“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “I didn’t jump to escape, you arse. I jumped because the great hall is full of people who need help. We need to find Snorri and bring him to the hall’s defense.”
“I’ll warn him,” he answered. “You run. Gnut is the first jarl to come for you, but he won’t be the last. Far more dangerous men than him will soon turn their eyes on you.”
A chill ran through me, but I shook my head. “I’m not abandoning my people to save my own skin.”
I tried to pull away, but his grip was implacable as he said, “There is no saving the hall, Freya. My father is caught between two forces and half of his men are drunk. If it comes to it, he’ll take you and abandon Halsar.”
There were children in there, but I suspected that was not enough of a motivator. “Ylva’s in there. They’ll kill her.”
“Ylva crawled out of the great hall. She ran, likely in search of Snorri. It’s only a matter of time until they come looking for you and your chance at freedom will be lost. No matter what Ylva says, he’ll sacrifice everyone in that hall for the sake of keeping warriors alive until they’ve sobered up, because he values their lives more than those hiding inside.”
I believed that. Knew that Snorri’s obsession with becoming king would drive him to sacrifice everything. But that didn’t mean that I’d do the same. “What about you, Bjorn? Whose lives do you value?”
Silence.
I didn’t know if that meant he agreed with his father or not, so I said, “I’m not standing by while innocents die in a fight over me. If you try to stop me, I’ll stab you in the stomach.”
Bjorn snorted. “How do you propose to save them? To run past them, shield blazing bright, and hope the whole lot of Gnut’s army chases after you?”
“Hardly.” I lifted my sword. “I’m going to light his ships on fire and lure him down to the beach.”
It was the best plan I could think of.
A fleet of drakkar would cost a fortune in time and gold to replace. When they saw the fire, Gnut’s men would abandon the fight to save the vessels so they wouldn’t lose their ability to retreat. At least, that’s what I hoped.
“The ships will be under guard. Gnut’s no fool—he’ll protect his line of retreat.”
My hands balled into fists. “Then help me.”
Tension thickened between us, and I could hardly breathe. Not because I thought Bjorn would try to stop me but because I wanted him to help me. Wanted him to be the sort of man who’d do what it took to save all those in the hall. The breath I was holding came out in a gust as Bjorn finally said, “Lead the way, Born-in-Fire.”
We moved through the darkness and flame of Halsar, stepping over bodies and avoiding skirmishes, the smell of smoke thick on the air. More than once I heard, “She can’t have gotten far,” and knew they were talking of me. Bjorn had been right that Snorri’s focus was not on protecting his people but on finding me. I kept glancing backward, expecting to see great gouts of fire rising behind us. Expecting to hear screams as people either burned or fled, only to be cut down by the blades of Gnut’s warriors. Expecting the lancing pain of knowing that I’d failed to help them at all.
“That they haven’t fired the hall may mean they want you alive,” Bjorn said softly. “Perhaps Gnut fancies himself a future king.”
His words did nothing to ease my nerves.
We reached the edge of the town, Bjorn pulling me low, our shoulders pressed together as we eyed the beach and ships. I could feel the heat of him through the sleeve of my dress, almost as though fire burned inside of him as surely as it did the axe for which he was famed. He smelled of fresh-spilled blood and sweat, but also of leather and pine. Given the circumstances, I shouldn’t have cared, but part of me cringed that I currently reeked of pig.
“We’ll have to go in from behind,” Bjorn murmured. “There are too many watching the ships to overpower without them sounding an alarm. Can you swim?”
“Yes.” I unfastened my heavy dress, slipping it off my shoulders and dropping it in a heap, only to turn my head and find Bjorn watching me.
“This idea of yours improves with every passing moment,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice. “Thank you for convincing me to come with you. The first story I’ll tell as I walk through the gates of Valhalla, which may happen sooner than I’d anticipated, is of the shield maiden who stripped near naked to charge into battle.”