LORD OF
THE SEAS
Viking
Lords #3
by
Sabrina Jarema
Genre: Historical Romance
Pub
Date: 8/8/2017
The Vikings
roamed and raided the known world, always returning to their
beautiful, sacred realm. Now, a young Christian woman is forced into
this land—by a Viking lord with a secret he dares not reveal . . .
From
Istanbul to Ireland, Rorik of Vargfjell is legendary for the battles
he has fought, the wealth he has amassed, and the women he has loved.
So when a Northumbrian Earl refuses to pay tribute, and even burns
one of Rorik’s ships, the Viking seizes the earl’s daughter—and
will hold her for ransom. Or so was his plan.
At home in
Northumbria, Elfwynn had experienced agonizing losses—including the
peaceful world she was born into. Now she stands face to face with a
towering, chiseled Viking in his wondrous kingdom. With her gift of
music, her unworldly beauty and strange courage, Elfwynn will prove
to be very different than any woman Rorik has known. And for a man
who lords over sea and land, what she demands will be the greatest
challenge of all . . .
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As they walked up
to the house, her mother was tending herbs in the front.
Wulf strode ahead of Elfwynn. “Rohesia, it’s good to see you out on this fine day.” He gave her a quick embrace.
“And it’s always good to see you, Wulf. You come here far too seldom. How much like
your father you look with your curling brown hair and blue eyes.” She smiled at
Elfwynn, but it held a sad- ness, as always.
“Both of you. So similar
to each other.
Will you stay for a time
and have some ale? I brewed it fresh.”
“Thank you, Rohesia, but I’m going
on patrol with my men. With the burning of the longship, we must
be vigilant. I’ll send some of Father’s men to watch over you in the days
ahead. I wanted to make certain Elfwynn came back safely. She shouldn’t have been down by the river to begin with.” He gave her a quick frown.
“I’ve been walking to the farms to get wool for years, Wulf.
The Northmen being in this area is nothing new. I’ve always been fine. But I
promise, if I go any place, I’ll take some of the men with me.” “I’d feel
better knowing that. I’m leaving soon to find our forces who are patrolling
against Mercia and bring them here.” He took Elfwynn by the shoulders. “Be
careful. We’ve lived in an uneasy peace with the Danes since they arrived here,
but that could change. We burned the ship of the most powerful of the Northmen.
They won’t care that we don’t know how it happened. They only under- stand
revenge. If anything happens, promise me you’ll go to the keep as fast as you
can. I don’t care what my mother thinks. Father will be
there.
You’ll have a place.”
“I promise, Wulf. We’ll be fine.”
He gave her a dubious look before letting
her go. “Keep
her out of trouble, Rohesia. I’ll be gone a
couple of weeks at most.”
“She’ll be too
busy weaving with all the orders she has. I doubt she’ll leave her loom, even
to eat.”
He shook his
head. “Why you insist on making your own money,
Elfwynn, is something neither Father nor I understand. He gives you
everything you need.”
“People value
what they pay for,” she said. “My weavings are the
finest in the region. Should I not get recompense for my hours?”
“Of course.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Just remember to sleep once in a while. I’ll
see you when I return.”
She watched him
walk in the direction of the keep until he was lost in the trees.
Father gave them all they needed, yes. For their
lives here. But he would never fund a journey to Rohesia’s people in
Strathclyde. Elfwynn had to work to save for that. It might be the only thing
that would spare her mother’s life. If they remained here, the memories of her
dead son and the unrequited love she bore for Edward would cause her to fade
away until she died. If she were among her own relations, she could start anew.
She was not so old that her life needed to be
over.
She was still beautiful. Elfwynn looked at her as she tended
to her herbs. Over time, her beauty had become more translucent, like a fine glass. Each day it thinned, as though
she were being worn out from within. One day,
she would fade away.
Only a few more pieces of cloth, a little more silver, and Elfwynn
would have enough. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, even before the fall.
Elfwynn breathed
in the air scented with the herbs and flowers growing nearby. The aromas of
home. This place was all she’d ever known. Still, many of the people she’d
grown up with had never truly accepted her. It wasn’t because of her baseborn
status. That wouldn’t matter so much in their land, as long as she was
freeborn. Because Rohesia was free, Elfwynn was as well.
No, it was because
of Mildburg. Many of her father’s
people didn’t want to make
an enemy of the lady of the keep, so they shunned
both her and her mother. While
there were some who remained friendly,
it still made for a lonely life. They needed to go where they would be
accepted and welcomed. Among her mother’s people,
they would be. She had a single regret—leaving Wulf and their father. Edward loved her. It was the one unaltered
fact of her existence. It gave her strength, even in the face of the losses she’d endured.
Her brother. Her cousin. So
many others who had died in the never-ending wars. Her father was always there for her and there were many times his
arms were her sole support.
If only he could see her mother’s
pain the same way. His mind
was always elsewhere, protecting his people who were foremost in his life. And yet, he was blind to so much of what lay before him at home.
Elfwynn picked up
a shawl lying on a bench against the house and spread it over her mother’s thin
shoulders. Rohesia smiled her thanks, then continued weeding.
She walked to the
house, but before entering, she glanced back
at her mother’s bent frame. If the earl had made a clean break with them
years ago, it would have been better for all of them, especially her mother.
But he hadn’t.
Now, it was up to her.
Sabrina
Jarema lives near Ocala, Florida, the Horse Capital of the World. She
has a herd of fat, lazy Arabians on 40 beautiful acres. She also
breeds and shows white German Shepherd Dogs and currently has several
Grand Victrixes taking over her house. She’s joined by a menagerie
of tortoises, turtles, birds, fish and cats. To avoid farm work as
much as possible, she loses herself in the worlds she creates through
the novels she writes, her art, music, dollhouses, and jewelry. She
has worked as a professional fantasy illustrator and has written
fantasy romance for many years. Recently, she has branched out into
historical romances set in the early Viking era. She is currently
writing the Viking Lords series, a family saga set in Norway during
the ninth century. She is an active member of the Tampa Area Romance
Authors chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
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1 comments:
Thanks for hosting Lord of the Seas!
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