WRATH OF THE NORTH [BJÖRN IRONSIDE]

CHAPTER FORTY

Vál felt Björn place his hand on her shoulder, making her almost wince as she quickly shrugged his hand off. Her breathing was to Björn surprisingly silent when he saw her chest move rapidly under her jacket. She blinked quickly, her eyes warming quickly before she looked at Björn. She saw his pants now blood stained from the wound.

"Did you know him?" Björn asked and Vál frowned. Björn's eyes were glued on the direction the man had run off to. "The look in his eyes when you removed the hood." He continued as he looked down on her and Vál swallowed deeply as she looked back where the man had disappeared. It was almost like she waited for hundreds of men or arrows to fly out from the fog but nothing happened.

"I've never seen him before." She said truthfully before shifting her focus to Björn's wound. "We better go back so I can look at that wound." She said and Björn rolled his eyes but followed her back to their camp.

"What was it you said in Paris? Its just a scratch." Björn said and she rolled her eyes. They gathered all their things before they started to walk back, Vál's eyes were roaming over the fog as they walked, ready to strike the second there was a sign of a threat.

When they walked back, Sigurd and his older brothers quickly noticed them. Not noticing the wound on Björn's thigh they ran over with smiles on their faces. However their eyes widen when they saw the blood that was slowly coagulating on the thick thigh.

"Vál what happened?" Ubbe asked as they reached their side. Björn's younger brothers watched his thigh with wide eyes, their loudness caused others to notice their presence. Ragnar whom sat on the porch by the great hall with his youngest babbling son in his arms didn't move from his seat yet his eyes watched the commotion before him. His eyes soon met Váls who gave him a nod in acknowledgment which he returned. Ragnar's eyes followed them as they walked towards the great hall and soon their voices filled Ragnar's ears.

"What happened?" Ragnar asked calmly as he saw the long and slim gash on his son's thigh as Björn sat on the edge of the porch. Vál leveled her head with the wound, pushing the edges of the pant away so she could inspect it further. She bit her bottom lip after letting her tongue moist her lips which caught Ragnar's eyes. It affected the older man more than he wanted to admit.

"We got ambushed by a man." Björn said through gritted teeth when Vál touched the wound. Ragnars brows rised a little by the information that left his sons mouth.

"Ambushed?" Ragnar repeated as Ivar kept babbling in his arms. The babes blue eyes were wide open and filled with pain which were hidden by the curiosity in them for the moment.

"A man attacked us but then got away on a horse." Vál said as straightened her back yet her eyes was still glued on the rather irritated wound. "Poison." She said as she saw the red edge of the wound. Harald and his brother had walked over to them as they had seen a wounded Björn and their curiosity increased when they head about an ambush.