited were vulnerable, easily manipulated by whatever politics dominated the moment.
“Perhaps you will.” Erik gulped his wine like water. “All men, free or thrall, deserve truth. Your character will be revealed soon enough.”
Infuriated by his sudden change in attitude, Aaron shook his head. “Is your disapproval solely based on my behavior with my cousin? If so, I was punished and have since repaid my debt. How can you judge me when you too are a deceiver?”
Erik pounded his hands on the desk. “Dressing my daughter in armor to make a fool out of you doesn’t compare to your misdeeds.”
“A liar is a liar—the sum of your flawed philosophy. Men can’t change, milord, isn’t that how you feel?”
“My actions were meant to humiliate, not destroy you.”
Aaron turned his back. Hatred had dominated his life four years ago. He’d been driven mad by it. Damn his past. “I cannot deny it.” He faced his accuser again. “You eagerly remind me of my faults. And I have no defense. All of it is true.”
Erik seemed to be reassessing him. “Few men own their crimes so easily.”
“Does it make any difference?”
“Maybe.” Erik stood, then paced. “My daughter—”
The thought of her made Aaron’s loins ache.
“We need not discuss her.”
“Why? She played a large part in my deception, as you call it.”
“She’s blameless.”
Erik blinked. “If you do not wish me to offer an explanation, what do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
The look Erik gave him made him think the jarl didn’t believe him. “You scrutinize everything I say.” If that was the kind of relationship the two of them were destined to have, he might as well ask for more support. “Pledge more men.” He didn’t feel guilty for asking now.
The jarl nodded. “I’ll consider it.”
The next night, the full moon cast silvery light across the courtyard as Kara walked.
No one was patrolling the west side of the keep, so she decided to go to her favorite spot, an island in the middle of the small lake that edged the southwest corner of the stronghold.
At least she felt safe and comfortable there.
When she desired to be left alone, she’d spend the night on the island, then slip into her bedchamber at dawn before anyone had the opportunity to discover her absence.
Kara dragged her feet in the silty sand as she approached the water.
In reality, she simply didn’t have the courage to openly question her sire.
His harsh words left her insides in knots.
Instead of thinking about it longer, she desperately searched for something more pleasant to focus on.
Aaron’s handsome features. She moaned in frustration.
Jarl McNally’s face brought more grief than her father’s words. No man had ever impressed her.
Instead of staying in her room the night before, she’d gone downstairs to rejoin her father, but stopped when she overheard Aaron arguing with him.
When Marteinn challenged the Scot, she was sure he’d fall.
Aaron won. Then proceeded to rebuke her father.
As if whipped into submission, her father apologized for his bad behavior.
What good were beautiful eyes if they belonged to someone her sire would never approve of?
She found a small boat tethered to a post, climbed in, then slowly rowed across the lake.
She often visited the sacred place in secret.
Inexplicably, she believed her mother’s spirit followed her.
Someone had erected an altar on the island years ago, which she now used to make sacrifices to the gods.
Allfather spoke to her heart whenever she prayed to him.
Once on land again, she trudged to the altar, then knelt beside it.
Evidence of her past sacrifices stained the ground.
The gods preferred larger beasts, but birds were acceptable sacrifices from a virgin.
A fortnight ago, she’d offered up a dove.
If she had another, she’d repeat her effort tonight.
Begging Odin to reveal her future had proven unfruitful.
Allfather never answered inquiries about her fate.
Did his silence signify early death? Or indifference?
She’d convinced herself her future remained undecided.
Maybe she should run away and find her destiny.
Kara sat cross-legged on the grass and gazed sadly across the water.
Dozens of torches illuminated the west wall of the keep.
Patrols passed by often and she could see their shadowy forms now.
What most captured her attention was the cloudless sky.
The stars captivated her more than a skald’s tale.
She gazed at Thor’s fiery chariot and Thjazi’s eyes in the heavens, mapping the constellations in her mind.
Sighing, she heard something splashing in the water.
A large bird or fish? She leaned forward and squinted—watching. It moved closer.
A person?
After dealing with Jarl Erik yesterday, Aaron needed some time alone.
Upon his arrival at the steading, he’d noticed a lake along the back side of the house.
It was a perfect night for a swim. He disrobed, leaving his boots, shirt, and weapon belt in the sand.
No one would seek him at this time of night.
He wanted to explore the islet. Reaching shore, he spotted a boat and prayed no one else was here.
Very much in the mood for a fight still, he feared if he met one of Erik’s foul mouthed guards, he’d kill him out of sheer pleasure.
Something or someone ducked behind the trees.
Did wildlings inhabit this place? Curiosity gripped him as he chased the shadow.
A well-used footpath took him deep into the woods.
The moon provided the light he needed to pick his way along the narrow trail.
A few minutes later, feminine laughter stopped him dead in his tracks.
A chill spiraled down his spine. There was something unnatural about this place.
Spirits? Gods? He advanced slowly, finally reaching a clearing.
A woman clad in white was standing in the middle of the field with her back facing him.
Her silhouette looked ghostly against the pitch.
She stared heavenward and he followed her gaze. Thousands of stars glittered overhead.
“The heavens are ablaze,” she whispered.
No voice had ever sounded so enchanting, so potent. Could this be a walking dream? The spirit-woman turned. Christ’s blood, the last person he wished to see again, Erik’s daughter. Bright blue eyes pierced him the same way they had in the hall.
Here in the moonlight, dressed in little more than a shift, she resembled a goddess. Their gazes met. Fire fueled fire. Although he wanted to touch her, he feared what would happen. He’d never be able to stop.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
Her words pulled him out of his dark thoughts.
“I have no answer,” he admitted. “Something tempted me to swim across that lake. Or someone.” For a moment, the world spun slowly around him.
Everything he’d ever wanted stared him in the face.
The peace of nightfall, trees, water, and a fiery temptress who didn’t know when to shut up.
“Tempted?” she scoffed. “Perhaps my father outwitted you again and you came here to lick your wounds in private.”
What he’d give to be able to crawl back into that lake and swim out of Kara’s life forever.
There was a better chance of Odin splitting his skull in half.
“Who have you been talking to, lass? The tides have turned—your father no longer opposes me. And this chance meeting has nothing to do with your sire.”
“Oh?” She looked sharply at him. “Do you think I’ve been waiting for you?”
He shook his head. “The thought never crossed my mind,” he said. “Were you?”
“No. I come here to pray.”
“It’s a beautiful spot.”
“Aye,” she agreed. “Frequented by my mother, and now me.”
“You weren’t praying when I arrived.”
“No,” she said. “I enjoy the stars almost as much as the gods.”
“Odin’s universe is vast.”
“Odin’s?” she asked. “Don’t you mean God’s?”
“Whoever created the heavens,” he quickly corrected himself. “I often find myself mystified by its beauty.”
“What else interests you, milord? War? Politics?”
“Peace.”
She cocked her head. “Are you a negotiator for the king or a soldier?”
“My responsibilities require many skills.”
“Including intimidating my father?”
He scooted closer. “Unfortunately, milady, your father threatened me first. I am a principled man, slow to temper, but protective of my honor.”
“Why does my sire mistrust you?”
“Who am I to know your father’s mind?” She asked too many questions. Questions he wasn’t ready to answer. Maybe someday.
“Why does your father dress you in armor and train you to fight?”
She laughed. “For the same reason you held a dagger to my brother’s throat last night. For the sake of honor.”