Page 38 of Viking

“When?”

My gaze locks on his. “The night I married the Prophet.”

Viking’s brows form a high arch on his forehead. He scrubs a hand over his beard and sits beside me.

“You’re married?” he asks through clenched teeth.

“I did not choose to be. I have seen weddings on TV. It was not like that. No one asked me what I wanted.”

He lets out a heavy breath and shakes his head. “And you killed someone on your wedding night?”

I swallow and nod my head infinitesimally. “I killed the Prophet on our wedding night.”

“How?”

“I sunk a cheese knife into his fat throat.”

Viking laughs, and I do too.

“A cheese knife?”

I nod. “My sister Adella saved me. She told me to run through the dark forest and where to jump from the cliff into the mother—into the sea. But they killed her, threw her lifeless body to the rocks below. I left her there. I left her at their mercy. I left her to die, Viking.”

“You did what you had to do to survive. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”

“Her head is likely decorating a pike outside our cage, a reminder to the entire island, especially the Sisters of the Moon.”

“Then I can’t take you with me. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”

“I’m hurting no matter what.” I rise and take several steps away from him. “If you take this choice from me, I’ll never be free ... and I’ll never forgive you.”

“Fine, but you don’t leave my fucking side at Niko’s compound,” he says. “And if I tell you to stay in the goddamn room, your ass is gonna stay put. We clear?”

I nod, a smile erupting across my face. I throw my arms around him, loving the way his warmth seeps into my bones. Viking embraces me with a half-hearted hug and I squirm against him, trying to get closer.

He chuckles and presses a kiss to the crown of my head. “You’re gonna be the fucking death of me, little siren.”