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Back A Night of Flames
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

Aelfwyn spent most of those days staring at the river banks sliding by, trailing her fingers in the cool water. She spoke little and I thought of the girl I had grown up with, and how she would talk incessantly, laughing often. I was overjoyed that my cousin yet lived, but I was saddened to see how her suffering had changed her. I knew not what words of comfort to say, so I found myself avoiding her company around the campfire at night. The only one who seemed able to reach her was Eadmaer and he sat close to her in the dark, just on the edge of the firelight where the two of them would whisper quietly.

His closeness to her infuriated me, making me jealous. I pushed such petty, resentful thoughts away, for I was truly pleased that Aelfwyn was able to find solace with her husband’s brother.

The other woman in our small company was as different from Aelfwyn as lead is to gold. Revna held herself proudly, helping to row when the men tired. She looked so unlike Runolf, with her black hair and slender form, it would be easy to forget that he was her father. But when she spoke, she was clearly accustomed to being obeyed. I could easily see why Chlotar, with so many other womenfolk available, would have sought her out. She was young and beautiful, of course, but there was an unwavering certainty in all her actions, an obvious strength that made her seem many years her senior.

Even when she was nursing Runolf’s wounds, she did so in an efficient, yet impatient manner, as if his injuries were an inconvenience to her. The only time I saw her demeanour soften was on that first day, when she went to her father’s side.

“I am sorry for what I said to you,” she said, her voice as meek as I ever heard from her.

Runolf brushed away her apology, but I saw his eyes fill with tears at her words.

“You did what you needed,” he said gruffly. She was his last living kin, and to have found her alive had gone some way to restoring Runolf’s spirit. To have avenged Estrid’s death and at the same time slain his daughter’s abuser, had brought back the spring in his step that I had not seen since he had completed the construction of Brymsteda. Runolf walked tall once more and I was gladdened to see it. In that flame-flicked night of terror, I had been certain the Norseman had been killed, so to see him hale and smiling again helped to alleviate the ache in my heart at the loss of Leofstan.