Historical Romance
Date Published: April 2, 2015
Obsession. Treachery. Revenge. Redemption. Certain themes resonate across the centuries.
Selia is a girl on the verge of womanhood, frustrated by the confines of her gender and resentful of the freedom her brother boasts of. Intelligent and resourceful in a time when neither is valued in a female, she longs for an escape from her sheltered existence. Fascinated by the tales of Viking raids told by her maidservant, her hunger for independence is fed through the stories of heathen ferocity she hears at the woman’s knee.
A decision to sneak to the city’s harbor to view the Viking longships leads to an encounter with Alrik Ragnarson, a charismatic Viking warlord whose outward beauty masks a dark and tortured mind. With the knowledge that her father is about to announce her betrothal to a man she doesn’t love, Selia marries Alrik and within a day is on the longship bound for Norway and a new life.
While Selia’s relationship with her new husband grows, her friendship with his brother Ulfrik grows as well. And as Alrik’s character flaws come to light and tension mounts between the two brothers, Selia begins to have misgivings about her hasty marriage . . . especially when a secret from the past is revealed, one that threatens to destroy them all.
Excerpt
Selia studied her husband thoughtfully. "Alrik...when you
came to me the next day in the woods, you were surprised I spoke any
Norse."
"Yes."
"Then how did you think you could ask me to go with
you?"
He paused for a moment. "I wasn't going to ask you—I was
going to take you. I wanted to take you the day I saw you in the market."
Alrik's eyes burned into hers, and Selia couldn't look away. "You set up
such a...such a craving inside me. I had to have you."
"But you didn't take me," Selia whispered.
"No." He swallowed. "I didn't want you to fear
me. You do something to me, Selia. I look at you and I lose all reason. You
drive me mad with desire and yet at the same time I want to protect you. To
protect you from me."
Alrik's face went dark, as though he immediately regretted what
he had said. It was the most he had ever opened up to her and the closest he
had come to admitting he loved her. Alrik scowled as he pushed her aside to
unlace his boots.
He grunted and cursed as he tried to pull them off, getting
angrier by the minute, and Selia watched him. He was embarrassed; not at the
fact that he couldn't get his boots off, but because he had nearly told her he
loved her. She knelt down to help him. "Do you need help with your
breeches, too?" she teased in an attempt to lighten his mood, but his
scowl only deepened.
"Selia," he said suddenly, "I don't want you to
spend so much time with Ulfrik. No more tafl."
"What?" Her smile faded. "Why?"
"It doesn't matter why. Because I said so."
Selia's lip quivered as she stood up. "Have I...done
something wrong?"
Alrik looked at her for several moments before responding.
"If it had been Ulfrik you met in Dubhlinn—instead of me—would you have
gone with him?"
Selia stared at him. Where was this coming from? Did he actually
believe she was interested in his brother, or was this simply his way of
picking a fight with her after his near-admission of love? A way to deflect the
conversation away from what he perceived as a weakness?
"No," she said. "I told you—you are the only one
I have ever wanted."
"But you do care for Ulfrik," he pushed. "I see
the way you look at him. I see the way you laugh with him."
"He is my friend, Alrik." Selia felt her face flush
with anger. "He is kind to me."
"He is kind to you," Alrik mocked. "Yes, he is so
kind, and he wants nothing in return. I tell you Selia, you don't know anything
about Ulfrik. If I gave the word, he would be all over you just like he was
Muirin—"
Selia cried out and covered her ears. "Stop! Why are you
saying such things?"
"Because they're true!" His anger was escalating to a
dangerous level. "No man can look at you and think of friendship, and
Ulfrik is no better than anyone else—"
"Alrik, stop." She put her hands on his face and
looked directly into his wild eyes. Selia could feel the tension in his body as
it shook with rage; could sense the beast inside him, pacing to get out. She
stroked his face gently as one would to calm a nervous animal.
"I only want you," Selia reassured him. "Only you."
A lifelong lover of books, Erin taught herself to read at the age of four and hasn’t been without a book since. She is an equal-opportunity reader of fiction and non-fiction, and her shelves are filled with books on psychology, archaeology, anthropology, and general history. The social history of women and their place in society across the ages is a favorite reading topic of Erin’s.
Erin is drawn to any creative pursuit, from making hand-stitched quilts to producing mini-movies for family and friends from home videos. But writing has always been her passion. When Erin isn't writing, she enjoys spending time with her two wonderful children, reading anything she can get her hands on, watching football, and renovating her house with her husband of 17 years who just happens to look like a Viking!
Twitter:@erinsriley1
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