‘She probably did come down this way…but they won’t remain on the path. He wouldn’t know how much of a head start he has, taking Astra was an opportunity. But he must have another plan…something prepared. He must be taking her somewhere. Where exactly does this lead—Odin’s teeth! Skadi, you almost fell!’
Skadi had slipped on the path, but managed to right herself before she completely lost her footing. Her ankle ached from the sudden twist, but she ignored it. ‘This path leads straight down to the smelting furnaces and workshops.’
‘Exactly! Can you see her down the path ahead? No.’
‘There’s several ledges and twists along the way.’
‘True, but what will he find at the bottom? It’s not exactly a safe destination for a man stealing a princess!’ huffed Agnar and thankfully Skadi slowed and took more care with her steps. ‘The furnaces will be working on the latest batch of ore…people will see him! And the beads prove that Astra is no longer willingly with him. She left them for us to point the way. We need to keep our eyes out for another sign…and we can’t do that if we’re racing down a cliff face!’
Finally, Skadi slowed a little, her eyes searching the forest to their left. ‘Then we need to keep an eye on that side. The other only brings him closer to Thrudheim—people would see him alone with Astra and question it. If he wants to escape with Astra, he’ll need to have a boat. One at the old fishermen’s harbour would most likely go unnoticed. The merchants and traders have to identify themselves and their cargo at the city harbour. But to reach the old fishermen’s harbour, he needs to climb down the cliff edge at some point… Depending on how far he’s willing to climb it might be at the next ridge or the one below.’
‘Good,’ replied Agnar soothingly. ‘That must be his plan.’
Skadi turned fully away from him then, her head focused on the path below which was getting darker by the moment and slippery with the falling snow and previous rain. ‘There is nothing good about any of this. I should never have left her alone, not even for a moment.’
Agnar sighed. He’d suspected she would blame herself, but his heart ached to hear it. His mother had done much the same after they’d been cast out. It had broken his heart. ‘No one is to blame for this but Oddmund.’
At the first ridge they stopped and lit their torches because the sun was so low that the shadow of the forest was difficult to see through. They focused on the left-hand side of the ridge, but the bracken looked undisturbed and there were no other beads left behind. They had scrubbed at the snow around the treeline to see if anything had been dropped.
Skadi’s bare hands looked red raw from the rope and cold, but he didn’t have any gloves to offer her, so instead he insisted she carry the torch to light the way.
At the second ridge, Skadi was already running to the treeline before she made the plateau. He realised why a moment later when he saw the blue-and-white ribbon hanging from a branch. ‘Clever girl!’
It was reassuring and filled him with pride to see it. Astra was still alive and conscious. From the height of the ribbon, he imagined she was being carried over Oddmund’s shoulder and had draped the hair ribbon over the branch as they passed into the forest. She was obviously frightened, but had the wit to know when to leave signs and where.
Skadi snatched it off the branch and walked into the forest. The moon wasn’t full, but the increasing snow reflected the light a little. Not enough to see into the shadows, but enough to ensure they didn’t trip over a log or fallen branch. Skadi swept the torch in an arc.
‘There!’ said Vali, pointing at faint oblong marks and scuffs in the snow. ‘One set. He is carrying her, which is good. It means he’s slower.’
Agnar nodded, but he’d carried Astra earlier and she was no heavier than a shield. But Oddmund was a little older—perhaps she would be enough of a burden to slow him down.
They ploughed on, sweeping out into a fan to cover as much ground as possible, trying to walk quickly, but not loudly. All of them painfully aware that they didn’t want to put the Princess at any greater risk.
The rumble of distant waves increased as they approached the cliff edge, as did the whirl of snow that scattered through and from the trees. The weather had turned bitterly cold and their breath fogged as they each pushed forward.
The sun was little more than a slither of grey bleeding into the black sea beyond and barely visible through the cage of trees. But there was more light flickering in the distance…a campfire… Instinctively, he grabbed Skadi’s arm.
She shrugged out of his hold as if it were a viper’s bite and burst forward. But Agnar’s reactions had been honed from years of battle and he managed to catch her again with an even tighter grip, tugging her close and whispering in her ear, ‘Quiet! We need to surprise him! They’re close to the cliff.’ He then tapped his ear and Skadi took a moment to listen, her eyes widening when she heard a familiar voice in the distance, followed by several more.
It must have taken all of Skadi’s willpower to hold back, but she reined in her instincts and gave a sharp nod, slowly removing her borrowed sword from its scabbard and the shield from around her back. Agnar lowered his torch to the ground and rolled it in the snow to extinguish it.
He signalled them to lower their bodies, then slowly they moved forward, their net tightening as they approached the men at the cliff edge.
There were at least twenty of them, far too many to fight off easily, and it looked as if they had been here for a few days by the scatter of tents, hunting equipment and felled trees.
It was clear they’d planned to kidnap Astra days ago and had been waiting for Oddmund to steal her away.
Agnar took no pleasure in knowing that he’d been rightly suspicious of Oddmund and the devastation on Skadi’s face was enough to focus his mind and body. He would return Astra to her, or die trying.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Skadi’s heart was racing, her toes and fingers numb. The pounding of her heart thrummed in her ears so loud that she was half-afraid the men gathered at the edge of the cliff might also hear it slamming against her ribs.
Each step closer filled her with more fear. They were only fifty feet away now, their steps slow and hunched within the shadows of the trees. Sheneededto see Astra, to know that she was still alive, and within reach. Every moment of uncertainty threw her further down into despair and panic.
‘Stop whining like a whore, Oddmund!’ growled one of the men. ‘We’ve been up here for days freezing our balls off, wondering when you’d finally find the courage to do what I’ve been asking of you for weeks!’
It took Skadi a moment to recognise the voice. It was King Sven himself! Her hands clenched tighter around the handles of her sword and shield. She would gut every man who had taken part in the abduction of her daughter—including Sven!
