Page 45 of The Viking in the Vault
The Boreans.
No.
I was told they were extinct. Wiped out by their own hubris and the enemies they made. Yet here stands one of them, as pale and unrelenting as the storms that once howled through the frostbound highlands of Kanin.
“Elena, stay back,” I say in Skoll, my voice a low growl as I fling a sheltering arm in front of her.
I hear Davina’s voice somewhere in the background, sharp and commanding. “Don’t panic,” she says, her words quick and urgent. “This is?—”
But I can’t hear the rest. Her voice is drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears, the pounding of my heartbeat. Centuries of enmity coil in my muscles, fueling the tension as I prepare for what’s to come.
And then I see his face.
The features are sharp, regal, unmistakably Borean. But there’s something else, something familiar. The way he holds himself—not like a warrior, but like a scholar. He’s dressed in civilian clothes similar to those popular among these modern folk, all black, a human female right behind him.
The realization slams into me like a thunderclap.
“It can’t be,” I whisper, my voice rough with disbelief.
The Borean stops just inside the room, his black eyes scanning me with a mixture of curiosity and caution. He cocks his head at the expression on my face, frowning.
I step forward and pull him into a one-armed embrace, laughing. “Yrsa has surely blessed us this day!” I chuckle. “Thorne Valtheris…is it really you?”
He looks more confused than anything else, the human female behind him watching us with an equally perplexedexpression. Thorne lets out a surprised grunt as I put him down again, grinning.
“I truly thought the empire had killed you!” I tell him. “After we left M’mir…what a surprise.”
Thorne takes a step back, brushing his hands over his clothes to collect himself. His expression is calm, but there’s a flicker of something in his eyes—caution.
“You’ll have to forgive me,” he says slowly. “It’s been…a very long time. You know me, then?”
It hits me like a bucket of cold water.
He doesn’t know me.
My heart sinks, and I’m sure it shows on my face. The Thorne I knew was sharp, brilliant, with a mind that could outmaneuver any Borean politician. But the man before me is…different. He looks the same—as his kind often do—but there’s a weariness to him.
It occurs to me that, while I slept, he stayed awake.
Four thousand years.
“It’s me,” I say, thumping a fist against my chest. “Ragnar Stormborne. We built this very library together…fought side by side for Skoll independence. Surely you remember.”
Thorne’s brows furrow, and he tilts his head slightly, studying me as though piecing together a long-forgotten puzzle. The human woman behind him leans in, whispering something in his ear, and he nods absently.
“Ragnar Stormborne,” he repeats, testing the name like it’s a fragment of a dream. Then, slowly, his eyes widen. “Ah. Yes. M’mir. The liberation campaigns. You were…one of Tor’s scouts, weren’t you?”
I let out a bark of laughter, relief washing over me. “More like a thorn in the empire’s side, thanks to you. You gave us the strategies we needed to outmaneuver their forces—and the courage to believe we could win.”
He looks me over again, his sharp black eyes tracking the markings on my arms, the crown of my antlers. There’s something calculating in his gaze, but not unkind—just taking stock, as if I’m a relic he never expected to see again.
“That was a long time ago,” he says, the words slow, careful. Then he huffs out a breath, shaking his head. “A very long time ago.”
His voice is smoother than I remember, his tone carrying an odd cadence, casual but sharp-edged. I remember Thorne as a brilliant tactician, a scholar who could outmaneuver Borean politicians with a single well-placed essay, but this version of him is…different. A little rougher around the edges. More at ease in his own skin.
“Much has changed since then,” he adds, rubbing his jaw as he takes another long look at me, like he’s seeing a ghost. “And judging by your reaction, I take it nobody bothered to explain just how much.”
I grunt. “I’ve…gotten the general sense.”
