by S. T. Bende
“The blades are coming.” Erik frowned. “Along with the sticks, shields, and arrows. We have no way of knowing what we’ll be walking into, and fortune favors the prepared.”
“So I’ve heard.” I sighed.
“But when things settle down, I very much look forward to taking you away from all of this.” Erik gestured to the wall of weapons. “We’re long overdue for a season of peace.”
I stood on tiptoe to kiss his jaw. “Well then. Let’s get out there and convert some Vikings. Valkyris expansion, here we come.”
With a nod, Erik grabbed two belts from the wall. He tossed one to me before cinching the other around his waist and sheathing his sword. I copied his movements, then threw my cloak around my shoulders and followed him from the outbuilding into the crisp, late afternoon air. I slipped my fingers through his and squeezed gently as he led us on the snowy track toward the castle. For one peaceful moment, everything was calm.
And then Brigga showed up.
Chapter 5
“SAGA.” BRIGGA SPAT MY name as if it carried a foul taste.
“Brigga.” I studied her warily as she walked toward us. Her stiff gate and fisted hands made it clear she wasn’t here for a social call. “What’s wrong?”
“Erik, I need to talk to you.” Brigga ignored my question. “Alone.”
“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Saga.” Erik’s hand tightened around mine as he positioned himself slightly in front of me. My heart warmed at the gesture, but I could take care of myself—at least where mean girls were concerned.
I stepped beside Erik and stared Brigga down.
“Fine.” Brigga’s eyes shot icy daggers at me. “But you can’t say anything to anyone. Got it?”
“We’ll do what’s in the best interest of the clan.” Erik squeezed my hand. “Why are you here, Brigga?”
Brigga’s eyes darted between Erik and me. She was either sizing us up, weighing our usefulness against her displeasure at being put in her place . . . or she was deciding which of us she was going to maim first.
Good thing I had a sword strapped to my belt.
“It’s my sister,” Brigga finally said. “I can’t find her.”
“You share a room.” Erik shrugged. “Is your matter so pressing it can’t wait until nightfall?”
My mind flashed to the day in the Dragehus, when I’d overheard Brigga interrogating one of the riders. “She’s been gone for a while,” I remembered.
“How long?” Erik asked.
“Maybe three months?” Brigga whispered.
My heart stilled. Had it really been that long? I knew helicopter parents weren’t a thing here, and truancy wasn’t enforced. At all. But how had nobody followed up on a teenager who’d been gone for three months?
Erik’s brow shot to his hairline. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”
“Because I . . .” Brigga wrung her hands together. “I’m afraid she’s doing something . . . something that . . .”
“Spit it out,” Erik ordered.
“Something that might hurt Valkyris,” Brigga blurted. “And I don’t want you to send out a kill team.”
“A kill team?” My stomach flipped. “Brigga, what do you think she’s doing?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” Brigga gnawed at her bottom lip. “But I haven’t seen her since Axel showed up with those new girls.”
“Ingrid and Vidia?” I looked up at Erik. “Birna’s been missing since Axel got back from Clan Bjorn?”
Erik let out a low whistle. “That’s a long time to be gone. Anything could have happened to her.”
“I know,” Brigga whispered.
“If you’d come to us immediately, we’d have had a decent shot at tracking her,” Erik said. “But beyond a few days, any scent grows cold; tracks are covered; at this point, the odds of finding her are practically nonexistent.”
I elbowed him in the side. “But it’s not impossible, right?”
“Might as well be.”
Brigga’s shoulders dropped, making me curse the absence of a Viking sensitivity gene.
“We’ll find her,” I promised. “Valkyris trackers are supposed to be the best in Norway, right? We’ll gather a team and—”
“The trackers are busy with the war efforts,” Brigga said quietly. “I asked one of them to help me, but he said their unit’s been ordered to trail all known Bjorn sympathizers and destroy any camps they set up within a thousand kilometers of the island.”
Fair.
