by Alice Wilde
“You seem to be a lot more anxious about doing things as quickly as possible these days.”
“I need to take back my kingdom as quickly as possible,” I say. “Damien’s hold on my life is wearing on me.”
Roan doesn’t argue with me, but I can tell he’s not completely satisfied with my answer.
“So, have we decided?” Li asks.
“I suppose,” Roan says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“It doesn’t look like we have much choice,” Ero says, his eyes flitting to me briefly.
“Then we set sail in the morning,” Li says. “Ero, I suggest you try to convince the Vikings to join us or find a way to get them to swear allegiance to you.”
“Yeah, great,” Ero scoffs as he exits the room.
I don’t know how Ero managed to do it, but we set sail the following morning with more than half the Vikings we’d gathered along the way. Roan’s family also gives us a ship and crew, much to my relief as their ships are far more comfortable for long distance travel than the Viking ships.
We sail south, making good time. Some days, Ero stays on the ship with us, but most days he sails with one or another of his new crew. I am surprised by how much I am enjoying this journey until we round what Li calls “The Cape of Storms.” I laugh at the nickname, but then wish I hadn’t.
The day is beautiful. As I walk the deck with Ero, he excitedly tells me how he finally feels like the men are beginning to trust his leadership. Then, I look out over the horizon and stop to squint.
“What do you think that is?” I ask Ero, who turns to look where I’m pointing.
Ero’s face hardens. “Get inside, now,” he orders, guiding me toward my quarters as he shouts up at Li and Roan. “Storm!”
Roan and Li look out and begin shouting orders to the crew.
“Stay inside,” Ero says firmly to me, squeezing my hand before pushing me inside and shutting the door. Only a few minutes later, I am thrown to the floor as the ship is suddenly hit hard and wind howls outside.
The crew shouts as they run across the deck, trying to keep the ship from capsizing in the unexpected storm. I wait nervously in my room as the storm only seems to worsen with each passing hour.
The door to my cabin is unexpectedly thrown open, and I jump up from my seat on the bed. It’s Ero. He’s windblown and soaked through.
I step toward him, and he catches me as the ship sways, almost knocking me to the floor once again.
“They’re turning back,” Ero says.
“Who are?” I ask in alarm.
“My men. The Vikings.”
“Tell them not to!”
“I can’t. I’ve only just begun to gain their trust, and they’ve never experienced a storm of this magnitude before. We’ve already lost a number of ships.”
“What are we going to do?”
“It’s not what we are going to do,” Ero says slowly. “It’s what I’m going to do.”
I stare at him.
“I have to go with them,” Ero says. “We need their help, and I need to learn to lead them. How can I do that if they don’t trust me as one of their own?”
“You can’t be serious,” I say in disbelief.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” I say as tears spill onto my cheeks.
“I have to do this, Annalise,” Ero says as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me softly through my tears. “I have to do this for us. Don’t forget me.”
“Never,” I whisper as Ero lets go of me and runs back out into the storm.
I run out after him and over to the railing just as he grabs a rope and swings onto one of the Viking ships.
“I’ll find you!” Ero shouts over the storm as he turns toward me. “I’ll never stop looking for you!”
I watch on helplessly, his voice ringing in my ears, as Ero and his ship suddenly vanish behind the most massive wave I’ve ever seen.
“No!” I scream out over the stormy ocean.
Roan suddenly grabs me from behind and carries me, sobbing, back to the captain’s quarters.
I can barely sleep as I wait out the storm in the captain’s quarters over the next few days. I’ve nearly given up hope that we’ll make it out alive when Roan wakes me and I follow him out on deck to find the skies bright and cheery and a steady wind blowing in our favor.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d never have believed we were in the midst of deadly storm only a few hours earlier—and if it weren’t for the noticeable absence of Ero.
I try to help as much as possible, but there’s little I can do besides keep out of the way. Roan joins me in my quarters when he can, even going so far as to sleep beside me some nights. But there’s a noticeable tension between us now, and he won’t stop asking me if everything is alright. Of course it’s not. Ero’s gone and the world is ending, but I can’t say that to Roan. So, the answer is always yes.
