Her Heart's Desire by Allison Merritt Read Free Book Online

but didn't lose his grip on Almáttigr. He lifted it, prepared to attack Eoghann, but it fell to his side as a woman in the crowd screamed.
    A figure scrambled over Solstad Hall's rooftop. In his hand, a bow was clearly visible. The evening sunlight shined on a quiver of arrows strung across his back. Men separated themselves from the crowd to chase the assailant.
    “Idunna,” Hella snapped.
    She gasped and her knees weakened.
    Eoghann sagged against the king. His blue eyes were half-closed and he bared his teeth when he hissed. A thick, black-shafted arrow with yellow stripes against black fletch protruded from his left shoulder. A crimson stain spread across the fabric of his jerkin.
    She reached for him, but Eoghann shook his head.
    “Safety. The king and the boy. Get them...inside the hall.”
    Bjorn slipped Eoghann's opposite arm over his shoulder. “Come, quickly. We must find Ealasaid. She'll remove the arrow, make him good as new.”
    She grabbed Birgir, who still held Fulla, and pushed them in front of her toward the hall. Her heart pounded as the king and his brother half dragged, half carried Eoghann.
    I cannot lose him. Not a second husband.
    The trail of blood he left behind in the gray, trampled snow spoke the tale of a man who might have seen his last dawn.

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Ealasaid met them at the doorway. She paled at the blood, then grabbed Hella's arm. “I heard the screams. What happened?”
    Birgir tore free of Idunna's grasp. “You're squeezing too tight, Aunt Idunna.”
    “Sorry, boy.” She clenched her fists, her gaze riveted on Eoghann. “Can you help him, Ealasaid?”
    Her husband's face was ashen gray, the color of a man whose life was ebbing away.
    “I have to see the damage.” Ealasaid pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Hella?”
    Erik rose from the stool he occupied. Two twists of rags hung from either side of his swollen, bruised nose. “That's no sword wound.”
    Hella's expression was grim. “A bowman fired from a rooftop. Eoghann pushed me out of the way. There are men in pursuit of the one who holds the bow.”
    Ealasaid met her gaze. “You know I'll do my best, Idunna.” She stepped aside. “Bring him in. Do not tarry. Time matters. Send someone to find Ulrika. I need her assistance. Put him on the table, on his side so I can see if the arrow went through.”
    Ealasaid wasted no time tearing his jerkin away from the wound. Soaked with crimson, the blue material that had matched his eyes glistened as it drooped around his midriff. She wiped blood away with a damp rag. “I can remove it the same way it went in. No need to push it through. Idunna, I need comfrey to put on it immediately after I pull the arrow out. The herb will stop the bleeding.” She gripped the shaft. “This will be bad, brother.”
    The great shaft trembled with every breath Eoghann took. “Pain is part of living.”
    Her words, echoed from their first night together. Idunna drew in a breath and forced a smile. “My brave husband. The comfrey will help and then something for the pain. No one in Solstad is better with herbs than your sister. I'll set to work steeping the comfrey.”
    Her hands shook as she retrieved the dried herbs. Water boiled over the fire in the center of the room and the crisp scent of herbs covered the stench of blood. The work helped settle her nerves.00
    Eoghann hissed again as Ealasaid dabbed at the blood. “Christo, woman.”
    Idunna smoothed hair away from her forehead. “Don't fight her. Ealasaid has treated much worse than this.” She stirred the boiling pot. “This will only be a bit longer.”
    It should have steeped an hour or two, but Ealasaid met her gaze and nodded. The more time they waited, the weaker Eoghann seemed. Idunna strained the leaves from the water into a clean wooden bowl. She blew steam from them, hoping to cool the herbs before they applied them to the wound.
    Eoghann reached for her hand when she returned to his side. He squeezed so