The Berserker

16

I swung my arm out, missing Igor's shoulder by miles. "You need to be faster than that," Igor yells at me. My breathing is haggard, and sweat pours down my back. We have been at it for hours. I have blisters on my hands from holding the hilt of my dagger, and yet, Igor won't let me rest.

"Again!"

I groan as I lunge forward and swing my arm, but Igor intercepts, taking hold of my wrist in midair.

"You're doing the same movement." He shoves my arm away. "Again!"

This time I throw the dagger, aiming for his face. I missed, but I don't care. I am done. Igor has been on my back all morning. The thud of my dagger hits the ground. Igor glances down at his feet before looking back up at me with a raised brow.

"I'm done," I tell him before collapsing on the ground. My body hits with a thud.

"You don't have time to sit," he says and reaches down, pulling me to my feet. My legs buckle from being exhausted. The sun is setting. We have been here for hours, and true to Tormad's words, I have not seen him in days. I don't even know why my mind turns to Tormad. I shouldn't care where he is, but I haven't seen Freya either. Igor forces the dagger in my hand, just as I started thinking of the two together, and orders me to try again. This time, when I swung my hand out, I connected with his side. It wasn't deep, but the hiss coming from him made me smile.

"Again." I roll my eyes at him. It wasn't enough for Igor.

My body aches, and I relished the cool water soothing my aching muscles as I bathed in the stream near my cabin. I smile, thinking back to how I got a few knicks on Igor. I wondered what Tormad would think. Would I be able to get a few hits on him? I run my fingers through my hair and visualized the thought with a small smile on my face.

My fingers have shriveled, a sure sign telling me it is time to get out and dress. I strapped the belt around my waist to keep my pants from falling down before picking up my dagger. I rarely leave the cabin without it. The small blade, now my third hand. Now securely tucked in my waistband, I make my way to the hall.

Eye's gaze over me. Some of them I have begun to trust, other's not so much. Like Bjorn, who makes his way over to me. Now that Tormad isn't here to shadow, Bjorn seems to think he can lure me into temptation.

"You scrub up, nicely," he tells me. I scrunch my face in disgust as his ale breath blows in my direction.

"How was it?" She asks, as I swing my leg over the slab, taking a seat next to her, ignoring Bjorn. She looks up at me with her piercing blue eyes, waiting for me to reply. I smile at her and watch as she mimics my gaze.

"That good, huh?"

I take a bite of the bread. "I got a few hits in." Bjorn takes a seat beside me and drapes his arm over my shoulder. His rancid breath blew in my direction, causing my stomach to churn. I really wanted to put him in his place. However, I am not stupid. All these men in this hall — even the woman, had training. I may have gotten a few hits in with Igor, but he still landed me on my backside after each form of contact.

Instead, I shrug out of his hold and shuffle over more toward Helga. I guess Bjorn didn't take the subtle hint; I wasn't interested. He shuffled closer, sandwiching me between him and Helga. If I wanted to leave, Helga would have to stand, allowing me space, but when I glance over at her, I see she is still eating her dinner.

"What!" Bjorn belts out, and I feel his body leaving mine. I turn my head to see Igor holding Bjorn by his tunic, glaring down at him.

This was the beast I knew. Igor shows no mercy when he has you in his grasp. I'm only upset that Igor was the one to put Bjorn in his place.

"You were told to leave her alone!"

Bjorn stammers for a moment, before claiming defeat. Igor takes this opportunity to address the hall.

"Let me say this only once," he glances around. Every one stops chattering and looks up at the man. "Stay away from the prisoners."

The thudding in my chest died. And here I thought Igor classed me as a friend. But no. He still classes me as a prisoner. Igor's blue eyes gaze down at me. I masked the pain of rejection. Mentally scoffing at how days before, I wanted nothing from these people.

Igor unhooked his grasp and shoved Bjorn to the ground. Without a second glance, Igor spun on his heel and walked away. The small entertainment was no longer on display, bringing everyone back to their chatter. I turn my gaze back on the exit, just in time to see the back of Tormad.

So he is here at camp! A little sadness crept. I don't like the odd feeling. Sadness was for when my family died, not for Tormad keeping his distance. Wasn't that what I wanted?

"Kari." Helga placed her hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok?"

I tilt my head to face her. Producing a half-hearted smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She didn't need to reply. Though I refrain from talking about Tormad, Helga knew of the bond between us. At least that is what she claims it to be. I prefer to call it a latch. Tormad provided protection. He was in my cabin almost every night — an attraction was bound to happen. At least that is what I tell myself.

Tormad's calls it destiny, or fated to be. But if he didn't storm my village and capturer my father and I, would it still be fate? Would we still have found ourselves together? I would never know. And the only person who did is avoiding me.

"Do you want to see the lights?"

Tonight the sky is clear, the weather is just ripe. The northern lights will no doubt brighten up the skies.

On any other night, I would have taken Helga up on her offer, but I feel compelled to speak to a certain leader.

I turned away from the exit and glanced at Helga. "I think I will call it a night." If Helga picked up on my lie, she didn't say a thing. I didn't wait around long enough to give her the opportunity, either.

Outside the hall, the camp is lit. It's lively around this time of night. Something I wasn't used to, but adapted to. The village back home was dead at night. No lit up paths guiding your way. People didn't venture past dark. The orange glow should have made it easier for me to spot Tormad, but I couldn't find him anywhere. With a deep sigh, I turn down the path that leads to my cabin. My head hung low. Kicking the loose stones along the way.

"Were you trying to find me, Kari?"

I spun on my heels. My heart thuds violently in my chest.

"Why are you avoiding me?" I guess he didn't expect me to ask.

The soft glow of the flames nearby produced enough light to see Tormads face scrunch.

"I want you to learn things, but not be tethered to me."

I think it's a little too late for that. But I keep my opinion to myself. And instead, take a step closer.

"What Igor said." I pause and chew softly on my bottom lip. "Is that what I am? A prisoner!"

Tormad reaches out, taking my hand by surprise. He pulls me in close. My hand pressed against his solid chest. The warmth of his furs spreads throughout my body. This heat inside feels wrong, but also right.

Tormad places his hand under my chin and angles my head. He stares deep into my eyes. "You are not a prisoner, you are..." He stops talking and drops his hand. A coldness comes between us.

"Walk with me!" He asks. I nod, unable to voice a yes.