He followed my pointing finger to a tangle of driftwood in the distance.
“She’s trying to lead us to that driftwood. Change course.”
Geir gave the order, and the helmsman changed direction even as others worked to lower the sail to slow our speed. As we drew closer, I picked out the shape of a man sprawled over the branches of the dead tree.
“Guthrum!” I shouted. “Guthrum, can you hear me?”
The man didn’t move. Whether that was because he was dead or unconscious, it was impossible to tell. Kaja flew circles above him, though, and she was unlikely to do that for anyone but her familiar.
“Guthrum!”
The swells from the drakkar rolled into the driftwood, and I sucked in a panicked breath as Guthrum slipped off the branches and under the swells. Unbelting my sword, I lifted my chain mail over my head and shoved it into Geir’s hands before diving into the sea.
Icy water closed over my head, but I ignored the sting against the venom burns on my legs and swam down to Guthrum, who floated limply below the surface. I hooked my arms under his and then kicked hard. My chest ached with the need for air, but I managed to get himto the surface, where Geir caught hold of Guthrum and hauled him in. Other of the draug did the same to me, and I toppled unceremoniously at their feet. “Is he alive?”
“Barely.” Geir pulled a spare length of canvas around Guthrum’s body, which was drained of color. “Looks like he’s been in the water this entire time. It’s amazing he’s alive.”
“He’s strong.” Retrieving a skin of water, I sat next to Guthrum and supported his head, trickling a small amount into his mouth. He swallowed, then coughed, and his eyes opened. “Freya?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
But before I’d finished saying those few short words, his eyes rolled back in his head and Guthrum was unconscious once more. I sighed and tucked the sail cloth more tightly around his body, my own wracked with shivers as I got to my feet.
“He is part of Harald’s cabal?” Geir slung an arm around my shoulders, but he was no warmer than the sea and I wriggled free.
“Yes. Harald rescued him from bad circumstances as a boy. He’s loyal.”
“Then if he lives, he’ll be the first test to see if the truth will shift those loyalties.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “If not, you will have to make a difficult choice, sister.”
“I’m not killing Guthrum.” I pulled out of his grip. “I’ll tie him up until this is over, if I have to, but I’m not killing him.”
My brother shrugged, clearly of the opinion that my thoughts on the matter would change. But I’d had enough of killing, and the only death I sought now was Harald’s. We stood in silence as the coast drew closer, though there was still no sign of Harald’s fleet.
“You said Harald took Snorri’s body,” Geir abruptly said. “Do you know why?”
“Proof he’s dead, I suppose. Proof that Bjorn was the one who killed him, because his axe leaves a distinct wound.” Memory filled my head of the meatythunkthat the axe had made, the sizzle of blood and flesh, and the smell…“Whatever his reason, it won’t be good.”
The ships drew closer to the sandy beach and I took in the coast of Skaland, noting that the tree leaves were beginning to change into fall. Reds, oranges, and yellows mixed with the greens of the pines, and a sudden sense of yearning filled my core. Sails lowered in favor of oars as we entered the shallower water. The draug drummer pounded a steady beat and my heart seemed to take up its rhythm until the ship in which I stood ran up onto the beach.
Leaping out, I took up a handful of wet sand, water running through my fingers as I took my first steps back in Skaland.
Control your fate.
Taking a breath, I turned to my army. Undead, yes, but every one of them a Skalander. “This is our home,” I said. “Our land. Our families. And though they may not know it, they are in danger. We must discover what we can about the trickster’s plans so that we might make one of our own to defeat him.”
My brother and one of the other draug had lifted the still-unconscious Guthrum out of the ship and were carrying him up the beach to where another was lighting a small fire. I followed after them, watching Kaja circle overhead and hoping that warmth and sustenance would bring him back to consciousness. But more than that, I prayed to the gods that Guthrum would hear me out. Would believe me. Because I very much needed someone among the living on my side.
And so much the better if that person was unfated.
Geir set to organizing the draug to scout and see what information they might learn, though it was not lost on anyone that the living would likely take one look at them and go running the other direction. We needed a better source of information.
I added more wood to the fire and then lifted Guthrum so that he was resting on my lap. Carefully, I gave him more water. Tiny sips so that he wouldn’t choke while I waited for the heat to warm his body. He was ghastly pale, and with his wild hair and beard, he appeared as dead as any of the draug. Yet his chest rose and fell with steady breaths, and his pulse felt strong beneath my fingertips.
Kaja landed on a piece of driftwood near us, yellow eyes fixed on her familiar. “Can you rouse him?” I asked her. “He needs to be awake to drink and to eat, else he’ll only weaken further.”
The bird’s head tilted, yellow eyes regarding me, and then she flew to land on Guthrum’s chest and began pulling out hairs from his beard.
“Stop that!” I shoved her away, but as I did, Guthrum stirred and opened his eyes. It took a moment for him to focus, but then he said, “Freya?”
