Five years after the events that ended in Sophie stuck with the Vikings for almost a year in Kattegat, the clash between her father's Kingdom and the Barbarians was ignited once more. And in a kingdom set on fire, Sophie has to survive what the Paga...
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FEARknew how to control Sophie. How to shut her brain down. Kill it. Leaving her vulnerable.
Björn was gone, and Ubbe had little control over his little brother, whose mind was brewing with nefarious schemes.
It was foolish of her to expect that they would honor the agreement by ensuring her safety. After all, they were Vikings, and she was all too familiar with their ways.
At the sight of Captain Henry and Bishop Edmund hanging upside down with the blood running down their limp arms, Sophie felt close to fainting. She closed her eyes, sucking in a breath, trying to soothe her pounding heart, racing at the pace of sound, but nothing seemed to work.
Fear played its role.
The fear of Ivar the Boneless.
"Now that we are done with them, we can take care of the Princess," Ivar smiled as his eyes found Sophie. She kept her head lowered, chest heaving as she struggled to maintain an upright posture, much to Ivar's pleasure.
When did she become so weak and pathetic?
Approaching her, he took deliberate, unhurried steps, allowing the fear to escalate further. "What is wrong, Princess?" He stood right in front of her, his breath cascading over her bowed head.
"Ivar," Ubbe hissed as he hurried towards the panicked princess.
"What, brother?" Ivar shifted his attention to his eldest brother before refocusing on Sophie. "I'm making sure she is okay."
"You're frightening her, Ivar," Hvitserk, following close behind, remarked.
"Oh, am I?"
"Leave her be," Ubbe said, attempting to stay composed. "We made a promise."
"No one cares about your promise, Ubbe," Ivar countered. "The king is dead."
"His son is not."
"Are we afraid of Aethelwulf now, Ubbe?"
"We can't risk it all, not after we made it this far."
"The war is not over, brother," Ivar declared.
"It is, we should claim and settle the land given to us by Ecbert. The Saxons are in disarray. This is a good opportunity. We have the resources to make a permanent settlement."
"I don't want to disband the army. In fact, I want to continue the war against the Saxons while we are still in a position of strength," Ivar started. "My suggestion is that we go back north, to where we defeated Aelle."
"We should establish a permanent camp, as you say," he continued. "But near the coast, from where we can raid wherever we want."
"Our father's dream was that we wouldn't be just raiders. That we would behave in a different way."
