Page 23 of The Stolen Bride

“I will rescue her, yes,” he offered without hesitation, and I nearly sagged into a puddle of relief. “And you will owe me anything I desire.”

Well. Someone had certainly regained his wits in a hurry. I pursed my lips. “I’m not a hundred percent on board with your wording, but we’ll hammer out the semantics on the road. So. Yes. Agreed. You can collect your reward when the job is done.”

“I will rescue her,” he repeated, his tone hardening. “But you will stay behind.”

Ha! “I’m sticking to you like hot glue, bud. And you’re gonna get happy about that real quick, because you remember I keep you calm and focused when you’re not avoiding me.” I gave him a final shake to let him know I meant business. “So? What are we waiting for? Let’s go. We’re already a day behind schedule.”

He said nothing. Nor did he budge.

“Viktor,” I huffed. “I’ve played nice with you so far. Bottled up my emotions and barely let anything leak out. But my patience is thinning rapidly.”

“We’ll be walking into a trap,” Bodi pointed out, reminding me of his presence.

“Yes. We will. A dangerous one. This comes with us.” Viktor tossed the ring that had projected the live feed to the prince, as if he didn’t trust himself to be its caretaker. “If you lose it, Bodi, you will also lose your head.” He kept his attention on me. Weighing his options, as well as trying to intimidate me into staying behind, I’d bet. “I am not afraid of your emotions, drága.”

Easy to say while I was calm.

The intensity of his unwavering focus roused a thousand different sensations. Too many jumbled together, ensuring I couldn’t pinpoint a single one. But this I knew: I’d never, in all my days, been examined so thoroughly. He studied me from the top of my head to the soles of my booted feet. It felt as if he bore holes in layers of concrete,reaching parts of me I’d hidden even from myself. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like it, but I didn’t protest.

Concentrate on the task at hand.“I don’t care about the danger. I’m coming with you. You’ll worry about me if I don’t.” There was a chance, anyway.

He breathed in deep and told Bodi, “Have my elite ready to leave for the mountains of Fenylith in ten minutes.” Still his gaze remained locked on me. “And pack the violin. The prisoner comes with me.” He linked our fingers. “You’ll play for your passage. To start.”

Victory achieved! “Yes. Agreed.”

“Are you sure this is wise?” the prince asked his king.

“My compensation outweighs the aggravation,” Viktor said, ending any argument then and there. I didn’t even mind the insult.

The prince hesitated only a moment more before stalking from the tent to do as commanded.

Tightening his grip, Viktor held me in place. “Let’s discuss my rules.”

“There’s no reason. I can guess them. No running from you, ever, no excuses allowed. Obey your every command and only speak when spoken to.” Was this what my dream had always pointed to? Placing my safety in his care? Possibly. The meaning of the dream felt bigger than that, however. And what about the sword? Why raise it and swing, as if to kill me? Which I didn’t believe he’d do. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. “Did I cover everything?”

He stepped closer. “I already know you won’t run. You comprehend that I’m the only one capable of succeeding in this endeavor. And you’ll obey my every command for the same reason. But I do not, under any circumstances, want you speaking only when spoken to. Nem. I prefer how you’ve been. I like not wondering what you’re thinking.”

Whoa. Talk about a sudden, sharp turn and an unexpected confession. “What are your rules then?”

“To start, tell me without delay whenever Deco reaches out to you. And he will reach out. No matter what he tells you, trust me, not him. Also, keep no secrets from me.”

Mind blown! Viktor’s requests were, like, super reasonable. “I agree, yes, please and thank you. Anything else?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I agree to it too, whatever it is. You can explain on the road.” I tried to tug him toward the door, but he dug in his heels, remaining rooted in place.

“I’ll finish outlining my rules, after I explain what we’ll face.” He pulled me against him, our bodies suddenly pressed together, and I shivered. His warm breath fanned over my face. “We must journey to the traveling stones. A perilous task in and of itself. Unless Deco is a fool, he won’t attack us until we’re deep in his territory, a good distance from those stones. Then, he’ll put an army around them. We won’t get out without a fight. And that comes after the battle for Juniper. Do you really wish to be there when all of that transpires?”

My blood flashed from hot to ice cold. “Yes. I still want to go. You won’t change my mind.”

He worked his jaw. “I’m unsure how much you know of our kind…” He paused to await my response.

“Of the legends, a lot. But in truth, not so much. I only found out you were real when you did your eye glowing thing.” Our kind, he’d said. As if he consideredmea berserker. What a preposterous idea. I mean, yes, Malachi Cromwell had insisted I belonged to his lineage but come on. I might have a volatile temper, but I wasn’t an immortal rage machine. “I’ve studied berserkers in books and moviesand my adoptive mom used to tell me cautionary tales, but I lack a vast amount of background information.”

He seemed to absorb even the smallest details of my words, tones, and expressions. “All of us possess the spirit of an otherworldly animal. Beasts that existed before time began. Many hosts never sense it. Some spirits, like mine and those in my elite, are stronger than others. When any of us rage, we feed the beast. If we allow the creature to grow more powerful than we are while in such a state, it takes over.Eviltakes over, and we want only to tempt others to become the same as us.”

“Okay, but what are you trying to tell me, exactly?”

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