Page 132 of The Outlaw Viking

At first, his eyes just widened in amazement that she would dare to attack him. His angry eyes turned with horror to the blood soaking his tunic. Then she saw his booted foot swing out. She couldn’t move fast enough to escape the blow that hit her in the stomach.

In a blurry haze of pain and nausea, Rain saw King Athelstan’s face bending over her. “Blood of Christ! Who did this to her?”

Someone else answered, “Steven of Gravely.”

“Where is he?” Athelstan’s voice, icy with rage, asked.

“Gone.”

Gonegonegonegonegonegone… The word kept echoing in Rain’s benumbed brain as she felt her body being lifted in someone’s arms.

She heard a sobbing voice behind her then and recognized Elgiva’s voice saying, “Oh, Athelstan, look how that beast beat her!”

“El…Elgiva,” Rain gasped, stretching an arm in her direction.

“I am here,” Elgiva said, stepping into her line of vision, brushing matted hair off her face with a gentle hand.

“Promise…” Rain choked out. “Promise me…”

“What? What do you want me to promise, my dear friend?”

“Do not…do not tell Selik. He must not know.”

“But why?”

Rain saw the tears running down Elgiva’s cheeks. And the pity. She must look really bad to arouse the horror she saw reflected on Elgiva’s face.

“He would blame himself for not protecting me,” she said in a raw voice, licking her cracked lips. “He couldn’t live with that pain again. He just couldn’t.”

“But—”

“Promise,” Rain demanded, clutching at her arm with more strength than she realized she still had. “Promise.”

Elgiva nodded.

And Rain fainted into blessed oblivion.

Several days later, Rain sat up in Elgiva’s bed. Other than the bruises that marred every inch of her body and the emotional scars that would never go away, Rain felt almost normal. Apparently she had not had a concussion after all.

And, for the first time in days, Rain realized that she wanted to live.

“Did he rape you?” Elgiva asked as she adjusted the bed linens around her. The Saxon lady had been nursing her the past few days. If anyone was an angel, it was she.

Rain shook her head.

“Well, that is a blessing. You have undergone a horrible experience, but the worst is over.”

“I know. I should be thankful for that, but I can barely control the mind-boiling, blood-churning, violent anger that rages inside me against Steven of Gravely.”

“The worst thing is that Gravely escapes with no punishment for his vile acts.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. I believe he’ll get his just deserts sometime, either in this life or another. But I can’t let my hatred for him consume me now. I have to put my rage aside or it will eat away at me like a cancer. I need to heal now, Elgiva. And, oh God, I need Selik.”

Elgiva shifted her eyes and sat next to Rain on the edge of the bed, “That is what I wanted to discuss.”

“Selik?” Rain asked, her voice rising with alarm.

Elgiva patted her hand reassuringly. “Do not fret. He is safe. In fact”—Elgiva inhaled as if for strength—“in fact, he was released yestereve.”