“Any woman who didn’t comply was killed in public. Over the summer, her mother was one of them.”
“Oh, Enora. I don’t know what to say.”
“She is determined to marry a man who is on Harald’s council to protect herself. Maybe Bjorn? But I hate that for her. She fears many people will be killed if they don’t bend the knee once Yule is over. And there’s more.”
“That sounds like enough.” My grip on the cup tightens as she continues.
“I’ve poured drinks for Harald’s council, and well, I’ve stayed later in their rooms then maybe I should have.” Enora rubs her own arms, trying to shake feelings that I know all too well. “Your brother, Jorvik, and Harald want nothing more than to see the King and attempt to sit at his court. Whatever that is.”
Sighing at my predetermined fate, I say, “I know Jorvik’s ambition will be the death of him and me.”
“There are plenty of women who will follow you away from here,” Enora encourages.
“If I don’t have the gods on my side, it is going to be impossible to have the support of the men, and without strength, we are as good as slaves if I don’t marry Harald at the end of Yule,” I say, staring at the crisscross threads of the blanket over my knees.
“What did you want to know about Shaw?” Enora moves back to my original question.
“Did he pledge to Harald?” I ask, looking at the angle of the sun out of the longhouse window. I need to wrap this up and return to the lynx.
“No, and it pisses Harald off. Shaw lives alone somewhere in the Sacred Forest. He comes occasionally with weapons that outmatch all of ours, and he knows things that no one else does. Like when Harald was building the stronghold, Shaw came to teach the other blacksmiths how to make things like hinges. But he tends to disappear for years at a time.”
“Well he bleeds like every other Viking,” I reply, and Enora gives me a once over as she waits for any other details I have about the mysterious smith. “I saw him in the medicine room this morning, that’s all. He looked like he got into it with someone, and then, on the field, he seemed fine.”
“He is going to be very sought after by the women at the Wild Hunt because he never stays for the entirety of Yule. Luckily for all of us, we have days to prepare.”
“Speaking of preparing, I should go.” I use the opening in the conversation to stand and search the room for Joanna and Katrine.
“You can come here anytime!” Enora shouts after me, and I look back, giving her my warmest smile.
I follow the sounds of Katrine’s exuberant voice down one of the hallways. She’s sitting in the middle of a few women, retelling a story of one of our hunting trips where I took down a moose. Flicking her eyes over to me as I lean on the doorframe, she suddenly throws her body down in the blankets, pretending to be the moose. All the women clap at her performance until they realize I am standing there.
“I just wanted to let you know I was going back,” I say, and Katrine scoots off the bed, taking the blanket with her to wrap around her shoulders.
“Do you want us to come with you?”
“No,” I reply. Katrine shifts, blocking the rest of the women from listening to what we say. “You don’t have to make me out to be larger than life.”
“Yes, I do. If you are going to find that bow and convince these women to follow you, I need to make them believe in your abilities,” she counters, pressing her full lips together till the pink turns white.
“I thought you didn’t agree?”
Her voice drops to a whisper. “I don’t want you to get killed. Either way, you need more than Joanna and I on your side.”
Giving her hand a squeeze, I thank her for her support and leave the women’s longhouse. Everyone is busy this afternoon, playing games in the field or finding comfort indoors with music and drink, so my walk back to the stronghold is uneventful.
Past the tall stone walls, I see the tips of the mountain range, and below lies the frozen fjord. The biggest obstacle in finding the tomb will be the weather and the lack of a map. If what the women are saying about how Harald feels regarding the gods and goddess is true, then he will have gotten rid of any of the texts talking about Skadi and chiseled out any of her runes around the village. I will have to find someone who’s been here longer or outlived Harald’s council. Wracking my brain for an idea, I stuff my hands in my pockets to keep them from getting cold, and my fingers hit an extra pouch from the medicine room.
The memory of Shaw’s bruised face laying on the cot distracts me, and the way he shot today is also curious. Why would someone who seems like they have so much to offer any clan choose to live alone? The women said he is a smith, and smiths work in the forge right by the stronghold, so it won’t be hard to see him again.
Taking the steps two at a time, I happily use the key to open my door and give thanks to Freya that I didn’t run into any trouble on my way back. The fire still smolders in the hearth, and the cat is curled up close to the flames. Taking off my heavy coat and snow crusted pants, I gather the loose linen top over my head.
“Rasha.” I hear his voice from somewhere in the room.
6
SHAW
The unmistakable whiff of Aslaug was on her clothes. I should have been shocked when I looked over down the archery range and saw the woman from this morning with a magnificent draw on a bow sized for a man. But shock is useless when much of life is determined by fate.
