Her Viking Saviour (Lore & Love Trilogy #1)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Torben lay on his side, Wynflaed still huddled against him in slumber. The fire was burning down to its last few embers and the birds sang their early morning songs. The night spent out here with Wynflaed, alone, had been bliss. The bond between them had been well and truly consummated, but it went beyond sexual gratification and genuine care. He was consumed by her – her strength, her beauty and her fiery spirit. As furious and afraid as it made him to be clueless about Freydis and her plight, having Wynflaed by his side gave him comfort. He felt her stir and looked down at her face.

"It gives me joy to wake up to your twinkling blue eyes." Her voice was soft with sleep as she cupped his stubbled cheek. He heard the scratching sound under her fingertips.

"I am in a need of a shave."

"No, I like how it feels, how it looks.”

"If you keep giving me that look, I will take you again right now."

"I am willing, but you will need to feed me first.”

"Apple, bread, and cheese now, then when we make it to Stavanger I will buy you bowl after bowl of steaming hot stew." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

They ate, tended to the horses, washed, and dressed. He appreciated her efficiency and lack of complaint until they went to mount the horses. He saw Wynflaed scowl at the saddle and held back a laugh.

"Come, Elskling, let me help you."

"Freydis had best be where we are headed because the longer this horse ride goes on, the sterner my tongue will become."

Torben held the reins of both their horses as they entered Stavanger. Many familiar faces smiled as they passed, and he nodded and smiled back. Curious eyes looked Wynflaed up and down. It must be odd for them to see him pass through without Ragnav and Leif at his side. He looked down at the top of her head. She held it high, the shiny tresses framed her face prettily as they poked out from her hood. The grace she carried herself with was a thing of beauty. Her soft but sure arm movements. Her strides long and commanding. Like a Valkyrie. All she needed was a helmet and shield. His fierce Wynflaed carried herself in such a regal manner.

"Torben, you promised me hot stew and I can smell hot stew." He watched her pert nose sniff the air and pull a face. "I inhaled too much, and it wasn't so pleasant."

Torben grinned at the face she made. Much of the trade of the port was fish, all kinds of fish packed in barrels and ice, but the smell was not so bad. It was the fishermen who carried the odour.

''Deep sea fishermen spend days working out on the seas, it is pungent work."

Her face remained pinched, and he could not help but chuckle.

"Let us get you fed before you lose that voracious appetite I admire so much." He tugged at a lock of her hair as he teased her. Once she was comfortable, he would start enquiring about Freydis.

Torben made eye contact with two young drengrs, and they quickly came over and took the reins of their horses, which allowed him and Wynflaed to enter a tavern without any delay. At this hour, the tavern only had a smattering of people and he eyed them all expertly, scanning for danger. It was mainly men nursing mugs of mead and steaming bowls of stew, except for one cloaked figure in the corner. All he could see was a hand. A fair, dainty, feminine hand. Wynflaed had followed his line of sight and gave a slight shake of her head.

"Good morn, two bowls of stew and some mead," she said brightly to the owner, who had come over to greet to them. Torben made small talk, discussing the weather and crops as he fought his urge to storm over and rip the cloak off the covered person. He knew it must be Freydis, but Wynflaed was giving him a stern look. He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply.

"Is something botherin' you, Chieftain Ulfson?" the owner asked him nervously.

Torben shook his head.

"All is well, friend, all is well."

As soon as he sat down, Wynflaed pounced on him with a firm whisper.

"It may or may not be her and if it is, we need to approach the situation calmly."

He threw his hands up in surrender.

"I will follow your lead, Elskling."

Wynflaed's lead entailed eating her stew and smiling around the room as if nothing was wrong. The frustration swelling inside him started to ebb as he saw Wynflaed's tact had worked to defuse what could have been a tense situation. He saw the dainty hand no longer clutched her mug tensely, but was relaxed. Torben looked to Wynflaed who gave him a cheeky wink.

"Now watch."

Wynflaed was proud of Torben when he relinquished all control in this situation. She had felt the fury and distress that radiated off his body once he realised the person might be Freydis. Wynflaed knew without a doubt that the cloaked person was Freydis by the way she used her free hand to twirl her blonde strands around her finger.

Wynflaed walked towards Freydis, sat on the stool opposite, and said her name softly. A few moments passed and just when she was about to say her name again, Freydis slowly turned. Wynflaed met the slightly sheepish but very stubborn face of her soon-to-be sister.

"Wynflaed, somehow I knew, deep in my bones, that you would find me before I made it too far,” Freydis said wryly.

"Come now, Freydis, tell me what is wrong. What craziness possessed you to scurry off without a word, alone, into potential danger?" Wynflaed’s increasingly loud rant trailed off when she saw tears shimmer in Freydis's eyes.

"Because you would have stopped me. Or Torben would have forbidden it. Ever since you told me about Guthred, I cannot tear my thoughts away from him. I want to go to him. My life is my own to choose, just like you got to choose. Why should my choices be taken away from me because my brother is my Chieftain?"

Wynflaed took fortifying breaths.

Freydis is young and naive. She lacks good sense but I’ve been presented with an opportunity to lead her back to sensibility .

"Come now, Freydis, you know that was a very different situation. Guthred took me captive and intended to sell me into slavery. Torben rescued me, Hilde, Cynewin, and Cola."

"I cannot believe he would do that, Freydis. How could a man I love do something so terrible?"

It slowly started to dawn on Wynflaed that Freydis’s young infatuation had, over time, built Guthred up in her mind as a good man, and being told she could not have him had only fuelled this obsession.

She could feel Torben's piercing gaze boring into her. She turned and saw him walk towards them.

"Let's get back to Klavik and we can discuss everything at home."

"Home? How quickly you have adopted us all," Freydis accused her bitterly. She reserved her icy glare for Torben.

"Freydis, my patience with you has worn thin, and you will not speak to Wynflaed and I this way. Now come, we are heading home."

Wynflaed looked between the siblings and rolled her eyes.

"What an enjoyable journey home we are all in store for."