Chapter Twelve
Soren
“King Hákon is heading for the Hebrides with a sizeable fleet that’s only going to grow larger,” Leif shared as we sat in the lodge we utilized for diplomacy, along with Freya, Ivar, and Leif’s second-in-command.
“Many are already heading that way, including me and my men after summoning you and as many men as you can spare, Soren, without leaving your stronghold undefended.”
There was no need to look at Freya to sense her tension.
This aligned with the crack in her boat, destined to divide us, as well as her sister, Astrid, warning her I should not go, having assumed it was to Scotland.
And now here I was being summoned to its very shores, and I wanted it no more than she, but if my king called on me, I would go to his aid.
“The king wishes us to leave within the week and meet him in the Hebrides with fresh supplies,” Leif went on. “I could not say when he plans to attack, but I suspect ’twill be soon after.”
“I have heard much of Scotland’s King Alexander III,” Freya said.
“They say he is fierce and known for his successful military campaigns.” She tilted her head in question.
“So why would King Hákon risk his countrymen when mainland Scotland is all but lost to us and there are other, less difficult places to conquer?”
While no one would say it aloud, the answer was simple.
Pride.
They had attacked us, and so we would retaliate in kind.
“’Tis not for me to question my king’s reasons,” Leif said dutifully.
“Though I can tell you he has called on some of his fiercest Norwegian tribes, including Soren’s, to aid him so there is much hope.
Let us not forget, though tribes still war with each other, our king has brought our beloved country far.
You recall he was born when our Norway was still torn apart by decades of civil war, ja?
Since then, ’tis safe to say he’s made great strides in the unification of our country and the expansion of our empire. ”
Even if I agreed with Freya, he was right, so there was no argument here, only acceptance and a focus on what lay ahead. “’Tis early in the harvesting season, so our food storage is low, but we will spare all we can and ready the ships over the next few days for traveling.”
“Anything you can spare would be most appreciated,” Leif said. “Weapons as well, if you have some to spare.”
“We do, but I will have the smithy make more,” I replied. “As well as have our hunters gather what furs we can spare for trading.”
After Leif nodded in thanks, our business concluded, and we escorted him and his man to their lodgings. I assured them they would receive water for bathing, and we would see them soon to dine, drink, and celebrate the glory of upcoming battles.
As expected, the moment Freya and I returned to our lodge to prepare for the eve, she made her opinion known, none too happy about it, saying everything I knew she would.
“This bodes ill, husband,” she warned, her gaze going to the fire as if she saw her sister through the flames even now.
“’Tis as the crack in my boat foresaw and Astrid warned, and ’twill be the downfall of many if this happens.
” She rested her hand over her womb. “Mayhap the ultimate divide betwixt me and you, even as a babe may already grow inside me.”
I did not blame her for saying such because it could very well be true, given how often we lay together. Hell, even now, I wanted to carry her to the bed and sink deeply inside her because nothing felt so good.
“Even so.” I came up behind her and rested my hands on her shoulders. “You always knew if our king summoned me, I would go. I would have no choice because I love my country.” I peppered kisses down the side of her neck. “Almost as much as I love you.”
She had yet to return the words, and while I longed to hear them on her lips, I already knew she loved me.
It was in every touch. In the way she gazed at me when she didn’t think I was looking.
It was evident in her words when she worried over me or we laughed together.
Even when she grew angry with me, much like she did now, because anger very much simmered in her eyes when she turned and gazed at me.
“These men you will confront in Scotland are not the farmers with pitchforks our ancestors faced, but seasoned warriors. Strategists who are fierce in their need for freedom, not just from us but from the English.” She shook her head.
“King Hákon’s endeavor is truly unwise. ’Twould be like the Scots daring to attack the Norwegian mainland, and you know it. ”
Rather than acknowledge that I knew she was right, I tried to redirect the conversation. “You know more of Scotland than I realized.”
“Then mayhap you don’t truly believe I’m in contact with Astrid from afar, however sporadically,” Freya returned. “She’s shared many things about the land upon which she walks now.”
