Return of the Danu Read online

  "I understand now, why my brother put his claiming mark on his female before she had a chance to escape him." He growled. "Pity I did not plan ahead and bring it with me on this journey. If I had you would have been wearing it long since, whether you agreed or not."

  She smiled. "That is my barbarian prince." She pulled back and laughed at him. "I suppose that means you will be forced to ask me to stay with you. Since you can't just claim me without your little trinket to make it official for the barbarian hordes."

  Ansgar bared his teeth at her. Then carried her inside to her bed. Flinging the door closed behind them.

  ***

  A shout came, interrupting the meal they eventually left Elena’s room to share with the camp. Quain had not bothered to attend but he was the only one who had not come to the meal. Beside Khalon and Katrine, the Danu she had helped raise were all in attendance, looking at the southern warriors with curiosity and some small amount of awe. After all they had been taught from babies that we hid in the wilds to stay safe from these very men.

  The five girls and one small boy that had been carried out of the weave by Elena herself so many years ago ranged from thirteen to sixteen now, all old enough to have come into their powers, and all well trained by both Elena and Quain in the forest craft of the Danu. With the similar coloring of the Danu they all shared they looked more like sisters than the distantly related strangers they had started out as. And as one they all stared at the southern warriors, and none of them were eating a thing.

  Though truthfully Elena could not blame them, these teasing easy going barbarians was not what she had expected either.

  Lor and Beck having been completely healed were teasing Ragnar about his living in the trees surrounded by mostly females while the females in question looked on laughing at the exchange,

  The nearly seven foot giant looked no different than the battle hardened warrior they were used to. His war hammer was never far from his big hands and he looked even bigger and more dangerous here among the small and fine boned Danu. As Elena had said, living in the wilds had not softened the man. If anything training with the small quick and dexterous magic users had honed him to a sharp edge. Even surrounded by females he had lost none of his menace.

  As for the Danu, all young and deceptively fragile looking. Every southern warrior there, including ‘the hammer’ had spent enough time among the Danu not to underestimate them. Ansgar, Lor and Beck with Elena, Khalon and Ragnar with the rest of them.

  That was why Elena surmised, that while the warriors teased each other about living with the ‘soft’ Danu they did not treat any of the magic users to less than utmost respect. And goodness did they tease each other. Elena had laughed more than once at their antics and the sheer pleasure of being both in the wilds and touching Ansgar.

  Seeing Lor and Beck in fighting shape and able to tease the giant Ragnar had relieved Elena so much she had hugged them both before Ansgar could stop her.

  A feeling alerted her to her brothers return and she looked up to find him still glaring at them all. He had made himself scarce since Elena and Ansgar had locked themselves in her room and gone to bed. Now it was clear from his angry face and mission that he had either been voluntarily, or not, sent on scouting duties.

  Khalon looked over his wife’s shoulder at the glaring Quain and raised a brow in question. Quain looked at Katrine.

  “An envoy from the king stands at the border do you want me to find out what he wants?”

  Katrine did not roll her eyes as Elena wanted to do. What did her brother thin? That they would want to ignore am envoy from the king?

  The queen simply nodded and spoke before he could say anything else to the mixed group. Probably smart on her part, since Elena could tell her brother had been about to say something regrettable.

  “Quain please go and collect whatever message the envoy carries.”

  Quain left with one last glare pointed Elena’s way. No doubt he did not like how close she was sitting to Ansgar. She wondered what the king wanted from them.

  “We sent him the letter you crafted,” Khalon assured his brother. “It is probably just a response to that, and the meeting we have proposed for two days hence.” He looked from him to Elena. “I did not add anything about Elena. Thinking, as I’m sure you did, that it was news best made in person.

  After I have a chance to collect my wedding cuff from my things, Ansgar thought. And make it official. His father would have nothing he could say about it.

  When Quain returned he returned without the messenger but with a burlap package that he handed to Khalon grudgingly. Khalon opened it, looked inside took out a letter and then passed all of it to Ansgar with a shake of his head and a smile.

  Ansgar saw his name on the royal missive so he opened that first.

  His father’s letter was short and to the point. He agreed to the meeting and thanked them for the information and approved wholeheartedly with the choices of farm land, city and garrison placement that Ansgar had reported to him.

  War was coming but they would be united. His father was too shrewd for anything else. Ansgar was pleased. He passed the letter back to Khalon and Katrine.

  Something else caught his eye when Ansgar looked in the bag his father had sent along. He understood then why his brother had smiled and had to once again applaud his father’s wily ways. The old bastard had seen how he’d watched Elena and known he wanted her. He had made sure Ansgar had no choice but to spend time with her.

  Ansgar looked down at Elena and smiled his predatory smile. Then pulled out a golden cuff, nearly identical to the one that sat on his brother’s wife’s arm. Elena looked from his dark smile to the cuff in his hand. The one that looked a lot like the one Katrine was wearing. Her wedding cuff. Clearly Ansgar had his father’s approval for the claiming.

  Elena felt her eyes widen as realization hit her, and she saw the gleam of satisfaction hit those barbarian eyes.

  Catching the gleam of intent in Ansgar’s eyes Elena did not hesitate, she turned and bolted.

  Ansgar threw back his head and laughed, and no one who heard it doubted that the ruthless bastard would get exactly what he wanted.

  There would be time enough to prepare for war after he claimed his bride. A long time after, if he had anything to say about it.

  Ansgar followed his Danu witch into the wilds.

  Elena, he knew would not make it easy for him, but he had one advantage over his lady witch that changed everything. She wanted to be caught.

  Look for the third book of the Danu coming in 2019.