Page 13 of Bats Out of Hell (Vikings Rock #1)

“G ather the village for their new king’s wedding!” Haakon boomed as they re-entered the fort. He held up his hands. “We will feast and celebrate, then when the sun sets I will bed my beautiful bride.”

“You are a king now?” Noah said with a sideways glance.

“It is my destiny to rule.” Haakon banged his chest and grinned. He carried on walking at speed. “Which makes me a king.”

Kenna spotted her mother coming from the well with a bucket. “Mother.” She rushed to her and took the water. “He has done it. He has become Christian in order to marry me.”

“Lord, give us strength.” Her mother shook her head. “And give you strength, for I have just heard him holler to the entire village that he intends to bed you later.”

Kenna shivered at the thought. “And, Mother…” She didn’t know how to form the sentence.

“What?” Her mother squeezed Kenna’s arm as they walked. “Tell me.”

“He… He has…”

“What?”

“Oh, it is so sinful. He has a metal ring, down there, through the end of his…”

“No!”

“Aye, apparently, it was a gift from his mother, to ensure a woman’s pleasure.”

Her mother crossed herself. “What kind of woman was his mother? That is indeed a sin.”

“And I have to…” Kenna swallowed. “Take that inside myself. I will burst, surely, it is so big. He is so big.”

“And unlikely to be gentle. Men like him do not know their own strength.”

Kenna’s eyes misted and her chest squeezed. “I will have to pray to God that it is quick.”

“Kenna, my love!” Haakon boomed in her direction. “We will wed at midday.” He pointed to the sun that was peeking through the sludgy, gray clouds. “Ensure you are ready for me.”

“He is very determined,” Hamish said, coming alongside Kenna and their mother. “I will give him that.” He paused. “And he has angered his fiery sister. That is not something I envy him of.”

“Aye, he has and she is a demon,” Kenna said. “But I have other concerns. Concerns for myself.”

“I will be close at all times, sister, and I will lay down my life to protect you should he hurt you.” Hamish set his hand on her shoulder.

“I thank you, Hamish. You are kind and dear to me.” She sighed. “But this is a cross a woman must bear alone.” She watched Haakon stride toward the Great House. His paces were long and a damp patch had spread on the back of his tunic where his hair had dripped. He didn’t appear to notice trivial things like the icy temperature of the day.

“They have been working all morning, the Vikings.” Bryce appeared, hand on his dagger. “Building and banging and converting the Great House for their own use. They have taken over.” He spat on the ground.

“It is preferable to them killing us all.” Noah looked at Olaf.

“I agree.” Olaf tugged his long beard, smoothing the tip into a point. “Which is what I believed they would do when I first saw them. We should send our thanks to God that we are standing here breathing, talking, that we have blood in our veins and so do our loved ones.”

“It’s all well and good for you to say that.” Kenna gestured at Olaf. “ You don’t have to be bedded by him.”

“My child.” Olaf pressed his palms to her cheeks. “God will give you strength in your moment of need.”

“I’d prefer some strong ale.” She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

“Come, Kenna,” her mother said. “We must get you ready for your new husband. We do not wish to anger him.”

“What I should do is run for the mountains.” Kenna glanced to her right and saw their peaks rising into the clouds. “He doesn’t know this land; he wouldn’t find me there.”

“I think he would.” Hamish shook his head. “He has abandoned the gods he grew up with, his people’s gods, in order to have you. He barely thought twice about it. I don’t think there is anything he wouldn’t do to have you. To make you his and have you by his side.”

“Thanks for that!” Kenna glared at him. “How to make me feel really fucking trapped.”

“You are not trapped.” Her mother wrapped her arm around Kenna’s waist. “You are saving your village. You are following God’s rich path, the one He has set out for you.”

“Like a martyr,” Kenna huffed. “Oh, good. How lucky I am.”

*

Four hours later, when the sun had left the sky and a chill had seeped into the air, Kenna sat at a table in the renovated Great House beside her giant of a new husband. A harpist played in the corner, but its melodic sound was drowned out by the din of the festivities.

“ Skál! Skál! ” Haakon shouted for the tenth time as he held up his mug of ale. “How lucky a man am I.” He laughed and drank and his fellow Vikings did the same.

“Congratulations to King Rory,” Hamish said loudly.

Haakon stilled and stared at him. “I am King Haakon.”

“You have a new Christian name.”

“That I do not wish to use…yet.” Haakon spun his finger in the air. “So many changes to get used to. I will take them one at a time. Or maybe two at a time. For right now, I am getting used to being both king and a husband.”