“You said you think Birna’s doing something that might hurt Valkyris.” Erik’s jaw twitched. “What do you think she’s doing?”
“I don’t know,” Brigga admitted. “She wouldn’t tell me.”
“What do you mean she wouldn’t tell you?” Erik’s hand tightened around mine. “What exactly do you know?”
“You have to promise you won’t kill her,” Brigga begged. “If she’s still alive, I want your word that she’ll be forgiven for any wrongdoing and—”
“What. Do. You. Know?” Erik growled.
Brigga drew a shaky breath. “Last year, right before she showed up”—Brigga jabbed her thumb at me—“Birna and I were called to see the prophets. They’d had a vision about us, and they summoned us to hear it.”
“Go on.” Erik spoke through gritted teeth.
“We didn’t know what to expect. And when we walked into that building, and saw the women holding the crystals and chanting in a language we didn’t understand . . . it was scary. I wanted to leave, but Birna was really into it. She said we were finally going to understand our purpose—that we’d been chosen to fulfill the will of the gods, in whatever capacity the prophets saw fit.”
“That’s not exactly how it works.” I turned to Erik. “Is it?”
“No.” Erik frowned. “The prophets have visions of possible futures, and they reveal them to us when they sense it will affect the welfare of the tribe, for good or bad. But it’s up to us whether or not to act on them.”
“Exactly.” Brigga threw her hands up. “From the moment we were summoned, Birna acted as if her future had been set without even knowing what it was. She was ready to just hand her life over to these prophets, no questions asked.”
“Whereas you had plenty of questions,” I said.
“Of course,” Brigga snapped. “I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were.” I’d thought it, sure. But I’d never said it out loud.
“What was the prophecy?” Erik cut to the chase.
A flicker of fear passed through Brigga’s eyes. “I won’t tell you that. Only that my sister and I understood it to mean two very different things. And Birna fully bought into her interpretation; took what she heard the prophets say as truth, and acted as if it had already happened. I told her she was wrong; that the prophets couldn’t want us to be a part of something so—” She clamped her lips together, stopping her explanation mid-word.
“What? What wouldn’t you be a part of?” Erik pressed.
“I won’t betray my sister,” Brigga swore. “I only came to you because I’m afraid she’s in trouble. And since I told her I wouldn’t join her, I’m hoping . . .”
“Yes?” Erik asked.
“I’m hoping you’ll help me find her,” Brigga whispered.
I watched Erik size Brigga up. No doubt he knew enough about her to know this could all be an act—either a cry for attention, or a ploy to get her back in Axel’s good graces. When it came to helping others, Brigga didn’t exactly have the best track record.
But as I turned back to Brigga, I took in her quivering lip, the pain in her eyes, and the slight tremble in her hands. Either she’d been putting in hours with the drama students, or she was genuinely worried about her sister.
If it had been Olivia who was missing, I’d have been out of my mind with worry. And if she’d been gone three months . . . skit. I’d search to the ends of the Earth to bring my cousin home.
“We’ll help you.”
I turned to Brigga. “We may be . . . traveling soon. We’ll keep a look out for your sister. But you have to tell us what that prophecy said. If there’s any chance it can lead us to her—”
“I can’t.” Brigga’s voice was thick with remorse. “My sister’s interpretation of our prophecy isn’t mine to share.”
“But if it helps us then—”
“It’s okay, Saga.” Erik squeezed my hand. “We’ll find another way. But I swear to Odin, Brigga, if this is another one of your games—”
“It’s not!” Brigga cried. “I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Erik’s clear blue eyes locked on Brigga. She didn’t flinch under his stare, and after what felt like an eternity, he gave a tight nod. “Go back to the castle. We’ll get to work on this as soon as we’re able.”
Brigga’s chest practically folded in on itself. “Thank you,” she whispered before turning and running along the snowy path.
Once she’d thrown open the castle door and ducked inside, I looked at Erik with a frown. “We’re going to need that prophesy.”
