Three weeks after Finehair left, a new ship from Vestfold entered the bay. Margrethe stepped off the ship and into Ubbe's arms, her bright blond hair shining in the spring sun. The handmaid who got off the ship next held a baby who looked to be five months old, just like Bjomolf. I held onto my own son and stood with Ivar at the head of the dock, watching Ubbe reunite with his wife and hold his child for the first time.
"He looks to be around your age." Ivar said to Bjomolf, stroking his son's dark hair as he said it. I nodded in agreement at Ivar's words. Ivar glanced to me. "It is good that Ubbe has no interest in the throne. Otherwise there'd be a fight over who would get it after their father."
I narrowed my eyes and leaned close to Ivar so that only he could hear. "If we were going strictly by laws of succession, there wouldn't even be a question. Ubbe would get the throne after Ragnar died, and that baby would be the heir."
"Praise the gods we aren't back there then." Ivar replied. His blue eyes scanned over my face and he smiled softly. "I mean that, Augusta." He gently pressed his forehead against mine for a brief moment before straightening back up to greet those who had been staying at Vestfold.
Margrethe was frowning as Ubbe spoke in her ear. But right as her mouth opened to say something, Ubbe took the baby and began walking towards us. Margrethe was left to follow with the other passengers behind her.
"I have a son." Ubbe said simply, beaming like the sun as he stopped in front of me and Ivar. "Look." He held out the baby slightly and I got a good look at the five month old.
Ubbe and Margrethe's son had the round face of babyhood, but his wide blue eyes were the same shade of Ubbe's, and I knew that he'd end up with Ragnar Lothbrok's icy blue eyes. The baby had a fine layer of bright blond hair covering his head, a shade very similar to Margrethe's. The baby boy stared at Bjomolf with wide blue eyes, taking in the sight of another baby.
"He's a handsome little boy," I said, reaching out and letting the new baby grab ahold of my fingers. "What's his name?"
"Ragnvald Ubbesson," Ubbe announced proudly. "He will be the first of many sons." He turned to where Margrethe was hovering behind him and he wrapped a free arm around her. Ubbe looked to Ivar and smiled. "The line of Ragnar Lothbrok will continue on, brother."
Ivar narrowed his eyes but smiled anyway. I raised an eyebrow but did the same and said nothing. Bjomolf was the first of Ragnar's grandchildren to be born in Kattegat: did he not count? I bit back this thought; I knew this thought was irrational. Ubbe himself had held my son and played with him and tried to encourage Bjomolf into crawling already. The comment still stung, no matter how small the comment.
Margrethe was peering curiously at Bjomolf sitting on my hip. "I see you had your own." She said neutrally.
"He is Bjomolf Ivarsson," Ivar boasted to her, straightening and sticking his chest out. "The prince of Kattegat and heir to my throne."
Margrethe shot Ubbe a quick glance but hummed and nodded, choosing not to fully respond to that. "I suppose then we should be calling you King Ivar and Queen Runa, yes?"
"Yes." Ivar said firmly, his narrowed gaze locked on Margrethe, seemingly daring her to ask another question. Margrethe shrank back, no longer making eye contact. There was a moment of tension as Ivar and Margrethe's history momentarily surfaced, Ubbe narrowing his eyes at his younger brother.
Deciding to diffuse the tension, I made a show of looking around. "Ivar, do you know where Hvitserk is?"
Ivar responded immediately to me by turning towards me, looking over my head to scan the docks for Hvitserk. Ubbe flashed me a thankful smile, bouncing baby Ragnvald slightly. When Ivar couldn't find his older brother, I stepped forward to Ubbe and Margrethe.
"Let's head up to the Great Hall." I suggested. I led the way towards home, holding Bjomolf so that he could watch people over my shoulder. Ivar and Ubbe walked together, Ubbe holding tightly onto Ragnvald. Margrethe brought up the rear, lagging slightly behind Ubbe and Ivar.
The thralls in the Great Hall had been hard at work making a feast for those returning to Kattegat. I walked into the family area and looked around quickly; Hvitserk wasn't here either. Where was he? You would think he wouldn't want to miss his brother's wife returning, given that he and Margrethe were so close to begin with. A thrall slowly approached me to ask to take Bjomolf away, and this one didn't look offended or scared when I dismissed her immediately.
"Now I've been working on our house," Ubbe was telling Margrethe. "Until it's finished, we'll be staying here. Keep the family close." Margrethe looked like she'd rather not, but she smiled anyway and kissed Ubbe on his cheek. Ragnvald let out a high pitched squeal that made Bjomolf turn around in a hurry, looking for the other baby.
Ubbe walked up to me and we held the babies so that they faced each other. "Look there," I said. "You and Ragnvald are going to be good friends as you grow up."
"They'll be as close as brothers," Ubbe corrected me. "Bjomolf and Ragnvald: they'll raise all kinds of trouble."
The image of two young wild boys, one with pale blond hair and the other with dark brown hair, running along the shore beside Kattegat came to mind and it made me smile. As the two five month olds stared and cooed at each other, the idea of having a real and permanent life in Kattegat became more solidified.
The doors opened and Hvitserk froze in the doorway, his green eyes taking in the reunion happening in front of him. Ivar sat down beside the hearth with a grunt and narrowed his eyes at Hvitserk. "Well, it is nice of you to finally join us, Hvitserk. Where have you been?"
"Nowhere." Hvitserk immediately lied. I raised an eyebrow at him and Hvitserk glanced furiously at me before shaking his head once, a silent shut up. Hvitserk hurried into the room and quickly pulled Margrethe into a brief hug before going over to Ubbe to meet Ragnvald.
