Page 4 of Dalla's Royal Guards

“Could you have been mistaken?”

“Nei. Olaf…Nei.”

“Have you toldMor?”

“Nei. She has enough to worry about with father,” Aesa said.

“Can you see where we are when it happens? The light? Anything that can give us a warning,” Dalla pressed.

Aesa closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Dalla remained silent to allow her sister to focus, but it was agonizing. All she wanted to do was shake answers out of Aesa and scream at how unfair it was. The muted sounds of people waking told her that they wouldn’t have peace much longer. She bit her lip, determined to give her sister these last moments of quiet.

“It was light out. I couldn’t tell if it was early morn, afternoon, or evening. The sky was light… but also dark, as if the sky were covered by clouds… or-or smoke. It will be soon. Father was too weak to fight. Olaf fell, a sword in his hand and an arrow in his chest. I remember the taste of blood on my lips, but my grief was so great when I foresaw this that I—that I pushed the vision away from me. If I hadn’t… If I hadn’t, Dalla, I would know more and we might stop it from coming true.”

“Where did Olaf fall?” she asked in a low, urgent tone.

Aesa blinked and frowned. “Outside of our hut.”

Dalla smiled and hugged Aesa in a gentle and reassuring embrace. “Then we get him away from here. I will tellMorthatOlaf must be sent to Jarl Bjarni. He will protect him. If Olaf does not die, then the rest cannot come to pass,ja?”

Aesa bit her lip and slowly nodded. “Ja.”

“Gather supplies. I will instruct Amal to escort Olaf. They can take the fastest ofFar’s horses and be there within a few days. Perhaps they will even meet our uncle’s men,” she said.

“Ja. I will gather supplies,” Aesa murmured.

Dalla watched as her sister walked away. Urgency was thrumming through her. She scanned the longhouse. Her mother was speaking quietly with her father.

Odin, please protect my family.

“Nei! We will not go!” Runa argued.

“You will all go. It is not safe here,” Sven weakly ordered.

“He is right. If Jarl Leifsson arrives before Bjarni, we have few resources to fight him. If he takes one of you, he will force a handfast, whether you are already promised to another or not,” their mother replied.

“I will slit Gamli’s throat first,” Runa growled.

“You will go. I will not risk Leifsson or his son harming any of you,” their mother ordered, her tone brooking no argument.

Dalla bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. She knew what could happen to all of them if Leifsson, Gamli, and their men attacked. Death would be a blessing compared to what would happen if they were taken prisoner.

“Take five men with you and leave at once,” her father ordered, struggling to sit up.

“Yes,Far,” she reluctantly agreed.

“No! We can fight,” Runa growled.

“We can also die… or worse. Think ofFarandMor, Runa. We must get Olaf to safety and keep you out of Gamli’s reach. We will ride. Mayhap our paths will meet with our uncle, if Bjorn arrives swiftly enough,” she said, gripping her younger sister’s arm and pulling her away.

Runa grumbled under her breath, but she calmed and nodded. Less than an hour later, they were saddled. Dalla checked her longbow to make sure it was secure. Her gaze drifted to Aesa. Her sister kept looking at the overcast sky.

She mounted and reined her horse closer to Aesa. “What is it?”

Aesa shook her head. “‘Tis nothing.”

Dalla nodded and looked at their guards. “Stay alert. We ride hard and fast.”

She touched the side of her mare with her heels. She had changed out of her normal attire into woolen trousers and a long tunic that was belted tightly at the waist, her calves encased in a pair of knee-high leather boots that laced up the front. She wanted clothing that she could fight in if the need arose.