Page 30 of Clash of Storms
Unless....
What if she'd been wrong about him?
"I could release you from your pledge," she murmured. Ólafur's words returned to haunt her.Don't let him fool you. He's a monster.
But it was difficult to see it right now.
Sirius shot her a stark, dangerous look. "And go where? If any of the others see you, you're dead."
"Thank you for the grim reminder. I'd almost forgotten half thedrekicourt wants to kill me."
"They'd have to go through me first. Fear not, sweet Malin. I won't let them take you."
His voice had roughened a little, and it made her shiver.
What had she gotten herself into?
"Roar had several others with him," she pointed out. "You might not have a choice."
Sirius arched a brow that clearly said,surely you jest. "There are only six of them. And I will kill them all if need be."
"Your father won't approve."
The enormousdrekiprince gave her a dark smile. "If they attack me, Malin, then they leave me no choice. Father set this into play when he offered Roar a chance at the princess's hand. He'll have no one to blame but himself."
Drekimales could never resist a challenge. Retreat was not in their nature.
But six males?
She knew he was powerful, but whatdrekicould handle six warriors by himself? Malin rubbed her upper arms.
The fire crackled. Malin moved to his side, drawn by the warmth. "I've been thinking... there is one place I could go where I might be safe."
"Oh?" His head snapped sharply toward her.
Malin took a deep breath. "If Árdís is travelling to her brother's territory, then perhaps Prince Rurik will take me in too. Nodrekifrom the court would dare enter the prince's lands."
Sirius stared for a long time into the fire.
"I knew you wouldn't like the idea." He always sneered a little when the prince was mentioned. "But it makes sense—"
"I will take you there," he said slowly, strands of dark hair falling over his face.
Malin blinked. "You will?"
The Blackfrost smiled thinly at her. "I cannot protect you forever. But you're right—Rurik's such a sanctimonious prick he'd take you in. And while I intend to return to court with the princess, your life would be at risk. You cannot come home. And I cannot watch over you forever. Delivering you to Rurik is the smart choice." His smile vanished. "It's the only choice you have."
But the way he said it made her wonder just who he was trying to convince.
* * *
They rodeout the next day, the winds whipping through Sirius's clothes. After lunch, soft drifts of snowflakes began to float through the sky.
If it began falling in earnest, he'd lose the trail.
A sudden sucked-in breath behind him drew Sirius's attention to his unwilling ally.
"What's wrong?" Sirius snapped, drawing his horse to a halt. The blasted stallion pranced beneath him, and the woman sitting behind him flinched as she swayed into him. They'd been riding for over eight hours, and there was still no sign of Árdís. Only a trail of hoof prints he could barely make out along the rocky river bed.
