fond of Norse cock, eh?”
“Must you be so boorish?”
He grasped a chicken leg, tearing meat from the bone with healthy-looking teeth. “It’s in our nature,” he mumbled with a full mouth.
“What will I do now?” I stared at the fire, seeing flames of orange and yellow. “There’s nothing left for me here.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’ve come.”
“Why?”
“You can accompany me to the new camp. Lord Vapnfjord will bring his men there, if he hasn’t met with some foul end.”
This was clearly the best option. “Is it safe?”
“You mean will you be raped by a contingent of warriors?” He grinned with a mouthful of food.
My expression was sour. “I’m trying to avoid that fate.”
He handed me a chunk of bread. “Eat, woman. I’ll not bed a corpse.”
I gasped. “I won’t be sharing your bed, heathen.”
He gulped down a cupful of mead, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “The nights are cold on the road. We’ll have to keep each other warm.” There was a teasing glimmer in his eye.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not yours anymore. I belong to Finn.”
He was about to disagree with me when the tent opened, revealing two men I had never seen before. They spoke briskly in Old Norse, and their discourse sounded urgent. Bram glanced at me. “Be quick. Eat. We leave within ten minutes.”
