Desire's Fury (Viking's Fury Book 2) Read Online Free

disturbed my sleep without announcing yourself.”
    “Twenty horsemen could have thundered by and you would have slept through it.”
    She chuckled. “Are you insulting me, lowlander?”
    Roald retrieved the knife, held it up, and inspected the blade. He laughed at it, running his thumb over the blunt edge. “I see your senses aren’t the only dull thing in this camp.”
    She climbed to her feet, giving him the opportunity to admire her slim form. Dressed in nothing but a shift and boots, he could see the fullness of her breasts and her shapely hips.
    “Give me my knife.”
    He shook his head and sheathed the blade in his belt. “You’re in no position to make demands. Tell me who you are and why you’re here, first. If I’m satisfied by your answers, I’ll consider returning the weapon. But only if I have your solemn oath not to try and kill me again. Though your aim isn’t true.”
    She’d given him every reason to tease her. And he liked the way her eyes sparked whenever he said something insulting. How long had it been since he’d met a spirited woman who didn’t care if he was the jarl’s son?
    “ Jalla !” she spoke in her language now.
    “Calling me an idiot won’t help your cause.”
    Her lips thinned in irritation. “You understood.”
    “Our people have lived side-by-side for generations, woman. Do you not expect us to learn each other’s tongues so we might communicate?”
    “I expect nothing from a Viking,” she said. “For though we are neighbors, there’s never been peace—not true peace.”
    “Aye,” he agreed. “But if we are smarter than our forefathers, we can, perhaps, exercise restraint now.”
    “Restraint?”
    “Respect,” he clarified.
    She considered it. “All right.” She walked to the place where the food and wine were set out. “Break bread with me.”
    In a show of trust, she turned her back and picked up the loaf. Then she faced him again and tore a large chunk off. “Here.”
    Unless Odin willed otherwise, he’d accept her offer. “I will sit to eat.”
    Together, they got comfortable near the fire, and she pulled several items wrapped in cloth from one of her bags. The first contained cheese, the next, strips of smoked fish. Though Roald had fresh food in his saddlebag, he’d not miss the chance to know this woman.
    “My name is Eva,” she said as she took a drink. “My people come from Malangsfjorden, but we settled in the mountains east of here generations ago. Occasionally, I wander the lowlands to collect plants for medicine. Not all the species I can find here grow in higher altitudes.”
    He considered her expression, the way her hands moved when she talked, how she didn’t pause between words. All signs that she spoke truthfully.
    “I am Jarl Roald Blood Axe and I seek a skilled healer. My sister-in-law has fallen ill—gravely ill I fear.” If Silvia died, his family would be torn apart. To happen upon this woman in the middle of nowhere seemed too good to be true. Once again, Roald found himself indebted to the gods, for Allfather must have led him here. “Are you a thrall?”
    She snorted. “I am freeborn, Roald Blood Axe. Should I dare ask how you earned that horrible name?”
    He withdrew her knife from his weapon belt and laid it on the ground between them. “By having better aim than you.”
    She rewarded him with a smile as she reached for the blade. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I missed on purpose.”
    “Did you?” He swallowed a mouthful of fish. “I will remember that, woman, and some day, if the chance arises, I will ask you to prove it.”
    She laughed, thinking it a joke, then tucked the knife in her boot. “If I have my way, we’ll never meet again.”
    Roald wasn’t trying to amuse her. If she was a healer, he’d take her home, whether she agreed to go or not. “Are you a healer?”
    “My mother is noaidi and I will eventually take her place.”
    He appreciated the way she squared her shoulders and