Raven Girl

Chapter 16

Gylfi tied his horse up outside, and the others followed suit. His heart was pounding. Home. He'd felt jittery and nervous, walking through Havneby without hiding his face, but no one had realised who he was. The person behind those walls would know.

He knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" an irritated voice called. The door opened. "Gods. Gylfi?"

Gylfi couldn't help but grin. "Sven." They had the same eyes and same hair, although Sven's was a few shades paler. Sven was taller, his build slightly leaner.

But it was obvious they were brothers.

Sven flung his arms around Gylfi, and he was subjected to a rib-crushing embrace that he tried his hardest to get out of.

"Little brother!" Sven said gleefully, releasing him only to ruffle his hair. "I thought you'd been arrested."

"Shh!" Gylfi hissed. "I've brought friends. Can we come inside?"

Sven stepped aside and bowed, arms out to gesture them inside dramatically. They stepped into the large dining room, taking seats at a table, its wood rough with years of use – scars, rings from glasses, and even burns marked it. Gylfi knew how most of them had been made, and he ran his fingers over the pitted edge. A sharp ache rose in his chest. It had been so long...

Sven walked to the kitchen area, scrutinising them with raised brows. "You're in time for middag. I'm guessing you'll want to eat before explaining yourselves."

"Dinner," Gylfi translated.

"I guessed as much," Nadine replied dryly. She was drinking in the smell wafting from the kitchen, her fingers drumming eagerly on the table.

Sven had cooked kjøttkaker – large meatcakes of ground beef, onion, salt and pepper, served with sauce, potatoes, stewed peas and carrots. It was a Skarsgård family favourite. He placed a pot of lingonberry jam beside their plates as a relish.

"Tusen takk," Gylfi said, digging in. His mouth was watering.

"Thank you so much," Regina said, obliviously echoing his words.

"You're welcome," Sven replied. "Now, I'm going to find Leif and tell him you're back, but –"

Gylfi nearly choked. "You can't go around telling people!"

"I'll be discreet. But your old crew deserve to know." Sven paused by the door, gazing at Gylfi as if still trying to take in his appearance. "You can't turn up and not expect a reunion. I'll be back soon." He left.

"Great. Now the police – or politiet, or whatever you call them – will be after you," Elias grumbled.

"Maybe not," Gylfi said hopefully. He got no reply but the sound of chewing and swallowing – Sven had always been a good cook.

Gylfi thought that since he'd been away from home so long, he owed it to Sven to do the washing up. He was busying himself at the sink when the door slammed open. He jumped, dropping the plate on the counter as Elias's chair scraped back.

A fiery-haired young woman stood in the doorway. She had a fierce face covered in freckles, making her skin seem darker than it was. "Gylfi."

"Ingrid." Gylfi blinked at her.

In a heartbeat, she had pushed him into the living room and closed the door.

"What were you thinking, getting yourself captured?" she hissed in his face.

Gylfi glared at her. Her windswept red hair was exactly the same as it always had been, and he felt a pang of longing and loss, all at once. His head felt muddled. "My quartermaster betrayed me. I didn't get myself captured."