"Hjarta," A deep voice whispered next to her ear. Searing kisses which begun at the nape of her neck trailed over to her shoulder. "You must awaken. I hear movement in the camp, and soon someone will be at your covering to retrieve me."
Bonnie groaned. She'd only just closed her eyes. They'd made love well into the first lights of the rising and all she wanted was to be wrapped tight in her mate's arms while she slumbered the remaining of the day away. "No," she grumbled, burrowing her face into a pillow. "Tell them to go away. There'll be no battle this rising, under orders of their Supreme and her mate."
"Perhaps, if Lagertha heeds my counsel your wishes will be honored," his fingers skimmed the length of her spine to slip themselves between the split at her ass cheeks. "Yet, I still must be returned to my camp if peace is to be maintained long enough to approach the negotiating circle." The pad of his thumb traced circles around her puckered midnight star. "One eve or rising, I care not, I should like to take you in this hole, while Ivar makes use of the other."
As if someone had turned on a tap, thick juices gushed from her core and saturated the tops of her thighs. She bit her bottom lip. "I-I've n-never-,"
"Bonsie?" Guthrum's quiet voice shattered their bubble.
She exhaled. Their time was up. "Yes, Guthrum?"
"King Harald sent a messenger. He and King Ivar would like to enter the negotiating circle in one turn of the hour glass."
She rolled over on her back to glare at the top of her tent. "Thank you, Guthrum. Tell them we'll be out shortly."
Her gaze drifted to Hvitserk who stared down at her as if the world weren't about to end. "I'm afraid of what's gonna happen next, Hvits. Ivar dusted my heart, but I don't wanna go to war with him. As dumb as I may be for doing so, I still love him as much as I do you."
"And he still holds the same affections for you. He's come to realize your true value to our hearts. This is why he set Freydis aside even at the height of her grief over the death of their child." He rolled halfway on her to peer down in her face.
"The baby didn't make it?" She questioned as an ache wedged itself in the center of her breasts. Hvitserk shook his head. Her eyes rolled closed to take a moment of silence for a child lost. "No matter the circumstances I don't wish that type of pain on any parent. Even though Ivar wasn't the baby's father, I still imagine he mourned as such."
"So you harbored doubts as well," Hvitserk stated rather than questioned as if he too had already spent prolonged risings pondering his beliefs. "From the moment I discovered the truth of his deceit, I've had my suspicions. Yet when a robust babe was born in less time it would take me to drop my trousers, this only confirmed what I'd already considered."
"Robust, hmm," she murmured as her mind attempted to picture such a sight. "I can't even imagine laying my baby to rest one final time. That's something no parent should ever have to do."
He nodded before resting his head at the cradle of her breasts. "I'm of the same mind, but Freydis' daughter had the look of the cursed. The babe' skin suffered from the same sickly glow as Alle's soldiers in North Umbria. It was unnatural." He stroked her stomach as he lifted up to stare into her eyes. "Her face was drawn and eyes sunken deep within her skull. She appeared to have had her life sucked from her tiny body."
Ice cold awareness came for her focus. She knew something was off about Freydis, yet not once did she sense Hollow vibes from the overreaching blonde. "Where's Freydis now? Did he actually see her leave this time?"
"Thomas claimed to have witnessed her board a ship journeying to Daneland." His shoulder lifted a bit, and then dropped. "No one has set their gaze upon her since."
She moved to get up. If the Hollow had infected Freydis, then she needed to get to Ivar. There's no telling what sort of lingering influences she'd left upon him. "We should rise and-,"
Her world spun, and the next thing she knew she lay on her stomach with Hvitserk entering her from behind as he gripped her throat in a firm hold. "We shall rise in just time, but first I'll have you once more, Hjarta," Hvits groaned next to her ear as he thrust into her one slow as constipated shit inch at a time.
