Chapter 52
Njall
Elva had been sound asleep when I’d left the inn to meet up with Baldr and board the warship bound for Anginfill.
The mission was to retrieve my sister and continue the war my father had declared after their attack on our kingdom.
Neither Baldr nor I had served on any of Father's military vessels before—only the cavalry.
He'd decided that if we were to be of any use to Ingvar when he took the throne, we needed to broaden our experience.
So we gathered our supplies from the castle servants and set sail.
The only good thing about this journey was the sea air, which reminded me of Elva.
Aboard the ship, Baldr and I were assigned to sleep with the lower-ranked crew in the cramped quarters below deck. We claimed our hammocks, stowed our meager belongings in the provided crates, and stripped off our shirts to keep them clean while we began our duties.
“Where’s your mother’s pendant?” Baldr asked as we reached the deck. The sun was coming up on the horizon, giving us enough light to start our task of climbing up the riggings to check the sails for damage.
“I left it behind,” I replied, testing a rope before placing my foot on it to climb the mast.
“In your entire life, I’ve never seen you without it.”
“I left it in the bed with Elva.”
Baldr shook the rope, forcing me to clamp onto it and shout curses down at him. “Did you tell her?”
“I told her what my mother was. She knows.”
“No, ferflucs! I mean, about the pendant. What it means.”
“Of course not! I gave it to her, but I couldn’t tell her it gives her power over me. Not until we come back.”
“Idiot,” he shot back and shook the rope again.
“Explain how killing me will do any good!”
Baldr finally stilled the rope and began climbing up after me. “Why didn’t you tell her how you feel? Are you that afraid she might love you back?”
“No,” I snapped. “I wouldn’t have been fair to her.”
“Explain, or I’ll shove you into the sea!”
“We’ll be gone two years, and her cycle lasts twenty-eight days.”
Baldr’s irritation faltered, replaced by understanding. “I forgot about the cycle.”
“Two years would be twenty-six cycles. How could I tell her? What if it made her feel guilty for handling things? Or worse—what if she felt the same about me, and I had to live with knowing she’d be with other men while I was gone?”
“Isn’t it worse not knowing?”
I shook my head, focusing on the rigging. “No, because she has no idea how I feel. She can live her life however she chooses. When I come back, if I feel the same, I’ll tell her then.”
“So you gave up two years of each of our lives—”
“You did it to yourself. I never forced you to help me free her, or pay her to get me back.”
Baldr shoved my shoulder hard enough to nearly unbalance me. “I wouldn't let you rot in the Huestur dungeon! Do you know how boring my life would be without you?”
“I’m glad I amuse you.”
“Oh, you won’t be,” Baldr’s voice carried a warning as he climbed higher to inspect the topsail. “For the next two years, I intend to remind you that you gave up years of your life for a siren you love but couldn’t bother to tell her.”
I groaned under my breath and watched him disappear into the rigging. It was going to be a long two years.