Petulant ✔︎

15

Ivar stood before him with a smirk, and Gorm immediately became annoyed. That was the effect this man had on him. No matter how attractive he was and a force to be reckoned with, he made Gorm so annoyed he wanted to bash his head once more.

"Was that necessary?" He massaged his scalp, still feeling a little woozy. Ivar's shining blue eyes glowed. The man loved seeing other people in pain.

He pushed a shield into his arms, "No, that was for my enjoyment." Ubbe, who he just noticed, stood behind him, snickered. Bjorn rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"Irvina sent out a messenger a few days ago. We came as fast as we could." Gorm's eyes finally focused on the few men that stood behind them.

Ivar grinned, "We are the rescuers." Ubbe pushed his brother aside by his head, making Ivar growl at him.

"We weren't just going to leave Irvina and our brother fight an asshole alone." Bjorn nodded and continued, "Count this as us paying our debt."

"And Ronja would have their balls if they didn't come so ya'." Gorm grimaced at that. He could only compare Ronja to a fierce bear mother protecting her cubs, especially after she had given birth.

Ubbe patted his shoulder, "We arrived yesterday, but you were too busy humping that prince to notice." Ever since Irvina made him sail to England with Ubbe, they grew close. Both didn't find the need to fill the silence when they trained, so he didn't take the words to heart. Ubbe hardly judged. His soul was too pure for that.

"What's the plan?" And now that prince was probably inside that hall being threatened. He needed to stop this chit-chatting and go save his Queen and lover. A lover who he still hadn't told his feelings to, no matter how deep they were.

"I'm saying we should charge inside" —Ivar gestured to Bjorn with his head— "but he's saying to wait until they come inside." Gorm looked between the two. At least they were communicating, something he did not expect of the two brothers.

Gorm adjusted the given shield, "Let's force our way inside." Ivar nodded excitedly, clutching his axe with triumph. Bjorn grimaced at his words, "Then our attack won't be a surprise anymore."

"Bjorn is right. We should wait and then surprise them." Both him and Ivar glared at Ubbe. The rest of the men looked unsure if to voice their opinions on the matter.

Ivar gave both his brothers a pointed look, "If we wait, Irvina could be already dead. I don't want to return home and tell my wife that one of her friends is dead." That brought a grimace on Bjorn's face, their wives were friends, so if Ronja was unhappy, Gunnhild probably brought it to Bjorn's door also. He wasn't sure about Aethelthryth, but he guessed Ubbe also didn't want to face Ronja.

"Fine, let's go in!" Ubbe sighed at Bjorn's words. Then he shrugged and waved the men forward with his axe.

Ubbe circled the building with his finger, "I and Bjorn, will take some of the men through the back door. You and Ivar take the front." The troupe behind them split into two, and Gorm looked at Ivar. Ivar's eyes glinted dangerously.

"Let's go. Haven't killed anything in a while." Gorm nodded in agreement, not pointing out how similar Ronja spoke. Them being soulmates wasn't relevant when he had his own to save.