“I am not a bad man. I want children and a prosperous clan. Iwant a lovely wife to warm my bed. Is that not what every Viking man desires? Is that not what you want? A man to protect you?”
“I don’t need protection.” I straighten myself against the back of the chair.
“Your reindeer herd will,” he whispers.
“No one has seen the reindeer herd in years.”
“Not in all your hunts?” he asks, quieter now as his eyes reach mine.
Determined to get a handle on the conversation, I respond, “We don’t hunt that far into the mountain pass.” I have never hunted through the pass because the Beaivi Clan is there to protect the mountain’s earthly riches, not deplete them.
“Maybe we could come to an agreement. If you marry me and I give you the necessary support, you could hunt and find the herd for me?”
Sucking in cold air to keep my lungs working, I don’t know what to say. He thinks I am naive, and will bargain time out in the mountains against the safety of the reindeer herd. Harald reaches over to find my hands curled in my lap. I clench my fingers in vain as he forces my hands apart, lifting my fingers to his mouth. Tension rolls through the rest of my body.
“Please, Rasha, I know there is more happening in that beautiful head of yours. The King will reward us for providing him the means to conquer these lands, and we will rule without having four councils and four clans. We will be one,” he proposes, kissing my knuckles.
“Even if you gave me twenty of the best hunters, I don’t know where the reindeer are,” I admit as he rubs my fingers in a small effort to warm them against the bright and chilly day.
“What has your brother told you about the blacksmith?” He asks.
Keeping my gaze on the undulating fire in front of us, I murmur, “That he will make our wedding rings if I choose to accept your proposal.”
“Jorvik surprises me. You know I thought he told you all of ourplans. He is one person I know I can trust. Your face says it all, little Rasha.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is hard to tell if you are lying, I must admit,” Harald says, and I finally wiggle my fingers free. Tucking my leg underneath me, I lean to sit in the farthest corner of the big chair.
“What should I know about Shaw?” I ask, point blank this time.
“There is a map to the herd’s favorite valleys, and I think he holds it.”
“Well there is an easy answer to that question. He came here at your request, so why not ask him if he has a map to the reindeer herd?”
“Because he was beaten the first night for his resistance to my request, and he previously promised me no such thing exists.”
“Harald, that means someone here is lying. No one has seen reindeer in decades, and it is the hunter’s job to protect the balance of nature. If you threaten that, there will be vengeance.” My honesty comes out in a rush, and Harald’s eyes gaze at me while I stumble through putting the information together. “And if you want to accuse me of lying, then I can do the same. You might be cooking up this reindeer nonsense to leverage me into marrying you, when in fact, the reindeer are fucking safe and sound far away from here.”
Standing up, I gather my dress around me and settle the long folds of fabric over the edge of the platform. I glance back at Harald with a distrustful glare, not sure what to think. Shaw is looking for the map that he thinks Bjorn stole from him. But can I trust Shaw over my own brother? He wouldn’t have any reason to lie, but Harald and Jorvik have all the motivation in the world to try to manipulate me.
11
RASHA
Accepting offerings lasts well into the afternoon. Harald fidgets in his chair, asking me easier questions about life, which is nice for a change. Then he falls asleep after we eat small helpings of bread and hard cheese.
I don’t mind the quiet or holding hands with those bringing even the smallest of offerings. Straw figurines are laid around the burning log, accompanied by short prayers and pretty songs. As the sun loses leverage against the thick, snow-laden clouds, the cold of the afternoon seeps through my cloak, finding weak spots in the seams of my dress, making my bones cold.
Longing for the day to be over and to find Shaw in the heat of the forge so I can ask about the map, I notice Joanna tip toe up the side of the platform so she doesn’t wake Harald.
“He is napping so he can be lively at the divination feast.” I roll my eyes, and Joanna dips her forehead into mine.
“Sorry we’ve stayed away. We’ve been preparing the costumes for the Wild Hunt. Wait till you see yours.”
“It will be good to get that part of Yule over with.”
Joanna glances at Harald, making sure he’s really asleep and buries her face against mine.
