A Heart of Fire by Kerri M. Patterson

area a while
now, each of them keeping watch since they had arrived hours before.
    Útryggr
told him of a woman matching the description of Finna, whom he had spotted. Now
that Valdrik had seen the woman for himself, as she entered her dwelling alone
some time ago, anticipation flooded his veins. There was no mistaking the
woman's likeness to her mother now that he looked upon her in a new light, not
in bloodlust filled battle.
    He
could not be sure, but he would stake his bet that no one else was within her
dwelling with her. Since spotting her, he had given her time to relax, mayhap
to find her bed. There had been no movement within for some time now.
    As
Valdrik moved toward the dwelling, he left his men behind as lookouts, in case
he were spotted or an alert sounded. All knew the risk they took for their
Jarl. All accepted this mission with honor. Not that he risked his life for the
woman, no, all this was for gaining Geera's hand and becoming Jarl one day. For
the position and men to forever thwart Aldar and any man who had had a hand in
slaughtering his family and village.
    Valdrik
would never stop.
    Not
until he drew his dying breath or every son of every Viking who had stepped
foot onto his lands had been staked out for the scavengers to feast upon.
    Valdrik
drew a hissed breath through his teeth, forcing away the desire to slay Aldar
this night. The temptation clawed at him, knowing the man was so close. The
light from his longhouse glowed in the inky night, luring Valdrik closer.
    Thinking
of his family, he wondered if he could slip into Aldar's hall and kill the man
in his sleep. Alas, nay, that was not what he wanted. He wanted Aldar to know
why he took his life come the day their swords clashed, the day he drew the
man's blood. He wanted Aldar to suffer the way his family had suffered.
    Valdrik
tore his stare away from that dim glow in the distance and back to Finna's
dwelling. It was a small place, which suggested even more so that she lived
alone. For a woman of her kind, a merciless shieldmaiden, he doubted she had a
husband. It irked him to bring one of Aldar's people back with him, even if she was Hadarr's true heir.
    He
could not fault her for having killed men he had known and fought beside.
Battle was battle; they all knew their fates when taking up the blade. If one
fought by the sword, one died by the sword. It was simple.
    They
all had shed blood.
    Others,
though, as Hadarr feared, would not be so ready to forgive or accept if they
knew. Neither could he trust that Finna would be so willing to believe she was
Hadarr's daughter and might try to do them harm whilst she was with them. His
guard was necessary.
    Valdrik
scanned the area ahead with a hard eye. The night remained still, and no sound
met his ears. This was the closest he had ever been to Aldar's village. Others
had attempted raiding here, but since he had come to be with Hadarr, they had
not the men to make such an attempt. The temptation to do more tingled in his
veins, forcing Valdrik to steady his resolve yet again. If he did aught else,
he would risk returning with the girl in hand.
    His
eyes flickered over the layout of the village. The imbeciles had not so much as
posted a guard, not that he could see. Their structures were nothing compared
to those of Hadarr's and neither did they have a wall. Aldar was so open to
attack. It pleased Valdrik, if nothing more, to have this knowledge for later
use.
    Valdrik's
stare stuck on the small dwelling with its thatched roof. This task would not
be easy. He was not even sure how he would get the woman back to his horse,
and, too, he did not expect she would go so willingly along the journey back
home. She would hinder them on purpose.
    If
her people were alerted before he and his men made their way from this place,
they would most surely be caught up to and overwhelmed before they returned to
Hadarr's lands.
    It
was now or never.
    Valdrik
erupted from the shadows and through pale moonlight, sprinting