Marcus stood and stretched giving Douglass a perfect view of his beautiful butt and muscled back.“A delegation has arrived from the village of Hammersford. They insist you must see them at once.”“Hammersford? What in Thor’s name do they want?” Marcus thrust a hand through his disordered hair and stared at Douglass. His slow smile left her staring at his mouth. “Perhaps they have some news about your ship, consort. We still haven’t located the ‘black box’ you spoke of yet.”Douglass eased her aching body out of bed. Sven had already laid out her clothes besides Marcus’. She slipped on the silk tunic, wondering why she needed to be covered up and combed her hair while Sven helped Marcus dress more formally.The great hall seemed strangely deserted when Marcus and Douglass reached it. Sunlight threaded down through the stained glass panels on the ceiling staining the stone floor in myriad overlapping colors. The small party from Hammersford was dwarfed by the magnificence of the cavernous space.