Hamish looked about to argue but then thought better of it.

“Eat, my brother by law,” Haakon said, gesturing to the food. “Eat and be merry with me.”

A feast of pork, fish, bone broth, honeyed porridge, and fresh bread had been laid on. Sweet heather ale flowed and squat candles burned brightly in every corner and on every table. But while Haakon and his friends acted as if all were right in the world, like they were having the time of their lives, the villagers were subdued and wary. They threw furtive glances at their new king and his men—always on edge, clearly waiting for permission to leave the marital festivities and retreat to their small homes.

“The Bible says all sorrows will pass,” Kenna said, leaning closer to Hamish.

“That, I will pray for.” Hamish paused. “I haven’t seen the sister, not since the beach.”

“No, neither have I.” Kenna glanced around the room. Gunnar was sloshing ale into his mug. “She is indeed very angry with her brother.”

“As you would be with me if I turned my back on God. Which I would never do.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” She paused. “Maybe you should go and look for Haakon’s sister, Hamish.”

“What? Why? Why me?” He shrugged then glanced around.

“She seems to like you, and if I have to wed a heathen, then why shouldn’t you?”

Hamish frowned. “She does not like me—she looks at me with disdain. Clearly, she sees me as an inferior race. There is no way on this Earth I would marry her.”

Kenna shrugged. She couldn’t entirely dismiss his point. Astrid did give glares that could wither a fresh flower.

“ Skál , oh, beautiful wife of mine.” Haakon leaned close to her, his arm brushing hers and his body heat seeming to wrap around her. “I am indeed a lucky man. The envy of every man in this room and more should they see you.”

His gaze drifted down her body, hovering at the neckline of her yellow, woolen gown and the fish-shaped brooch that fastened the material in place. He slid his tongue over his bottom lip and nodded slowly. “ Ja , very lucky, indeed.”

Her belly tightened and she twisted a loop of hair around her finger, fidgeting on the chair.

“Do not fear,” he said with a grin. “Soon, the celebrations will come to an end and I will take you into the new bedchamber I have had made just for us. It is a place where our passion and desire for each other will know no bounds.”

“You mean your passion and desire.” She reached for her drink. “For I have none. I will merely tolerate yours.”

He frowned and slammed down his mug. Ale splashed onto his hand. “You speak like a belligerent wife.”

“Maybe I am.” She held his eye contact. “For it was you who wished to marry me. I never once wished to marry you.”

He leaned closer. “You said the vows before your God. You betrothed yourself to me until death do us part.”

“’Haps I wish for that death to come quickly.”

“No.” He curled his hand around the back of her neck, his fingers tight, and drew her face closer to his. “Do not speak of your death, for that would break me into a thousand pieces. I could not breathe without you, not now I know you.”

She stared into his eyes. They brimmed with emotion and sparkled with sincerity. Her heart rate picked up and her mind filled with thoughts. The rest of the room seemed to fade away. He truly meant his words, she could see that. “But…why?” she whispered. “You have just met me. How can you feel so strongly?”

He kept a tight hold of her and a muscle flexed in his cheek. “Because you are my destiny. You saved my life, and now you will complete my life. I will slay any man or woman or animal that hurts you. I will spend the rest of my days, until my last breath, making you happy, giving you everything I can provide, making you the mother of our children and swearing to protect them with everything I am.”

She tried to duck her chin to break his intense eye contact, but he kept her looking up at him. “But… But you don’t know me, or this land, or—”

“I know enough to know I want all the knowledge, of everything. It is true I am a great warrior and a fine seafarer, but I am also a farmer, a fisherman, and now a husband.” His mouth stretched into a gentle smile. “So believe my words, because one thing I am not is a liar.”

Her mouth was suddenly dry and her breaths shallow. “But your kind, they—”

“Do not judge me on the actions of others. Judge me on my own actions.” He released her and sat back, scooping up his drink again. “That is all I ask of you.”

Kenna was quiet as she looked down at the bread and pork on her plate. She had no appetite, yet her mother had told her to eat well, for she’d need her strength on her wedding night.

With a shaking hand, she picked up the bread and tore off the crust, chewing on it.

“Listen to me, your king.” Haakon suddenly stood, knocking the table with his fist. “For I wish to speak to you, my good people.”

Kenna caught her drink before it toppled.

The room went quiet.

