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168Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A/N: I know, I know. I missed the update yesterday, but I had a lot going on, and couldn't set aside time to update like I said I would. But I'm back now, and we can continue on with this story.

Perseus POV

I only left my home once, and that was to bury Thora as she requested to be buried. My mind was still hard-wired to kill Lagertha as soon as I could. Ubbe walked with me on trip to bury my wife for comfort. I really appreciated it. I got along the best with him as he was the one who sparred with me the most out of all of our brothers. "When are you going to strike back against Lagertha?" Ubbe asked.

"Today, at dinner when Bjorn gets back. I know that he will stick with his mother, Lagertha. I do not wish to strike down my brother even if he stands beside a dishonorable woman. When I strike down Lagertha, I will leave the throne to you and your brothers, Ubbe." I informed him.

"And what about you Perseus? You say that as if you will not be here any longer." Ubbe asked, confused by my words.

I looked over to the village from our spot and sighed. "That's because I will not stay long after killing my wife's killer. I need time to myself to recover. I cannot do that here, so I must go where the gods take me. I will visit, but I need time and space to recover and become myself again before I come can back." I explained.

He laid a hand on my shoulders. I could tell he was shocked. "I will miss you greatly Perseus. You are my brother, my best friend and teacher." I nodded at his words and brought him into a tight hug.

"Do try to get married while I am away, Ubbe. With all the sleeping around you engage in, do get married before you have any children?" I teased him, patting his back.

He chuckled and then we heard a horn blast. That meant that there was a ship coming into our channel. We looked over the cliff to see Bjorn's fleet coming back. We both glanced at each other and nodded before heading back to the docks.

It was time to fill in our brothers.

We got down to port as Bjorn's ship was only a couple of feet away from the docks. I could hear the yells of excitement as the raiders got off the ships and unloaded their gear. I turned to where Lagertha was standing and waved at her with a smirk on my face. Then I faced forward when I heard Sigurd and Hvitserk calling my name as well as Ubbe's. They were ecstatic to see us and we all did a group hug.

"Where's mother?" Hvitserk asked when we all separated.

"Yeah, and where's Thora?" Sigurd asked confused.

Ubbe didn't answer, but I could feel his gaze on me. I looked around at our surroundings before facing them again. "We should speak in my home, this is not the place." I said as Ubbe and I pulled them in the direction of my home.

When they entered they were even more confused when Thora didn't show from the bedroom to greet them with a hug as she usually did. They turned to me in question. "Lagertha is the Queen of Kattegat now. Two days ago she invaded from the forest line and took over. But she had inside help from Bjorn's wife and Helga. Ubbe and I tried our best but we were overrun eventually. I ran back here to check on Thora and found Lagertha stabbing her through the heart. She had surrendered so she could live another day to give birth to my child. But Lagertha killed her right in front of me once she heard that Thora was carrying my child." I explained with clenched fists.

"Lagertha killed our mother even after she surrendered." Ubbe admitted, resting a hand on his brother's shoulders in comfort.

"Where are our mother and Thora now?" Sigurd asked.

"They have been given rites and buried as they asked to be. Ubbe and I did that this morning. Ubbe can show the both of you where that is. I will stay here." I informed them as they all got to their feet.

Ubbe came behind me and whispered. "I will make sure they know of our plan, brother. We will be back in time for dinner." I nodded back, flicking my wrists a couple of time until they left.

Now that they were gone, I got up to my closet in the bedroom and got out my Greek armor and put it on my bed. I looked at it for a long time before putting it on. The last time I had worn it was when I took down Xerxes a long time ago. I can still remember the look on his face when the knife point went through his neck. I can still hear the splatter of blood that shot out when I dropped his lifeless body to the ground.

Nighttime

I still hadn't seen Bjorn all day, nor Floki for that matter. As I knew that they were all in the main hall with the other raiders. I was planning for a grand reveal of my powers before challenging Lagertha to single combat in revenge for her killing my wife. I made sure my mask and armor were on securely before shadow traveling to the main hall. I stayed in the shadows for a little bit, waiting for my brothers to get into position.

I didn't have to wait long as they entered the hall loudly, calling out Lagertha for killing their mother. I saw Bjorn get up from his seat and make his way over to his mother's side, warning them to not attack.

When it got silent, that was my signal to show up.

I appeared suddenly right in front of Bjorn in a crouched position, the same as when I had faced Ragnar after he came back from his journey. The same way I jumped down in front of Ragnar months ago. Then I slowly rose to my feet, leveling my mask with Bjorn's face.