Bonnie and Hvitserk approached the negotiating circle hand in hand flanked by Lagertha, Bjorn, Ubbe, Sigurd, Guthrum, and Torvi. Inside, Ivar, Harald, Astrid, and Halfdan sat waiting. The moment she entered the covering Ivar's gaze lit upon her and never dimmed from its focus. Halfdan rose and rejoined their group and Hvitserk crossed back over to Ivar's side with her hand still firmly wrapped in his. He took the seat next to Ivar. She moved to stand between his legs. Knowing they were in their final moments, she leaned down and plundered his upturned mouth with kisses.
Harald's hoarse thickened gags met her ears, but she ignored him. However, when a warm calloused palm took hold of her hand she couldn't remain indifferent. Her magic and heart wouldn't allow her. Pulling her lips from Hvitserk's, she turned her head to look into the eyes of her would be eternity. The methane flames which blazed there scorched every inch of her face. He brought her fingertips to his lips. His eyes closed as he pressed a kiss to each one. She exhaled.
"Supreme, it is time," Lagertha said in a quiet tone.
She rested her forehead on Hvitserk's, while giving Ivar's hand a squeeze. More than anything in that moment she wished for the ability to roll back time. Preferably to their time in England. When togetherness fulfilled their contentment. Now resentment and vengeance had divided them and placed them beyond each other's reach. Standing there she couldn't help but sense their moment of reunion was nothing more than a concluding tribute to what they'd once been and would never again be.
"Bonnie," Bjorn's call felt like an unmistakable tug on her invisible leash. To which she could do nothing other than obey.
Bonnie backed away from Hvitserk. Gently, she withdrew her hand from Ivar's grasp. After giving them another lingering look, she turned to rejoin her protector. Once she stood next to him the tension in the rigid set of his shoulders appeared to ease a bit. He leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. Rage simmered just beneath the cool calm he conveyed to all before him. He attempted to cut her down with a—bitch you tried it—glare before shifting his gaze to regard the would be enemies who now confronted them.
"We've come here this rising in hopes of preventing the senseless deaths of our warriors and shieldmaidens." The muscle in his jaw flexed. "To reach one accord and avoid a blood feud which our babe's babes may one rising inherit." He settled his gaze upon the ones he'd raised to manhood. "Ivar, Hvitserk, brothers…please. Let us come to a like mind," pausing a moment to add emphasis to his words with a pleading stare. "Let us prevent a civil war that will tear our home shores apart for solstice cycles to come."
Ivar tore his gaze away from her to cut a questioning eye to Hvitserk. "Did you not speak with them of our terms?"
"Oh, I spoke to them," Hvitserk said assessing Bjorn and Lagertha with a glare that remained ever faithful to his thoughts.
Disbelief snatched Ivar's eyes wide. "And they refused our terms?"
"Without further discussion," Hvits answered never tearing his serial killer stare from Bjorn whose visual plea had morphed into a glower.
The muscles in the queen's face locked. She cut a disapproving eye to her son before rising.
"What terms?" Harald demanded as he leaned forward to face off with Ivar who in turn only ignored him.
Lagertha spoke utilizing a campaign worthy inner politician swag MSNBC would've lived and died for. As the queen attempted to work her way around to shooting her shot at Astrid, Bonnie began to pace. Exactly what hot topic were they all reluctant to get into? She strolled between the two opposing forces sensing for what their tongues refused to say.
Lagertha longed for Astrid and peace. Harald longed for love, family, power, and blood. While Halfdan ached for something…or someone who he believed would never turn to him. As usual, Ubbe thought to hide something from her, and Torvi wanted nothing more than to share something with her. Guthrum wrestled with something beyond his control as Sigurd struggled with the distance years of absence had place between them. Bjorn ached for her, Ivar ached for her, Hvitserk ached for her and neither of them were above tearing apart a legacy to claim her. An ache tunneled its way through her chest. This was all wrong. So very wrong!
"So what will it be, Ivar?" Bjorn's question drew her from her musings.