“I do believe you,” I said softly because I did, just as I believed I brought Freya back from the land of the dead when a child. I could not say how, only that I did. “Just as I believed the gods gifted my mother with the same mystical abilities.”
Freya rested her hand on my chest and looked at me with her heart in her eyes. “Then listen to me when I tell you if you go, we might never see each other again.”
Resting my hand over hers, I said all I could for now.
I reminded her of who she married. Just as I had reminded her who I married when I put a blade back in her hand and asked her to train my warriors to fight as well as her.
“’Tis what it must be, Freya. I’m Soren Dahl, ‘The Brazon’, so I shall be that for my king if he requests it and fight any battle he orders me to.
Just as I know you would do the same in my position. ”
She blinked back tears and turned away to change before I could try to comfort her.
“Then I will go with you and protect you,” she vowed, running a comb angrily through her hair. “We will fight these Scots together.”
Although tempted to tell her no such thing would happen because I had given my word to her father, I kept quiet for now, having learned to bide my time with her just as she had with me.
There were moments to fight and moments to wait.
This moment was for peace so that Leif and his men would only see me and Freya unified tonight.
Yet as we prepared and she wove small braids into her hair, opting to present herself as the shield-maiden she was with her white bear cloak, I knew she understood I would not so easily comply later.
Yet for now, we went through the formalities of the evening, enjoying good food, mead, and ale to music, merriment, and bards singing tales of old.
“Freya does well this eve despite the storm I sensed brewing betwixt you two,” my aunt murmured at one point.
We sat at the head table watching Freya mingle with Leif’s men.
Though ever gracious, she was clearly a warrior born of the berserker with her blade sheathed at her waist, her shield at her back, and a dash of war paint on her delicate face.
Brynhild looked at me in warning. “And ’twill not fare well for you because her heartache and anger run deeper than the seas. ”
“Yet there is nothing I can do to assuage it,” I said, downing half my ale.
“You could bring her with you,” she suggested, sighing as she watched me clench my jaw.
“Yet we both know you will not because your word is worth more than anything.” She kept considering me, seeing inside me as only she could.
“Or mayhap she is more important than even your word.” Her eyes narrowed. “Mayhap not just her.”
“There have been changes in her over the past few weeks,” I confessed softly, comfortable sharing with my aunt.
“Her breasts are fuller and more tender, and her desires are even stronger than usual.” I couldn’t help but smile a little because my wife was wonderfully lusty indeed.
“Which is saying something.” Biting back emotion, I could not take my gaze off Freya. “And she has not bled in weeks.”
“Sweet Odin in Valhalla,” Brynhild whispered. She blinked back tears and looked from Freya to me, squeezing my hand in hope. “Are you sure?”
“Ja.” My heart soared at the thought of it, and I squeezed her hand in return. “Whilst I think she suspects it, she doesn’t truly know, as this is too new to her.”
“Then you should tell her,” Brynhild insisted. “It might help her find peace in your absence, for surely she must not leave these shores now.”
Although she was right, I feared Freya might not see it that way, and my fears were confirmed a few days later, when the ships were loaded and final preparations were underway for the journey. We would depart at daybreak, and I had yet to make it clear she wouldn’t be traveling with me.
She had been cordial to me since Leif’s arrival but less warm in our bed, distant in a way that told me my aunt was right. A storm brewed between us that could rain down at any time, so I had to confront it head-on.
First, however, I had to deal with my second-in-command, Ivar, and he would not like it.
“Everything is in order and ready to go,” he reported when I joined him at the shore, eyeing the horizon with anticipation. “’Twill be good to battle alongside each other once again for our king, will it not?”
“Come, my friend,” I said, heading down the shore away from curious ears. “Let’s take a moment alone so that we might talk of things to come.”
“Only good things,” Ivar said, offering me a rare grin as he joined me.
“To be sure,” I agreed, sharing something he would not want to hear any more than Freya would. “With you here protecting what matters most to me because I trust you above all others, Ivar.”