Chapter Fifty-six

It took Rolf a moment, a moment where he only stared at her, his eyes dim and hazy, his hand clutching at his side, but then she saw that light spark, watched him suddenly race forward and grab her by the wrist.

"Is Ivar here?" he asked, holding onto her tightly, his nails digging into her skin as she tried to pry herself free.

"Let me go," she shook her head.

"Is Ivar here?" he snapped, pulling at her arm so that she had to take a step closer.

He was so strong. Somehow he was stronger, somehow he was bigger than she had remembered, and all she could think of were those fingers then, how they'd wrapped around Tyr's shirt, how they'd pulled at her hair and reached up inside her where no one had gone before.

"Let me go!" she yelled, using her free hand to push at his chest, banging her fist into him over and over again, but she saw his rise then, remembering the bite of it crashing into her lip before, remembering the taste of her own blood.

"You're up, Rolf?" Erik asked, the sound of his voice making them both stand still. "Why do you want to see, Ivar?"

Rolf turned to him, his face scrunching up in a fierce scowl, his skin growing paler. "He's my cousin. Isn't that enough?"

"I guess," Erik shrugged, leaning back down on his elbows at the well and rubbing his lips with his fingers. "He's in the longhouse, but… you probably shouldn't go there now that you've killed most of Knut's men."

Enid felt that hand on her wrist squeezing tighter, so tight his knuckles had gone white, so tight she had to stifle a yelp. She tried to pry his fingers off of her, twisting and turning her arm as she fought against his grip.

"No…" Erik sighed. "You should probably wait until Knut calls for you. He's very upset. He lost a lot of good men… a lot of friends."

"We were ambushed!" Rolf snapped.

"Leave her here," Erik said, a sudden smile springing to his lips, his eyes half-closing as he stared at Rolf. "I'm not done with her yet."

She felt the weight of those eyes as they flicked to glare at her, his hand squeezing tighter and tighter as he pulled her closer, leaning in so that she felt his breath on her skin when he spoke.

"Tell Ivar I'm looking for him."

He let her go then, grunting as he pushed her away so suddenly she stumbled as she stepped back, and then she felt that arm coil around her waist, felt Erik pull her until she was leaning against his side and he rested his head against hers.

"May the gods heal you quickly, Rolf," he said. "Knut needs all the warriors he can get."

Enid watched him go, her hands clenching into tight fists, her heart hammering all the way up in her throat, and then she felt that chin digging into her shoulder as he stared at her, his eyes unblinking, that smile fading from his lips.

"I don't like it when people upset you, Enid," he said.

"You upset me," she snapped, pulling out of his arm and stepping away, but Erik laughed then, a laugh that was soft, a laugh that was quiet.

"That's different."

"Is it?" she asked. "It feels the same," she said, reaching for her axe, brushing the sand from it and hooking it on her belt. "Why do you act like this, Erik? You're going to be married soon, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Are all English women this worried about marriages or is it just you?" he smiled, jumping up to sit on the side of the well. "I'm free," he said. "So is my future wife. And we'll still be free when we marry. Then we'll just have to figure out what works for us," he shrugged. "You keep talking like she'll be upset, but how do you know, Enid? Maybe she's worse than me."

Enid stared at him, suddenly unsure what to say, suddenly unsure if she was more afraid at the thought of a woman acting like him or just excited.

"Doesn't that bother you?" she asked.

"Why would that bother me?" he laughed. "It's just sex."

"Even after you marry?"

"Yes," he said, tilting his head as he watched her. "Why does it matter who she has fun with as long as she has my children?"

Enid felt the colour rising to her cheeks, felt that tension grip her and heard that voice inside her head that told her to stop, but still she found herself asking, "How would you know they're yours?"

Erik laughed then, nodding and rubbing his chin with his fingers. "I'm hoping she at least remembers who she was with on the night."

"But you won't know that for sure."

"No," he nodded. "But if she says they're mine, then I'll love them like mine," he shrugged. "I probably would anyway."

Enid stared at him a moment, her insides uneasy, her head shaking though she could not say why. "You don't make any sense," she sighed after a while.

"Don't you love Ivar's children like your own?" he asked. "It's no different."

It took her a moment, but then she nodded, coming to sit beside him on the well and sighing again.

"I do love them," she whispered.

"See?" Erik laughed, nudging her with his shoulder. "You're one of us, Enid."

"I'm not, Erik," she shook her head. "I could never sleep with someone I wasn't married to."

"We'll see about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Erik laughed then, raising his palms into the air and staring at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't get angry, Enid," he said. "I'm just usually right when it comes to people."