Page 15 of Hungry Like a Wolf
He’d been drawn to it in an instant. Knowing it was a sign. His men had rowed with fierce determination, no doubt hoping for the spoils of a raid and not believing, as Ravn had done, that he was about to find his brothers and sister.
He sat and rubbed his beard. His men were strewn around still sleeping in various states of undress and with a constant snoring rumble.
Standing, Ravn adjusted his pants and belt and searched for food and drink. He found ale and took a slug.
“Eggs.”
He turned.
Queen Kenna stood in the doorway with a basket. She pushed her hood from her head and stomped her boots free of snow.
“An egg would be a treat after time at sea,” he said.
“I will cook for you.” She strode past him. Her pants were the same deep red as her gown had been the day before and her hair was plaited back over her head in several thin rows. She wore a cross at her neck.
“Where’s Haakon?” he asked.
“He’s with my father. They are discussing the crop field. The battle with King Athol has left damage. It must be repaired as soon as the weather allows.”
“What is the weather like today? I can see sunlight.”
“Aye, there is sun, more than where you are from.” She smiled. “But the snow came again in the night. The ground is frozen once more, which will be a relief from the mud.”
He sat and watched as she set a pan over the fire and began to crack eggs, whisking them with a spoon as she did so and then sprinkling in dried herbs.
“Why did you marry my brother?” he asked.
She looked up at him, surprise widening her eyes “Why not?”
“He invaded your village. Surely, he’s your enemy.”
She laughed. “It is true, he did, and to start with, I was very unhappy about his arrival and his proposal…or should I sayinsistencethat I marry him, but now that we are together, I find him to be a kind, confident, intelligent man who makes mefeel safe and loved, so I am thankful to God and our Lord Jesus Christ that he came upon our shores and chose me.”
Ravn was quite for a moment as a pang of jealousy hit him. It wasn’t that he wanted Kenna. She was beautiful, it was true, but he wanted someone to speak of him that way.
Siggy used to compliment him on being strong and powerful and brave and he’d thought they’d been the only compliments he’d ever need, but to see the softness wash over Kenna’s face as she spoke of Haakon, he realized he wanted that too.
But could he hope to find it?
How could they be so different? He and his brother? Was it because he had always followed the darkness, as the runestones had reported? Had his brother followed a path of light and that was why he had a crown, a wife, and likely heirs on the horizon and had swapped one home for another so easily?
Haakon also had people who respected him.
“Here.” Kenna handed him a plate of eggs and a spoon. She’d sprinkled salt crystals over it and added a knob of bread.
“Thank you.” He took it. “Where do Astrid and Orm sleep?”
“They have taken two empty dwellings on the east.”
“One each.”
“Aye, my brother, Hamish, has been staying with Astrid each night.” Her lips pursed and she shook her head slightly.
“And this bothers you?” He spooned eggs into his mouth. They were good.
“They are not wed.”
Ravn laughed. “Astrid is not the marrying sort.”
