Marina reached the southern door in time to see Ragnar driving one guard back against the collapsed remains of a support beam, his two wolves engaging a second near the doorway, the sounds of the fight sharp and fast in the enclosed space of the lodge's main room.

"There's a third," Wren said, close behind her, her voice tight with the particular urgency of someone who understood exactly what she was warning them about. "He wasn't visible from outside. He's been waiting in the cellar since before you arrived, in case negotiation failed."

The warning came a half second before the cellar door burst open and a man moved into...