Page 12 of Shameless

By the time she’d left the lights of Trondheim behind, deep in the woods, the wind had turned into a gale, whipping the snow around in a frenzy. For a while, she could still see the lane ahead, leading through the trees. But before long, her world became a swirling mass of white. She could barely make out the dark tree trunks lining either side of the lane.

Selena had never been out in a blizzard, but she’d heard tales of how dangerous they were. Grown men freezing to death because the snowfall was so thick, they couldn’t see that they were just steps from their own hearth when they finally gave in to exhaustion and lay down in a snowdrift to sleep. Shivering, she decided to turn around and head back to the palace.

When she did, panic set in. Her footsteps were gone, filled in by the wind scouring the ground in one spot only to pile the snow into knee-high drifts in another. Frozen shards stung her face, whirled around her. She couldn’t see more than three or four tree trunks ahead, not enough to make out the double line flanking the lane back to town. They all looked equally distant from each other, random dark shapes rising up out of the white mounds covering the ground. With a sinking feeling, she realized she had no idea which way to go.

The world became an icy white ocean. Above, below, all around her. And she was adrift in the middle of it.

Alone.

* * *

Haldor took one look at the sky and decided he’d have to stop for the day. A storm was brewing and he wanted to get back to the palace before it hit. Selena would be expecting him and he didn’t want to disappoint her.

She didn’t know that he’d been back from his trip for several days. He hadn’t been home yet, though. Instead, he’d been spending every waking minute working on her surprise. Missing her desperately but so excited to see the look on her face that he drove himself hard, working late night after night, sleeping on the stone floor.

Kylar and the others had left hours ago. He didn’t know how he would have done all this without them. He took one last look around then headed outside, hitched up the wagon, and called Loki, his wolfhound. The huge beast bounded out of the woods and leaped into the back of the wagon.

Haldor never ventured into the woods without Loki by his side. Gadolinian wolfhounds kept every other creature at bay. Not even a hungry snow leopard would dare attack him when faced with Loki’s snarling fangs.

By the time he reached the palace, the storm had reached full fury, wreaking its vengeance on the city. He drove through deserted streets with the wind howling around every corner. Houses were shuttered up tight, slivers of light leaking out to hint at the comfort and warmth inside.

He unhitched the wagon and stabled his horse, settled Loki with a plate of scraps from the kitchen then headed to the great hall, only to find it empty.

He stopped a serving wench on her way to the second floor. “Where is everyone?”

She looked surprised to see him. “My lord, they’re gone. The men have all headed into the woods. Toward your house.”

“My house? Why?”

The girl babbled so fast, he could barely follow. “Miss Selena. They’ve gone looking for her. Prince Kylar is furious. He shut Princess Talia in her room, threatened to spank her good when he gets back. She’s worried sick, crying so hard I’m afraid she’ll make herself ill. It’s not good for the baby.”

Haldor wanted to shake the young girl, but he restrained himself. Tried to keep his voice calm. “Why are they looking for Miss Selena? And why is Kylar angry?”

The young servant wrinkled her brow and began speaking to him as though he was slow-witted. “I told you, my lord. Miss Selena is gone. She told Princess Talia she was going back to your house. Said she wanted to surprise you when you came home. Prince Kylar and the other warriors were out hunting all day. When they arrived here, the storm had just hit.

“The prince was angry with his wife for not stopping Selena, but the princess had been inside all day. She had no idea the weather had turned bad. They’re all out looking for her. She was on foot, and his highness didn’t think she could have made it all the way back to your house before the storm caught her.”

Without another word, Haldor charged back down the stairs, taking them three at a time. He stopped in the stable long enough to hitch up the wagon and pile extra furs and blankets in the back then whistled for Loki.

Kylar and his search party would be fanning out along both sides of the lane that wound through the woods, the way Selena would have gone. If she’d gotten lost early on, they’d find her.

But Haldor knew how determined his woman could be. If she’d somehow made it deep into the woods and then lost her way, they might not find her before she froze to death. Ignoring the well-traveled lane, Haldor turned onto a narrow path cutting through the heart of the forest. Though the going would be rougher, it ran near his house.

He’d gone scarcely a quarter of a league when he pulled up the reins. The path was blocked by snowdrifts that made it impossible to take the wagon any farther. Strapping a pile of furs to his back, he grabbed a flask of mead and bent down to the wolfhound.

“Your mistress. She’s gone. Find her. Find Selena, Loki.”

The huge creature bounded away. Haldor tried desperately to keep up with the big hound’s gait, but he could barely see his own hands in front of his face. He stumbled over a downed tree hidden under a drift, cursing as he struggled to his feet. Loki circled back, prancing and whining, anxious to move on.

“Go Loki. Find her. Then come back and lead me to her.”

The animal shot away, disappeared into the swirling cloud of white. Haldor plodded after, following in the hound’s tracks as long as he could before they were obliterated.

Fear kept him on his feet long past the time any reasonable man would have given up, made a shelter from the mound of furs, and hunkered down to wait out the storm. He stumbled on, not worried about getting lost. Loki would find him.

Haldor prayed to the gods the wolfhound would find Selena first.

Chapter Eight

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