Page 64 of The Girl the Sea Gave Back
Latham nodded in reply. “What do you want to do?”
My gaze tightened at the question, studying them. Latham looked up at Halvard, patiently waiting for his answer, the way Siv did with Vigdis.
I swallowed hard. He wasn’t just one of them. He wasleadingthem.
“Here.” Halvard pointed to a dense area of forest between the fjord and the valley. “If we can keep them behind the tree line until at least half of them are dead, we will have a chance. Their arrows won’t be able to reach the villagefrom there.” His hand slid to the open clearing before Hylli. “We’ll keep a quarter of our warriors waiting here. The rest, to the first line in the forest.”
They considered, a heavy quiet falling over the ritual house.
“What do you think?” he asked, searching their faces.
“Good.” Latham nodded and the others followed. “It’s good.”
But there was no good plan to be made. The options were few. Keeping the fight in the forest was the best they had.
The sound of a bell rang out in the village, the sharp clang echoing around us and without pause, they moved as one toward the doors.
Halvard picked his axe up off the map, taking my arm and pulling me with him.
“You’re chieftain,” I said, lowly.
He let me go, fitting the axe back into its sheath. “Today I am.”
“Why won’t you let me cast the stones? I can help. I can—”
At that, he turned, looking down at me as the others filed out. I stilled when I felt the brush of his breath on my skin, trying not to lean into his warmth.
“I told you. I don’t want to know. I trust the gods.” His eyes ran over my face for a long moment, his jaw clenching. “Thank you for your help.” He turned to the door. “Stay north and you should miss them.”
“What?” I took hold of his vest before he stepped outside. “I’m going with you.”
“Going with us?”
“I told you. I want to help.”
“You did. Now go home.”
“I don’t have a home.” My fingers dropped from the bronze clasps at his side.
His lips parted on a long breath, his gaze narrowing. “Can you fight?”
“I can shoot.” I smiled, hooking my fingers into the bowstring stretched across my chest.
His eyes jumped back and forth on mine. “You know we’re probably all going to die, don’t you?”
I reached around him, taking the knife from the back of his belt. “I told you. You don’t die today.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, watching as I cut away the length of my skirts. The bell sounded again and I dropped the torn linen to the floor. I handed him the knife, and the corner of his mouth lifted, but he turned before I could see him smile.
I ran to keep up with him in the flood of warriors all headed for the gate. We reached the back of the line and I tightened the straps of the quiver and started up the hill after him. A hand lifted into the air ahead as we made it to the trees, and I saw the fair-haired man from the house waving from the front of the line. Halvard reached for him, catching his arm and taking hold of my wrist, pulling me with him as he pushed through the tightly packed bodies.
When we broke through the line, we were standing at the top of the hill, shoulder to shoulder with the others. Ablonde woman and a red-haired woman stood beside them, both casting sharp glares at me.
“What’s she doing here?” A man with shorn hair looked down at me with a crooked smile. It took a moment to recognize him as one of the men who’d been with Halvard in Utan.
“It’s a long story,” Halvard muttered, pulling his sword free.
“They aren’t afraid of me.” I spoke lowly beside him.
