They didn’t find her in her bedchamber, though Iain didn’t regret busting the lock and damaging the door. Those things were replaceable; she was not. Hermione was missing, too, and so was Daffyd. To him that meant only one thing: Clara.How had she managed to escape?He went to ask King Ephron, closely followed by Rowanne. Megan had suggested to Ava they find a spot to hide and they were currently on their way to round up Isabel, Cassie, Becca and Jocasta, just in case.Grimly, he told himself that Xander had probably miscalculated when he took that huge fighting force over to Frankia. It had jeopardised the same girls over here as before. Perhaps that was jealousy talking, a feeling he had no right to, but he believed it to be true. The one time conqueror hadn’t done it on purpose, he had just proved not to be infallible.Though hadn’t all of them assumed the threat was nullified here?Eithne. If anyone had hurt her, he vowed to rip them apart, limb from limb.His first port of call

It took a few more days of waiting before Xander left his betrothed’s bedside and came to her.“You look ill,” Genevieve told him.“Sorting out what is to happen with those girls we left behind is making me want to fall on the point of my sword,” he groaned.“Don’t do that. I need you, and so does whichever realm you decide to conquer next,” she said.His grin was brief and, just for a moment, she saw the Xander of old.His face sobered. “She’s so wan.”“Can I help?”“You’ve been through your own ordeal.”“All the more reason to show compassion. Tora and Nell are going to be under the protection of the Danes. I understand someone called Rowanne is Nell’s elder sister and in love with Tora’s brother, Ulf. Is it true she was acquired by Eithne’s mother as a female gladiator?”“I wasn’t here at the time, but that’s my understanding, yes.”“Incredible. What I wouldn’t give to have been born a boy.”“Did de Mornay – ?”She cut him off before he tripped over the euphemisms so beloved of the

They were an unlikely trio united in a common cause. Rufus reckoned Jens was the only chivalrous one among them yet both he and the enigmatic Frankian had chosen to depart on this mission. Fuck, he was even thinking like him now! Once he returned to the centre of Ormond, his rough edges made smooth like his new way of speaking, he could probably take his pick.Well, there was only one woman for him. Even if she told him she didn’t love him, he would offer his protection. Megan had scars which she didn’t permit everyone to see. Let someone else spy for Xander, if necessary. Maybe he would apply for the position.The sudden bubble up of mirth from nowhere had him almost falling back off the bench in the alehouse yet he wasn’t drunk, far from it. Let them think it. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation.Jens was eyeing him curiously. He didn’t sense disdain and Norsemen were notorious for not keeping anything back.“Something you want to say?” he asked, unintentionally making it into a cha

Xander hadn’t sued for peace so much as cheated in its name. He would do the same again, twice over, if it meant avoiding war. His betrothed had been taken aback by his tactics but he couldn’t afford to let her in on it; her surprise would go a long way to convincing this new enemy whose ego was legendary.Maybe some flowers would mollify her. He had treated her like a pawn and she was still sulking.Encountering his sister in the corridor he enlisted her help.Genevieve’s eyes danced with amusement.“Just be yourself. Spend some time with her. It’s all a girl ever wants. Gifts only make us think you want to atone.”But I do, he thought. For the way it all began.The Danes were preparing to depart, while Finn was now in charge of his brother’s forces.“Stay awhile,” he’d encouraged both the group of Norsemen and those loyal to a different Mac Neill.“Tell him,” Ava urged, nudging Connor’s brother.She was seldom far from his side these days.“We’d like to settle here permanently,” he

There was a new hazard to be overcome once they were close to the fresh air. Xander pulled Eithne back just as she was on the point of exposing herself to the men surrounding the small boat.That gave him an idea. He knew she wouldn’t like it.“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you how much you love the realm,” he said, in a low voice which sounded mock serious even to his own ears.“I don’t understand.”“Trust me, you will. Well?”“It is my solemn duty to do anything to help the kingdom of Ormond.”“Thank the good Lord, I was hoping you would say that. You didn’t swear?”“Unlike the royal heir, it was enough that I made a promise to my father, the late King.”“I see. Now, I want you to do exactly as I say. Strip!”Her eyes widened.“Here? Now? But I thought – ”“As I suspected. A most disloyal subject,” he said. “Must I do everything myself, including undressing you?”“You failed before,” she pointed out, her violet eyes stormy.“This is a needs must situation,” he said, spinning h