“Lena, you and I both know that’s not true. And your aunt and uncle understand what a battle is like. Your uncle has fought in them, and your aunt has seen the outcome. There is no way to watch over anyone other than the person who fights alongside you.” Ivar drew a ragged breath as he thought of searching for Lena earlier. “Even I lost track of you, and we began the battle together.” A tremor raced through Ivar as his body confessed his fear.
Lena came up on her elbow as she cupped Ivar’s jaw. “Ivar, you know that wasn’t your fault, don’t you?” It had terrified her when she could not spot Ivar as the fighting drew them further apart. They had fought alongside one another for years. Eindride fought at Ivar’s back while Lena and at least one other shieldmaiden fought along their flanks. The Arabs were skilled in drawing them apart and forcing each Norse warrior to fight a singular opponent, their strength in numbers evaporating. Her terror was not in fighting alone and dying; the terror came from not knowing where Ivar was and not protecting him. They had fought in that pattern since their first voyage together. They began sailing to foreign lands, along with Eindride and their other close friend Vigo Arneson, when they were sixteen. That was only four years earlier, but they had trained and fought close to home since they were children. Raids had necessitated it.
But once they began sailing to further afield to explore and invade, Lena, Ivar, Vigo, and Eindride were a force few could approach. Einar, Eindride’s younger brother, joined them for the first time on this voyage. Eindride had been keeping an eye on Einar, and that was part of the reason he became separated from Ivar. Lena was pulled into a fight when she defended a fellow shieldmaiden who was being overpowered. There had been no way for Lena and Ivar to remain near each other if they both wanted to stay alive and do their duty to their fellow warriors.
“Ivar, you know that wasn’t your fault, don’t you?” Lena came up on her elbow as she cupped Ivar’s jaw. “I was just as worried when I couldn’t find you as you were. I hate that feeling.”
Ivar drew Lena across his chest as she shuddered at her final thought. He drew a line along her collarbone with his kisses before he traveled the distance to just behind her ear. Lena’s hand searched along Ivar’s long body until she found his semi-aroused cock. She wrapped her hand around him and stroked as their mouths found one another, their kiss deep and sensual. Ivar lifted her, so Lena took his sword into her sheath. She pulled at his shoulders until he lifted his body to press against hers.
They sat, joined, for a long moment just enjoying the connection. Ivar lifted and lowered Lena as her inner muscles clung to his cock. His body cried out for him to stop talking and make love to her. Fire fueled their kiss, and the time for talking had ended. Their motionless joining had been a fusion of their souls as much as their movements now were a fusion of their hearts. They moved together until they both found their release, tumbling into bliss together.
Once again, Ivar positioned Lena against him, and she was content to burrow into his warmth. He drew their cloaks over them as their sweat-dampened skin began to cool. The air was pleasant, but he would also shield Lena’s body from anyone’s eyes who might approach. As they had on their previous journeys, Ivar held Lena while he took the first watch. In a few hours, he would wake her to make love again before she took over the watch, and he slept. Before the sun rose, they would rejoin their camp, acting as though they and several other couples had not crept away for privacy. No one dared to travel further than the safety of the camp, but many preferred to make their bed where others were unable to watch.
Three
“We have been gone long enough,” Ivar declared as his warriors crowded around him. “We sail for home!”
The crowd cheered as many breathed a silent breath of relief. Their voyage was a success. While traveling, they had swept through villages where they were greeted by people unlike any they had seen before. Used to finding men and women who looked similar to them when they raided England and Francia, they were unprepared for the olive-skinned, almond-eyed people of North Africa. More than one man found a woman to claim and return with, ensuring they had a bed slave to keep them company once they arrived in their perpetually frozen homeland. Once they tired of these thralls, most likely by the following summer, they would sell them to a slave trader. If the women were lucky, they might return to their homeland.
“Gather what we took yesterday, and we make our way to our ships. The gods are with us, and so are the tides.” Eindride called out as Ivar and Lena faced the shore, ready to lead their people back to the longboats moored a few miles away.
The crews were quick to store their bounty beneath the boards of the deck in the shallow hulls of the longboats. Ivar, Eindride, and Vigo captained their own boats along with the seven others. They were a fleet of ten ships with dragons carved on their prows and large billowing sails on their masts. The fleet was impressive, and Ivar had insisted that they travel with nine as fortune smiled upon that number. He had predicted accurately; their pillaged goods were the greatest value ever collected.
