Elspeth focused on Magnus as hard as she could to quell the tingling sensations flooding her body. She’d never experienced anything so intense in her life and from the moment she stepped into the hall, everything around her seemed to shift, as though she were seeing it all through someone else’s eyes. The corners of the hall flickered, and a dull ache crept up the back of her neck.
“Lady Elspeth, are you unwell?” Magnus asked. His voice sounded muffled.
Elspeth shook her head. “I need to sit,” she managed to say. She was sure the episode would pass, and she didn’t want to draw any attention from her new friend on her special occasion. When Magnus made to guide her to a chair at the head of the hall, she said, “No, over here.”
He led her to the first table down from the dais. She looked up to see Vigdis standing near her brother and the chieftain. They were engaged in conversation and not currently aware of her issue. That was good.
“Lady Elspeth. Please tell me if I may get something for you,” Magnus said as he held her hands and stroked her palms with his thumbs. The sensation was calming. After a time the flickering receded and the ache in the back of her neck subsided.
“Thank you, Magnus,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me, but it was like I couldn’t speak or barely think.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Not to this extent.”
“Do you want to tell me about this gift?”
She eyed him for sincerity. Being cautious was sensible, but if these experiences were going to escalate, she’d need to trust someone.
“They started when I was a wee lass,” she said and retrieved her hands. A different sensation had washed over her as he’d stroked her palms. It made her heart race and she felt warm all over from it. She clasped her hands together, her senses filled with too many sensations for her to process in that moment. “My mother told me I would call out the names of my brothers moments before they entered the room.”
“That’s quite a gift,” he said softly. “And I imagine a bit alarming.”
“Aye, ’twas at first for her. For me, I was used to it.”
“Do you see things in your mind or are they impressions?”
“I see them as clearly as I see you right now. These images block out anything else around me.”
“Your brother said you couldn’t help King Olaf. Why do you think that is?”
“I have only ever seen things that are directly related to me. And I can usually tell when something is about to happen.”
“Tell me about that,” he said and reached for two horns and a pitcher from one of the servants passing by. He poured one and passed it to her then poured one for himself and sipped. He smiled at her. “Gunnar must be pleased with my sister’s decision to match with your brother. He’s brought out the good ale.”
Elspeth sipped and enjoyed the clear crisp flavour as it quenched her thirst. Her world could be surprising sometimes. Just a few days ago, she didn’t know much more about this Viking clan than the few things Osgar had said. Now she was telling her most guarded information about her gift to the chieftain’s own brother. Not that there was anything intimidating about him. Well not to her at least. He was a tall and thickly built man, who had all the features of one who could have any woman he chose, though she didn’t get the sense he was a skirt chaser. A female servant passed by and glared at her which prompted her to grin.
“What is it?”
How could she possibly tell him how her thoughts had turned?
“I was thinking of a time when I was small, and Kenneth had planned to jump out from behind a tree and scare me. I saw it in my mind and so I ran around the tree and scared him instead. He wasn’t happy about that.”
“Did he ever ask you how you knew?”
“He didn’t”
“Tell me how you came to be on his ship.”
She heaved a big sigh. “Aye, aye, I know that was not wise on my part, but I was bored, and I wanted to meet the Vikings everyone had been talking about. I knew Kenneth was planning to travel to Dublin and I wanted to go. It really isn’t any more complicated than that.”
She hated sounding defensive about it, but the truth was her brothers could come and go as they pleased and she was practically a prisoner in her own home.
“That doesn’t sound unreasonable to me. Were it my sister, I would have taken her.”
Elspeth studied his expression. There was absolutely no deceit there whatsoever, she would wager her life on it.
“Well now you’ve met several Vikings,” he said with a grin as the same glaring servant came by with a platter of meats and bread and smoked fish. He gave her a quick glance and to Elspeth said, “Did we live up to all the talk?”
