Blind Redemption by Violetta Rand Read Free Book Online Page B

his spine. There was something unnatural about this place. Spirits? Gods? He advanced slowly, finally reaching a clearing. A woman clad in white was standing in the middle of the field with her back facing him. Her silhouette looked ghostly against the pitch. She stared heavenward and he followed her gaze. Thousands of stars glittered overhead.
    “The heavens are ablaze,” she whispered.
    No voice had ever sounded so enchanting, so potent. Could this be a walking dream? The spirit-woman turned. Christ’s blood, the last person he wished to see again, Erik’s daughter. Bright blue eyes pierced him the same way they had in the hall.
    Here in the moonlight, dressed in little more than a shift, she resembled a goddess. Their gazes met. Fire fueled fire. Although he wanted to touch her, he feared what would happen. He’d never be able to stop.
    “Why are you here?” she asked.
    Her words pulled him out of his dark thoughts. “I have no answer,” he admitted. “Something tempted me to swim across that lake. Or someone.” For a moment, the world spun slowly around him. Everything he’d ever wanted stared him in the face. The peace of nightfall, trees, water, and a fiery temptress who didn’t know when to shut up.
    “Tempted?” she scoffed. “Perhaps my father outwitted you again and you came here to lick your wounds in private.”
    What he’d give to be able to crawl back into that lake and swim out of Kara’s life forever. There was a better chance of Odin splitting his skull in half. “Who have you been talking to, lass? The tides have turned—your father no longer opposes me. And this chance meeting has nothing to do with your sire.”
    “Oh?” She looked sharply at him. “Do you think I’ve been waiting for you?”
    He shook his head. “The thought never crossed my mind,” he said. “Were you?”
    “No. I come here to pray.”
    “It’s a beautiful spot.”
    “Aye,” she agreed. “Frequented by my mother, and now me.”
    “You weren’t praying when I arrived.”
    “No,” she said. “I enjoy the stars almost as much as the gods.”
    “Odin’s universe is vast.”
    “Odin’s?” she asked. “Don’t you mean God’s?”
    “Whoever created the heavens,” he quickly corrected himself. “I often find myself mystified by its beauty.”
    “What else interests you, milord? War? Politics?”
    “Peace.”
    She cocked her head. “Are you a negotiator for the king or a soldier?”
    “My responsibilities require many skills.”
    “Including intimidating my father?”
    He scooted closer. “Unfortunately, milady, your father threatened me first. I am a principled man, slow to temper, but protective of my honor.”
    “Why does my sire mistrust you?”
    “Who am I to know your father’s mind?” She asked too many questions. Questions he wasn’t ready to answer. Maybe someday.
    “Why does your father dress you in armor and train you to fight?”
    She laughed. “For the same reason you held a dagger to my brother’s throat last night. For the sake of honor.”
    He looked at her more closely. Endless beauty met his gaze, but there was something different about her. A quiet confidence. And her eyes.
    Warm excitement flowed through him. He gazed heavenward again. “Look.”
    “A shooting star,” she said excitedly.
    “An omen.”
    “From your prophets or Allfather?”
    Aaron rested his right hand on her arm. “Why credit anyone?”
    “You prefer mystery?”
    “I prefer you ,” he said.
    She closed her eyes and placed her tiny hand over his. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
    It took a moment for her words to sink in. By Odin, she’d declared her feelings. Only he wished she hadn’t. Every inch of his body screamed to get closer. “I’m trying very hard to control myself.”
    A smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she opened her eyes. “What if I don’t want you to?” Heat and lust sparked between them.
    He stared at her lush mouth. Sweet lies or truth? Did it matter?