“He did not damage anything that was not already in need of repair,” she said sharply. “Have you spoken to Laxa’s elders? They had many complaints—”
“When is Laxa not full of whining old men?” Hallvard said in a bored tone. “I have half a mind to march through and take what I need. That will give them something to complain about.”
Torunn sat up straight. “You cannot—”
Hallvard held up a hand to silence her. “You do not tell the Jarl what he can and cannot do,” he said softly.
It was only then that Torunn realized that the hall had gone silent and all eyes were turned to the front of the room. The fire snapped loudly and she flinched at the sudden noise. Hallvard laughed at her reaction and took a drink from his cup. “Ah, Sister. Always so full of opinions. Father might have listened to you, but he should have put you in your place. You were always given too much freedom… A strong husband will be able to tame that restless spirit and… that sharp tongue.”
Torunn’s fingers tightened around her cup, but she said nothing. He was trying to anger her.
“So you have chosen a husband for me?” Her voice was as stiff as her spine, and her brother’s smile widened.
“I believe so,” he said. “Jarl Sigurd has been a loyal friend—”
“He has not,” Torunn snapped. “Father has always hated Jarl Sigurd.”
Hallvard’s smile did not falter. “This is true, but when his forces joined ours on the Saxon shores, I realized that our father had shunned a powerful ally. I vowed that I would not make the same mistake when I took his place.”
“Jarl Sigurd is an old man,” she said. “At least as old as our father—”
“He is a great warrior,” Hallvard said evenly. “And he has proven himself capable of following orders from greater men than himself.”
“Surely, you do not mean yourself.”
The words slipped out before she could stop herself and Hallvard’s eyes narrowed. “Careful, Sister,” he said softly. “My generosity has limits.”
Torunn swallowed thickly and set her cup down upon the wooden table that sat between them. “Thank you, Brother,” she said. “I will take my leave.”
Hallvard’s smile was as cold as his eyes. “An excellent idea.”
Bersi’s steady hand was on her elbow as she walked from the hall on legs that wanted to run as fast and far away from Skaro as possible.
“Wait!”
Torunn walked faster as Iri called her name. She did not want to speak to him. Or look at him. He had been silent for too long.
“Torunn!”
Iri grabbed for her arm, and she heard Bersi’s grunt of surprise before she slapped his hand away. “Do not touch me!”
“Please, I have to speak to you!”
Torunn stopped short, turned on her heel, and put her hand on Iri’s chest. He skidded in the dirt and his eyes widened as she glared at him. “You knew what was happening, and you said nothing. Did you not advise my brother that this was— That he could not do this to Skaro?”
Iri’s glaze moved quickly over their surroundings, and while Torunn was aware that she should have been careful about what she was saying, she did not care.
“Did you know about Jarl Sigurd?”
Iri could not meet her eyes and she let out a furious breath. “Did Loki steal your voice, or are you too much of a coward to admit that you could not stand up to my brother?”
“I could not do it,” Iri muttered.
“Why not?”
“He would have had me killed, just as he killed all those who supported your father—”
The dirt beneath her feet suddenly felt as though it was crumbling and she staggered against Bersi’s solid bulk. “Wh— What?”
“You did not know. No, of course not. You have been… It does not matter.”
“It matters,” she hissed. “Iri! What happened to those men? Why would he do such a thing?”
“He sent them to Bitra to take word to Jarl Sigurd that your marriage would be arranged as soon as the snow began to melt. They departed before your father’s funeral.”
Torunn punched Iri in the chest as hard as she could and he staggered back. Bersi laid a hand on her shoulder, but she shook him away. “How dare you keep that from me—”
“The men carried two messages,” Iri continued in a choked voice. “One for the Jarl agreeing to his offer of marriage. The other… the other requested the heads of the men bearing the messages. As a gesture of good faith.”
“But they would know.”
Iri shook his head. “It was a coded message. One they had agreed upon before returning home from the Saxon lands. The delivery of their heads will be cause for great celebration.”
Torunn’s knees threatened to give way, but she bit down hard on her lip and stood up straighter. There had to be a way to break this arrangement. There had to be. But it had already been decided… Sealed in blood. Jarl Sigurd would be in Skaro as soon as the ice melted from the bay and then there would be no escape for her.
“Torunn—”
“Do not speak to me,” she whispered.
She grabbed Bersi’s arm for support and then walked as fast as she could through the streets to her father’s house. Bersi followed behind, but kept his distance. She wanted to scream, to throw things, to break every delicate thing in the house, but none of it would make her feel better. And nothing would fix what had been done.
She reached the double doors and walked inside without pause. The servants looked up as she entered, but she passed them without a word and stormed to her chamber.
With a well-placed kick the door slammed shut behind her and she leaned against it. She could hear the servants talking outside the door and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Torunn? Do you need anything?”
Heldi.
“Nothing!” she shouted back. She knew that she was acting like a child. Not like the daughter of a powerful Jarl.
Heldi said nothing in reply and Torunn listened to her footsteps as they faded away. The chattering of the other serving girls halted, and Torunn immediately regretted her anger. She threw her cloak onto her bed and turned to open the door. When she jerked it open she expected to see Bersi standing outside, but the room was empty and silent except for the crackling fire that warmed the house.
Torunn took a breath and pressed her fingers to her temple. A jug of mead had been set out on a tray, but she turned to the fire instead. Her ribs itched under the bandage and she wrapped her arms around her torso in an effort to keep from scratching.
She stared into the flames, and then she heard something outside the house. A scuffle, boots thundering on the path. Cold fingers crept up her spine as she went to the doors. Sunset crept across the sky and Torunn shivered at the rush of cold air that swept across her cheek. The ache behind her eyes flared and she braced her hand on the doorframe. She squinted in the half light but the shadows were strange and she could not see anything clearly.
Her head snapped around as she heard voices.
“Heldi?”
Torunn stepped out of the doorway and into the fading light. But there was no answer to her call.
There was movement behind a pile of firewood and she stepped forward carefully. “Heldi?”