Start the song. It's How to Organize a Lynch Mob by Diablo Swing Orchestra.

Bubbles escaped Jenna's mouth as she floated in the icy water, suspended beneath Njord's salty sea as she looked around with eyes just as oceanic as the liquid around her. The salt didn't burn her eyes, and the ice floating above her did little to chill her skin. Josva and Tyler were no longer beside her, yet she had a feeling that she wasn't alone as she began to swim through the water.

A strange sensation washed over Jenna as she discovered she could breathe beneath the waves. It was almost a feeling of guilt, like she needed the ability less than whomever was with her.

Despite the water all around Jenna, she tried to call out to whatever was in the water with her, just out of sight. Her arms and legs pushed against the water surrounding her, propelling her forward. Chunks of ice bumped against her, but she ignored them. Something more pressing was occurring.

Jenna back-pedalled quickly when a body dropped through the ice before her. She saw the sandy brown hair and clothing that belonged to someone of a warrior status within the tribe, their boots and winter wear weighing them down as they swam in the opposite direction of Jenna.

Panic washed over her as she tried to swim toward the warrior, begging Thor to bring the man nearer so she could protect him. Whomever this faceless man was, he was familiar. She knew him somehow.

He swam faster than her, almost frantically. Bubbles escaped his mouth much quicker than they had left Jenna's, yet he didn't seem to have the ability to refill his lungs with air beneath the waves. Jenna tried to get closer to him, suddenly feeling like she would only be safe if she was near him, but she felt someone grab her by her arms and pull her out of the ice.

The moment her head left the water, she was shooting up in bed, gasping for breath. Surprisingly, Abigael was doing the same thing. Their eyes met, and without a word, they were both trying to wake up the men.

"Josva, wake up," Abbie said anxiously, climbing up onto the bed as Jenna shook Tyler awake just as urgently. "Josva, something bad is going to happen."

Josva had been a warrior long enough to wake up immediately at those words, sitting up drowsily and checking on Jenna and Tyler. Tyler was less alert, grumbling and rolling over to try and hide against Josva, who was no longer in bed. He whined, sitting up sleepily.

"We had a dream. There was a man-" Jenna began to tell Josva.

"And he was trapped under the ice-" Abigael continued.

"But he couldn't breathe underwater like me so I-" Jenna tried to explain fearfully, feeling grateful when Abbie continued to profess the same dream.

"I tried to get to him, but he was swimming away from me," Abbie explained.

Together the women insisted, "There is a man trapped beneath the ice."

Tyler seemed confused when Josva immediately began getting dressed, gesturing for their husband to do the same. The smaller man wiped at his eyes sleepily as he sat up. "It was just a dream," he insisted tiredly.

Jenna and Abigael both looked at Tyler in surprise, shocked that he didn't recognize a vision from the gods when he heard one. Josva was the one who explained though, shifting Tyler out from under the covers and helping him to slip shoes onto his feet.

"Jenna is the gyðja of the house. If she says she had a vision, she had a vision. Freya gave our wife the ability to practice magic, just as she did to all women. You must trust her. She is the priestess of our home," Josva explained, wrapping Tyler's furs around his shoulders. He looked to Abbie. "Get dressed while I go find some people to help us search the fjord. We will need all of the warriors we can find tonight."

Abbie looked to Jenna, who immediately climbed out of bed and helped Abbie to find clothes that would fit her and suit the occasion. Tyler trailed sleepily after Josva, his feet stumbling slightly as he did so. If Josva noticed how exhausted Tyler was, he didn't address it. There was much more at stake than a few hours of sleep tonight.

---

The weather outside of the longhouse was worse than anything Tyler had ever experienced. Ice seemed to be pelting down from the sky like angry daggers in search of a kill as the wind blew so hard that Tyler stumbled into Brad. Brad was sturdy, steadfast in the wind as he and his dogs walked along the fjord. His dogs sniffed around and dug through the snow, looking determined as they did so.

Josva and Abbie were on the other side of the fjord, Josva having insisted that Tyler not walk on the ice when he was this tired. Brad was an obvious choice for a babysitter for Tyler. He was already friends with Tyler, and he was so large that most of the other men feared him. Tyler would be safe with him and his pack of five dogs.