Ivar studied him for a moment, and then pulled himself from his seat. A bit unsteady but even more determined, he limped over to her. When he loomed over her, he cradled the side of her neck in his palm. He leaned down to trail his nose along the line of her jaw. Pleasure rippled throughout her as he inhaled. Her eyes slipped closed. All she wanted was to lose herself in his nearness. In his scent. Smokey sandalwood and a hint of musky amber. The unique fragrance of his sorcery bewitched her senses every damn time.
"You must forgive me, My Love. I didn't do this thing you believe me to have done," He nuzzled his nose against the slant of her cheek before slightly pulling away. "I'd never again dishonor you in such a way."
Her head dipped in a nod as her eyes reopened to capture his gaze. "I know, babe, but you should've been honest. You should've had more trust in me. More trust in what we shared." Pain polished his methane blues to an iridescent glow and the ache at her breast doubled. "I'm sorry about your babe. Hvitserk told me of her passing."
He rested his forehead on hers. "It was the will of the gods." The flat of his hand moved to lay on her stomach. Not so dormant mystical energy surged from his palm into her abdomen. Her belly flipped several times before resettling. "Now I look to the rising when you're the one heavy with my babe. Our son will be born in York. In the kingdom he shall inherit." His words seduced her arms into slipping themselves around his neck. "You had the right of it, My Love. We should've never departed from our kingdom's shores."
"I love you, babe," she mouthed, before her lips attempted to capture his.
"Bonnie, we haven't reached an accord," Bjorn's voice halted her actions. "Stand with me until a compromise can be met among our kingdoms."
She moved to back away. Unwilling to relinquish her just yet, Ivar pulled her face to his by the nape of her neck. Once within reach, his lips fell upon hers. His tongue wasted no time laying claim and reestablishing his control over her. When she leaned in to deepen the caress of his mouth, he broke the kiss.
"Go," he uttered as if the word pained him to say. As she closed the distance between her and a red face Ironside, Ivar lifted his voice to address his elder brother. "I do not wish to fight with you, Bjorn."
"What?" Harald barked.
Ignoring him, Ivar resumed speaking. "My only reason for troubling your shores is to reclaim what I've so carelessly lost. For without My Love I am lost. Without her I have no purpose." Her foot step halted mid fall as his words ricocheted off the walls of her mind. "If you return her, Hvitserk and I will leave Kattegat as she so gloriously stands."
"If he speaks the truth for the sake of our warriors and shieldmaidens," Lagertha tore her gaze from Ivar to regard Bjorn, "this is something to be considered."
"You have my word. Hvitserk and I will take our Supreme, my army and seek our leave of these shores this rising." His voice softened as it often did when he ripped his chest wide and bared his heart to her. "We can sail back to England, perhaps Frankia or if My Love is so minded she may even open a map and point to a place. I care not. For as long as she's there then that's where I'll be content to be."
A smile touched her lips as her reforged heart burst from the ashes in her chest like a phoenix on the rise. She chanced a glance at him over her shoulder to be sure of his sincerity. The moment his earnest stare collided with hers, she knew. He meant those words with every ounce of his mystical essence. They'd all have to be certified lunatics to refuse his terms.
"No!" Bjorn's and Halfdan's combined roar nearly malfunctioned her bladder.
"Bjorn!" Lagertha's outrage vibrated throughout the single syllable of his name. "This is not your-,"
Her protector continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Bonnie will not be sailing away with you. She shall remain here in Kattegat with me and continue to honor the vow we swore to one another. Your schemes and plots misplaced her from my side once. This will not happen again."
"Bjorn don't do this," she begged, kneeling before him without even a grain of shame. "This is the outcome you wanted, our vow has served its purpose. You have to let me go. It's time."
He glared into her eyes and she read the answer in his chaotic blues before it crossed his lips. "Never!"
"Bjorn has not misspoken." Ubbe cosigned as he tried to gouge ocular holes in Hvitserk while doing so. "We'll never again forsake Bonnie to the notions of your senseless cruelty."