My favorite part of this journey so far has been clear calm nights spent with Li, learning the names of the stars and their meanings. I don’t have to think about anything when I’m around him, and he always has something to distract my mind.
We stop at ports every so often to resupply, but we never stay for more than a night, and usually not that even that long.
The days turn into weeks, and I find myself getting seasick more and more frequently with each passing day.
“You need to eat something,” Roan says, rubbing my back as I puke over the side of the ship for the second time that morning. “Eat this cracker. I’ll get you some fruit.”
I slide down onto the deck weakly and do my best to nibble away at the cracker Roan has handed me.
The crew hurries around doing various tasks, and I catch more than a few side-eyes as I remain slumped against the side of the ship’s railing. I look up as a hand is offered to me. Li.
“This may not be the most ideal place for you to rest,” Li says. “How about I take you back to your cabin?”
I don’t really want to go back indoors, but I know Li’s right.
“Fine,” I sigh, taking his hand as he helps me to my feet and back indoors. I take a seat on the edge of the bed, exhausted. I watch as Li walks back across the room to the door, but instead of leaving, he turns the key in the lock. He keeps his back to me for a long moment before turning to face me.
“When are you going to tell Roan?” Li asks.
The question takes me completely by surprise. “Tell Roan?” I ask in bewilderment. “Tell Roan what?”
“That you’re pregnant.”
My mouth falls open in astonishment. “Pregnant? I’m not pregnant.”
Li sighs and crosses the room to me. “Annalise, I’m a healer. I know when I’m seeing the symptoms. Besides, I can feel the baby growing inside you whenever you touch me.”
I stare at him, my eyes wide with shock and fear.
“How long have you known?”
“I guessed something had happened before we even left Scotland, and I have no doubt Roan guessed as well,” Li says. “But I didn’t know for sure until a few weeks after Ero disappeared.”
“It was Damien,” I say quietly. “Ero didn’t do it on purpose.”
Li’s jaw hardens, and he nods in understanding.
“Well, we certainly have our work cut out for us then, don’t we?” Li says quietly to himself.
I can barely breathe, my mind reeling.
Li stands and walks back to the door of the cabin, unlocking it.
“Don’t forget to speak with Roan,” Li says. “He deserves to know.”
I nod numbly, falling back onto the bed as Li shuts the door behind him.
And I thought things couldn’t get worse…
Thank You!
Thank you for reading Her Viking! The next book in the Royal Shifters series is coming soon! Be sure to subscribe to my mailing list so you never miss a new release!
http://alicewilde.com/
Her Warrior
/> Three gorgeous shifters. A queen fallen from grace. One formidable Chinese quest.
The Lioness of Egypt
The Shifters of Africa Book One
https://amzn.to/2VzJYih
A murdered pharaoh. An evil sorceress. And three lion shifter kings.
Sanura would do whatever it took to be the next queen of Egypt – even if it meant marrying her younger half-brother and waging war on all of Africa. But when the pharaoh is murdered and Sanura blamed for the crime, she barely escapes the city with her life.
With nothing and no one to help her, Sanura finds herself at the mercy of a lion shifter African king. One of Egypt’s sworn enemies. A man who would be better off with her dead.
And he’s not the only lion king she needs to worry about.
About the Author
Alice Wilde grew up with a love of reading and spent her teens writing and submitting her essays as fantasy stories, much to the annoyance, but often high marks, of her teachers. Now, she spends much of her days writing historical fantasy paranormal romances (filled with gorgeous men and, of course, magic) that she hopes will spark a flame in readers as much as they do in herself.
Alice is currently living with her cat in a bustling city she never sees much of, as she’s too busy dreaming up, writing down, and living in her next paranormal RH romance, though she generally finds enough time for a real-life date or two…We all need a bit of inspiration now and again, right?
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