Warriors were all over the fjord, braving the ice and snow as they called out to the supposedly lost member of their tribe. They all took the mention of the vision Jenna and Abbie had shared to be fact as soon as it reached their ears. A few men even claimed that their wives had had similar dreams. Tyler wasn't sure how visions worked in a non-Christian setting, so he had chosen to just hold his tongue and let the Scandinavians have it their way.

"Brad, what is a gyðja?" Tyler asked, holding on tightly to the axe Josva had given him before they left the longhouse despite having no clue how to use it.

"A gyðja? Do you not have them in England?" Brad asked, seeming surprised when Tyler shook his head. "It is like a volva, but the women are married and are responsible only for their own families."

"What is a volva?" Tyler pressed, making Brad chuckle.

"Women who are wand wed. They never marry, but may take as many lovers as they wish. They are more powerful even than the Seer, and Odin himself keeps many on hand in his court. He once gave a necklace to a volva in exchange for the knowledge of Ragnarok. They are the most holy creatures in Midgard despite being human. Freya herself has chosen them to follow her," Brad explained, nudging one of his dogs with his foot when it became too distracted by a small animal in the distance to do its job. It trotted dutifully forward immediately. "The woman of every household is a gyðja, and it is her duty to weave spells for her family and to take on any magical tasks."

"And Jenna is a gyðja?" Tyler asked.

"Of course. What I wonder is why Abigael also had the dream. She is not the woman of a household, and therefor is not a gyðja. She has always been independent though, and I wonder if she might be a volva," Brad told Tyler distractedly.

"Maybe," Tyler replied simply.

They both looked up when someone shouted a few metres away. "Josva! Come quick!"

The warriors (and Tyler) all ran in the direction of the voice. Upon arriving, it became apparent that the speaker was Josva's friend, Jon, who was struggling to pull a frozen man from the water. As soon as Josva was at his side, he was helping to free the man, who was already frozen solid and clearly dead.

Tyler looked anxiously at Josva when he realized that he recognized the face of the dead man. Josva didn't seem to realize that he did too until he laid the man out atop the ice and got a good look. The men and women standing around the body all began to crumble as one by one they realized who the man was.

"Mark," Brad breathed out, his dogs crowding around his feet and whimpering as they saw tears fill their owner's eyes.

Josva's expression went cold though, shutting off the emotions for the moment as he took his bear fur off and handed it to Tyler. "The Seer said there would be multiple deaths. He is not the only one beneath the ice," he explained to the younger man.

"What are you-"

Tyler made a fearful noise and dropped the furs in his hands when Josva dropped through the hole in the ice, disappearing into the icy depths of the fjord as his men all began to hack at the ice surrounding the hole with their axes in order to widen the opening. While Tyler knew this was a precaution that was meant to increase the odds of his husband resurfacing, he was panicking. Josva was under the water in the same place his friend had just died. What if Josva came back up a corpse as well?

A few horrifying moments passed before a woman was pushed up through the hole in the ice and Josva's head resurfaced, gasping for breath as he pulled himself out of the frigid water. The body of the woman was laid out beside Mark's as Tyler wrapped Josva's furs around his shivering frame again, too relieved and frightened to berate his husband for disappearing under the ice. He kissed Josva's icy cheeks instead.

Abigael looked at the bodies on the ice with wide eyes, and Tyler wondered if she heard the announcement that this was Mark and his wife. Did she know Mark's family?

She shook her head. "Why are they out here? Who is home with their daughter?"

The men and women around her fell silent, Tyler included. He looked to his husband, who already had ice blooming in his beard and between the intricate braids on his head. Josva's eyes studied their surroundings for a moment.

"I saw no one else beneath the water. Are the gods telling you anything else?" Josva asked his sister.

She was silent as she looked around. Before she could respond, one of Brad's dogs barked at a figure in the distance. It was small, as if curled up on the ice. Josva was running almost instantly despite being soaking wet and covered in rapidly growing ice.

Anxiety was what made Tyler run after his husband. Anxiety that his husband would get hurt. Anxiety that they would find another body. Anxiety that his husband wouldn't recover from finding the body of a child when he'd already held the lifeless body of his own son.

