“Shaw is a blacksmith with no clan. Do not listen to him.” Jorvikpicks up momentum, coming to my other side to face me. “This ends right now. Put that bow down and take a seat until Harald gets here,” he spits in my face. I straighten my spine a little more.
“No.” I have said it before but this time it is different. “You asked me to prove this is Skadi’s bow, and I will.”
“She is the huntress. Let her prove it.” A voice from the head table brings order to the chaos. Katrine’s father is standing with the last two men who have raised their arms to silence the crowd. “We have been on this council longer than you, Jorvik. We took your word when you and Bjorn came back from Yule, but Rasha is here, which already proves you a liar.” Katrine’s father is unforgiving, and the crowd erupts into clapping.
I grip the bow tighter. “I didn’t kill our parents, and you know it. I was a child,” I hiss at Jorvik as he walks away. Shaw stays in between the table, where the men have returned to their places, including Jorvik who takes the head seat. The Hall settles quietly, and Bjorn stands opposite me, holding a shield like he would in combat.
Raising the bow, I pull the silver string back effortlessly, grazing my ear, and widen my stance to hold my form. Everyone fades into the edges of my vision, the noise of the flames dies out in the background, and I bring the power I found sitting on the black sand of the magical fjord to my fingertips.
The bracelet peeks from my sleeve on the wrist that is holding the bow by the slender grip, like it was crafted for my hand. Shaw’s energy is here, surrounding me, shrouding me so that nothing matters beyond the tip of the arrow. It’s there, hollow and shimmering, with short silver bristles tickling my cheek.
I release, sending the immortal arrow flying through the air. I hear it hit the shield before the blurred cocoon of protection dissipates. The Hall explodes into an uproar of cheering and clapping. People are calling my name, calling me the Maiden, and raising their cups to the goddesses. Tucking the bow under my arm, I rub my tingling hands together. This isn’t over.
Bjorn is on the floor across the room. The force of my arrow knocked him on his ass. He drags the shield into his lap to see thesilver bow sticking through the wood. Taking his axe off his belt, he swings it through the shaft, and I slam my palms together on instinct. The arrow disappears in a cloud of red and pink dust.
“This isn’t possible,” he curses and swings his axe in front of him, warming up his arm. Everyone is pouring each other more to drink, satisfied with my display, but Bjorn and Jorvik will not retreat after tonight.
Drawing the bow, I yell, “Leave, Bjorn. Take my fucking brother with you.”
Bjorn sneers and swings his axe again, moving closer to me. He throws his arm around a young girl, knowing it is my weakness, and nicks her neck with his axe.
“You want to lead these people to where? The King will come with armies so large you’ll all be slaughtered in an hour.” He presses the blade into her neck and blood beads along her white skin.
“Let her go,” various people say. Men stand from the benches, axes and knives raised. Bjorn backs up, dragging the girl with him as she struggles against his blade. The bracelet against my wrist is burning so hot the thought that the silver will melt off, revealing the chain, crosses my mind.
Lowering the bow, I stride quickly down the center aisle to catch up to him and hear the snapping of wood and pummeling of bodies behind me. A quick glance over my shoulder shows Shaw is wrestling a knife out of Jorvik’s hand.
“I told Harald that the blacksmith arrived here four days ago, and you were nowhere in sight. Word came to me that Harald is already marching with men to locate the reindeer herd for the King. You are too late to save the reindeer or your people.” Bjorn hauntingly laughs, backing into the darkness beyond the double doors where Aslaug is waiting. She lunges the same time I do and sinks her teeth into Bjorn’s shoulder. He lets the girl go, the axe slicing through her hand, and I reach for her.
“Fucking animal,” Bjorn shrieks, swinging his axe like a maniac. Aslaug jumps over him with her strong hind legs, putting her huge, furry body over the injured girl. Squeezing her torn hand into herchest, the girl shrinks back into the Hall, and men bombard the door.
“Let him go,” I say, standing at the foot of the stairs. “If what he says is true, it won’t matter if we kill him or not.”
Seeing the sheer number of people coming out of the Hall, Bjorn takes off running off balance, due to his leg, and his arm hangs limp at his side. I don’t wait to see him reach the horses, though a group of men take off down the road to make sure he doesn’t cause any more trouble. I fit the bow back inside the quiver and walk through the surveying crowd.
Katrine and her father are coming to meet me.
“The girl needs attention and probably stitches.” The first order of business is to get this night under control.
“I want to apologize, Rasha,” Oslo says, his eyes reaching mine in a solemn gaze. “We shouldn’t have agreed with Jorvik.”
“What’s done is done. We need to prepare the people to move, but not tonight. Let them find happiness in each other’s company,” I tell him. The plans come easier as I find my confidence. Joanna is pressing a cloth into Jorvik’s bleeding eyebrow, but I don’t care to see if he’s okay.
A large hand finds the small of my back, and the bright bond I’ve continued to strengthen burns through me. Sinking into his embrace, I look at Shaw with too many emotions to count passing between us.
“Can we disappear?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I give Katrine a hug, whispering my appreciation into her blonde waves. Her father proceeds to find the musicians to lighten the atmosphere. Shaw threads his fingers through mine on our way between the throngs of people. We smile at those who raise their cups as we walk around full tables of relaxed Vikings, avoiding glares from Jorvik, who swats Joanna away and downs a cup of wine without so much as a thank you.
32
RASHA
There’s only been a handful of times I’ve been in the rooms behind the Hall. They were originally constructed for the families of the councilmen and the highest ranking group of men. Katrine’s family has their own large home with fields for livestock, so they do not take up residence here, and the other men might stay in a room or two. As we walk through the hallway, I have the sense that Jorvik took over the Hall, using all the rooms to house Joanna and Bjorn.
“I’ve been in here with Vidarr,” Shaw says when we reach one of the last doors.