“My wife and I,” Haakon said, candlelight flickering over his face, “are thankful that you feast with us on our wedding day, and I thank you for providing that feast. We”—he gestured to Gunnar, Knud, Orm, Egil, and Ivar, who were chewing noisily and reaching for more food—“are new to this land, but I promise from this day on, we will pull our weight and work the pastures and sea with you. We will learn from you, we will summer and winter with you, and should enemy arrive on our threshold, we will fight with you.” He held his drink aloft. “Give my wife a good cheer to celebrate her beauty.”

A small ripple of cheer went around the room, eyes were wide, and cheeks a little flushed from the warmth of the fire troughs.

“Come on!” Haakon set his hand on Kenna’s head. “More than that. She is a goddess.”

Kenna wasn’t used to having such praise. Part of her liked it, but the part of her that had always fought to be as good as her brother and Bryce bristled. She was more than a face and hair and breasts. She was skilled and admired for her survival skills.

The cheer was louder this time. Loud enough for Haakon to apparently be satisfied. He set back his shoulders and grinned. “And now… Now you can all take the last of your plates and leave, for I wish to be alone with my bride.” He looked down at her. “For I am a lucky man and my cock wishes to receive its prize of a tight cunny.”

“Oh, help us, Lord.” Kenna’s mother fanned herself. “What a thing to say.”

Orm laughed and slapped his thighs. “Oh, indeed, you are a fortunate heathen, Haakon. For that is what you are. Dipping into the sea has not changed the way the Great Hall of gods look upon you.”

“It has changed everything.” Haakon frowned at him. “And you too, go. I wish for this building to be empty on this night. Find somewhere else to sleep. All of you.” He flicked his hand at his brother and friends.

The village people didn’t need telling twice and in a scrape of chair legs and a fluster of cloaks and furs, they stood and scrambled for the door.

“Where will we go?” Gunnar asked, wiping the back of his hand on his mouth.

“I don’t care. The cave, if necessary.”

Orm stood. “We will find Astrid. She must have discovered an empty dwelling.”

“Astrid.” Haakon looked around. “She is not here?”

“I believe you have angered her.” Kenna looked up at him.

“Why?” He frowned.

“For becoming Christian.”

“She’ll have to get used to it.” He stooped and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to standing. “Because it is not changing now. My path is set on the same one as yours.”

His muscles were so hard and unyielding. His body hot and solid. She stiffened against him, unused to having her personal space invaded by a huge man who touched her with such ownership.

“Go!” he ordered the room again, his voice deep and firm. “We wish to be alone.”

A tremble attacked Kenna, spreading down her spine to her arms and legs. She clamped her thighs together and her breasts felt heavy. Soon, he’d claim her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

His brother and friends stood, their height dwarfing the last of the villagers as they made their way to the door. When they’d left she spotted Hamish looking at her from the shadows. A line had formed between his eyes and he was gnawing on his cheek.

“Go,” she mouthed. For what could her brother do now?

He hesitated then with stiff shoulders turned and left.

“My bride,” Haakon said. “This is my gift for you.”

He steered her from the table toward a thick, dark blanket that had been used as a door into a newly formed room. “I hope you will like it.”

As he pulled it back, she saw that the Great House had indeed been transformed. Now the entire curved back wall was paneled and set in the center of it was a huge, dark-framed bed covered in furs and feather pillows. Shelves held candles and an iron basket hung from the roof, scarlet embers glowing within it. The floor was heavy with overlapping rugs and a round table held a jug and goblets as well as a basket of bannock rolls.

“What do you think?” he asked, his hand pressing on the small of her back and urging her inside.

She looked at the stag antlers set upon the wall and then the cross next to it.

“My men worked hard, as did your village carpenter, Hywel.”

“I can see that.”

“He is an excellent craftsman.”

“That is something I know.”

He stepped into the room, letting the rug fall behind him, closing them off from the main hall. “And the bed is large enough for three or four people should we wish to invite other lovers to join us.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. “‘Other lovers’?”

“I am not opposed to women joining us. Two or three, should the urge take us.”

“‘Other women’?” She held up her hands. “I… What? I mean…”

“Ah, I see you do not wish to share me.” He chuckled and tapped her chin with his finger. “I cannot say that I am upset by your jealousy. In fact, it pleases me.”

“ Jealousy . You cannot be serious.” She gestured to the bed. “In fact, I would rather you choose another to lie with you.”

He hesitated, his lips a tight line, then he pulled off his tunic and tossed it onto a chair in the corner. “You should also strip.”

“Strip?”

“ Ja , remove your gown. I wish to see exactly what has come into my possession.”

And a possession was what she felt like. She was his. There was no way of getting out of that now. In the eyes of God, they were man and wife and she’d have to do her duty.