Heart of a Berserker: Oneshots

Unraveling (Part 1)

A/N: The entirety oneshot is in Harald's perspective covering the events in Battle for the Edge from Heart of a Berserker: Trust. I thought it better to include everything in one coherent story. Plus I'm enjoying writing Harald's POV but don't want to commit to an entire novel. However, as I'm writing it, I realize it is getting pretty long. Therefore, I will break it up into parts (probably four). This is the first part. Enjoy. :)

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Unraveling

"Do not fear!" Harald proclaimed as he docked at the small island that housed Stormheart's basecamp. "Harald Forkbeard has returned!" Vikings started to appear as he made his way into the village, carrying a large object covered by a cloth.

"It's about time," someone muttered.

"What took you so long?" another grumbled.

Harald resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It's good to see you too." But he knew one person who would be happy to see him. He caught sight of her when he approached the center of the camp.

"Harald,"  Stormheart said with a small tilt of her head, "welcome back. I trust you were successful."

Harald gave her a sly smile. "But of course. I have obtained for you the object that will pave the way for your future." He set his burden down and removed the cloth, revealing a large, bright blue sphere with dark blue stripes. Several Vikings let out gasps and others crowded around them.

Stormheart's eyes flickered with astonishment. She appeared amazed as she approached the object and slowly reached out her hand. She lightly brushed her hand against the surface of the sphere as if afraid she might break it. "This is it," she said in a low voice. "The Luminous Krayfin egg." She lifted her eyes to Harald's and smiled. "Well done, Harald. You are truly remarkable."

Harald basked in the glow of her praise, allowing himself to ignore the guilt that threatened to wiggle its way into his mind. "Thank you."

"I hope the dragon hunters did not give you any trouble."

"No, not at all. My plan worked perfectly. They were no match for me."

"And what about the other group you mentioned? The dragon... riders?"

With that simple question, Harald's control slipped. He quickly averted his gaze to the egg lest Stormheart read the truth in his eyes. "They responded exactly as I expected." Except one. "I learned a lot from them and made inroads that will prove useful to us in the future." He kept his tone as free from inflection as possible and prayed for a quick end to the conversation, for the tightening pain in his chest made it difficult to think clearly.

"Good. I look forward to hearing your full report."

"Later, if you don't mind." Harald gathered all his energy so he could look at Stormheart with a blank expression. "It was a long trip, and I am tired."

Stormheart gave him a tiny nod. "Of course, you deserve a rest. I will find a safe place to keep the egg." Fortunately, she gave no indication she suspected anything was amiss.

It took an incredible amount of willpower for Harald to keep a casual pace instead of running out of there. He feared Stormheart (or someone else) would find it odd that he did not want to stick around to boast about his accomplishment,  but he did not trust himself to not let something slip when around her. While he started for the dock to retrieve his belongings, he cursed his predicament. He needed to find a way to regain control of his mind and push out his emotions before someone noticed something. 

It should not have had to be this way. This was supposed to be a safe place for him. He and Stormheart were a team; they didn't keep secrets from each other. That was not to say they were explicitly open with each other (they both enjoyed their privacy), but he had never intentionally hid something from her or attempted to use his powers of deception against her. It was extremely risky to keep up an act for an extended period of time. There had to be a way he could fix this.