He held me as we crashed into the pool and were dragged along jagged rocks. He still held me as we surfaced amid the curling waves of foam. I gasped for air, my chest aching from the hit I had taken as we had fallen. But his hold was strong.  

The water was slowing. A rocky outcrop with a bent tree hung over the river bank. With his last thread of strength, Sihtric lifted a muscled arm from the water and grasped the tree. He caught it.

I scrambling with aching fingers for the boulder, finding foot holds to pull myself up. My skirts were like lead around my legs. He gripped the back of my thigh and gave me a harsh shove up onto the top of the rock then pulled himself from the river's clutches. I took his other hand and helped him onto the rock face.

We both collapsed, heaving and coughing up water as the sun broke free of the clouds. My side ached. I felt it with trembling fingers, squinting in the harsh light. Thankfully, I hadn't broken a rib.

"Ivar?" I asked hoarsely as I sat up.

Sihtric was still on his back, blinking and rubbing his eyes. He gave a brusque shake of his head. "I didn't see him."

The rage of the water could have easily sucked one of our other companions down as well. It was all because of me. There was no other explanation. I fell back onto the rock, closed my eyes, and slept. Sihtric did the same.

"Rhoswen," a voice broke out of the darkness. "Rhoswen, wake up."

In my stupor, I thought I was back home. The sound of the river and the hard stone under me told me otherwise. Sihtric crouched at my side in the dim light of early evening. He gingerly took me by the elbow and brought me to my feet.

"How long have we slept?" I croaked as he helped me down the rock to the soft sod of the nearby wood.

"Too long," he answered, scanning the forest.

"Have you heard anything of our companions?"

"Nothing yet. But I only woke a few hours ago. Stay close, we should find shelter away from the river bank. We don't know what kind of animals come here to water at night."

I followed him through the shadowy wood. The rain had ceased, but it was cold. I was shaking again, though possibly from shock. He stopped at a thick part of the wood that was sheltered by a cairn of stone. A pack of dry wood lay beneath the stone, left by some generous hunter passing by.

I sank to the damp leaves and watched numbly as Sihtric built up a fire. I didn't know how to make one. I was useless in the wild.

"What was I thinking?" I murmured.

Sihtric winced as he sat down beside me. "What did you say?"

"Why am I here? Why did I run away? I only put others in danger. It would have been better if I had remained in Cymru. Detested and abandoned, yes. But I wouldn't carry the weight of this... curse. I have only brought pain to others-"

Sihtric gave a rumbling chuckle then hissed, holding his side. "Pain? What do you mean pain?"

"The sailor that tried to help me over the sea to safety drowned in a storm. Now a flash flood nearly killed both of us, probably Ivar and maybe others," I choked out.

"Your logic is flawed." He shook his head and let out a slow breath.

"What do you mean?"

"You saved two lives last night. A mother and son. You didn't know them, you didn't have to do that, but you did," he reasoned, smoothing a hand over his chin and studying the fire thoughtfully. "You saved my life."

"I did not."

"You do not know that. You slowed my descent. Set me upright. I could have cracked my skull against one of those rocks and drowned. But I didn't because you caught me."

I shifted, uneasy by his soft tone. "I thought you told me not to catch you."

"I saw that you were safe. That was good enough for me."

"Why was that good enough? You do not know me."

He glanced over at me and caught my eye, the silence between us filled by the crackling of the fire and the shifting leaves overhead in the light breeze. The corner of his mouth lifted in a wolfish grin, revealing a canine tooth. Perhaps these Danes were more beast than man.

"My sister Tola would never forgive me for losing a paying customer. She would have killed me if I had let you die."

I couldn't help my laugh, Sihtric joining. I blinked towards the flames, the pain in my side turning to a dull ache. I was hungry, but more tired. 

"It is good that you left your home," he stated firmly.

"Why?"

"Because it is no good to remain where you are not wanted."

A flash of story that Tola mentioned came back to me. Sihtric had been an unwanted child, cast off by a powerful father for the sake of a new woman. Perhaps we were not as different as I had once thought. When I considered his history, the brutal death of his wife from child bed fever, his stony appearance and harsh manner made sense. Perhaps I had been judgmental, believing him to be as brutal as his kin.

"And I am sorry."

I looked over in surprise. "For what?"

"For the first night we met. I apologized then, but I did not mean it. Now, I do. So I am sorry for scaring you. I should not have done that."

I wet my lips and looked down at my broken finger nails. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Thank you for giving me your cloak last night."

"I wish I had it now. I will take first watch. I am not familiar with these woods."

Without answering, I laid down in the driest bed of leaves I could find and closed my eyes. But I was too overwhelmed. The events of the day, of the last four days, of the possibility that Ivar might be lost forever. My conversation with Sihtric and his brooding presence nearby. 

I slipped into a light slumber only to be woken by a piece of wood cracking and falling in the fire. I was freezing. Sihtric had tumbled over and slept by the dying embers of the fire. Without thinking, I rose from my cold bed of leaves. 

It was bold of me. Bolder than I had ever been in my life. I laid down by his side and pressed my back to his for warmth. Soon I was more comfortable, but stayed awake till the east lightened and the birds began to sing.