"Then it seems, Harald!" The tension in Ivar's face added accelerant to the methane blaze sparking bright in his eyes. "You shall have your war after all. The time for peace talks are over. Hvitserk prepare our army. Give the order they're not to show mercy or halt in their fighting until the shores of Kattegat runs red from the blood of our enemies," his mournful gaze shifted to her, "and our Supreme is back among us where she belongs."
Hvitserk shot to his feet and snatched his sword from his sheathe. The wild mystical energy which had helped them to secure so many battles in England rolled off of him like tsunami force waves. Sensing that their asses weren't long for a sling, everyone from their side drew their weapons to the ready. Like that the peace flags fell, and the lines of battle were drawn. Slowly they each backed away.
"Are you certain this is the side of the battle on which you wish to stand?" Harald damn near wheezed at his brother, while violating the five feet of Halfdan's personal space by four and a half.
The Black's longing stare arrested hers. She came close to shrugging because she really didn't know what to tell him. "I'm exactly where the gods intended me to be." He turned back to Finehair. Resolve and remorse comingled in a problematic union on his face. "Of that I'm certain."
Harald's glare swung to her. If looks could leave a witch bloody and stinking then she'd be halfway to Nirvana courtesy of hollow crown Harald. In a move mostly utilized by cowards and runaway cut throats, he snuck Halfdan unawares and slammed his fist into his face. Rage and regret rearranged Harald's ridiculous face tats in a pattern that reminded her of army green fishnet pantyhose.
"Then your fate is sealed, brother." As Finehair backed away he jabbed the point of his sword at Halfdan. "Your fate is sealed."
That was it! Fury incited her sorcery. Mystical energy rocketed from the balls of her feet to her brain and damn near blew off the top of her head. It took every bit of self-control she possessed not to drop kick Bjorn from his horse as they rode the short distance back to camp. All of this could've been avoided if only he'd released her, but he'd chosen self over everyone else.
By the time they reached their encampment her restraint coasted on fumes. Unable to hold herself in check any longer, Bonnie stalked over to the strategizing tent where Bjorn argued with Lagertha in heated hissing whispers. Without a word for excuses or apologies, she snatched him by his tunic and dragged him to the nearest vacant tent. She shoved him through the entrance and followed.
Inside he whirled to face her. The accusation and anger in his expression cocked her head sideways. Oh so he was mad? Well he didn't have the right to be mad. Matter of fact everyone else but him had a claim to the emotion. He'd placed countless lives in jeopardy, and for what? All because he refused to release her from their vow.
Her rage level shot from ten to fifty. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you give Ivar what he wanted. This battle can be avoided if you release me! Something you assured me you'd do anyway once this war was behind us."
"I'm no longer minded to do-,"
"What?" She screeched. An emotion close to demon bred pissed damn near tunneled her vision in a slitted channel of blazing fury. "You're no longer minded!"
"No!" He bellowed back.
"Why, Bjorn?" She demanded. "You have a whole wife! Why do you refuse to let me go?"
He opened his mouth to answer, and then shut it. "Our vow-,"
"Oh just shut the hell up!" She hissed too done with him and their vow. "Your selfishness doesn't have a damn thing to do with our vow. A lot of people are going to die this rising because you refuse to acknowledge we've reached the end of whatever the hell this is we keep doing! Goddess why can't he humble himself just once."
Without warning her surroundings spun out of her control. A massive solid frame and a hard surface at her back slammed brakes on the rotating scenery. Bjorn's red pinched face loomed over her. "Do you know why I refuse to allow you to leave my side?" Still stunned by his speed and their change in positions, she could only shake her head. "Because securing your leave of me is not something your heart truly desires. You may speak as many falsities to yourself as you wish, but I'll hear not one of them. For I've deceived myself for the last six summers and I'll not tolerate being misled. Not even by you."