The journey was long and arduous for all the Norse warriors, with the blazing sun shining overhead day after day. They had to go ashore along the way to collect fresh water and forage or hunt for food. There was only so much pickled herring that any of them wanted to eat. The coast of Spain proved a treasure trove, with a round orange fruit that was juicy and sweet, a treat none of the Norse sailors had ever enjoyed before. They found more of the round, deep red ovals that were salty and tangy, but they had already enjoyed those during their various stops along the North African coast. Oranges and olives became food staples along with dried beef and pickled herring.
Ivar and Lena took turns at the oars, but Ivar spent most of his time at the tiller. When she was not rowing, Lena ensured each crew member had their daily ration of food and warm clothing. They caught strong winds as they made their way along the coast of Francia, and then the British Isles. The crossing of the North Sea to their homeland was choppy despite a lack of wind and strong sunlight.
Relief surged through Ivar, as it always did whenever he arrived at his homestead. He helped Lena down from the boat, and they walked arm-in-arm along the dock until they reached Ivar’s parents. Soren’s scowl at Lena made Ivar protective. His heart seemed to skin and race at the same time, as intuition told him he would not like the news from while he was away.
Ivar’s mother, Disa, stepped forward to embrace her son while casting a warm smile towards Lena. Disa may have despised being married to Soren, but she loved her son. She wished she were able to allow Ivar and Lena to marry. She would have her son find the joy in marriage that was lacking in her own.
“I see the voyage exceeded my expectations. The men are already carrying chests of riches ashore. Wherever shall we keep it all?” Soren chuckled, but the sound lacked any trace of mirth.
Ivar ground his teeth at his father’s patronizing tone. If the man had not been his father and his jarl, he would have grunted and pushed past him. He wanted nothing more than to take Lena to his chamber for a hot bath, where he would scrub away the grime and salt encrusted to him and then make love to her after weeks of forced celibacy. His father had other plans.
“Rangvald and Thor are here.”
Ivar did not dare cringe before his father, but he suspected why their neighbors were there. He felt Lena go rigid, as he still had an arm wrapped around her. She stepped to his side and bowed to Ivar’s parents before darting away. Ivar returned his father’s scowl as he made to follow Lena, but Soren grasped his arm.
“Leave your concubine alone while our guests are here. They will not want to leave Inga here if it’s obvious your cock is plowing another field,” Soren’s voice hissed in Ivar’s ear.
“She is not my concubine, and you know it. She is my companion and a free woman. You should feed them, then show them the gate. That would keep them from seeing what we can’t and won’t hide.” Ivar bit out as he watched Lena reunite with her aunt and uncle. He had promised to be by her side when she informed them of their children’s death. Instead, Lena was facing it alone. He ripped his arm away and looked down at his father, having grown several inches taller than the older man by the time he was fourteen. “I have a promise I must keep.”
Ivar jogged away, wishing his father had been more circumspect, but knowing it was his intention to hurt both him and Lena. He arrived at her side just as her aunt began to wail, and her uncle pointed an accusing finger. Ivar stepped in front of Lena, and his thunderous look was enough for the older couple to turn away.
“Are you all right?” Ivar whispered.
Lena nodded her head, but Ivar was far from convinced. He took her hand and followed the path to the bathhouse, his chamber no longer an option after his reunion with his father. He realized they would not be alone, and he accepted he would have to wait his turn since the women would go first, but he could at least accompany her and be there when she finished. He would postpone his bath if it meant Lena was well cared for.
Lena stepped into the warmth of the steamy bathhouse and began to strip her clothes from her dirty and exhausted body. She was in no mood to talk to anyone. She had already spent months with the other shieldmaidens, and she was not in the mood to regale anyone who remained at the homestead with stories of sailing the high seas and battling foreign enemies. Lena just wanted to soak in the hot water and forget about everyone else.
“I see my husband and his whore have returned.” A nasal and rasping voice grated against Lena’s patience. Lena was not surprised by who she found on one bench that surrounded tubs already filled with other women. All conversations ceased as the women awaited Lena’s response. She had no intention of giving one.
Lena stepped into a tub that a thrall had already filled and slid under the water, letting it wash over her and cover her tangled hair. She opened her eyes when she sensed someone had stepped near her tub. The form of a woman stood askew beside the lip of the tub, and as Lena pushed along the bottom to sit up, a hand reached down. The hand grasped Lena’s hair and pushed with more force than Lena expected. Rather than panic, Lena was still until the pressure eased, then she made her move. She was out of the water and onto the floor before anyone predicted she would flip her attacker over her shoulder and into the tub.
As the woman emerged spluttering and swearing, Lena stepped into another tub and wasted no time scrubbing her body. Inga stood in the tub with clothes stuck to her and dripping onto the floor.
“You shall pay for that, whore.”
