Page 1 of Astrid at Sea

CHAPTER ONE

Icouldn’t bring myself to move away from the rail until Jorvik was nothing more than a tiny dot in the distance. Until I couldn’t see my parents and friends anymore. Until I couldn’t see my home anymore.

Except it wasn’t my home anymore.

Ever since I married Viktor, he became my everything, including my home.

Viktor was my home–well, Viktor and Kis. Wherever he was, I wanted to be there as well, even if that was in the middle of a sea, setting sail on a four-month mission to an island called Greenland.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Viktor whispered, his breath fanning over the shell of my ear and his chest warming my back. “We’re still close enough to turn back if you want to. I don’t mind.”

“I don’t want you to lose your Captaincy,” I said, turning around in his arms to gaze up at him. “And I don’t want to go back to Jorvik if you’re not going to be there. I want to be wherever you are, Viktor.”

“We’ll be at sea for four months. Possibly longer if we get lost,” he warned, but with the way his lips were turned up atthe corners as he lowered his face, gently brushing them against mine, I knew he was only teasing.

“We’ll just have to make sure we don’t get lost then,” I grinned and rose on my tiptoes to press my lips to his in a real kiss. As we were on the top deck, all the crew was here and had a front-row seat to us making out.

“Come on, my siren,” Viktor grinned and placed one last kiss on my mouth before pulling away, but he kept an arm around my waist as he guided me around the top deck of The Serpent.

We started at the front of the ship where the infamous Serpent was hung, proudly displayed as we cut through the water. It was various shades of dark grey, almost black. The scales looked real and glistened in the sunlight. The serpent twisted and turned in several curves, leading all the way up to the serpent’s scaly face, beady eyes, and slippery, scaly tongue. I had seen the serpent several times before, but this was the first time I was so up close.

“Do you want to sit on it?” Viktor whispered in my ear.

“What?” I asked and turned to glance over my shoulder at him, my tone laced with surprise. He grinned and nodded, looking awfully excited about it. “You cannot be serious!”

“Oh, I am,” he grinned wickedly at me.

“We hear you’re giving a tour of The Serpent, and we’re wondering why we weren’t invited,” Roscoe grinned, joining us at the rail with Manny in tow.

“Maybe because you’re not my wife,” Viktor snorted, but he sported a large grin. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well join us for the rest of it. And don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything important. I was just asking Astrid if she wants to sit on the serpent.”

“Sit on the serpent?” Manny frowned, puzzled. “That’s not a thing, is it?”

“It is,” Viktor grinned and turned to Roscoe. “Care to show these two what I mean?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Roscoe returned the grin.

We all watched as he braced his hands on the rail and used his arm strength to leap onto it. He sat on the edge of the rail before swinging his legs over the serpent’s head. It was just wide enough for him to use as a chair, but I couldn’t help but fear that he would fall into the water with the gentle sway of the ship, and we would never see him again.

“Okay, I think that’s enough now,” I chuckled nervously, resisting the urge to reach out and grab Roscoe’s hand to pull him over the rail. When Viktor and Roscoe merely laughed at my reaction, I huffed. “It’s not funny. I don’t want him to fall into the water.”

“I’m a good swimmer,” Roscoe grinned cockily, but it was quickly replaced by one of fear when he lost his footing, looking as if he was going to fall face-first into the water. I gasped and instinctively reached out to grab him. “Viktor!” I screeched, a cry for help.

Instead of my husband helping me, he threw his head back and laughed. My lips parted in shock, and when I glanced around, spotting three men laughing at me, especially Roscoe, who looked completely at ease sitting on the serpent’s head, I realised that I had been made the butt of the joke.

I groaned and resisted the urge to stomp my feet, but only because I knew that would give them more to laugh about.

“That wasn’t funny,” I groaned, glaring at the three of them. My eyes lingered on my husband, who looked proud for pulling a fast one on me. “I was genuinely afraid that Roscoe would fall into the water.”

“Don’t worry, my siren.” Viktor threw an arm over my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I buried my face in his chest and felt his chest rumble as he laughed. It was hard to be mad athim when he looked so handsome and carefree. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of my crew. If Roscoe fell in the water, I would have jumped in after him.” He pressed a kiss to my hair.

“Well, that’s reassuring,” I huffed. “Now, before one of you gives me a heart attack, let’s continue with the rest of this tour.”

Once Roscoe’s feet were safely back on the deck, we moved further down the ship to join Dagfinn at the wheel.

Dagfinn was a large, burly kind of fellow. His hair was dark, thick, and a little matted in places. It was as if he didn’t wash it often, but it didn’t look dirty. He kept it longer than Viktor’s, falling to the middle of his back. I noticed he nearly always freely wore his hair like that, and not for the first time, I was a little envious of the thickness and length. Regardless of the scary, powerful stance, his smile was that of a cuddly teddy bear, and I couldn’t help but return it.

It was nice to feel like I belonged here even though I technically didn’t. I had all but jumped onto the ship at the last minute–just about how long it took for the immediate direction of my life to suddenly change.

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