"Step aside Bjorn Ironside. My business is with your mother, not with you." I intoned with a low tone.

"W-what are you?" Bjorn asked, his hand on his sword sheath.

"Who are you?" Lagertha asked, getting off her throne to come closer to me.

"Do you not recognize me, Bjorn Ironside?" I teased as I removed my mask and let it drop to the ground. My features set into a hard glare directed at Lagertha who stumbled back from my intense glare with lifeless eyes.

"Perseus, what's going on?" Bjorn asked in disbelief.

"Tell me Bjorn, who is missing in the crowd right now?" I asked in a quiet but firm voice.

"Thora." He gasped out, fitting the pieces together.

"When your mother invaded Kattegat a couple of days ago, she went to my home while I was defending the square. And she waited until I got home to kill Thora, my wife in front of me. And here's a bonus that no one knows besides Lagertha and myself. When Thora surrendered, Lagertha still killed her. Do you know why?" I asked Bjorn, my voice never wavering.

His silence was my answer.

"Thora was carrying my child." I revealed as I faced him again. "She murdered my wife and unborn child. For that she will pay with her life." I ranted loudly, causing my voice to echo around the hall.

"Stand down brother." Bjorn commanded as he pulled out his sword and held it under my chin.

"Step aside…I am not here to fight you." I said evenly.

"She is my mother. And I will defend her from anyone…even you." Bjorn defended evenly.

"Very well then." I evenly replied before stabbing him with a hidden blade in the shoulder of the arm holding his sword to my neck in one swift movement. His sword dropped from his hand and onto the ground. I gripped his chest and pulled him to the ground and laid him down gently, as I withdrew my blade from his body.

"I will not kill you for defending your mother, Bjorn. That is not what brothers do. But I must avenge my wife and unborn child. Stay down and I will end her life quickly." I told Bjorn as he gasped for a breath.

"What are you?" Bjorn asked from his place on the ground.

"Someone who was gifted by the gods with control over the shadows." I answered.

I looked up to where Lagertha was standing. "You took over Kattegat four days ago, and today your reign will end. When I kill you, the throne will be for your son and my brothers only to fend for it. I promised you that your time as Queen will not last long and I will see it end, tonight." I informed her and everyone watching our confrontation.

"And what about yourself, Perseus?" I heard Floki ask.

"I will stay for the return of Ragnar's last son, Ivar. But on the next day, I will leave Kattegat to go wherever the gods wish to take me, Floki." I answered him, still glaring at Lagertha.

"Good-bye Lagertha." I said as I raised my right arm aiming my hidden blade at her throat. With a flex of thumb, a hidden blade shot from under my sleeve and flew towards Lagertha before landing at the base of her neck.

Her body dropped to the ground as she struggled to stem the blood flow, but I was careful of where I aimed the blade. I made sure to hit a spot, where the time it would take her to bleed out, would be a while. All she could do was choke on the amount of blood that restricted airflow to her brain, but she could still see. This way, she could see everything around her fade into darkness, and there was nothing that she could do to stop her death.

I heard the footsteps of Floki and my brothers get closer to me. "Floki told us about your powers when you suddenly appeared. Do you really have control over the shadows?" Hvitserk asked.

I nodded my head and summoned a knife from the shadows. They all gasped when they saw it form from shadows in front of them. "I'm sorry my brothers. But I will be leaving after Ragnar and Ivar return home from their journey. I must take some time away from this place to recover from my losses." I apologized.

"We understand brother." They replied.

Ivar showed up two days later. But I didn't have the heart to explain what happened in his absence. So Ubbe and Hvitserk traded off telling their youngest brother. He was shocked to hear that not only was his mother was dead, but my wife and unborn child were as well. He relaxed when they revealed that I avenged their deaths by killing Lagertha.

I was the one to tell Ivar that I was leaving Kattegat. I owed it to him, to be the one to tell him. But I also needed to be alone with him before I left Kattegat. I motioned the others to leave us before facing Ivar as he was facing me.

"Ivar…I know that you are a cripple like me. But let me tell you something my brother. Your deformity means that the gods favor you. Ever since I met you, I've always known that. I, myself as you already knew, am blind. But the gods graced me with a fighting ability that no man has ever seen before. There is no one else like you on this Earth, as you have a special gift. I can see that you are destined for great things, Ivar…the Boneless." I said to him as I rose from my seat.

"I will be back from time to time, but for now…good-bye brother." I breathed out as I shadow-traveled back home.

Updated: 08/05/2018