Vengeance Hammer (Viking Vengeance) Read Free Page A

could’ve breathed fire, he appeared so vexed.
    After smoothing the sand, she inscribed, Arnfinn’s stepbrother. He claims Lathairn Castle. He travels to Leòdhas to bring back Godfraid and his warriors.
    He gave her a look as if she was daft. “Godfraid mac Arailt, the Earl of Leòdhas is vassal to King Harald of Norway. King Harald has commanded our union. ’Tis treason if Godfraid aids your Néill.”
    Not her Néill, never her Néill. Resisting the temptation to stamp her feet, she nigh punched out her words in the sand. Néill and Godfraid are on their way.
    “How know you this?”
    She wanted to howl in frustration. But she and Jennie had agreed how to handle this query. She wrote, Ask Liam the Lucky.
    At his ferocious scowl, she added, Lathairn’s Man-at-Arms .
    He studied her for a long, uncomfortable moment.
    Xára knew if he gainsaid her now, all was lost. She did not waver under his persistent scrutiny even though perspiration broke out over her back and chest.
    Finally, when she’d decided he would cast her to the wolves, he blew out a long breath. “When did Néill leave for Leòdhas?”
    Cert now he understood the gravity of the situation she raised two fingers and wrote in the sand, 2 eves.
    His mouth flattened. “They could arrive within the sennight.”
    Turning away from her, he clasped his hands behind his back, and paced the length of the chamber. While he was striding up and down, she inscribed more in the sand.
    Abruptly, he halted right in front of her. She pointed to the tray.
    He read aloud, “Néill intends to wed you and claim Lathairn. Godfraid supports him. I surmised as much. So be it.”
    She craned her neck to meet his gaze and waited, heart thundering against ribs so hard her chest ached.
    “First, I will verify all you have said—” He sighed. “What you have written. Then I will send two of my men to you. Have your mother moved to her rightful chamber. I will have the healer summoned. The vow saying will take place before sunset. Am I correct that you understand what must be done?”
    Xára’s ire surged, but she wrestled her growing irritation into submission and nodded. Working quickly because she knew he had much to do, she wrote, “I am ready to do my duty.”
    He straightened and once again his size dwarfed her, but she refused to let him see her fear, and looked unblinking into his piercing blue eyes. “I will send our monk to assist you. He is a learned man. Do what you must.”
    She dipped a curtsey and then felt like a fool for resorting to courtly formality in such circumstances. Her cheeks heated.
    “Let Monk Herbert know what you need and he will see it done. I bid you leave, Lady Xára.” He inclined his head and departed.
    The image of him stayed in front of her for long moments. Never had she seen such haunting male beauty. The war braids at his temples seemed to draw his cheekbones high and taut while the golden waves that fell to his shoulders made her recall all the tales she had heard of the god, Thor.
    The man must spend most of his time training to have a shoulder span so wide he had to twist through the doorway to Jennie’s room. The sleeveless tunic he wore reflected the color of his eyes, a blue so dark as to appear black in the shadows. Greenish-blue runes etched into his bare arms banded his bulging muscles.
    She had kept her gaze lowered when they walked and could not help but be fascinated by the way his powerful thigh muscles flexed with each stride. Everything about him radiated absolute supremacy. The square-set jaw and the sinewy neck, even the scent of him, and his voice, Xára sighed. That a man’s voice could send tremors through her body? Cause her woman parts to heat and tingle?
    Woman parts.
    Her stomach cramped.
    ’Twas all coming to pass, Magnhildur’s malicious prediction. An icy shiver raised all the hairs on her body. She rubbed her arms and prayed. Prayed for a miracle for Jennie. Prayed she could save Evie by wedding the