Warmagic

26 - Welcome home

"The second fishing boat is almost ready," Faste said happily and proud. "We'll have a good stock of food next winter."

We were both seated in a room full of barrels with dried fruits and sacks of wheat and grains. The old man had been going through our food reserves for the last couple of days and was looking pleased with the outcome.

"Good." I said, knowing how distracted I sounded, but Faste didn't seem to mind. He kept telling me of all the preparations that had been made, how the fields had been growing so much better now since Bjarke was gone and that the families seemed more healthy. The weird sickness was gone, and it was all thanks to me, he said.

"Thanks to the Hamarr-pack," I corrected.

"Well, yes," he agreed, "but they were asked here by your order."

"They were asked by my partner," I clarified over my shoulder and sighed, leaving the warehouse to walk back to the hall. But instantly regretted my decision as I walked inside. Liv sat by the fire, and by the looks of her, she was not happy.

"Tyr! Where have you been?"

I furrowed my brow and ignored her, deciding to walk past her to the table and pour myself a mug of water. "Why are you sitting here doing nothing?" I countered as she kept shooting daggers at me.

"We need to talk."

"So talk," I muttered and sat down on the edge of the table.

"When are they leaving?"

"Who?" I asked, pretending to be clueless.

"The wolves, of course," she muttered and stood up to walk closer to me.

"They already left. They are out there hunting down the threat to our village while you are sitting on your ass and arguing with me," I hissed.

"I mean for good," she clarified and narrowed her eyes.

"I might ask them to stay," I said, taunting her to see her reaction. Her face was blank, but I knew there was a whirlwind of thoughts spinning through her head.

"Why? Don't they have a pack to look after?"

"We do," a dark voice boomed towards us and both pairs of eyes shot up at Vidar who was entering the hall with long strides.

I couldn't help but smile and raised to my feet to greet him, but I didn't manage to walk far before he reached me. And to my great surprise he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips against mine with a passion I wasn't prepared for.

I could hear the low gasp behind me, knowing Liv must be shocked by the sight, but in his arms I couldn't care less. Instead, I let my hand move up to his hair, tugging at it as I parted my lips and met the kiss.

"Welcome back," I mumbled as our lips parted, and the blue eyes locked with mine.

"Thank you," he replied before casting an annoyed eye at Liv. "Leave. The jarl and I have matters to discuss." His tone made her face turn red, but one look from me and she ran out the door. "That woman is trouble," Vidar said seriously but decided not to speak more of it. Instead, he gave me a warm smile and concluded, "You've missed me."

I could feel my cheeks warm up and my heart flutter at his awareness. How was I supposed to react to that? "Yes," I told him softly, embarrassed by my sudden shyness.

"I've missed you too," he said with a smug smile and leaned down to kiss my lips once more and I took the opportunity to fill my nose with his scent. "But I'm afraid I have bad news."

"He's not dead," I declared and received a nod from him.

"We tracked him all the way to the mountains in the west, but the signs stopped there," he said, looking calm but his breathing told me otherwise. "We stayed put, searching for clues, sniffing the winds and asking for guidance by the spirit-wolf." He sighed and moved a hand through his hair, "but she told me to go home to you and Freke."