Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
He looked like a god right then, powerful, strong, immortal in the face of danger.
“You stay here, Greta,” he said in his deep voice, one that had my toes curling and all fear leaving.
I was okay now.
I was safe.
“I’ll make sure nothing ever harms you again.” He cupped my cheek and my breath left me suddenly from that touch. He stared into my eyes for long seconds, and I wanted desperately for him to kiss me. I wanted to feel his lips on mine, to have him pull me into the hardness of his body.
In that moment, I wanted to forget that there was a madman out there looking for me, and that Calder would surely fight to the death with Egil to ensure my safety.
And, in that moment, I felt myself falling even more for this big berserker.
Chapter Eight
Calder
I didn’t want to leave her, but I had to end this, had to teach Egil a lesson, take his life for the offense he’d committed.
As I stared into Greta’s eyes, I wanted to kiss her. But right now, I needed to stay in focus, needed to finish this.
“Stay here. I’ll come back to you.” And without waiting for a response, I turned and left, tracking Egil.
He was loud, not bothering to hide where he was. It made my job easier, made finding him simple.
And then I saw him, stepping into a clearing, his attention on trying to find Greta and not the fact that he’d been hunted and tracked himself. He looked to the left, then to the right, and still I stood there, waited, watched him and his ministrations, studying him.
The moonlight shone down on him and illuminated the ax at his side, the sword strapped to his back. But this wouldn’t be drawn out. This would be over before he even realized.
I watched where I stepped, was silent and stealthy. Within a matter of seconds, I was right behind him, close enough I could’ve reached out and wrapped my hand around his neck, broken the bone and ended this here. But I didn’t kill a man without them knowing.
They would see it coming, know their life was about to be extinguished.
And I knew the moment he realized he wasn’t alone. It was in the tightening of his body, the way his spine straightened. In a matter of seconds, he had his ax drawn and had spun around, facing off with me.
I grabbed hold of his arm just as he went to swing the ax down, used my knee to kick him in the gut. I pushed him back, lifted my hand and grabbed my sword, which was strapped to my back. His eyes widened and then instantly narrowed when he realized it was I who stood before him. The moonlight caught the middle of my sword, causing it to glint in the darkness.
He charged forward and I brought my sword down, slicing his leg, hearing him howl. I felt the beast in me rise up at the fact I’d drawn the first blood.
He had his sword in hand as he came forward once more. We clashed together, weapons clanking, grunts filling the air. Although Egil was a good fighter, he was no match for me. I was born to do this, a berserker in all senses of the word. I was strong and powerful, and could see my opponent’s weaknesses right away.
Egil was too arrogant, and that showed in his movements, in the way he brought his sword down, the way he charged forward. He was sloppy, too hasty, and it was easy to see his actions before he made them.
I pushed him back with my forearm, brought my leg out and knocked him on his back. I brought my sword down but he rolled away, my blade digging into the ground. He charged forward, his head landing in my gut, the motion propelling us until a thick tree stopped us. I wrapped my hand around his neck and spun us around, now having him pressed against the trunk, looking directly in his eyes as I leaned forward.
I snarled, having nothing to say because no words needed to be spoken. He knew what he’d done, the wrong he’d committed. And he knew, as I watched his eyes widen, that his life was payment. Even if he hadn’t hurt Greta, I still would’ve killed him.
But I’d seen the mark on the side of her face, and that had everything in me getting even more vicious, more violent. And so I brought my hand back, shoved it forward quickly, and drove my blade right into the center of his stomach.
I stared in his eyes the entire time as I brought that blade up. He never made a sound, never screamed out in pain.
I twisted the blade and watched as he sputtered, blood pooling in the corner of his mouth.