Mastered by the Berserkers (Berserker Brides #8) - Lee Savino Page 0,12

must see.

For a moment Juliet did nothing but squint into the dark. Then her body stiffened, and I knew what she saw—the magical boundary that ended at the foot of the cliff. The edge of the barrier that enclosed and protected the mountain. On one side, snow bitten rocks and grasses quivered in the wind. On the other, the ground was bare, trampled to mud by foul feet. The monstrous draugr marched along the boundary, at times pausing to press their rotting corpse bodies against the magical barrier and howl. The wind carried their moans away.

“See what we protect you from?” I asked quietly. I didn’t want to scare her, but this was necessary. She had to know.

She gulped. “What are they?”

“The Corpse King’s creatures. He is a mage of old. He seeks spaewives to marry so he can steal their magic.”

She shook her head, still staring at the undead horde.

“This is what we saved you from. This is why we took you from the abbey.”

“Jarl,” Fenrir warned. You’re upsetting her.

She is already upset. She thinks us monsters? Let us show her what monsters truly are.

Her trembling increased, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I leapt down to the path and started climbing again with long strides. “Come. We’ve lingered too long in the cold.”

Juliet

Inside the lodge, the scent of sawdust bit my nose. I sneezed just as Jarl set me down. He held on to me, and I pushed him away, sneezing again. I did not want his help.

“Juliet,” he murmured, but let me stagger away from him. I was no longer freezing—Fenrir’s fur robe had warmed me, and even though the air inside the lodge was not warmer, it was at least sheltered from the wind.

I turned in a slow circle, examining the place they’d brought me. This lodge was not unlike the lodge of the unmated spaewives.

They’d kidnapped me from my home now twice. First from the abbey, then from the lodge where they’d promised I’d be safe. They’d stripped me of everything I’d known.

All I had left were my vows, and even those they would leave in tatters.

I walked further into the lodge, aware of two large shadows stalking me. Jarl and Fenrir. The warriors who’d dragged me from the abbey, my home. Who sheltered and protected me.

I ignored them to explore the place they’d brought me to. There was a fire pit near the entrance. Stacks of wood and a few barrels lined the walls. At the back was a frame for stretching and drying furs.

In the middle of the lodge was a huge bed. Whole trees had been hewn to make it. It was piled high with furs.

I reached out and rubbed the polished wood, then sank my hand in the silky furs.

“Will you take me this night?” My voice was oddly detached. It would take nothing for them to strip me and lay me down on the bed, and claim me as I knew they wanted to.

What was worse, deep down, a part of me wanted them to.

Kyrie eleison. Christos eleison. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.

They’d brought me here to break my vows. If not this night, then soon.

I turned and faced them. They towered over me.

The warriors exchanged a look. I knew they communicated mind to mind, another form of sorcery I should renounce, but I was too tired.

“No,” Jarl answered. “Not this night, but soon.”

“Does he always speak for you?” I baited Fenrir. Perverse of me to pick at the silent Berserker, but perhaps I could turn him against Jarl. I needed every weapon I could gain.

“No,” Fenrir answered, and ambled out of the lodge.

“Where is he going?” I rubbed my arms under the fur Fenrir had given me.

Jarl tugged me close and rubbed my arms over the fur, chafing them until warmth rose. “He goes to fetch wood for a fire. Why did you poke at him? Were you trying to pick a fight?”

I flushed. Was I that transparent?

“Surely you must fight with him sometimes.”

Jarl shrugged. “Often. But he has been my brother for over a hundred years.”

I pulled away. “What is the magic that binds you? Is it evil?”

“You’ve seen us fight.” He crouched in the middle of the lodge to strike a blaze in the sooty pit. His muscles flexed and his eyes blazed gold. “You’ve seen us at rest. What do you think?”

“The abbess would say it is pagan magic.”

“Is all pagan magic evil?” He had a small fire going, and cupped his hands around it