There was a silence and then laughter. “Well, she’s certainly been touched now — by that Norse scum. Now, once we round these rocks, there is a beach where they have built their settlement. Set fire to what you can, kill anyone who stands in your way - even the Lady Aoife herself, Godwin. She is as good as dead to her father. Now we must go the rest of the way in silence.”
Chapter Nineteen
Tears sprang to Aoife’seyes, but she would not let them fall. So, it was true. Her father really did not care whether she lived or died. She straightened and pushed against Tormod, but he held onto her.
“Where are you going?”
She frowned. “Back to the hall, like you said.”
“Go to our room and bar the door,” he said. “I will fight for you. I will keep you safe.”
She stared at him for a second, then shook her head. “No, I will go to the main hall. Find Ragna and do what she tells me. Fight if I have to.”
Tormod opened his mouth as if about to speak, then closed it.
She started to leave, but he pulled her back again.
“Did you know of this?” he asked. “Did you know that he would have you killed even as I thought your presence made us safe?”
She gulped, unsure what the right answer to this was. “No.” She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly. “I didn’t know. I thought that maybe Ula might have…” She tried to twist in his arms and this time he let her. She wasn’t sure it helped. Now they were pressed against each other, his face close enough to hers that it seemed their breaths mingled and their bodies were almost as one. “I thought my father cared for me, that he would protect me, then…”
“Then he made you marry me.”
“I wondered what his motives were, but I didn’t think he would let me die. I knew Ula wanted me out of the way of her own daughters, but I thought my father… I fear that everything has changed since I lived at Car Cadell. I do not think my father is still… I cannot believe he is still in control, or that he would order them to kill me. I just can’t.” She tried to laugh, but it ended up as a choked sob.
“You are not disposable to me.” His mouth closed over hers, hard. He sought to possess her, devour her, steal her will away from her.
She felt him harden against the softness of her stomach, then broke their kiss and blinked up at him in confusion. How could he be thinking of that when he was about to fight? She heard a noise and realised how much closer their attackers were. She had to leave him. Here she was a distraction—she must let him turn his passion to fighting. She took a step away from him. “I will be in the hall with the others. Come back to me.”
“I will.” He kissed her again and pushed her away towards the village.
Aoife crept back to the hall. Just as she reached the main door, she heard a boat scrape on the shore and many feet splash into the water. She had recognised at least one of the voices and the knowledge made her feel sick. How could her own kin turn on her like this?
Praying Elisedd was safe at Håkon’s farm, she knocked on the door and Ragna opened it for her. Quickly she slid through the gap and helped to close the door and drop the bar in place. Near the fire, the youngest children lay sleeping. Everyone else was awake and armed. Even children. Ragna pressed a long-bladed knife into her hand and offered her a shield for the other.
As their eyes met, they heard shouting from the beach, followed by screaming. Aoife had never been so close to battle before. Herfather and his men had fought with others many times, but it had always been at a distance. She had only heard these sounds before in her visions and she was finding it increasingly hard to separate out the real from the imaginary.
Everyone tensed when they heard screams of pain rather than of anger. The same worry was reflected on all their faces. Who had been injured or killed? Was it a father, a husband, a son, a kinsman… a lover? Ylva was standing next to her. She glared at Aoife.
“You have brought this upon us,” Ylva said.
“No, Ylva,” Ragna intervened. “You think they would not have come, anyway?”
“But she… Björn…”
“And who is the jarl’s wife here?” Ragna demanded.
Ylva stared at Ragna before lowering her head.
Aoife knew she could let it pass, but the pain of what she had overheard earlier whipped through her. She turned to the villagers. “Ylva may be right.” She was not sure if her Norse was good enough to say what she needed to, but she had to try. Ragna could translate when she ran out of words.
“These men may have attacked because of me, but notonlybecause of me. They want this land back. They see it as theirs. They tried to trick Tormod by giving him me as a bride, knowing they would not hesitate to kill me, but I knew nothing of this. I am as much their enemy as you yourselves. They want me dead as much as they want you dead. And to that I say to you that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I will stand with you. If you will allow me to.”
Ylva took a step towards her.
Ragna stepped between them, but Aoife pushed her aside. “You do not need to protect me, Ragna, but I thank you. If Ylva has something to say, then she should say it.”
Aoife’s attention was drawn by a slight movement at Ylva’s side. Her knife. But she did not raise it higher than her side.
