Rasha’s chest rises and falls in a sad breath. “I have known my brother to rotate women in his bed quicker than the changing seasons. Though, Joanna asked me if I was okay with her pursuing him to keep her siblings cared for and to give herself a better position with the clan.”
“You gave her your blessing?”
“I did. That was before all of this.” She raises her arm to jiggle the bracelet between us. I take her hand, bringing her closer, and let my fingers explore the skin down her wrist. I shouldn’t be thinking about taking her pants off while she’s deliberating over her friend’s love life, but our bond is overpowering my common sense.
“Do you regret promising me your life?” I ask like a nervous boy who trembles when given his first axe. Rasha steps closer, bringing her body into my embrace, and leans her beautiful face to mine.
“No, not for a second. Shaw, I am not ashamed to admit I like who I am becoming. I want to sit by your side and do more good than I could have done by staying here.” She leans in, sealing her words with a kiss.
34
RASHA
Walking away from Shaw, I remind myself that I’ve known Joanna since the very first day I came to the clan. We have been through awful nights and sweet berry-filled summers together. My brother should not be the reason we fight.
Joanna sees me coming. Her brown eyes have changed in the past few months. Instead of darting all over, looking for threats, she is staring at me like I am her adversary.
“We should keep moving,” she says sternly.
“Five minutes for the horses and we will be.” I come around to the boulder she is sitting on. Saying a prayer, I plant myself next to her. “I never thanked you for showing me the way home.”
Letting the fight out of her lungs, Joanna says, “I didn’t believe there were other realms and no longer had any faith in the gods. But Shaw was so certain, and of course, his brother is very persuasive.”
“Vidarr is a charmer.” I think back to his sweet face, and the strangest pang of missing him strikes me.
“Did you know they were different?”
“No, I didn’t meet Vidarr till I escaped my own sacrificial funeral. Realizing I was capable of loving Shaw, didn’t happen until recently.”
“Katrine is correct in saying you two are wed?”
“We weren’t wed in the normal ways of the clan. But yes, I am his wife.” It’s the first time I’ve said the wordwifeout loud, and the bond buried inside my bones shakes to life with the acknowledgment. “I understand that you love my brother, I do. But, Joanna, how can you support him when he condemned me to death?”
Joanna runs the edge of her heavy coat through her red, blistered fingers. Constantly being worked by my brother or other men, Joanna is always willing. She believes pleasing them will prevent her from being left behind. This whole situation should be showing her otherwise.
“You died. Or so we thought. I watched the boat burn, and I didn’t think you were ever coming back. You told me it was okay to fall for Jorvik days before the Wild Hunt. For a month, I thought I was making the best of the worst situation. I lost my closest friend.” Joanna presses her lips into a hard line. The guilt in my chest creeps up in a nauseating wave, and I stand to shake out my hands. Our party is mounting the horses, and Shaw is bringing my reindeer over.
“I am so sorry. I left you, and I am going to do it again.” I tell her the truth, now knowing what following Shaw means for my life. Joanna looks over at me, her eyes searching for that girl who always does what she is told. I am not that girl anymore.
“I won’t listen to my brother to make nice, or Harald. I am sure as fuck not going to kneel to a King who is prepared to eradicate our gods. But I won’t stop you from trying to change Jorvik’s mind.”
“That’s all I ask,” Joanna replies. I find Aslaug nudging the back of my knees.
“You and Katrine know how to communicate with Rasha.” Shaw carefully chooses a moment to come between us.
“You said in the Dísablót that we were Valkyries calling for the goddess? That will work again?” Joanna asks both of us.
“It is always worth a try until I set my own family problems right,” Shaw admits what he can and extends a hand to Joanna to help her on her horse. “When we were in Harald’s stronghold, I should have helped the women get out from under his rule beforeRasha was sacrificed. You have my sorrow for my lack of judgement.”
Joanna stares at Shaw with her mouth open. I know this is the first time a man has apologized to her. Settling into the saddle, I break the silence between them, calling to our three scouts.
“We need to ride fast to find Harald by sundown.”
Taking off, Shaw and I lead, using our connection to the underground routes of the mountain river to guide us. Shaw cannot use his star map until it is dark, and we won’t risk using any of my magic around the scouts. They might be happy to help me, but in the face of Harald, it would be too convenient for them to switch sides.
Aslaug blends into the mountainside. Sometimes I see flashes of her fur high on the ridge above us. After another hour of riding, she’s fallen behind, wrestling with a vole in the snow. I stop at one point when I see tracks made by a single horse near one of the freezing rivers. Jorvik must have stopped to give his horse a drink, which means we are going in the right direction. Underneath the crust of crunchy ice, the middle is melting, causing the land to shift beneath us and on the side of a mountain. One wrong move will start an avalanche.
“We are catching up.” I motion to Shaw to see the path that tracks up a narrow break in the mountain path. “We will have to go one at a time.” His reindeer takes a chunk of bark off a tree as he surveys the options.
