Ready to open my mouth, I pray to Freya that drowning isn’t the most painful way to die and close my eyes. I pull the bow to my chest and see him above me. Somehow Shaw crashed through the ice after the heavy chains that Harald used to restrain me. Seeing him trying to reach me makes the will to live explodes through every part of my hypothermic body.
He dives down for me while kicking away the heavy iron. Still clutching the bow to my chest with one arm, I use my other arm and reserves of strength I didn’t know I had to move up, up, up.
His arms are around me, pulling us both to the surface, and my vision blurs from the lack of air in my lungs. The sounds of cracking ice and wet limbs sloshing into the absolutely freezing night keep me from losing all sense of reality.
“Rasha.” I don’t know if he’s whispering or yelling. His voice is muffled from the water logged in my ears. “You have to open your eyes.” He keeps talking, telling me things I can’t understand. His hands are everywhere, ripping off the front of my dress to roughly rub my chest, and I don’t mind.
“I have it,” I choke out, finally opening my eyes. He rubs my back so hard I spit water all over him, coughing and choking up the salty fjord water until my throat burns. At least I feel more alive than dead.
“Mhmm, you do. You almost fucking died,” Shaw says in disbelief, but there’s a hint of something there. I don’t usually see it from men close to me. Fear hinges on the words,you almost fucking died.
“Cold.” Is all I can formulate. The bow falls from my shaking arms, and Shaw pauses to pick it up. I panic, thinking it was all he wanted, and he’s going to leave me here to freeze to death. But he presses it to my chest, wrapping my numb arms around the quiver, and picks me up under the knees.
“I am so sorry, Rasha,” he murmurs, almost running over theice covered fjord to the darkest part of the woods. “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
I can’t think of an answer. I am too fucking cold. My heart can’t beat in a normal rhythm, stopping and starting, making it hard to breathe. “Cold,” I murmur.
He’s shaking as he runs toward what looks like a sled hidden in the trees. Wiping my eyes, I squint in the darkness to get a better look at the horses, but they are not horses at all.
“Is that?” I ask, and he walks to the front of the sled to set me in the driver’s bench.
“Two reindeer, yes. I came with a horse, but the gods have heard your prayer, Rasha. These are for you.” He pats the reindeer with a heavy hand. The reindeer look warm as they snort hot, impatient breaths that curl up through their wide antlers.
“We have to get into the Sacred Forest,” he says, nervously gazing at my dripping dress. Climbing up to sit next to me, he rubs my arms, creating friction, but I need more.
“Take it off,” I beg. Staring into my insistent eyes, he hesitates, and I start to yank the slick dress down.
“I’ll make it up to you,” he replies, grabbing the ruined fabric with both hands and ripping it from my shivering curves. He kneels to strip the rest of the dress down my body. His mouth is level with my womanhood, but I cannot fathom spreading my legs apart.
Throwing his dry, black coat over me, he shivers, and I thread my fingers under his tunic. He understands and struggles to remove the soaked leather vest and tunic from his muscular shoulders.
I climb, unashamed, into his lap, taking the coat and covering us both. A nudge from a warm nose prompts me to look over at Aslaug who’s soaking wet and climbing in the bed of the sled. With a flick of the reins, Shaw has the reindeer breaking into a run. We move fast, skidding along the snow, and I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders for warmth. He pulls me closer, tucking me into his chest.
Frosty wind nips my cheeks, and my ears must be logged with frozen water because I swear I hear the little bells I passed around at the Divination feast. Nuzzling my face into his neck breaks his concentration.
“Don’t close your eyes, my lady, the gods are welcoming you,” he says over the crunching ice and the wisps of pine needles brushing the wooden sled.
Looking up at the sky, I am stunned to witness iridescent rivers of colors running through the darkness. Yellow and green dip and swirl with the vast indigo making every silver star more pronounced.
“We haven’t seen the lights in years,” I choke over my tears. We stop deep in the woods. Shaw’s wet legs shake uncontrollably, and I rub his chest to keep his heart beating.
“We need to rest,” he says and covers me completely in the coat when I move into the bed of the sled next to Aslaug.
“If they figure out my burned body isn’t sunk under the ice, they will come for me,” I add, peering through the wide pine trees.
“Between the oncoming snow storm and your supposed death, we will have time to get to my cabin without worry.” He gently lays down. His gaze stays fixed on mine instead of my nudity as he reaches into a bag to throw a blanket around us. But I grab his waist and claw at his belt till he peels his pants from his solid legs.
“It’s humbling to see each other this way,” I laugh, my teeth clattering together, and he palms his cold balls.
“Are you amused?” He smiles,thank the gods,and settles in the blankets beside me.
“I want you, but I’m numb,” I reply, reaching for him again. He does one better and moves on top of me.
“I’m here, Rasha. I’ll warm you,” he murmurs, his hands traveling down my body. If I could feel my core, I’d be immensely aroused at how our bodies fit together, but my bones are so frozen I’m left fantasizing.
He’s moves his knees in-between mine. Rubbing my thighs to create friction my blood returns to the surface of my skin. He lays his chest over mine again, and I let his heat seep into my skin, glazing over my bruises and minor burns. My mind is too tired and frayed to over think, so I let my hands lead.
In the cocoon of blankets, our mingled breaths start to warm the air, and finally, I feel at peace. Shaw plants a delicate kiss on myforehead and lifts the blanket enough to find the bow. Securing my hand around the ancient wood means not all is lost.