“I’m aware.” Erik released my hand, transferring it to his neck and rubbing what must have been one massive ball of uptight-ness. Brigga always managed to bring out the best in people.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Not yet.” Erik grimaced, whether at our situation or his knotted neck, I couldn’t tell.
“Here. Let me help.” I reached up, pressing my thumb into the spot Erik was rubbing. He cringed, but stood still as I slowly massaged the trove of tension begotten by Brigga.
“We can’t go to the prophets,” Erik said. “Prophesies are highly confidential, and they’re not about to give up that intel.”
“Not even if it affects Valkyris?” I asked. “I thought they brought your mom in on those matters.”
“They do,” Erik confirmed. “My mother is consulted in the event that a prophesy has a significant impact on the wellbeing of the clan.”
“So, the first thing we do is ask Freia what she knows.” I shifted my thumb higher, following the tight muscle all the way to Erik’s jaw. “Jeez, Erik. You need to meditate. Or jog. Or do art therapy. Something.”
“What I need . . .” Erik wrapped long fingers around my wrist. “. . . is for us to focus on one problem at a time. We’re leaving for the north in a few days, and our attention needs to be on that—not on unraveling whatever mess Brigga and Birna have gotten themselves into.”
“Maybe. But what if it’s all related?”
“What do you mean?”
I frowned. “Brigga hasn’t seen Birna since Axel got back from Clan Bjorn. Not long after that, our threat factor increased big-time. Bjorn partnered with Clan Ragnar, Valkyris East was attacked, Lars left that note on the church. . .”
I shivered as my mind flashed on the parchment nailed to the door on our mainland colony. Clan Bjorn’s heir, Lars, had placed it there after he’d lay siege to Valkyris East.
* * *
Soon, you’ll meet our real warriors.
Valkyris will fall. Its heir will be slaughtered.
We are coming.
For her.
* * *
“Hey,” Erik said softly. He pulled me to his chest, and wrapped strong arms around my back. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. That’s why we’re leaving—to recruit more warriors; to fight against Bjorn’s tyranny.”
“I know.” I breathed in Erik’s familiar scent. “And I know we’ll be successful . . . on all fronts. But we can’t ignore a red flag like this. Brigga and Birna disagreed over a prophecy. Birna disappeared just when things got worse for us. If there’s any chance she’s out there working against us; if there’s any chance Birna is the spy . . . don’t you think we should know what we’re up against?”
Erik’s jaw tensed against my head. No doubt he’d just undone all my work on that knot.
“Fine,” Erik muttered. “We’ll look into it. But then I want all our attention on prepping for this trip. A lot’s riding on us.”
“I know that.” I angled my chin up so I could look at him. “And I really think this will help.”
“Fair enough.” Erik kissed my forehead. “We’ll talk to my mother after dinner. If she’s a dead end, I’ll break into the prophesy files and take what we need.”
My jaw unhinged. “We can do that?”
“I can do that,” Erik corrected. “The governing family has access to the prophets’ offices. We’ve never abused the privilege, but . . .”
“Erik Halvarsson. Look at you breaking the rules.”
“We have the access.” He shrugged. “Technically, it’s exercising a right we’ve been granted. No rule broken.”
If he was willing to tell himself that, I wasn’t about to intervene. “Works for me.” I laced my fingers through his and tugged him toward the castle. “But I get to come, right?”
“Technically, that would be breaking the rule.”
“Oh, come on. Your mom literally brought me from the future to help you. Are you really going to leave me out of what could well be the most important fact-finding mission of our lives?”
“Saga.” Erik groaned.
“I’m just looking out for Valkyris. And for you.” I glanced up at him. “Knowledge is power. And the more we know about whatever’s going on with the crazy sisters, the better.”
“All right.” Erik slung his arm around my shoulder as we walked. “But after we assess the Birna threat, and after we complete our conversion missions, and after we settle this feud with Bjorn . . .”
“That’s a lot of afters,” I said.
