Page 52 of Alien Viking's Passion

“If the krakens don’t take us first,” Craxon muttered.

“The krakens won’t be a problem on this journey,” Valtyrr said. “Believe me. And the sky is clear, the ocean as smooth as a shieldmaiden’s tits.”

Craxon gave him a surprised glance. “You’ve never before spoken that crudely in my presence, cousin. Did you have myod or wine for breakfast?”

Valtyrr grinned. “Can you blame a man for longing to be home with the shieldmaidens of our own kind? Well, I only came to see if you like the ship. It’s not a bad vessel, I suppose. But I hope we won’t test its abilities too much in a storm. That mast looks too tall for this ship. And the freeboard is short. The oar ports are too high over the water! The rowers will be walking bent over for the rest of their lives!” Every word was accompanied by a faint smell of fish.

“How would you know anything about those things?” Craxon asked. “You’ve never been aboard a ship apart from the longships.”

“I grew up on land,” Valtyrr admitted. “But a man can learn.”

“We’ll push off as soon as we finish loading the ship,” Craxon said. “Get your things and rouse the rest of our people.”

Valtyrr bent over in a caricature of a formal bow. “Of course, Your Princeness!” He backed off, then turned around and walked back to shore.

Craxon frowned. What was wrong with him?

17

- Aretha -

Aretha hadn't gotten much sleep, so when the sun rose, she did as well. The other girls would usually sleep in, especially after a late night with a copious amount of myod to share.

She'd taken a liking to a Viking brew called grut that was some kind of tea she could fool herself into thinking was a thin coffee. She hadn’t been spoiled with quality brews onUnity, where everything was ten to fifteen times the price on the surface of Earth. Bringing things up into orbit was insanely expensive, and while her salary wasn’t bad, it didn’t allow her many luxuries.

She finished the grut and went out on the stone porch. It was a fine summer day, the pulsar in the sky focusing its energy beam on Gardr and lighting everything up in a blinding glare. The air was still and fresh.

“So no need to not sail today,” she muttered. Her mood was dark, and she considered going up into the mountains so she could watch the ship leave from there. She would bring Fjernstjerna and hope to be attacked by vettir, so she could burnsome aggression while carving them up. If nothing else, Craxon’s pretend duel had made her lean into her neural lace-enhanced speed and control. She touched the sword in the makeshift sheath a shieldmaiden had given her to use until she could make a new one. She had moved lightning fast, forcing even Craxon into retreat. She felt totally confident that she would win any fight. But it didn’t make her happy. She’d happily have traded that skill for him staying.

“But it’s all for the best,” she muttered. “I’m going to Earth.” She would definitely have to see what she could do to fix those damn longships—

“An early morning for the lady!” a voice said. A big warrior came around the corner, carrying a wooden box that looked like a treasure chest.

“Good morning, Valtyrr,” Aretha said after briefly considering the possibility of going inside and locking the door, pretending not to have seen him. Talking to one of Craxon’s underlings wasnotwhat she wanted right now.

“Good is as good does, as some say,” the warrior said and put the box down on the ground. “I never understood what that means, myself. Prince Craxon sends his regards. He has a message for you.”

“What is the message?” Aretha asked tiredly. Would this Viking bullshit never end?

“He didn’t say,” Valtyrr grinned. “But he assured me it was something you would like. He only said that he hopes you were able to look through his dramatic fight yesterday. It was only a ritual that a Ragnhildrose prince must go through.”

A tiny spark of hope came into Aretha’s mind. “A ritual?”

“Yes! Surely you have love rituals on Earth as well?”

“Usually they’re not thatfinal.”

The warrior laughed. “I’m sure they’re not! Anyway, the message is in this box. Craxon assured me you’d understand the meaning.” He opened the lid and took two steps back. “I’m not allowed to see the message. It is for the engaged couple only— oh, your pardon! I may have said too much.” He chuckled.

What the hell?Aretha stepped forward and got up on tiptoes to look into the box from a yard away. There was something at the bottom of it. It looked like fabric, a brilliant white. But there was more.

She took two steps closer and reached down into the chest. Yes, definitely fabric. And underneath…

Valtyrr started laughing wildly, with both the usual deep voice of a Viking and some kind of piercing shrill, sounding so unpleasant that Aretha started to straighten up.

The warrior was still standing a few paces away, but now he had long, gray shapes sprouting from his upper body.

Tentacles!The word shot through Aretha’s mind before she was grabbed and pushed into the chest. She screamed, but even she couldn’t hear her voice over Valtyrr’s crazy laughter.

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