The platform needed for the blood eagle was completed just as the sun set. I had no idea what a blood eagle was, but by looking at the two raised posts on the platform, it didn't look like anything good.
King Aelle was dragged onto the platform and his hands were positioned on the posts. I found myself right across from his face, and the old king was quick to make eye contact with me.
"What're they doing?" He shouted at me. "Bastard! Answer your king!"
I took a small step back so that I was more in Floki's shadow. Ivar, sitting next to Floki, craned his neck towards me and gestured me to come closer.
"Do not be afraid." Ivar said. I took the smallest step forward until I was between Ivar and Floki. For the most part, Floki was ignoring the fact that we were standing so close.
When an unknown Viking started nailing King Aelle's left hand into the post, my first instinct was to scream. Instead I covered my mouth and bit down hard on my bottom lip. King Aelle's howls of agony were bouncing around in my head. Three hits with hammer, and the Viking went to the king's other hand to nail that one down too.
"Heaven help me!" King Aelle wailed out. I tightened my jaw and pulled my hood farther onto my head. I wanted to block this out as much as I could.
When I looked again, it was right in time to see Bjorn plunge a red hot dagger into the king's back. I grit my teeth even tighter as the king screamed his heart out. Bjorn stabbed the dagger into the post and for a moment, I couldn't really tell what he was doing to cause the king so much pain. But then I saw his hands moving and I felt light headed.
He was skinning King Aelle's back open.
I couldn't help but stare in horror as the two massive flaps of skin hung limply on either side of King Aelle. Ubbe handed Bjorn an ax and I didn't have time to recover before Bjorn brought the ax down on the king's flayed back.
An ache started right behind my temples as the king howled in agony. Bjorn brought the ax down again and again, dark red blood flying through the air and slapping Bjorn in the face. Dark blood was spilling from King Aelle's mouth as his screams started getting fainter and less frequent.
Ivar started crawling towards King Aelle's dying form as the king let out another faint cry of pain. Ivar stopped just short of the king's face and I saw their eyes meet. I kept watching King Aelle's face and eyes as Bjorn continued hacking at his ribcage. I watched the light fade from the king's eyes.
King Aelle was dead.
The body was hung between two trees the next morning at dawn. I stared for a long time at King Aelle's body, knowing that this was his final resting place. According to Ivar, King Aelle hadn't been given proper respect in death, so neither should King Aelle.
Trygve had assured me that King Aelle wouldn't be in Valhalla, as he had screamed during the blood eagle. I had stared at the old Viking and wondered to myself how it would be possible to not scream out during that death.
"Augusta." Ivar's voice snapped me out of my trance and I looked to him sitting in his chariot. "We need you in the war tent."
I blinked. "Really? I'm wanted on a war meeting?"
"Not an official one." Ivar told me. "Just a small one with me and my brothers. Get in."
"Get in the chariot?"
Ivar rolled his eyes. "Yes. Now come on. We don't have time to ask twenty questions. It'll be faster if we rode together."
Despite its looks from the outside, the chariot was not that big. Ivar shifted as much as he possibly could to give me room, and I still ended up pressed into his arm. And that was when I noticed.
Ivar was big.
Every time I had previously seen Ivar, or been near him, he was either sitting or crawling. Now he was semi-standing, supporting himself by leaning heavily on the chariot's edge. And he was so tall I just made it past his shoulders, which were incredibly broad.
A mental image of Ragnar and each of his sons came to mind, how every one of them were tall with broad, strong shoulders. Ivar had not been skipped when it came to his father's features. I looked up to Ivar's face and saw that he was a faint pink.
My face felt like it'd probably be red.
Ivar didn't say anything as he wrapped his arm around me and grabbing onto the chariot's side behind me. He wasn't looking at me when he said, "I need to hold myself up."
"You're okay, Ivar." I told him. "Do whatever you have to." Ivar nodded once before flicking the reins with his free hand and I held on tight as the chariot jerked forward.
