raised his arm and requested silence. The hall hushed instantly. ‘I have been recognised and welcomed back. I assume a wedding feast will have been prepared. It should now become a welcome-home feast. I look forward to drinking toasts with each and every one of you. I bear none ill will or malice. But would it be too much to ask for time alone with my wife before someone else attempts to steal her from under my nose?’
The entire chamber laughed as Kara fumed. Ash had them in the palm of his hand, just as he always had. Hring had sworn his son had been born with a tongue which could charm the birds from trees, never mind the maidens into his bed.
The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Ash.
Before Kara could object, the priest nodded his assent and indicated that they should use his antechamber.
‘We should go to the feast. People will want to greet you,’ she said in desperation. ‘Someone should be there to supervise.’
‘Shall we go from here, wife?’ Ash gave an elaborate bow, but his eyes remained colder than a glacier. ‘The men will not miss us for the brief time it will take to exchange our private greetings. The food and drink will flow whether you are there or not.’
‘Do you wish me to come with you?’ Valdar asked in an undertone. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. ‘I’m here if you need me, Kara. The priest will allow it if I ask. I want...I want to be your champion.’
Kara pressed her hand to her mouth. If she had ever had any doubts about Valdar, they vanished now. Not only had he been willing to recognise Ash, but he was also willing to fight for her. She truly had not deserved him. She wished that she felt something more than simple friendship for him. She wished she had been marrying him because she loved him, instead of to provide protection for her son.
‘How touching, Valdar.’ Ash’s voice could freeze icicles. ‘But my wife has no need of any champion except for me.’
‘That is for the Lady Kara to decide.’
‘I will be fine,’ she whispered back. ‘Fear is not something I have ever associated with Ash.’
Valdar bowed low. ‘Remember, Kara, I wanted to marry you, not the jaarldom. There is always divorce.’
‘I could never...’ Her throat closed. How could she have mistaken his intentions so badly? Somehow it made everything worse. She had nearly repeated the same mistake as seven years ago, only in reverse. Did that make her as wicked as Ash had been? ‘It depends on...’
Valdar nodded, understanding that she could never leave Rurik. In any divorce, the children stayed with the father. Ever since she had first felt Rurik move within her womb, she’d loved him unconditionally. She could not simply leave him with a father who was likely to leave on some adventure again, abandoning him. Equally she knew she could not stay with Ash as she once had, looking for the best in everything and instantly forgiving her hero anything.
‘Shall we go?’ Kara said with icy deliberateness. ‘You have much to explain.’
Ash put his hand on the small of her back, pulling her close. His lips angled down. She turned her face. A tiny tremor went through her as they brushed her cheek. She stiffened, but his hand kept her close.
‘As do you,’ he murmured, giving Valdar a significant look. ‘Wouldn’t want anyone to think we weren’t the happy reunited couple, would we?’
Kara clamped her mouth shut and knew his touch on her back was about possession rather than any real affection and that she might have made the biggest mistake of her life when she’d acknowledged him.
Chapter Three
‘I owe you a life debt,’ Ash said the instant he was alone with Kara in the priest’s antechamber and before she had a chance to start shouting at him about how long he’d been gone.
With its collection of bowls, pitchers and stores of incense, the antechamber was more a storage room than a place of worship. A particularly ugly sculpture of Thor wresting Loki dominated one side of the room. Hardly the place he’d envisioned greeting his wife properly, but it would have to do. Kara needed to understand that he was aware of what she had done and that he appreciated it.
Kara tore off the bridal crown and placed it on the table with a heavy clunk. Her blonde hair hung about her shoulders like a cloud of gold. ‘Of all the things to start with. No explanation or apology. You owe me nothing.’
Ash tensed. He had never seen Kara this angry or upset before. He’d expected her to be overjoyed that he had returned. And she was wrong—he owed her a huge debt.
The events in the temple could have easily gone the other way, endangering both their lives. He had never considered that his uncle would actively seek to deny his identity. His uncle had always encouraged him to chase adventure. Had he decided that the man who had returned was still not worthy of being called Hring Haraldson’s son? Or was it some power game that he knew nothing about? All Ash knew was that his uncle was now his enemy and, therefore, his family’s enemy, too.
‘I always pay my debts, Kara,’ he continued while she regarded him as if she wanted to wring his neck. He’d forgotten how beautiful she could be when aroused. ‘And you gave me back my life.’
‘How can I give back something you never lost?’ Her voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘Speaking the truth benefits everyone. Lies are always discovered. We did marry seven years ago. I’m pleased you finally remembered you had a waiting family in the midst of your adventuring.’
Ash struggled to control his temper. He’d always known he had a family. He’d endured the last six years of hell so he could return with his head held high and his honour intact...for his family. ‘What was going on out there, Kara?’
‘I was about to marry an honourable man. Generally that is what being a bride at a wedding means.’ Her deep-blue eyes blazed defiantly. ‘To the best of my knowledge, you died in a shipwreck, Ash.’
‘I promised you I would return.’
‘There are some promises people are unable to keep. I’ve learnt that lesson well, Ash.’ She slammed her fists together. ‘You must be aware how difficult it can be for a widow to survive.’
Ash rubbed the back of his neck. He supposed he deserved the rebuke. For as long as he could remember Kara had hung on his every word and adored him. When his father had ordered him to marry, Kara had been the natural choice. Safe. Comfortable. Always there and someone who believed in his dreams and him. He’d taken her for granted, just as he had all of his good fortune in those days. But when he’d been trapped in that dungeon with his men dying all about him, he’d known that he couldn’t return to Raumerike ruined and broken. He’d sent a message.
He tried to think if the Kara he remembered would have spoken in front of a crowd. His main memories of her were her soft crooning voice as she tended one of the sick animals she had found. Or blushing crimson when he stole a kiss.
‘Why did no one recognise me until you asked?’ he asked to keep his mind off uncomfortable thoughts.
She tilted her chin upwards. ‘If you wanted to be recognised without question, you should have returned sooner.’
‘I ran into complications.’ Ash waved a hand, dismissing the past seven years.
