Rescuing Kadlin Read Online Free Page B

Rescuing Kadlin
Book: Rescuing Kadlin Read Online Free
Author: Gabrielle Holly
Tags: Historical Erotic Romance
Pages:
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reached the backs of her knees. She moved with a grace that reminded Kadlin of a feather caught on the wind. Her gown left her arms and breastbone bare and swirled about with such lightness that Kadlin longed to touch the mysterious fabric. Perhaps it felt as luxurious as it appeared because the woman stopped walking and twisted her slender hips, so the skirt swished against her legs.
    She must have sensed she was being watched because she suddenly stood still and looked in their direction, bending at the waist as if to make out the figures in the darkness.
    “Rowyn, is that you back so soon? Who’s with you, and what is that you’re wearing? Have you been drinking again, dear husband?”
    Bjorn slowly guided Kadlin until she was hidden behind his big frame.
    “Hello, Ginna,” he answered.
    The woman straightened and covered her mouth with her palm. After a long moment, she dropped her hand to her side. “Is it a ghost I see?” she asked, and Kadlin could hear the tremor in her voice.
    “Not a ghost, sister-in-law, but it would be better for you if it were.”
    The woman backed up until she was stopped by a thick carved pillar marking the entrance to the house. “Leif? It cannot be. You are dead. I saw it with my own…”
    “With your own what, Ginna—your own eyes?—the eyes that looked upon me all those years ago and begged me to take you as my wife?"
    The words cut into Kadlin. This woman was called Ginna — the deceiver, the enchantress . Kadlin thought the name suited her. She stepped out from behind her husband to get a better look at the one who had wanted Bjorn then had conspired to kill him.
    Ginna stared at her. “What’s this? Your slave, Leif?”
    “She is my wife,” he answered.
    Ginna scoffed then looked Kadlin up and down. “You’ve taken a reindeer herder as your wife? Do you live in a hide tent, too?”
    Bjorn did not answer the insult. “Take me to my father.”
    Ginna folded her hands in front of her. “Arn is not here. He is presiding over the thing .” Kadlin had heard of Viking things , regular meetings where the men of a realm gathered to discuss business and have their grievances heard before the chieftain. She wondered if Arn was a more gracious jarl than the one she had saved her husband from.
    “We will wait,” Bjorn said and strode to the house. Kadlin followed, and when Ginna refused to move from her path, she nudged the lanky woman hard with her shoulder.
    Bjorn pulled open the massive double doors and stepped inside. Kadlin’s mouth fell open when she saw the interior of her husband’s birthplace. The entry hall was three times as tall as any room she’d ever seen, and every wall was ornamented with carved wood plaques depicting raids and voyages. An image of a great ship with the snarling dragon figurehead spanned one side. The beast’s eye was set with a faceted green tourmaline the size of a man’s fist, and it glinted in the light of the torches that were set in the huge iron holders fastened to the walls.
    Kadlin’s awe was slowly replaced with anger. This grand place belonged to Bjorn, and it had been stolen from him. Beneath her indignation was a gnawing fear. The ones that had tried to take these riches for themselves would surely not hand them over willingly. The thought had barely crossed her mind when she felt herself yanked backward by the hair. Kadlin yelped, but before she could reach up to loosen the unseen grip, the unmistakable cold hardness of a blade was pressed to her throat.
    Bjorn wheeled around at the sound of Kadlin’s cry, and his face contorted in a mixture of rage and fear.
    “Release her, Ginna!” he demanded then unsheathed his sword and moved toward the women.
    Ginna tugged Kadlin’s hair, further baring her neck to the knife. “Drop your weapon and step back, Leif, or I will spill this sow’s guts on the floor. I swear it.”
    The hatred in Ginna’s voice left no doubt as to her resolve and an icy ball of fear settled in
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