She glanced down at his chest pressed against hers. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "I know my own mind, Bjorn. I don't need some big strong Viking telling me what's in my head or my heart. I'm in love with Ivar and Hvitserk. I wanna be with them!"
His scrutinizing stare crept over her face. He then released her and stepped back. "Of course. If this is what you truly choose…then I'll renounce our vow. I'll allow you to journey away from here with Ivar and Hvitserk." Instead of his words liberating her, they had the opposite effect. The air in the tent became too thick to breathe. "Remain here and I'll send a messenger to Harald's and Ivar's camp."
Bjorn attempted to turn to exit the tent and her senses leapt from her brain. Before he could completely turn away, she dove in his arms and wrapped herself around him. His mouth descended upon hers as he enfolded her in a tight embrace.
Bonnie tore her mouth from his. "Don't send a messenger!" She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "What's wrong with me? How can I be this selfish? Oh Goddess forgive me for not being able to let you go. I just can't…not again."
"You belong with me, Bonnie," he glared down into her eyes. "Not with Ivar, Hvitserk, or even Ubbe. You belong with me. No longer will you deny this."
She shook her head. "We can't…Fate won't allow-,"
He snatched the excuses from her mouth with a kiss so thorough she nearly misremembered why his arms and his heart was not a place her love could ever call home.
"Bjorn, you and I are not-," Lagertha's voice halted its reprimand as they reluctantly pulled apart. "Bonnie, my apologies. Had I'd known-,"
"No! Bjorn and I are done here," she rushed towards the exit.
"Bonnie!" Bjorn called after her.
Bonnie moved from a now healed warrior to another severely injured one. He'd be next in the long line of the endless. And she didn't discriminate. No matter what side of the battle they fought on she still gave of herself to restore them back to health. For all of this loss was on her. Had she the strength to let Bjorn go then this war would've never happened. Yet, she couldn't walk away from her protector any more than she could turn her back on her heart and the one who held it. So it was her responsibility to heal the damage that was wrought in her name.
She cast her gaze over the many mangled bodies that covered the field. The number so numerous you could barely see the blood drenched land. The brutality of the battle sickened her. Many warriors and shieldmaidens were broken to the point of disrepair. Others were critically injured, while the majority now dwelled beyond the veil. Yet even with all the maiming and death that filled her sight, a sad truth remained unspoken. The next battle would make this one look like a Last Kingdom cosplay.
"Bonnie, Bjorn and Queen Lagertha are requesting you in the strategizing tent," Guthrum said, kneeling next to her.
Sigurd kneeled at her other side and placed his hand at the small of her back. "Loki take Lagertha and Bjorn. Come, your mind is heavy and you believe your sins to be many. It's past time we gave unto each other."
"Sigurd, I can't leave!" She waved her hand over the battlefield. "There are too many here who need me."
"And if it's Fate's will, they'll be here when you return," He forcefully pulled her to her feet and guided her from the bloody proof of her failure as their Supreme.
"Guthrum-," she began.
"Sigurd's right," he shook his head. "Queen Lagertha and my father will understand. You fought well this day and though we were triumphant you've yet to surrender your place on the battlefield. See to yourself."
She left Sigurd's side to embrace Guthrum. Resting her forehead on his, she stared into his eyes. "I'm not happy about any of this, but you made me proud this rising. Thank you for fighting with heart and keeping yourself safe."
"No, thank you, my favored girl." He whispered next to her ear and then squeezed her before letting go. He then lifted his gaze to Sigurd and nodded.
An arm slipped around her waist. She rolled her eyes. "Come on and let's get this over with so I can get back."
"There will be no haste between you and I. Considering, we haven't given unto the other in several solstice cycles. You're weakened and only half as powerful as you were when we parted. He guided her towards the horses. "This shall linger for as long as you need it to."
It didn't take them long to arrive back at camp. When they entered the tent she slept in the night before, her gaze fell upon her bed furs. Thoughts of her and Hvitserk tangled in them just that morning drove a piercing ache through her chest. She hadn't seen him on the battlefield, yet she sensed he and Ivar were well. Guilt flooded her once more. For Bjorn had given her the option to walk away, but she chose her needs over that of many. Even over the two men bound to her on a mystical and divine level.
