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He swiveled an ear toward her. “I do not ask it of you.”

“No, but I want to do it anyway. I said I would, and I want to keep my word. Especially since you have been so good to my family.”

Still he lay, his sides heaving with ragged breaths, his eyes staring at the side of the lodge.

“Come on,” Gytha prompted. “I can’t carry you, so you will have to get up. But I can walk at first, if it will help.”

Halvard and Randulf began pushing and shoving at the bear’s great bulk, producing nothing but an exhausted, hopeless huff of laughter from Alexander. But at last he struggled to his feet and stood, trembling.

“I do not ask you,” he said, looking down at Gytha with his dark eyes. “But if you will do it, I will take you.”

She put a hand on his shoulder as if she could give him strength. “I will go with you.”

After yet another round of hugs and kisses on the little ones’ cheeks, they were almost ready to go. Ivarr said to Alexander, “Keep her safe.”

The bear blinked his dark eyes and said softly, “I will protect her with my life.”

Brinja and Halvard hugged the bear’s great legs, and Solveig stepped forward to caress his neck. “Thank you,” shesaid. “You have been kind to us.”

Alexander huffed softly and said, “Thankyou, Little Sister, for smiling at me. You have cheered a despondent heart.”

At this, Solveig flung her arms around his neck and her face into his fur. She must have said something, for Alexander rumbled agreement.

When they set off at last, Gytha paced beside the bear with a pack of food from her mother on her back. Alexander’s steps soon grew slow with exhaustion, and he stumbled blindly forward, his head swaying with each step.

Chapter 10

Mile after mile they walked, until Gytha felt sweaty and chilled and her legs burned with effort.

“I need a rest,” she said reluctantly.

The bear collapsed where he stood, and he made no sound as she snuggled into him. She fell asleep without eating anything.

The journey north was like an exhausted fever dream. When they woke, Alexander waited for her to eat. Then he insisted that Gytha climb on his back, and he began to run. At times his feet stumbled, and the heaving of his sides told her he was nearly dead on his feet, but he pressed on, driven by desperation and magic, until again they entered the underground palace.

Alexander carried her all the way to her room, which was just as she had left it. She slid down his shoulder, and he collapsed to the floor.

“Thank you.” Her knees nearly buckled as she knelt beside him.

He said nothing, and indeed he seemed to be barely breathing.

She changed into her nightclothes in the dark, slid beneath the covers, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Not long after, she woke because her unseen visitor fell into the bed with unusual clumsiness. She felt a rush of gratitude toward him; he had spent his strength to bring her home and back safely. But it was too strange to think of him as a man; it was easier to speak to a bear.

Sleep claimed her again before she could think of anything to say to him.

Chapter 11

Lamplight filtered through Gytha’s closed eyelids and woke her slowly. The lamps were all bright, and her nighttime visitor was gone. The fire was built up, and Magni stood by the door.

“Hello,” she said. She slid from the covers and put her slippers on. Her chemise, overdress, and silk night trousers were as modest as any outerwear, and the room was plenty warm, so she did not bother to even pull on a robe.

His strange gray eyes flicked over her face, bright and curious, but he merely bowed his head in acknowledgment.

Her breakfast sat on the table near the fire.

“Where is the bear?” she asked.