When he reached his husband, Josva was tucking the tiny frozen child into his furs. He looked up at Tyler with tears in his eyes, looking grateful when Tyler immediately pulled off his own furs and wrapped them around the child pressed against his husband's chest. He was just about to speak to comfort Josva when he realized the little girl was shivering.

Her sandy brown hair was icy and tangled, and her skin was burned red from the ice, but her blue eyes were wide open and searching for something fearfully. Her hands clutched onto Josva's wet shirt like claws. She was alive.

"The Seer said no one in our family would die," Josva said to Tyler, his voice breaking.

Tyler dropped down to his knees beside Josva, shifting to be beneath the bear and wolf pelts to share some of his body heat with his husband and the small girl as he tried to comfort them. "I know Mark was a brother to you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"We are bringing her home with us. The gods spared her because she is family to us. We need to bring her home," Josva insisted, leaning into Tyler for warmth as his teeth chattered.

Although that logic didn't hold much weight to Tyler, he nodded. "Okay. We should head home then. We're not safe out here. None of us are."

Josva nodded, looking to his men and women. "Bring the bodies to the longhouse. We will bury them when the ground is softer to break. Until then, pack them with ice."

The warriors all nodded, lifting the bodies respectfully and carrying them toward the village as Tyler helped Josva to stand, still holding the terrified girl close against his chest. By the time they reached the longhouse, Josva's clothes were frozen solid, and he was trembling just as hard as the little girl.

Jenna let out a sob when she saw him, running to hold him and kiss his bearded cheeks. It was then that she saw the small girl, whom she delicately kissed on the forehead.

"You are safe here, precious girl," Jenna told the shivering girl before looking to Josva. "Where are Mark and Torunn?"

Josva shook his head, defiantly holding back tears as the people in the throne room looked to him in anticipation. "We found them in the fjord. We will bury them when the storm ends."

Jenna's hands covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "No," she whispered.

Josva nodded, shifting the small girl in his arms to face away from the bodies being carried through the throne room. "I am going to give her a warm bath. Please ask the servants to make her some broth. She will sleep with us tonight."

"Josva-"

"She is our daughter now," Josva interrupted, looking tired. "We will take care of her."

"He is right," a scratchy voice said. Tyler looked up in surprise, stumbling away when he saw that the Seer was standing beside him. "The gods spared her for you. She is strong. She will make you proud."

"Mark and Torunn have family in the village. We cannot just take this child away from them. She is-" Jenna began fearfully.

"Runa will stay with you. That is the fate the Norns have woven for her. Do not worry. The daughter you have been waiting for will come as well, but this child is yours now," the Seer explained. "Now let your husband and daughter go get warm. They would do best not to get sick during this storm."

It was clearly taking all of Josva's energy to keep his tears in right now, but he still pressed his forehead briefly against the Seer's before leaving the throne room. Jenna's bottom lip trembled as she watched him go, but she didn't allow herself to crumble until Tyler's arms wrapped around her waist. She turned to bury her face against his chest as she let out a sob, clinging to his shirt despite how cold the material was. She let him pick her up and carry her out of the throne room, allowing her her mourn the deaths of Mark and Torunn.

He tucked her into bed, laying his wolf pelt across her when she shivered. She sobbed into the pillow beneath her as she curled up into a ball. Tyler pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before brushing his lips against both of her eyelids.

"I'm going to go help Joshua get warm, and then I'll bring him in here, and we'll all be together. Will you be okay here for a few minutes?" Tyler asked softly.

Jenna nodded, letting out a harsh sob that caused her to hiccup. Tyler kissed her over and over again, scattering the kisses across her face as he did so.

"I love you," he told her earnestly, tears nipping at his eyes as well as he tried to think of a way to protect both his wife and his husband from this pain.

"I love you too," she whimpered out.

"I'll be right back," he promised before hurrying from the room, running past the servants crowding the hallways as he made his way to the bathhouse.

Josva had untangled the frozen braids in Runa's hair and gotten her into a tub. She still looked too shocked to cry, but she watched him trustingly as he combed out the icicles hat had been clinging stubbornly to each strand. Josva was still wearing his frozen clothes, having only shed his shirt. His pelt still rested across his shivering shoulders as he cared for the small girl.

