Sayrid adjusted Auda’s shawl. In moments like these, she found it hard to believe how quickly her half-sister had grown up. Auda was old enough for the truth. ‘I’m going to win, Auda. I have to. If I’d refused, Kettil would never have trusted me with a ship again. And he would have stripped the lands from me. From us. Unlike men, I have to win and keep on winning. Luckily I find it easy to do.’
* * *
‘Look after these for me, Bragi,’ Hrolf said, handing his friend his arm rings as he finished his preparations for the bout with Sayrid. ‘I don’t want to get them damaged in the fight.’
Bragi accepted the rings, sliding them on his forearm. ‘Can you accept a woman as an overlord for a year? I don’t know if I could. You are worse than me when it comes to having only one use for a woman. Even with Anya, who bore your child, you barely had any time for her.’
‘Where else but in my my bed should a woman I desire be?’ Hrolf laughed. He followed his uncle’s path and kept the two parts of his life separate. He had seen from his father what happened when a man hid behind a woman’s skirts.
Sayrid was the key to gaining control of the headland, but he would also prove once and for all time that he was the best warrior to hold it.
He was going to win. Sayrid might enjoy a certain reputation, but it had not been forged in battle. She had not fought for everything as he had.
‘That does not answer my question.’
‘I hold your pledge. You follow me, not the other way around.’ Hrolf gave Bragi a hard look. His second-in-command was doubting his ability? Kettil might think Sayrid Avildottar could fight, but had she ever come up against real opposition? ‘Do you wish to become an oath breaker because of something which might not happen? You are worse than an old woman.’
‘But do you think you will win?’
Hrolf did a few squats to loosen his legs up. ‘My sword arm forged my reputation. Every man or woman has a weakness. The question is how to exploit it.’ He thought about how Sayrid had trembled when she stood next to him. She felt the attraction as well. She would end up in his bed. By Freya’s cats, she probably hated the front of toughness she had to put up. She needed a real warrior in her life. ‘And I know her weakness. She will concede with me barely breaking a sweat.’
Bragi clapped him on the back. ‘And you haven’t forgotten the land you owe me.’
‘I pay my debts, Bragi. Always.’ Hrolf did several practice swipes with his sword. It would be easy to tame this shield maiden. Kettil had cleverly talked up her prowess in order to keep rivals from claiming the bay. But he looked forward to exposing the lie and gaining the woman.
‘Where is this land of hers that you covet?’
‘The headland which first attracted me here and the land round to the next bay.’ Hrolf clenched his fist as he considered his rival sea king, Lavrans, and the trouble he had caused over the years. The alliance with Kettil would bring him from his hiding place to attack. ‘It will be enough to force Lavrans to act if he truly intends to cause mischief. I agree with Kettil. Someone here is alerting Lavrans to the movements of the ships and until we discover his identity, we have little hope of stopping it except by stationing our ships where they can exercise control of the bay.’
‘After you have dealt with Lavrans? What happens then? Will we be forced to make the trip east once again? You know how many men we lost on our last trip to Constantinople.’
‘We will do well here, Bragi—no more Desolation Pass or Heartbreak Rapids for us. Time for Sayrid to learn there is more to being a warrior than a scowl, swagger and a gleaming sword.’
Bragi’s face cleared. ‘Ah, I see you are thinking with your head.’
Hrolf turned his unflinching gaze on his second-in-command. ‘Since when do I think with any other part of me?’
* * *
The cleared area looked very different in the early-morning sunlight from the way it had last night—larger and more open with less chance to hide. Her stomach clenched. She’d forgotten how much she hated being the centre of attention.
Despite the hour, a great crowd thronged around the perimeter. It seemed as though the entire village plus a good portion of the countryside were here to watch her fight. Sayrid elbowed her way through to the empty arena. She ground her teeth. She’d deliberately arrived late to put pressure on Hrolf, only to find he was even later.
‘Where is Hrolf Eymundsson?’ She shaded her eyes and surveyed the crowd. ‘Perhaps the great sea king has thought better of his challenge?’
A hush fell over the crowd and they fell back, parting like waves on the shore.
Her breath stopped in her throat. Hrolf had not only shed his cloak. He had also shed his tunic. His muscular chest and broad shoulders gleamed in the early-morning sun.
‘I wanted to make sure you knew what you might be getting,’ he said.
Sayrid pressed her lips together. Arrogant in the extreme. ‘You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t do the same.’
His eyes roamed over her figure. ‘I look forward to having the pleasure of unwrapping you later.’
She deepened her scowl and banished the bubbly feeling to a far corner of her brain. ‘That depends on the outcome of this bout.’
‘That outcome is not in doubt.’ A faint smile touched his lips. ‘But if I should lose, I shall be at your service...one year. Think about that. I will be bound to do whatever service you require without question or hesitation for an entire year.’
Her face flamed like it was on fire. He was talking about their joining, not about who would win this contest. She concentrated on the ground and attempted to restore some measure of calm. She had never before had any trouble focusing on the match, but now she was intensely aware of the man. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘You made me a promise the other night. I intend to see it is fulfilled.’
‘What promise?’ She made the mistake of glancing at his face and was catapulted headlong into the fierceness of his gaze.
Her entire body tingled, but then she recalled his reputation with women and thought of the number of women he must have bedded. The man knew what he was doing.
Angrily, she made a swipe with her sword. ‘Stop trying to twist things to your advantage.’
His smile widened.
‘My mistake. Your body must have made the promise without informing your head.’ He leant towards her and lowered his voice. ‘We will be good together, Sayrid. Think about that as we fight.’
Sayrid glowered at him. ‘I know your game, Hrolf, and choose not to play it. Think about that as we fight. I am indifferent to you.’
Her heart beat far too fast, giving lie to her words. But he couldn’t have guessed. Sayrid tightened her grip on her sword. He must never know of her attraction.
‘You know nothing about me.’ He gave a mock blow to his chest. ‘I’ll never break
