The Barbarian's Stolen Bride (Northmen Barbarians 1)

I wanted to continue to help Fen grow Kaldir and let it flourish.

And so I needed to start acting like a queen.

With that in mind and a renewed sense of purpose filling me, I made my way toward the gardens, remembering where to go from my many hours of wandering the castle. The farther away I went from the commotion, the more at ease I felt. My shoulders relaxed, my breathing evening out.

Although all this activity did set me on edge, simply because I wasn’t used to so much lavish fussing, I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t looking forward to seeing what a feast at the castle looked like. My experience with meals thus far was private settings with Fen or eating by myself.

On my way to the garden, I passed many people, and aside from small bows of respect, they continued on their way, clearly having an objective in mind.

I found myself in the garden shortly after, and for long moments I just walked around, bending down to smell the flowers, running my fingers along the silky petals. The beauty of it astounded me, and I marveled at it all. I’d never been around anything like this in all my life.

I’d left the protection of the village walls a few times, traveling with a group to gather supplies. I’d seen the valleys that lined the bottom of the mountains. Picked many wildflowers that grew along the water’s edge. But nothing came close to this tranquil setting.

There was another smaller fountain situated in the center, and when I went over and sat on the stone ledge that surrounded it, I tipped my head back and looked at the sky. The ceiling—shockingly—was made of glass, causing constant light to filter in. I wondered if in the cold season the garden stayed just as beautiful and flourished as it was right now.

I focused back on the water, and I dipped my hand in, letting my fingers trail along the top. I stayed like that for long moments, feeling peaceful, and for the first time not feeling the constant rush of my life and survival.

This prickling on the back of my neck started, and I glanced up, looking around, because the sensation was one that said I wasn’t alone.

But I was alone in the garden, and as I let my gaze land on the glass twin doors across from me, I couldn’t see anything but the stone corridor and the dark shadows that started just beyond my reach.

Shivers skated over me as I stared into that darkness and felt something primal in me wake up. Survival. I knew something was there.

And the longer I sat there and stared at the doors, the more my body reacted to that unseen threat. My heart started racing, my palms becoming damp, and my hands shaking. A prickly sensation, that powerful awareness, started to cover my entire body as the breath sawed in and out of my lungs.

And then a figure stepped out from the darkness, moving closer, clearly male by the sheer size of his body.

When he was out of the darkness and some of the natural garden lighting washed over him, I could make him out more clearly.

His face was set in harsh lines, with the shadows making his severe features even more intense. He wore dark leathers that seemed to crisscross over his body. War regalia. But it wasn’t the uniform for the army of Kaldir, which said he was a foreigner.

From one of the other kingdoms.

His hair was longish, falling to his shoulders, uneven and hacked as if he’d taken a knife and cut it himself.

And when he slowly smiled, his lips peeling back over his teeth, a very sinister expression formed on his face. I found myself standing and taking a step back. It was an involuntary reaction, one that told me this man was dangerous and not someone I should be in the presence of.

I wanted Fen in that moment, and a part of me felt weak for thinking that, for wanting him to protect me. I’d always relied on myself, had to be strong for me, because after my father had passed, there was no one else who cared. Not really. Not anyone who would have mourned me if I was… gone.

But I was smart enough to know when I was up against something that was bigger, stronger, more dangerous than anything I could ever take on.

And as I looked into his dark eyes, I knew this man was like a disease, a wound that was infected and would continue to spread its corrosion throughout the body.

I had no idea why I felt this way, but maybe it was an instinct. Maybe it was another sense in my body like seeing or smelling or touching.

All I knew is I felt this feeling down to my core.