Chapter Eleven
Evelyn struggled for breath as the golden-haired Norseman squeezed her throat, cutting off her warning. Drawing his sword, he pinned her against his armor, creating a shield with her trembling body. She had no choice but to watch helplessly as her lover lunged toward them from across the small clearing, the promise of swift and brutal death etched in his unnatural black eyes.
She couldn’t bear to watch. Squeezing her eyes shut, she searched for her knowledge.
Nothing. Blackness. She’d never been able to see her own fate.
This was all her fault. She was going to be the cause of Roderick’s death.
Despairing, Evelyn fought back tears as her captor unexpectedly shifted her position, jerking her eyes open.
As if blocked by an invisible barricade, Roderick paced in front of them, panting and raging, his movements wild, threatening and predatory.
Evelyn took in the blood splattered across his armor and face. He was filled with the killing rage. Why, then, was he not coming for her?
“See that?” The malevolent, foreign accent chilled her. “He can’t do anything that might put you in danger. You are his mate.”
“I- I don’t know what you mean,” she stammered, unable to look away from her growling berserker.
“Did he claim you, woman? Did he kiss you on the mouth?” His fingers tightened painfully. “Have you already seen him like this?”
Unable to speak, she nodded her head.
“His berserker has chosen you as its mate. Had he not, you would have been instantly killed.” His dark chuckle repulsed her, “I can smell his stench all over you...”
Dumbfounded, she stared into Roderick’s onyx eyes and saw the stark anguish of the man inside.
Her…mate?
Oh God! She hadn’t known what she was asking when she’d begged for his kiss, hadn’t understood the significance of his tenderness when controlled by his berserker. How perfect. This extraordinary man would have embraced her own unnatural ability, would have allowed her to be herself and never exploited her. This she knew. Tears welled as the knowledge that she could love him overwhelmed her. She’d never known anything like that before. Not about her own future.
“I want you to understand, the name of your mate is now Alrik the Blue, should my berserker accept you, of course.” His sword flashed as he nicked her arm, drawing a tiny bit of blood. She whimpered before she could stop herself.
Roaring, Roderick drew his own blade. Desperate sounds burst from him now. He stalked them, seeking access to Alrik who kept her firmly between them no matter how she struggled.
“I possess his voice. I never thought he would be able to find a mate without it. Look at him. Roderick the Black,” he spat the title as if it tasted sour on his tongue. “Too young to even control the blood-rage. Wields only fledgling magic. Pathetic!”
Evelyn remembered the night before, the candles extinguishing by themselves. A cry burst from her as he punctuated with another slash of his sword across her skin, this time a deep gash opened on her thigh, drawing an alarming well of blood.
Roderick’s unholy scream terrified her. He lashed out. The older berserker dodged and thrust her in front of the blow, pulling Roderick up short.
“He is favored by Freya, even after I cursed him! And now, the first among what remains of us to find a mate, which will increase his power tenfold.”
Evelyn’s teeth clattered together as he shook her for emphasis.
“I am the oldest and most potent of Freya’s Warriors. I wear the color of the Goddess. There is no way that a Celt, the latest born of the Berserkers is going to rival me! I challenge you, Gael, for your chosen mate and don’t think for a second that she won’t accept me.”
“Never.” she vowed. “And you’re a coward for holding a woman as a shield. You shame your warrior Goddess!”
He didn’t strike her as she feared. His lips drew sickeningly close to her ear. Serpentine fingers of evil caused her blood to run cold as his breath brushed her neck. “There are things I could do to you that would ensure your acceptance and, mark me, I would enjoy every moment.”
She shuddered, forcing her mind away from the frightening images he conjured. “What does my acceptance have to do with any of this?”
After a shocked pause, Roderick moaned and Alrik burst into laughter. “You haven’t accepted him? Of course! How could he have told you?” He vibrated with mirth. “You simple tavern slut. I’m going to enjoy making you—”
“Yes, I do!” She cut him off, unwilling to hear his threats. “I accept Roderick MacLauchlan as my…uh… mate.” There. That ought to accomplish something.
Both men gaped.
“It doesn’t matter.” Alrik recovered first. “I can still challenge for you.”
Evelyn’s breath slowed as she met the swirling eyes of her mate and witnessed the power flow through him. Her energy fused with his and a bond of celestial weaving clasped into place. “No,” she whispered. “You cannot if you’re dead.”
With a barely perceptible nod to her mate, she went perfectly slack in Alrik’s arms, dropping her head below his chest before Roderick’s sword arced toward his neck.
With unnatural force, she was thrown to the ground, Alrik needing both arms free to deflect the lethal blow.
Evelyn winced. Her leg bled heavily now as she scrambled out of the way of the dueling warriors. Weakness crept through her, and she knew she didn’t have much time.
Alrik’s blue eyes had been overtaken by familiar onyx as his beast burst forth to meet his foe. Moving at speeds she could barely detect with her mortal eye, she could only watch helplessly as every so often, they slowed with a particularly powerful collision of their swords.
Locked in epic battle, they didn’t see her tremble, didn’t feel the chill that stole through her emptying veins. “Roderick,” she whispered. “Please hurry…” She gaped at the puddle of blood forming beneath her. Pressing on the wound with her soiled skirt, she moaned.
Her berserker was truly something to behold. The speed and grace with which he moved was a stark contrast to the raw power in his blows. The older, faster Alrik thought to be the aggressor, but was thwarted at every attempt. An elemental command spurred Roderick forward, as he hacked at the blue knight with such ferocity that his enemy stumbled backward.
With one last enraged cry, Roderick delivered the final blow that sent Alrik’s head sailing through the air. His body crumpled to the ground, twitching with the last impulses of life.
Dropping his sword, Roderick was at her side in a moment, lifting her to his lap. Panting moans of denial exploded from his chest as she squinted up at him, hot tears tracking to her hair from the corners of her eyes.
“E, Eh, Ev, Evelyn!” He ground out, his voice returned by the death of its possessor.
The darkness took her while she listened to the foreign sounds of his beautiful voice muttering desperate words against her forehead.