When had her heart become so full of Bjorn Ironside? He'd abandoned her. He'd promised to protect her and he'd abandoned her. For six years he'd never looked back. And for six years the piece of her which belonged to him had suffered in silence. With the knowledge that though he claimed her first in his heart his actions had spoken louder than his disingenuous words. She just wasn't enough. So why had she betrayed her mates and the sons and daughters under her dominion to remain at his side?
"Your thoughts are tormenting you, Valkyrie," Sigurd said as he began to remove her battle armor. "I've never sensed you so distressed. You should allow me to shoulder your burdens."
She shook her head. "It's too much, Sigurd. I'll not destroy your mind to bring ease to my own. The demons that haunt me are well earned. If they're to be slayed then I'll be the one to cast them out."
Bonnie turned away from him. Guilt and shame still plagued every spare inch of her mental space. She could no longer trust herself to do what was best for all of the sons and daughters under her dominion. Not where Bjorn and her mates were concerned. The commotion outside heralded more warriors had returned from the battlefield. She walked over to the entrance of her tent to peer out. Halfdan stood in the center of camp giving orders to warriors and shieldmaidens on how to see to their wounded. Her breath caught as she remembered his proposal of marriage. What the hell had he been thinking or drinking? Why would she ever marry Harald's little brother?
"There's still a vow I must keep and unless Bjorn agrees to release me, there's nothing neither you nor I can do about it," she said meeting his stare head on with an unwavering one of her own.
"But…" Fear crept into his usually fearless expression. "But it's been Solstice Cycles since you've seen him. If the vow still bound you both, would you not be at his side now?"
She shook her head. "Not if he doesn't wish it. For if ever there was a moment within his heart when he truly longed for me to be at his side, then nothing could've kept me bound to these shores. Not Ubbe, Hvitserk, or even you. And that's the true nature and power of our vow. It can only be broken if we're in agreement of doing so."
A vow! Another vow to govern her actions. Another vow to remove her as a point of contention in the brothers' conflict. Perhaps Sigurd? No! Though they were one, at the end of the rising he still bore the name Lothbrok and such an action could give birth to a new set of animosities. It had to be someone of no relation, unbiased. A frown crumpled her features at just the direction of which her train of thoughts trekked. Could Halfdan really be the solution though? She shook her head. No. She'd find another way. She could never give her vow to him.
You knew his soul long ago and loved it once before. Will you not have him once more? A familiar voice glided through her thoughts and swirled about in her mind.
She rested a speculative stare on him once again. For the briefest of moments Enzo replaced Halfdan. Her breath caught. She'd suspected it, but never allowed herself to believe. Without further consideration she left her tent and crossed the campground. She didn't stop until she stood before him.
Startled, Halfdan's bellow screeched to a halt mid order. His mouth snapped closed, and then opened. "Bonnie?"
"You wanted to enter into matrimony with me," she said, peering directly into his pupils, attempting to see the man she'd loved in another life.
"Yes," he answered in a slow but cautious tone. His head tilted a bit to the side as he considered her.
She stilled her nerves and lifted her chin. Determined to hold his gaze with an unflinching stare, she continued. "Is this something you still desire?"
"I desire it more than my rightful place in Valhalla!" He stepped forward to tower over her.
Her gut churned, she silently pleaded with the Goddess to give her strength. She exhaled and ignored the burning at the ducts of her eyes. "Then I'll marry you Halfdan the Black…th-this eve if you'll truly have me."
Halfdan released a battle cry she could've sworn shook the ground. He snatched her up and swung her around. The stunned faces of Bjorn, Sigurd, and Ubbe rotated pass her view. Her eyes slipped closed. A single tear trickled down her cheek. No matter how much it pained her to do so she'd done the right thing. Right?