Page 46 of Her Viking Lord
“For Jagland,” he corrected gently. “But yes, for you. You’re exactly what this nation needs—someone who understands power, who has seen the darkness and emerged stronger, who has the gift of sight to guide us through what’s coming.” His fingers traced along my jaw. “I had meant to wait until you’d fully recovered to tell you about it. The plan is complex, and it will require everything you have to give.”
“I want to start now,” I said immediately, surprising myself with the fierceness in my voice. “Herra, I’m ready. I need to be ready. After everything—after what I endured—I can’t just lie here recovering while the future waits.”
He studied my face for a long moment, and I could see the war playing out behind his eyes again—his protective instincts battling with his recognition of my strength and determination. Finally, he nodded.
“Very well. Tomorrow, we begin. But tonight, you rest.”
CHAPTER 24
Lorna
The next three days passed in a blur of phone calls and strategic conversations. Aksel provided me with names, but myvolva’s sight showed me what to say to each person, which threads to pull, which promises to make. I called party members I’d known for years, influential friends who had watched me play the dutiful wife and now heard something entirely different in my voice.
“Anders, it’s Lorna,” I said into the phone on the morning of the first day, my fingers twisting the silk robe I wore. “Yes, I know about Takken. That’s why I’m calling. Jagland needs leadership, real leadership, and I think you and I both know the party can’t afford to wait for trials and investigations to play out.”
Anders Lindholm, one of the coalition’s senior members, was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice carried a note of cautious interest. “What exactly are you proposing, Lorna?”
“A leadership challenge,” I said, the words flowing with a certainty born of my visions. “The party needs someone untainted by Takken’s corruption. Someone who can restore public trust while maintaining our coalition’s strength.”
“And you believe that someone is you?” He didn’t sound skeptical—merely curious.
“I know it is.” I let the steel show in my voice, the same steel that had carried me through Horakovsky’s torture. “Meet me for coffee tomorrow. I think you’ll find I’m not the woman you remember.”
The conversation with Ingrid Sørensen, the coalition’s deputy leader, went even better. Myvolva’s sight had shown me exactly what she needed to hear—not just political strategy, but acknowledgment of the frustrations she’d swallowed for years watching Takken’s increasingly erratic leadership.
“He never listened,” she admitted over our secure line, her voice tight with long-suppressed anger. “Every warning about Horakovsky, every concern about the energy deals—he dismissed it all.”
“I’m listening now,” I said simply. “And I’ll need your experience if we’re going to rebuild trust.”
By the third day, I’d spoken to seventeen key party members, six coalition partners, and three influential media figures. Aksel monitored each conversation from his command center, occasionally providing data through encrypted messages, but mostly he let me work. My visions guided me with increasing clarity—I could see which arguments would resonate, which promises would bind these people to my cause.
On the evening of the third day, Aksel found me in the safehouse’s small kitchen, reviewing notes for my final calls. He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
“It’s time,” he said quietly.
I looked up from my tablet, my heart suddenly hammering. “Time for what?”
“Tomorrow morning, you’re going to announce your candidacy at a surprise press conference.” His eyes held mine with absolute certainty. “The momentum is perfect. Any longer and we risk losing the initiative.”
The fear that shot through me was immediate and visceral. “Tomorrow? But I haven’t?—”
“You’re ready.” He crossed to me, his hand cupping my face with that combination of dominance and tenderness that made my knees weak. “You’ve done everything necessary. The party is with you. The coalition is with you. All that remains is to claim what’s yours.”
I leaned into his touch, drawing strength from his certainty. “And afterward?”
His thumb traced my lower lip, and I saw heat flare in his eyes. “Afterward, littlevolva, you’re going to take yourHerra’stólin yourfisseand yourrøvhuluntil you feel utterly reclaimed.”
My whole body trembled at his words. To my surprise, alongside the surge of need between my legs, I felt a spark of rebellion rise in my chest.Who’s he to claim the future prime minister?a defiant voice asked in my mind.To promise such obscene degradations?
Another voice answered,He’s the man who will whip you if you disobey… if you refuse him his way with your body… your pussy… your bottom. You are a bed thrall… a powerful man’s sexual servant… his submissive fuck toy—even if you’re avolvabecause of it… even if you’ll also be a prime minister.
I swallowed hard, my heart racing. “Yes,Herra,” I whispered.
The press conference went better than I’d dared hope. My hands had trembled as I’d approached the podium in the Parliament building’s press room, but the moment I’d seen the cameras, something inside me had steadied. I’d announced my candidacy with a clarity I hadn’t known I possessed, speaking of Jagland’s need for untainted leadership, for a vision that served the people rather than corrupt oligarchs.
And I’d introduced Aksel as my life partner.
The murmur that had rippled through the assembled journalists had been audible, but I’d held my ground. “I won’t hide who I am anymore,” I’d said, meeting their cameras with unflinching directness. “My husband’s corruption and my own journey through darkness have taught me that authenticity is the only path forward. This man standing beside me represents the values Jagland needs—strength, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to our nation’s future.”