“It always is,” Erik muttered. “After all of that, you and I are getting away. For a long, long time.”
“Expedition America, here we come.” I rested my head against his chest.
“Exactly.”
Erik held open the castle door, and I stepped inside. When we reached the dining hall, we found a quiet table in the corner and dropped into two chairs. I wrinkled my nose as our server set a big bowl of stew in front of Erik. Moments later, she returned with a plate of cheese, bread and fruit for me.
“Bless you, Thyra.” I folded my hands together and bowed my head.
Thyra winked at me, before returning to the kitchen.
As Erik tucked into his food, I leaned forward on my elbows. “About that expedition—I’m not sure you’re going to like it in America.”
“Why’s that?”
I pointed my finger at his bowl. “We’re not so big on the mutton stew there. Or mutton at all, really.” Not in my era, at least.
“Is that so?” The corner of Erik’s mouth twitched.
“Nope. My people have far more refined palates than yours.”
Erik arched his brow. “And what do your people eat, if not mutton?”
Kale. Smoothies. Chicken. Nutella on waffles, for the love of God.
“Good things,” I promised. “Well, in my time we do, at any rate. I’m not so sure what’s going on over there now.”
“Guess we’d better pack the mutton, then.” Erik grinned.
“Lord, no. It smells awful now; can you imagine after it’s been on a ship for weeks?”
Erik chuckled. “We lean more toward sausages, salted fish, and breads for voyage food.”
“Mm-hmm.” I picked up a hunk of cheese.
“Though I’m sure we could make an exception.”
I pointed my cheddar at him. “Be quiet and eat your mutton.”
“As you wish, min kjære.”
We finished our dinner in companionable silence, with Erik only occasionally taunting me with a speared piece of sheep. When the meal was over, we pushed in our chairs and headed upstairs to find Erik’s mom. The mystery of Birna’s prophesy weighed heavily on my mind.
Hopefully, Freia held the key to solving it.
Chapter 6
FREIA KNEW NOTHING OF Brigga and Birna’s prophecy. When we asked her about it, she closed her eyes and sat very still f
or half a minute. She must have been scanning some kind of mental catalogue, because when she came back to us she spoke with absolute certainty.
“The girls’ prophesy was never revealed to me. It must not have been deemed to be of adverse consequence to the tribe.”
That put a dent in my spy theory.
“Are you sure?” Erik asked.
“I’m sure it wasn’t revealed to me, yes.” Freia didn’t seem insulted by her son questioning her memory.
“I mean, are you sure the seers would have revealed the prophesy to you if it was something that could hurt Valkyris?” Erik pressed. “There’s no chance any of them have been unduly influenced by a faction outside the tribe?”
“There’s always a chance,” Freia said gently. “But I’ve not sensed any wrongdoing in my interactions with their division. I can have one of our aura scanners perform a check, if you’re concerned.”
Good Lord, we had aura scanners? Also, Vikings knew about auras?
“A scan would probably be prudent. We can’t be too careful right now.” Erik set his mug on the dining table and got to his feet. “I’m sorry to have troubled you with this.”
“I appreciate your diligence.” Freia smiled kindly. “Yours too, Saga.”
“Of course,” I demurred.
“We’ll get out of your hair for now. See you in the morning.” Erik bent down to kiss his mother on the cheek. I pushed my chair back and stood, accepting Freia’s gentle hug before following Erik to the door of his parents’ suite.
“You’re welcome anytime. Both of you.” Freia raised a hand in farewell as we filed through the door and closed it behind us.
Erik waited until we were out of earshot of the guards in the hall before turning to me with a frown. “That wasn’t helpful.”
“It was and it wasn’t.” I leaned against the wall. “We know the prophesy itself didn’t foresee Brigga and Birna acting against the clan.”
“Provided the seers haven’t been corrupted.”
“True. But at this point, we have no reason to believe they were. Which means the prophesy was vague, like they all seem to be, and the girls interpreted it wrong.”
