Page 96 of Alliance Bride
In a low voice, she said, “We will come for you.”
Eadlyn dipped her chin and then met the gaze of the masked man. Moving slowly, she pulled out the knife on her belt and let it drop. It landed in the dirt with a soft thud. She took another step forward, and the man seized her. His grip was cruel, yanking her into place. A blade scraped against her neck. She sucked in a breath and fought the swell of panic clawing at her throat.
But the other man released Trygg. His little legs scrambled as he ran to Ranvi, who fell to her knees and swept him into her arms. She looked at Eadlyn over the boy’s head, her eyes swimming with tears and a wordless mix of gratitude and grief.
Eadlyn tried to smile, but another jolt of panic raced through her as the raiders backed away, dragging her along with them.Lord, please protect me.
Heida sent the captors a glare, speaking what sounded like a threat.
None of the three responded. Before another word could be spoken, the man holding Eadlyn turned and shoved her ahead of him, deeper into the woods. She didn’t dare look back with his sword still hovering dangerously close to her neck, but she heard the other two following. Hurried footsteps and Inga’s urgent voice told Eadlyn they were on their way back to the village, and relief cut through the fear. The raiders had gotten what they wanted andlet everyone else go. If sacrificing herself meant they lived, then she’d done the right thing in surrendering.
After a ways, the Kalgoran removed the blade from her throat, allowing her to breathe a little easier. His grip, however, remained crushing around her arm as he forced her ahead of him at a fast pace. They hurried through the forest for about a mile before reaching a small creek. At the bank, they paused, scanning the trees as if making sure they had not been followed. Eadlyn wouldn’t put it past Heida to do that, though she hoped she’d seen the others safely back to Fjellheim. She could not take on three warriors by herself.
While the other two were preoccupied, Eadlyn’s captor pulled her back against him, pressing a hand to her middle and sliding it upward. Revulsion swelled in her throat. Eadlyn spun and slapped him away, her breath ragged. His grip tightened, and pain flared in her arm.
“Enough,” the woman snapped. “We keep moving.”
Her voice was low, clipped, and in Nordric.
It made no sense, but Eadlyn did not have time to ponder it before they continued on through the forest.
Despite the heat of the day and the fast pace building up sweat under her dress, Eadlyn’s whole body flushed with ice. She would likely die at the hands of these people if God did not provide rescue, but she hadn’t had a chance until a moment ago to consider what might happen to her in the meantime.
They traveled another mile at least before they broke into a small clearing. Here, four horses waited, guarded by one lone figure.
Eadlyn gasped. “Oda?”
The woman glared at her, all her loathing unmasked. She strode toward them, focusing on the man behind Eadlyn.
“Did you have any trouble?”
“None at all.”
The familiar voice of the man who had dragged Eadlyn through the forest shot dread straight into her core. She looked over her shoulder as Sig yanked off the mask, and a fresh wave of panic almost upended her stomach. This could not be happening. She could not be left at Sig’s mercy. Death would likely be a kinder fate than what he planned to do to her if rescue did not come soon.
“They were exactly where you said they’d be.”
Eadlyn breathed harder. Oda wasn’t just watching their horses; she’d been part of their plan. Spying again, telling Sig exactly where they had been picking berries.
“If you value your lives, you’ll let me go.” Eadlyn spoke in Aerlish. Some whisper in the back of her mind told her it might be wise to conceal her understanding of Nordric for the time being.
Oda sneered at her. “You think we’re afraid of a spoiled little princess?”
Eadlyn held her gaze, trying to keep her voice even. “If you do this, Aevar will hunt you down and kill you. You know he will.”
Right or wrong, the moment he found out she’d been abducted, he would do anything within his power to find her and exact vengeance on all involved. She had not forgotten how much effort it had taken for him not to kill Sig the first time he’d put his hands on her.
Oda snorted. “You’ll be long dead before he ever gets close to finding you.”
The ice in her voice chilled Eadlyn’s blood. She’d known Oda hated her, but not to this extreme.
The woman drew closer and pulled out a narrow dagger. Eadlyn’s heart missed a beat, but she forced herself to breathe evenly. Oda assessed her with a scowl.
“I’ll never understand what he sees in you.” She placed the tip of her knife against Eadlyn’s cheek right where two scars marred the skin, courtesy of her father’s ringed fist. Perhaps she was thinking of adding another as if it would lessen her worth.
Though every instinct screamed at Eadlyn to pull away, she refused to move. She may have been born an Essian princess, but she was a Nord now.
“We don’t have time for this,” the other woman’s voice broke into the stare down. “The king’s men will be after us soon if they aren’t already.”
