Viking's Captive: A Viking time travel romance by Mariah Stone

Author:Mariah Stone [Stone, Mariah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stone Publishing B.V.
Published: 2023-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

As Donna marched towards Asa’s home, she fumed with anger. She could not believe him. Stubborn man! He had opened up to her, and she’d thought he’d changed, but at the first sign of trouble he’d reverted back to his default setting. And now he was pushing her away.

Fine.

If he thought she’d watch the men drive themselves to early graves and bring him food like an obedient little servant, he was an even bigger idiot than she’d thought.

Donna stopped before the door to Asa’s longhouse. The faint smell of woodsmoke reached her nose. Unlike in many of the other houses, Asa’s door had no gaps between the weathered planks. Floki had undoubtedly repaired them under Asa’s supervision. Donna felt guilty to wake her up, but if Sigurd wanted to act now, so would she.

Donna decided against knocking, no need to wake the whole household. She opened the door—marveling that the Norsemen did not even bother locking their homes—and stepped into the house without a sound. The embers of the long hearth glowed in the darkness, barely illuminating the silhouettes lying on benches that ran along the walls. People wheezed in their sleep, a couple of men snored like engines.

Donna found Asa curled together with Floki in the furthest corner of the room. She touched the woman’s shoulder, the linen of her shift warm under Donna’s fingertips. Asa jerked up, and her hand shot under her pillow, probably for a weapon.

“Asa, it’s Donna.”

She froze, her eyes squinting from sleep. “What is it?”

“I need your help.” Donna hesitated. Would she betray Sigurd if she told Asa the news of the attack? Everyone would know in a few hours anyway. And she needed to act. “Sigurd got a message from Vigdis. Fuldarr has gathered troops and is about to attack us.”

Asa’s hand covered her mouth. Floki sat up, his eyes wide, and Donna cursed herself for not asking Asa to go outside.

“Loki’s turd,” he whispered.

Donna nodded. “There’s no time to waste, but Sigurd won’t let the women help. We must build the fortress anyway.”

Floki’s face straightened. “Disobey the jarl, again? He will banish us from the village.”

Donna swallowed. Was she right to ask this of them?

“Yes. But if we do as he says, there will be no village to be banished from.”

Asa’s mouth curved. Floki held Donna’s gaze for a while, and she thought he’d contradict her again, but he said, “I will help you. You women need a foreman with experience. The jarl means well, but everyone can see that without more manpower we will all be dead.”

Donna squeezed his hand in gratitude. Apparently, not every Viking was as stubborn as Sigurd.

Floki continued, “We’ll build where the arch is. The jarl does not plan to construct there yet. It is a small enough space for us to manage on our own.”

The tension in Donna’s muscles, which she had not noticed before, released. She said, “We’ll just do it. Not in secret. But also not announcing it openly.”

Asa and Floki both gave curt nods.

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