The small girl's blue eyes watched Tyler numbly as he walked into the room. It was apparent that Josva hadn't cried yet either, hiding his pain from their new daughter. She couldn't be much older than Einar, eight years old at the most.

"Can I help?" Tyler asked quietly, gaining his husband's attention. "I can comb her hair while you bathe. You need to get warm too, or you won't be able to help her."

Josva nodded, wordlessly handing the comb to Tyler before walking over to the other tub. It had been filled with steaming water too, but Josva had neglected it to care for Runa. Tyler moved to be at eye level with Runa as his husband stripped down to nothing and climbed into his own tub. Tyler smiled warmly at the small girl, who tried to smile back, but couldn't.

"Is it okay if I comb your hair?" Tyler asked her.

She nodded, pulling her knees close against her chest. Tyler moved to be behind her before running the comb through her hair. She was still shivering although the ice had melted off of her by now. Tyler was still freezing too though. Scandinavian winters were the harshest he'd ever seen.

"Is your bath water still warm?" Tyler asked Runa.

She nodded in response, glancing over at Josva, who smiled at her weakly. One of her little hands left the water, her arm stretching out toward Josva. Tears formed in Tyler's eyes again when his husband took her delicate hand in his strong one as gently as if she were a rose petal. This little girl had lost her parents tonight. She must have felt terrified and alone out there on the ice, but now she was being warmed and allowed to feel safe.

The comb left Runa's hair when she turned her head to look at Tyler, studying his face warily before she seemed to relax. Her other small hand reached up to touch his hair, and some part of Tyler's mind remembered that Mark's was cut the same way. Tears filled her blue eyes before she was standing on trembling legs, climbing out of her tub and into Josva's. He didn't seem to know what to do when she climbed into his lap, burying her face against his chest and finally letting her tears out.

No creature this small should feel pain intense enough to illicit the sobs that ripped through Runa's chest. They tore at her throat and made her whole body tremble from something other than cold. Josva lifted her so she was able to lay against his chest without sitting in his lap as he held her close and rocked her gently.

When Tyler's husband looked at him, it was clear that the dam was about to break. Not knowing what else to do, Tyler picked out a soft cloth from a chest in the room before bringing it over to Josva's tub. He lifted Runa out and wrapped her up tightly in the cloth before cradling her against his chest like a baby. She cried in Tyler's lap for what felt like hours, not stopping until sheer exhaustion took over, pulling her down to sleep.

By then, the ice in Josva's hair and beard had melted, and there was colour in his cheeks. He stared blankly at the wall in front of them with tears in his eyes.

"Why were they not in the longhouse?" Josva whispered to nobody in particular. "Why did I not notice they were not in before we closed the doors? How long were they out there?"

"If Runa is alive, they couldn't have been out there for more than a few hours. A day at the most. This isn't your fault," Tyler insisted.

Josva shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut briefly before looking at Tyler with a forced composed expression. "She can wear one of my shirts to bed. Tuck her in between you and Jenna. I will be in soon."

It was clearly an excuse for Josva to cry alone in the bathhouse, but Tyler granted him this small mercy. He nodded, sitting forward with the sleeping child in his arms as he kissed Josva softly.

"Take all the time you need. I love you," Tyler said softly.

Josva nodded, smiling weakly. The action only made more tears fill his eyes. "I love you too, my little one."

Tyler stood carefully, closing the door to the bathhouse behind himself as he carried Runa down the corridor to their bedroom. Jenna wasn't sobbing anymore when Tyler came in. She was curled up in a ball with his fur bundled up and hugged against her chest. A whimper left her lips when she saw the fragile girl in Tyler's arms.

"Where is Josva?" Jenna asked immediately.

"He bathed her first, so he's taking his turn now," Tyler informed her, not wanting to worry her by saying more than that. "He said to put her in one of his shirts and let her sleep with us."

Jenna nodded, sniffling as she sat up. "Her hair will get messy," she said offhandedly. "Find her a shirt while I braid her hair."

Tyler nodded obediently as he went to their chest of clothing. He dug though it for a shirt when Jenna gently roused the little girl, easing her into her lap before gently weaving her hair back into a series of complex braids. The young girl sniffled as she allowed Jenna to care for her.

"Are you my mama now?" Runa asked quietly.

