“Don’t be frightened. What comes through this door next is not a ghost.”
***
“Toki!” Runa screamed his name, and then a second time. She tried to leap from the bed, but her soreness pulled her up short. Toki spared her the pain and dashed to his sister, sweeping her into a hug.
The two embraced and sobbed together, shuddering tears of joy and pain. All the death and loss never grieved, all the hopes and dreams never fulfilled, the multitude of feelings welled up and spilled out. Runa had already wrung herself out with Ulfrik, and now Toki’s appearance placed her on the verge of collapse.
She could barely keep her swollen, weeping eyes open. As she rocked in Toki’s embrace, she saw, through a watery film, Ulfrik standing in front of the closed door and smiling.
“Don’t excite her! She needs rest!” She heard Gerdie protest from outside. Runa closed her eyes again, inhaling the scent of her brother, thinking she did not need rest: she needed this.
“I never thought to see you alive,” Toki said. “I swear I counted the bodies.”
Runa shook her head, not knowing what to say. “I could say the same for you, Brother, but we are reunited. Fate is as often kind as it is cruel. Father always said that. Do you remember?”
She felt Toki nod and his grip tightened. “We are a family again, no longer alone in the world.”
***
Runa’s physical recovery astonished Gerdie, but Runa had endured far worse than comfortable beds and hot meals. All up, she had spent a week in Ulfrik’s room while he slept on the floor in the hall. Gerdie had slept with her, and cried in the night, weeping for her husband who would never return from the battle at Frodi’s hall.
This morning, Runa rose with the dawn, moving slowly and without help. The hall was already busy with people. Snorri and Yngvar seemed to pass all their time drinking in the hall, she noticed. She felt the men treated her nicer now that she was freed, although Yngvar seemed to harbor some reservations. He had befriended Toki, and the two apparently had much in common; Runa couldn’t see what.
She wandered outside where she found Ulfrik and her brother with several men. Their voices were low and grave. Spotting her, Ulfrik excused himself to join her.
“You look radiant. How do you feel?”
“Ready for you to return to your bed. Gerdie can move out.”
They drew together and kissed, then Ulfrik took her arm and guided her down the slope toward the beach. “Gerdie’s husband was a brave man, and probably saved his family a great deal of suffering. Nothing is left of Frodi’s holdings. All the people there are dead or enslaved.”
Runa trembled at the memory. “I think she has been keeping me over-long in my bed. She misses her husband.”
“Caring for you has given her purpose. Her son is fiercely independent and won’t indulge his mother’s tears. He is much like his father, Rolf, was.”
They arrived at the beach, the gentle gray sea unfurled at their feet. Neither spoke for a long while, but Runa could guess that Ulfrik had more news. The great alliance of jarls was all anyone spoke of, even Toki seemed eager to join in the plunder. She listened to the rhythm of the waves, and waited. Ulfrik finally started the conversation, moving his arm over her shoulder.
“I was so close to Grenner that night. I wanted to keep pushing, especially once you were safe aboard ship. But I could not let you wake in such a dangerous place.”
Runa nodded and slipped her arm around his waist to demonstrate her appreciation. “From what I know, Grenner is gone,” she said softly, not relishing having to deliver the news. She understood what it meant to have ancestral homelands razed; this would be another common thread that bound them together. “After your brother’s failure, Vandrad killed all the hirdmen’s families, destroyed all their homes, even burned down your father’s hall.”
“What? Are you sure?” Ulfrik withdrew his arm, spinning to face her. “What about Grim?”
“I’m sure. I served in Frodi’s hall and heard all sorts of news. Your brother went north to serve Harald Finehair. I heard he has done well for himself, that he stands with the king.”
Ulfrik folded his arms and stared out to sea. “He serves Harald Finehair,” he repeated, seeming to speak to no one.
“You think you will meet him when you sail north to attack?”
“How do you know of the attack?”
“Even the mice here have heard of the attack. When will you all sail off to glory?
“Very soon, in fact.” Ulfrik appeared to relax, lightly touching her shoulder. “Messengers from Kjotve’s hall arrived just when you came. The call is going out to gather the men. We will sail within two days.”
“I am ready to leave today.” Runa smiled at him, already hearing the protests in her mind.
Ulfrik did not disappoint. “You will remain here, where it is safe. There’s no place on the battlefield for you.”
“I was not asking your permission, simply letting you know I am prepared. You have no choice in where I go.”
“Runa.” Ulfrik dropped his head in frustration and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “You have just lost a child. And I have to focus on a battle, and not on protecting you.”
“I’ll stay on the ship, of course. I wasn’t planning on holding your shield for you. But you will need a woman to cook, and to help with the wounded.”
Ulfrik still shook his head in refusal. “I cannot risk you.”
“Nor I you. I’ve come how far with you? That sword at your hip returned to you from whose hands? I am coming with you. Only two people matter to me in the world. I won’t watch them jump aboard a ship and leave me among strangers.”
Runa felt a tear on her cheek and swiped at it in frustration. She had never cried so much, and hated to show such weakness. Ulfrik’s face held no expression. He reached out and wiped away another tear with his thumb. Then he kissed her forehead. “You must do what I say and keep yourself safe. I cannot rebuild Grenner without you to give me strength.”
“Then why go at all? Why not sail away, take all these people and find a new land?”
“Because I am sworn to Thor and Kjotve. If they command me to join them, I must.”
“Come on, they would not have time to search for you if you sailed off. Why bother with this at all? This place belongs to Kjotve still, not you.”
He pulled away from her and strode into the surf. Runa watched him thinking as the breeze tossed his hair. She wanted to approach, but felt he needed space to make his answer.
He eventually replied, “Because I have to know, Runa. It’s the last thread that Fate dangles before me. I have to know that Grim comes to justice. I failed to bring justice once. The second time, I was a coward, hoping to not meet my brother in battle. But now, I feel Fate leaning on me. I have to make this journey and fight this battle. I must be the agent of vengeance, for my father and for Magnus, and of honor for my men. Then, it will be done, one way or the other. Grim will fall when his king falls. Then can I begin again with only peace in my heart; but not until.”
Runa suddenly felt the chill in the morning air, but the shiver that ran through her was not from the cold.
Thirty-three
The Wave Spear led Raven’s Talon on the western flank of Jarl Kjotve’s fleet. Ulfrik manned the rudder as his men rowed. Dolphins stitched through the waters. Ulfrik waved to Toki, aboard Raven’s Talon, signaling him to pull closer to the main group of ships. Evening was approaching and they would soon put ashore in Rogaland, where Jarl Kjotve planned to meet Jarl Sulke’s force. They planned to gather allies as they sailed north, growing the size of their assault fleet on the way. Then the entire force of allied Jarls and their men would deploy to Trondelag and strike Harald’s center of influence. The so-called true leader of the alliance was King Eirik of Hordaland. Coming from the north, and having the greatest threat from Harald’s nearby military, he had waited for news of the fleet from the south. Only when he received it did he dare join the force, bringing with him eight large warships bristling with men. In total, the fleet numbered thirty ships, each filled with fighting men. No jarl wanted to be left out of the chance to pick over the spoils of Harald Finehair’s treasure hold.