I felt someone nudge my elbow and turned to see Ivar stretching out to get my attention. I stepped away from Hvitserk meeting with the newest addition to the family and took the seat right next to Ivar.
"Is he jumpy to you?" Ivar asked in my ear, watching Hvitserk with eyes like a hawk.
Hvitserk was clearly getting more obvious if Ivar was beginning to notice. I glanced at him, as if trying to see what Ivar was talking about, before turning back to him and blinking in what I hoped looked like confusion. "What do you mean, Ivar?"
Ivar looked stumped for a moment before he smirked slightly at me. "You'd make a terrible spy, Augusta."
"I was good enough to not raise Lagertha's suspicion." I reminded him. I leaned forward and muttered into his ear, "Leave your brother be. Everyone's allowed to have their secrets." Even as I said this, I knew I'd go interrogate Hvitserk about what he's been doing the moment it was safe. Ivar looked like he knew I'd figure it out eventually too, because he smiled at me and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"Well, be sure to fill me in whenever you discover his secret." Ivar replied.
"That entirely depends on what it is." I said evenly. Ivar snorted and reached out, clearly wanting Bjomolf. I handed our son over and Ivar leaned down to mutter something into Bjomolf ear. I shook my head, amused at the sight of Ivar trying to share secrets with our five month old.
I turned back to everyone else. Hvitserk was holding Ragnvald now, and Margrethe was hovering protectively. The thralls were creeping around, passing out dark beer and black bread. The Frankish one-Cateline-crept up to me with a nervous expression on her face.
"Tea, queen?" Cateline asked, the cup already in her hand in case I wanted it. I nodded and she handed the cup of tea to me. She scurried away immediately afterwards and I watched her go with narrowed eyes.
I didn't think I should be happy or pleased that Cateline was actively fearful of me. No one ever had before. Even when I was just King Ecbert's daughter, or Kenton's wife, none of the servants had been openly fearful. Ivar was used to people being afraid of him; it was apart of his whole position. But these particular thralls, even though they edged around Ivar, they were more on edge whenever I was around. What did that say about who I've become?
I looked back to where Bjomolf sat on Ivar's lap. I knew why I had become so aggressive towards the thralls. I still had nightmares about Freydis taking Bjomolf from his crib and disappearing. The chances of these thralls trying to kidnap Bjomolf felt slim to none, but still…
Hvitserk had returned Ragnvald to his mother and I took the opportunity to grab onto his arm, excusing him from the others. Hvitserk allowed me to pull him away, and he walked willingly over to the far corner of the room.
"I take it as you want to talk, Runa?" Hvitserk asked the moment we stopped. I dropped my hand from his arm and wheeled around to face him.
"Why are you acting weird?" I asked.
"No need to build up to it, right?" Hvitserk huffed in amusement. "It's been a weird time, Runa."
"Ever since you found out about Thora being pregnant." I pointed out. "You were your normal self before then. Did you and Thora ever…?"
"Thora and I never slept together, Runa." Hvitserk insisted. I blinked; if he was lying, I couldn't tell.
"So it's not your baby?"
Hvitserk straightened and narrowed his eyes at me. "No. Thora and I never had sex, so there's no way that baby's mine. I already have a child in East Anglia, in case you forgot."
"I didn't forget." I said, raising my hands up slightly in surrender. "You just looked upset when she announced her pregnancy."
Hvitserk looked down and kicked at a spot on the ground with his toe. "I know who the father is." He grumbled.
"Really? Who?"
Hvitserk kicked even harder at the ground. "I'm not saying. I promised not to tell." He snorted in frustration. "Doesn't make me feel any less like dog shit."
"How do you know who the father is?" I asked.
"I walked in on them." Hvitserk explained. "Thora tried to hide herself and he...they both didn't want anyone to know. She wasn't supposed to be pregnant."
A stab of guilt hit me that I hadn't realized any of this had been happening. "When was this?" I asked, trying to figure out how far along Thora was.
Hvitserk shrugged. "Maybe a couple of months ago? I don't know who many times they slept together."
"Thora wouldn't just sleep with anyone." I muttered to myself. Hvitserk shrugged.
"Don't ask me about who the father is, Runa." Hvitserk said. "I want to keep this secret. If they ever want to come forward with their kid, that's on them."
"Okay, Hvitserk." I said, shaking my head. "I am sorry you're dealing with this."
He frowned but and shrugged again. "Maybe when the baby is here, he'll figure himself out." I couldn't help but notice how bitter he sounded. But Hvitserk was done talking, because he shook his head and walked away, sitting down beside Ivar and Bjomolf. I watched him for a moment, feeling even more confused than when I was before this conversation.
As I glanced between Ivar and Hvitserk sitting together and Margrethe whispering something into Ubbe's ear, a strange feeling prickled up my spine. Something was wrong at the edge of my vision, something moving. The air itself seemed to be moving jaggedly, dangerously, like lightning between the two parties.
"Something's coming." I whispered to myself, not entirely sure where the words came from. I glanced between the two groups, taking notice of Margrethe holding tightly onto Ragnvald and clinging to Ubbe's arm, to how Hvitserk and Ivar seemed to be a united front with Bjomolf sitting happily on his uncle's lap. The more I observed the groups, the darker both groups became.
"Something's coming," I repeated, but this time my voice had changed, and I recognized the Seer's voice speaking along with me.
I blinked, and the lighting of the room went back to normal, the lightning running between the groups disappearing with a flash. Ubbe walked to the hearth and sat down with his brothers, looking very happy to see how Ragnvald and Bjomolf react to each other. All was well, as if the vision had never happened.
It was time to look through the Seer's supplies again.