Desire's Hostage (Viking Lore, Book 3) by Emma Prince

Author:Emma Prince [Prince, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-03-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Elisead jumped at the fire’s loud pop. She was pulled tighter than a hunter’s bowstring.

She kept thinking that the tension in the Northmen’s camp could not continue—surely a breaking point would be reached and either there would be overt aggression or a diffusion of energy.

Yet as the evening wore on, the pent hostility simmering between Domnall, Maelcon, Alaric, and the other Northlanders rose to nigh boiling.

It didn’t help that Domnall wouldn’t take his hands off her, despite her efforts to slip out of his grasp. But whenever she tried to move away or reclaim her arm, his grip would only tighten.

Domnall’s possessive hold on her had clearly not gone unnoticed by either Alaric or her father. Both eyed Domnall, Alaric with barely veiled antagonism and her father with resigned distaste.

For his part, Domnall’s arrogant aloofness was wearing thin, and he now wore a scowl behind his well-tended beard.

Talk around the fire pit had inevitably swung back to negotiations. With each of Maelcon’s carefully worded dodges, Domnall grew more sour.

Alaric was strangely quiet as Maelcon deflected Domnall’s increasingly insistent urgings not to ally with Northmen.

Just when Elisead feared she would jump out of her skin if the fire crackled one more time, Domnall stood, drawing her to her feet by her elbow.

“I can see that you would rather work your jaw endlessly than make a decision now, Maelcon,” he said. Though Elisead would never dare say so, it seemed that her father had already made a decision—it simply wasn’t the one Domnall desired.

Maelcon stood slowly. “Aye, perhaps the light of day will shed clarity on this situation,” he said. The sun had set but the trees were still filled with the blue glow of twilight.

Suddenly Alaric’s warm, large hand closed around her free arm.

“I’ll bring Elisead to the fortress tomorrow at first light, then,” Alaric said smoothly.

“I see no reason why she cannot return with me now,” Domnall replied, twisting his body slightly so that Elisead was pulled into his side.

Alaric instantly let go of her arm, else she be yanked between the two men.

“You would use your bride as a bit of rope in a tug-of-war?” Alaric said. Though his voice was still level, his eyes flashed green fire in the low light.

“Alaric.” Madrena’s tone held a warning, even as she and Rúnin rose from the fire and stood at his side.

“What say you, Maelcon?” Alaric said, turning to her father. “The terms of our negotiation involved the exchange of hostages. I have entrusted my sister’s safety to you, as you have your daughter’s. Do you wish to return the hostages and end our negotiations?”

Her father tugged on his beard. “Nay,” he said at last, his voice more assured than it had been all day. “Domnall, we will continue this in the morning. Until then, release my daughter into Alaric’s care.”

“Very well,” Domnall said at last, loosening his grip. Elisead immediately stepped away from him and toward Alaric. Domnall’s dark eyes narrowed on her as she did. “But at least show me where my betrothed sleeps at night.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.