The ride in the chariot wasn't a long one, but it felt long because I spent it squeezed underneath Ivar's arm. The entire time I could feel his muscles remain tight and tensed behind me. By the time we reached the war tent, my knees were shaking. And it had nothing to do with the jerky chariot ride.
I led the way into the war tent and held the flap open for Ivar as he crawled behind me. A table was set up in the middle of the tent, and Bjorn was already standing there. Sigurd was near the corner and Ubbe and Hvitserk were nowhere to be seen.
"Come here, Augusta." Bjorn said without looking at me. I listened to him and tentatively took the spot by Bjorn's side. A large map was spread out on the table and Bjorn pointed to a spot in Northumbria. "We are here, correct?"
I looked to where he was pointing and shook my head. I gently grabbed Bjorn's wrist with my fingertips and pulled his still pointing finger an inch to the right. "There."
"Where is King Aelle's castle on here?" Sigurd asked, finally breaking his silence. I pointed it out on the map and Ubbe and Hvitserk quickly entered the tent. Ubbe rushed over and took my other side, brushing against my side.
I looked up to Bjorn. "Keep in mind that you did just defeat them in battle. King Aelle's castle is going to be at its strongest."
"Then where do we go from here, Saxon?" Ubbe asked, looking down at me from over his nose.
"I say we go to King Ecbert's." Ivar said, correctly pointing out Winchester on the map. Ivar gave me a brief glance. "Sorry Augusta, but your father was the one who handed our father to King Aelle. He is just as guilty for Father's death."
I stared at Ivar and tried to think of a rebuff to that. Hvitserk leaned forward and walked two of his fingers across the map, going between Winchester and where we were in Northumbria. "It doesn't look like there are major cities between them." Hvitserk pointed out. "It'd be a straight shot."
Bjorn made a noise from the back of his throat that made it sound like he was seriously thinking about it. I watched them all talk amongst themselves and shook my head. "What exactly are planning to do to Winchester?" I asked no one in particular. "Are you planning on doing another blood eagle? To my father?"
I got silence in reply. Sigurd sighed heavily and looked around the table. "Why is she here?" He asked.
Bjorn opened his mouth to answer, but Ivar cut him off. "She is here because she is Saxon. She knows this land much more than we ever could."
"Thank you for that, Ivar." Sigurd said in a bored tone. "We all know why you really want her here."
"Would you two stop?" Bjorn snapped. I put all of my focus on the spot on the map that was Winchester.
"What about this place?" Hvitserk asked a little too loudly, his attempt to change his subject obvious. I followed his finger and saw that he was pointing at York.
"York's a big city." I said after clearing my throat. "I've only been there once, but I remember that its walls are strong and well protected." What else could I say about York? "If you took the city, it'd be a major hit against the Saxons."
Ubbe looked over my head to Bjorn. "York is closer than Winchester."
Bjorn looked at each face except mine and shook his head, causing his braid to sway. "We came here for revenge. King Ecbert is just as guilty as King Aelle, like Ivar said." Bjorn paused and continued to not look at me. "I don't plan to continue this war once King Ecbert is dead. I want revenge for our father and nothing more. Whatever you plan on doing after Winchester, plan it once we're done."
With that said, Bjorn stalked away and out of the tent. For a moment, his brothers stared after him and no one said nothing. Sigurd finally gave me a look that could've meant anything before muttering a brief goodbye and leaving. Ubbe's mouth was a thin line, but he couldn't really say anything. He and Hvitserk left together and I finally looked to Ivar.
"Did you know that you'd be deciding on whether you were killing my father?" I asked. "Before we got here?"
Ivar stared at me for a moment. "I knew it was a possibility."
I grit my teeth and found myself glaring hard at him. "And how did that bright idea get into your head?" I couldn't even try and hide the heat that crept into my voice. Ivar blinked and for a moment his eyes flashed at me. Before he could try and defend himself, I whipped around and stalked out of the tent.
