Fell raised his brows, and the captain smirked.“You may go as well, though he does not need to see you.”
But then Flojer leaned in and spoke in hushed words.“Between you and me, I do not know how Halvar will fare on other ships.If you leave him with us while you land, Arik will have to let you come back toThe Fearsome Beast.”
Fell stared into the captain’s eyes for one long moment before looking at me.I could tell without him speaking that he wanted to agree, to leave Halvar onboard.
“Fine,” I said.“Butyouwill explain to Arik why he doesn’t get to see his favourite person.”I tried to make my words playful, but they didn’t come out that way.Too much of me was tangled.Was this the largest fleet ever to gather in all of time?I dug around in our bag, my clammy hands finding my lyre.If King Arik requested a song, I wanted to be able to oblige.But more than that, my instrument was a soothing thing to me.I wanted to feel safe.
“Make a proper Norsern impression,” Rowan said, pointing at something I didn’t immediately understand.
Fell did.He bent to pull the scabbard and dagger that Rowan had made me from our bag, the silver glinting in the sun.
How I hated it.
All the same, I took the blade to be polite, hiding my dismay.
The dull throbbing sound of countless crews in the distance mingled with the squeaking of the oar rings and the strained groaning of wood beneath us to create a ghostly rhythm that mingled with theglug-wooshof waves and the crooning of gulls circling overhead.
As we neared shore in our little rowboat, the smooth white stretches of sand reflected the glare of the sun—I had to squint to bear the sight: faded, sun-bleached trees lined the beach, their foliage picked away by seabirds.A large yellow tent stood out against the pale grey of sea-smoothed pebbles.
Something is wrong with this sight.It took me a moment to figure out what it was.Despite all the ships, the beach was nearly empty.
We rested the boat against the dock that stretched at least halfway across the southern end of the bay and set the rest of the way on foot.The dock and then the beach felt uneven beneath my feet, as if they were moving like the sea, but since they weren’t, I stumbled and struggled to set my direction.
A woman with golden eyelids—presumably Kelt—giggled as she watched, but Yarlav cut the jesting short before it truly began.“Kaker said be quick.”He turned to me.“I will be right here waiting to take you back when you are done.”
I nodded, trying to readjust my hold on my scabbard and my lyre so I could smooth out my skirt.
Our little group dispersed, Kelt and Fara making their way deeper onto shore toward the smoke spirals in the distance, marking the city of Byernen.Yarlav and Rowan took a seat at the dock’s end, as Fell and I walked up the beach toward the tent, the sand so hot I could feel the warmth through the leather of my boots.
I struggled to fasten my scabbard as we walked, given I had my lyre in one hand.Fell stopped.“Here…”
He pulled the scabbard tight against my hips, but not uncomfortably so.He fastened it, and tugged it a little so the blade rested atop my right leg.
Though I’d despised the gift upon first receiving it, once I had it on, I did feel a sense of belonging.It was true that most every Norsern carried a blade on them, even children.I must have always looked out of place with my black hair and my lack of steel.
Hallbjern was lounging on a rock just outside the tent, his hand raised to his forehead, shading his eyes.
“Well, if it is not the prettiest couple I ever did see.”
I glared at him, and Fell grinned beside me.
Hallbjern pointed at me.“A mean sort of pretty.”And then he dragged his finger to Fell.“And a friendly sort, just as I remember.”
Hallbjern’s hair wasn’t running wild as it had been the last time I’d seen him, but was braided tightly to his scalp.He wore oiled leathers and had a shield in the sand beside him.“The king is not in,” he said.“But he should be back soon.You can sit in the shade of the pavilion as you wait, if you would like.”
I took a step forward before Halbjern grimaced at Fell.“He requested a private reading.”
“Of course,” Fell said, relaxing against the same rock Halbjern rested on, leaving me to enter alone.The space was much like the king’s workroom back in Aalt.A tall table for standing at.Piles of parchment.His glorious, newly commissioned map, with his own personal sigil in the corner.I stared at the map.
Whatever comes, Hyrold…
“Ah!Gentlewoman!”
I turned to see Arik’s boisterous face as he marched into the tent with his arms raised.Ivar and Eydis were at his sides—their hair braided tight to their scalps just like Hallbjern’s had been, their eyes lined with kohl, their shields strapped to their backs.The pair of them looked truly ferocious.
Arik’s eyes gleamed.“The voyage has served you well.You glow.I must keep you hidden from my more jealous courtiers.They might try to steal your skin.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
