small rowing boat. Someone pulled her aboard. Over the water, the sounds of laughter floated back.
Hrolf tightened his grip on his sword. ‘This is the beginning, Valkyrie, not the end. No one plays me for a fool.’
Sayrid’s soft kid boots made a satisfying sound as she strode towards the Assembly Hall. She wore her new leather trousers with the dark green tunic Auda had made for her last birthday belted over them. Her cape swung slightly. Everything was designed to give the impression of supreme confidence, even though her insides churned.
She had considered all eventualities. Blodvin wore her morning gift of two arm rings and a necklace. At Sayrid’s insistence, Blodvin had arranged her clothes so the pregnancy was evident to even the most casual observer. Blodvin and Regin were both prepared to swear a solemn oath that Regin was her chosen husband and she wished for no other. Surely Bloodaxe would do the decent thing and not demand Regin be declared outlaw for stealing away his only child.
Once the jaarl had declared in her favour, she would invite everyone to the wedding feast. Even now, the servants prepared the meat under Auda’s expert direction. And it would be a celebration of the joining of two families, not a lament for Regin’s death.
‘I’d wondered if you’d show, Valkyrie.’
Sayrid missed a step. The trouble was that she had momentarily forgotten about him and the probability of his being at the Assembly. And now the man who had recently featured in her dreams leant against the side of the building. Why was he not sitting quietly next to Ingvar Bloodaxe or, better still, departing from these shores in search of another bride?
‘Hrolf Eymundsson.’ She met his dark blue gaze without flinching. ‘Little point in arriving early and wasting my time.’
‘Sayrid Avildottar.’ He inclined his head so that his light brown hair flowed down his face, hiding his eyes. ‘Valkyrie suits you better. After all, you are the shield maiden who controls the magically secured harbour. How many raiders have lost their ships trying?’
‘Three came to grief after my father’s death, but it was more poor seamanship on their part than magic on mine.’
‘That is not what the gossips say.’
Her heart gave a little flutter, but then it sank. She knew what the gossips said about her and her lifestyle. ‘I’m flesh and blood, not one of Odin’s handmaidens. A series of blockades guard the harbour.’
‘Yet you swim. I hear rumours of your skill with the sword as well. Bloodaxe curses your name and fabled prowess on a daily basis.’
The rumours normally never bothered her, but a small part of her wished that he had remarked on her skills as a trader or navigator. She shook her head. Next she’d be hoping he found her attractive. Her limitations in the dainty and feminine part of life were as legendary as her skill with the sword.
‘I was never very good with the needle. Far too big and clumsy. My stepmother used to despair,’ she said, forcing her neck muscles to relax. If Hrolf thought he was going to humiliate her, he had another think coming. She’d long ago left behind the stringy girl who hid in the shadows praying that no one would notice her. She courted notoriety as it kept her ships and men safe. ‘The sword suits me better.’
He pushed off the wall, causing the dark blue velvet cloak he wore to swirl about his narrow hips. On his arms, there were at least three heavy gold arm rings. Everything about him proclaimed that he was indeed as successful as the gossips implied.
‘Was that what the other night was about, adding to your legend?’
‘Preserving my family’s honour.’ She paused. ‘Perhaps a foreign concept to a sea king, but it counts for much in Svear.’
His eyes filled with ice. ‘Why did you kidnap Bloodaxe’s daughter?’
‘Harsh, when the woman went freely.’
‘People whisper that with one wave of your hand, the locks fell open and you used the full moon to cast a spell on her, turning her into a swan so she could escape undetected.’
‘If I’d done half the things claimed of me, I doubt I’d be standing before you. I’d be flying through the air to Constantinople on a pair of wings, as Kettil consistently refuses me a large enough ship to make that voyage,’ she said crisply, giving him the stare that normally managed to send men running for cover.
‘Why did you do it?’ he asked in a low voice. ‘The truth, because any games you choose to play, I will win. I make you that promise.’
Her mouth went dry and she bit back the words asking him what sort of games he had in mind. Instead she settled her features into a scowl. ‘My brother and his chosen bride deserved to be together.’
‘Any particular reason?’
She jerked her head towards where Blodvin and Regin stood waiting to hear their fate. ‘They make a handsome couple.’
‘Your brother should have challenged for the right. What good is a man if he cannot protect his wife and children?’
‘Blodvin made her own choice.’ Sayrid ignored his remark. ‘No man cheats my family.’
Hrolf’s eyes became deadly. ‘Strong words. How did precisely Ingvar the Bloodaxe cheat?’
‘When a bride price is agreed and paid, one expects the bride to remain available as long as she is willing.’
‘Payments can be returned.’
Sayrid gave a soft cough. ‘Next time ask around. Better still, ask the woman if she wants to be married to you.’
He slammed his fist against his open palm. ‘Bloodaxe swore there was no impediment.’
She rolled her eyes. It amazed her that a warrior such as Hrolf Sea-Rider would be inclined to believe Ingvar Flokison. But he’d been away in the East for a long time and perhaps had not thought to listen to gossip.
‘A man who constantly delivers light sacks of wool should always have his word tested.’ She poured scorn into her voice. ‘Didn’t you think to listen to the rumours and gossip before entering into negotiations? And you, a sea king with a reputation for quick thinking.’
A dimple flashed in the corner of his mouth. ‘Women’s talk around the distaff and weaving loom?’
‘Men gossip far more than women. They just like to think they don’t.’
‘Truly?’
Sayrid ground her teeth. Hrolf was precisely like any other Northman—women were there to provide food, drink and pleasure only. She clenched her fists and regained control of her temper. ‘Listening and heeding dockside chatter saved my ship on my first voyage. We went a different way home and avoided the sea raiders.’
He instantly sobered. ‘What else did you learn, Valkyrie?’
Even now the hardship of that first voyage rolled over her—the storms at sea, the lodestone
