Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I t took us a few hours to finally reach Isle, mostly because Dagfinn allowed Roscoe and Manny to steer the wheel, and they kept steering us in the wrong direction.

“What business do we have here exactly?” I asked Viktor, peering over the rail at the group of people that had gathered at the shore in anticipation for us, just as we did back at Jorvik. Kis meowed in my arms as if she wanted to know the answer as well.

“Mostly spears,” he answered. “We dropped off a shipment a few weeks ago, and they ordered more. This is one of the easiest stops we have, though things are never easy when it comes to Asmund.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, curious.

“The man never does just business,” Caspian answered, joining us at the rail. “When I was last here to sell some quail eggs, he wouldn’t let us leave until we had a feast. And their feasts always last so long. Don’t get me wrong, the food is always great, but it’s not convenient you’re short on time.”

“The same happened to us last time as well. I swear, Isle eats their weight in gold,” Viktor sighed, running a hand down his face. “I fear that since it’s already late in the day and it will be dark very soon, he’ll insist that we stay the night.”

“That’ll set us behind,” I murmured, and they both nodded in agreement.

“We don’t want to waste time at the start. We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” Viktor groaned. “Though Asmund doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”

“I think that’s more of a Chief thing than an Asmund thing,” Caspian snorted and pushed himself off the rail, leaving to help Hammond dock the ship on the shore and throw out the plank for us to get off.

From what I had heard, Caspian was a bit of a lady’s man around Jorvik. With his blonde hair, eyes nearly as deep blue as the ocean, deep dimples on both of his cheeks and the gift of height on his side, the appeal was obvious. And the way he walked, confident and with charm, it appeared he knew it, too.

I turned to Viktor. “Are we all going to get off the ship?”

“I see no reason why not.” He shrugged and reached for my hand. “Though I should warn you.”

“Warn me? About what?”

Viktor grimaced. “Asmund is…very much a free spirit. And he can be a bit too forward at times.”

“How so?”

“He doesn’t have a filter. He says whatever comes to mind, even if it’s rude or too personal.”

“There are worse things than speaking your mind,” I murmured, surprised that Viktor wasn’t a fan of it. He always encouraged me to speak my mind and listened to what I had to say.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he chuckled and squeezed my hand tightly, helping me over the rail and onto the plank. It was long, thin, and wide enough for one person but could be sturdier if you asked me. I held my breath the entire way down, afraid that it would either snap under my weight–not that I weighed nearly as much as some of the other crew members–or my foot would slip, and I would fall flat on my face on the shore. That would make a memorable first impression for the people of Isle.

“I was wondering when you would all get here!” A man stepped forward to greet us all with a large grin. With the way he was the first to speak and stood tall with so much confidence and power, I could only assume that this was Asmund, the Chief of Isle. “We’ve been waiting for you since yesterday.”

A few islanders nodded and murmured in agreement.

“It’s nice of you to wait for us, Asmund, but we made it very clear that today would be the day we would be setting sail from Jorvik,” Viktor spoke firmly, a solemn expression on his face. It was appropriate for the situation, but I wasn’t used to seeing him so firm and serious.

This was not the Viktor I was used to at all.

The Viktor I knew was always lighthearted and teasing me. I teasingly called him a pirate even though he was the exact opposite, and we bickered more than couples that had been married for longer than I had been born, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Ah, I must have read Barden’s letter wrong, but not to worry. These things happen. All that matters is that you’re here now,” Asmund laughed and waved his hand dismissively. Soon, his attention turned to me. “And who might this be?” He asked with a big grin on his face.

I had noticed him steal a few glances at me while he spoke to Viktor. It was understandable because I knew it was rare for women to embark on sea missions, so I knew it was only a matter of time before he asked about me. I could already tell that Asmund wasn’t the kind to keep his thoughts and opinions to himself. Viktor had warned me, after all.

“This is my wife, Astrid,” Viktor grinned widely, proud, as he introduced me. “We recently got married. That’s why I didn’t mention it the last time I was here.”

“Viktor Thostenson, married?” Asmund laughed freely like it was the funniest thing in the world. “I never thought I’d live to see you take a woman, but I see the appeal,” he grinned and winked at me. I returned the smile, a little tight and forced around the edges. It didn’t seem like Asmund had ill intentions, but he was a little too eccentric for my liking. “You’re a lucky man, Viktor. Your wife is a beautiful little thing.”

Viktor turned to smile at me; his eyes, slightly pinched at the corners, told me he didn’t like how Asmund spoke and looked at me either. Though I already knew from how he held me close to his side, his arm tight around my waist. Possessive .

“I agree. I’m a very lucky man,” Viktor grinned, and his words warmed my heart.

“And the cat?” Asmund asked, settling his eyes on the feline in my arms, stretched out like my arms were her own personal throne.

“Her name is Kis,” I said and laughed when Kis meowed as if introducing herself.

“She’s a pretty little thing. Just like her owner.”

Viktor cleared his throat, his fingers digging into my side. “Now that we’ve got all the introductions out of the way, let’s get down to business. We have a long trip ahead of us, so–”

“Nonsense,” Asmund snorted. “You know I don’t like to talk business until after dinner.” He turned his attention to the rest of the crew. “I hope you’re all hungry because we’ve cooked a big feast anticipating your arrival.”

“Told you,” Caspian snickered as he walked past us, following after Asmund and the people of Isle as they led the way.

“They’re obsessed with having feasts here,” Latham murmured as he fell into step beside Viktor and me.

“The cooks must be extremely overworked,” Gustav said.

“It must cost them a fortune,” I noted.

