‘Sigurd had asked that I learn of your gods, our gods. I have studied with Estrid.’
‘That is not what I asked. I asked if you still believe in the White Christ?’
I could not denounce my faith. The worst stuck in my throat.
‘You are not sure. Time will heal these open wounds.’ She turned her eyes back towards the flames.
I had no wounds then. No chest torn open with grief. No scars.
‘You will bear the markings of your life.’ Her eyes crept across the flesh on my arms. ‘A great change is coming.’
‘You cannot know such a thing.’
‘There is nothing that can stand in its way. It will be your own Ragnorak. A great battle that will see many of our people fall. A warrior queen is waiting. Daughter of Frejya. A new hero. She will command this land. She will rule with a fury that will see our sacred lands flourish. Our lives will never be the same.’
‘How can you know such a thing?’
‘All of this I have foreseen.’
‘When?’
‘Before you hold that babe in your arms.’ She looked at the bulge beneath my gown. ‘Now, you must go, be ready to meet your new husband.’
‘They will make land before eventide.’ She waved a hand. ‘Go now Daughter of Frejya.’
I left through the open door into the icy autumn air. As I walked back to the beach to find Ligach, my thoughts tumbled thinking of all that had been. All that was to come and all that might be lost.
?
As I came back over the soft dunes, feet slipping in the sand I found Ligach perched on a rocky outcrop throwing sea-worn pebbles for Angus. I placed a cold hand on her shoulder.
‘Finally.’ She sighed, sounding relieved. She flung her arms wide. ‘I always worry when that heathen priestess takes you.’
The longer we had spent together, the more we had become like sisters her and I. Sometimes I had to remind myself that she wasn’t Donada, that we had not shared a childhood. Somehow, we had saved each other. Whatever the gods intended, we were meant to find each other.
‘Am I still needed up at the mead hall?’ I slipped my hand into the crook of her arm. ‘Or can I spend a quiet afternoon by the fire?’
‘You dinna have to worry, Thorkell has dealt with it in your absence. It was Frode Halfdan again, his aurochs had escaped and managed to force their way into the neighbouring farmstead, eating some of their provisions for winter. He paid the price of three chickens and two pounds of barley.
‘That seems fair.’ I nodded. ‘Sometimes I am bone-weary. It is not so easy being the wife of a Jarl and carrying his child.’
As I said it, Angus let out a loud excited bark before clattering between us as he ran back towards the crashing waves.
‘What has gotten into him now?’
I used my hand to shield against the sun, still low on the horizon, turning the sunrise burnt red. Black sea serpents hovered against the skyline.
‘Is that them? Is it my husband?’
As they drew closer, a crowd started to gather, scattered across the coast as far as the eye could see. Blank faces with eyes like beaten coins all staring out into the sea. Estrid arrived with her son, both dressed in their finest clothes. She nodded in greeting as she went to stand with Halldora and some of the other women.
Excitement rippled through the crowd. Each of them waiting. A husband. A brother. A sister. A daughter. Six ships had left our docks all those months ago but I could only count five. One ship less. Excitement soon turned to dread. Hushed Norse words spread like fire through the expectant crowd. Not all our people had returned.
We all merged on the jetty to greet the arrivals. I stood as close to the edge as I dared, peering dizzily into the deepness of the water. The same darkness that visited me in my sleep. It made me feel uneasy.
‘Finally, they have returned,’ Estrid said, appearing at my side. ‘It has been a long summer raiding, but you have shown your worth. You are no longer the Pict girl that arrived on our shore all those moons ago.’
Now, when we raid, I still sail my husband’s ship but it is my armies I command. It is my men who burn and raid and kill until they submit. I always make sure it comes to a swift end. They do not let them linger long.