“That must be why they always have to scramble around for gold when we come to collect our payment,” Viktor chuckled, his voice low so none of the local islanders would overhear and take offence. “I always tell Barden never to let them delay their payments because regardless of how much time we give them, they’re never prepared. If we don’t collect on time, they fall behind.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Latham snorted. “You’ve only done one of these. Imagine us–” he gestured to the rest of the crew. “–who have to come here regularly.”

“It must suck to be you,” Viktor chuckled and playfully punched his shoulder.

Viktor and the rest of the crew had mentioned to me that the people of Isle threw grand feasts for dinner whenever they came over for business. I thought they were being a little dramatic, but I was wrong.

Long tables lined the centre of the square, every inch of them covered with various dishes. The spread before me had me wondering how more people of Isle weren’t overweight.

“Believe me now?” Caspian grinned, brushing past me to sit at one of the tables. I moved to sit next to him, with Viktor on my other side and Asmund next to him. The rest of the crew filled the table, and the other one opposite us.

“People of Isle,” Asmund spoke loudly, tapping a spoon against his glass, demanding silence. “We have some very special guests with us tonight. Captain Viktor Thostenson from Jorvik and his crew!” The people cheered loudly to welcome us. “The most special of them all is Astrid Thostenson, Captain Viktor’s wife!” The cheers were far louder than before, and my face flushed at the attention. “In honour of our most special guests, let the feast begin!”

“Ignore them, my siren,” Viktor murmured in my ear and plated a rabbit leg for both of us. “They’re just happy to see a new face.”

“They look a little more interested than that,” I murmured back, my lips tugging down into a frown as I spotted more than a few people openly staring at me. “They’re looking at me like they’ve never seen a woman before.”

“I don’t blame them. What with how some of the women look here,” Caspian snorted.

“That’s so rude!” I gasped, struggling to hold back my laughter. “Don’t let anyone catch you saying that, or you’ll get us all in trouble.”

“I’ll try not to, but we both know I’m right,” he grinned and helped himself to a second rabbit leg.

I couldn’t deny it. Most of the people here seemed lovely, but I couldn’t help but feel that the people of Jorvik were far more pleasant to look at. Especially the women, but that was a wicked thing to think. I was just as bad at Caspian, who couldn’t control his tongue.

“You know, Astrid,” Asmund chuckled as he reached for his ale, his head turned to glance at me from around Viktor. “The last time your husband was here, I tried to set him up with one of my dancers, but he wouldn’t even look at her. I now understand why.” He threw his head back to laugh, though Viktor and I didn’t find it very funny.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Most of the crew reacted like me, uncomfortable and nervous-looking, while the rest pretended as if they hadn’t heard anything in the first place.

I heard Viktor’s breath hitch from beside me, and I could tell he was nervous, too, but there was no need. I was very aware that I wasn’t the first woman that Viktor had taken to bed, but I didn’t want to hear about all the women before me. I was happy knowing I was his wife and would be the last woman he would be with.

“I’m glad to hear my husband has been faithful to me before we were even married,” I smiled at Asmund, hoping he would drop the subject.

While I didn’t mind as we weren’t married then and Viktor didn’t owe me anything–I appreciated the loyalty when he only felt a mere inclination toward me–it was somewhat strange that Asmund was telling me this. There wasn’t a need for it, and I was happier not knowing.

“Viktor is lucky to have landed a wife like you, Astrid. You’re a pretty little thing.” He winked at me before turning to Garth, sitting on his other side. I wondered if he would call Garth a pretty little thing as well.

Viktor dropped his hand on mine on the table, entwining our fingers and gently squeezing it.

“I can explain,” he whispered, looking nervous.

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to explain, Viktor. That was from before you proposed to me. Besides, nothing happened. I’d rather not know about it.”

“I’m glad you see it that way,” he sighed in relief and leaned in to press his lips to my temple. “And I’m sorry for Asmund. He takes some getting used to but doesn’t mean any harm. We just need to put up with him long enough for the feast and then the spears, and we’ll be on our way.”

“What about the Chiefess?” I asked, nibbling on a carrot and keeping it away from Kis. I didn’t want a repeat of last time when Viktor accidentally gave Kis a carrot. Instead, I put some peas and fish on the ground for her. She purred and rubbed her head against my leg before getting stuck in her very own feast.

“I’ve never met her.”

“Neither have I,” Caspian pitched in, his head bowed as he stroked Kis’ tail while she ate a piece of rabbit he had given her. I had already told him he could feed her anything but carrots. If he did, he would be tasked with cleaning up her sick later. “Rumour has it that they don’t get along, and Asmund has his eyes set on one of the dancers,” he indulged me, his voice barely above a whisper so only the three of us could hear.

“That’s terrible,” I frowned. “It’s just a rumour, right?”

Viktor pursed his lips. “I saw him with a dancer when I was here last time. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. At one point, she sat next to him and stroked him through his trousers while I was right there.”

I couldn’t help but pull a face at the visual, and Caspian and Viktor laughed at my disgusted expression.

I frowned harder. “I feel bad for the woman.”

“It’s impossible not to,” Caspian agreed.

Viktor loaded his plate with more potatoes and rabbit and did the same to mine without me needing to ask. “Looks can be deceiving, can’t they?”

For the rest of the feast, I hoped that the rumours Caspian and Viktor had told me were false and that the Chiefess would present herself. The evening went on, and our plates were eventually cleared, but there still was no sighting of her. Instead, the dancers arrived and were very scantily dressed in their tight dresses with slits up the side of their legs, showing far more skin than I cared to see.

“Thank you for honouring us with this feast, Asmund,” Viktor spoke firmly, his tone serious. “But we must speak business now. Please get the payment ready while we unload the spears. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us, and I don’t want us to fall behind so early into it.”

“Ah, about that,” Asmund chuckled, and for the first time this evening, he looked a little nervous. “I’m afraid that we’ve run into a little bit of a problem.”