"I can never replace your mother, precious girl. She was just as fierce a warrior as your father and one of the most brilliant women I have ever known. The gods blessed you with wonderful parents, and it breaks my heart that they saw fit to take them from you so soon. If you would allow me to, though, I would love to take on as much of her role as you are willing to give me," Jenna told the little girl gently.

Runa nodded. She shifted as Jenna bound her braids back with a leather cord before asking, "Will you love me like a mama is supposed to?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Jenna replied, "I will love you just as much as I love the children I carried within me if you will allow me to."

Runa allowed Tyler to help her into a shirt before looking to him. "And you will love me like my papa did?"

Tyler had already adopted three children when he came to Scandinavia, and it hadn't taken any effort on his part to make him fall in love with each of his babies. "Absolutely."

"And King Josva will?" Runa pressed.

"Yes," Jenna and Tyler both replied with complete certainty.

"You are part of our family, Runa. We already love you," Jenna insisted, helping the little girl beneath the covers.

Despite her swollen eyes and runny nose, Runa smiled slightly. "I have to ask my mama and papa first before I let you be my new parents."

Tyler's heart sank. He stepped out of his shoes before climbing into bed with the girls.

"We will ask the Seer if your mother and father approve in the morning," Jenna promised.

The little girl nodded, allowing Tyler and Jenna to hold her close between them. She didn't close her eyes though. She stared up at the ceiling with tears forming in her eyes.

"I fell through the ice. I ran outside and fell through. Mama and Papa only wanted to get me out of the ice, but it broke. Papa lifted me out, but he didn't come out after me," Runa whispered, her voice trembling. "How can you love me if I killed my mama and papa?"

And just like that, she was sobbing again. Tyler and Jenna both held her close, whispering to her that this wasn't her fault and that they loved her because her parents loved her. Over and over again they reassured her that she was good, and they were proud to adopt her. However, once again, they just had to wait for her to cry herself to sleep before she could calm down.

Runa had barely been asleep for ten minutes when Josva came into the room. His spouses glanced at each other worriedly when they saw how red and swollen his eyes were. His hands were trembling as he pulled on a pair of pants. He remained silent as he climbed into bed beside Tyler, and some part of Tyler knew that he'd just gotten into the side of the bed nearest to him because he was exhausted.

Still, Tyler let Josva spoon him from behind, slinging an arm around Tyler, letting it reach out across Runa's tiny body as well so his fingertips could touch Jenna's hip, holding all three of them in his arms protectively. He buried his face in the space between Tyler's shoulder blades, but said nothing.

Tyler looked to Jenna, silently asking her if it would bother Josva if he acknowledged the pain the Viking was feeling. Jenna's hand came down to tangle her fingers with Josva's.

"What are you thinking about, my beloved?" She asked Josva tentatively.

Tyler felt Josva shake his head. "Animals die, friends die, and I shall die. One thing never dies, and that is the reputation we leave behind at our death," Josva whispered, his voice rough from crying. "Mark and Torunn will be remembered well. I am sure of it."

"Of course they will," Jenna agreed. "They are in Valhalla as we speak. Runa told us that her parents died saving her life. Surely they have won the favour of the gods."

Josva scooted closer to Tyler so their bodies were flush against each other. He was shaking.

After a moment, Josva's broken voice asked, "Tyler?"

"Yes?" Tyler asked instantly, turning around to face his husband.

Tears were rolling down Josva's cheeks, making Tyler's heart snap in two. "Hold me," Josva whimpered out.

As soon as Tyler had Josva wrapped up in his arms, the older man was weeping. His sobs were muffled by Tyler's shirt when Tyler pulled him in closer.

"I am so sorry the two of you lost someone you care so deeply for. I wish I could take the pain away for you. I really do," Tyler insisted. "I love you both so much."

Josva nodded, but he was crying too hard to respond. Jenna reached across Runa to rub Tyler's back softly.

"You are taking away some of the pain just be being here with us," Jenna said softly. "It still aches, but we are safe to mourn with you here."

Tyler nodded, soothing his fingers along Josva's braids as he looked over his shoulder at Jenna. "Do you need me to do anything to help you feel better tonight?"

Jenna's fingers gently stroked Runa's cheek as she smiled sadly at Tyler. "Just keep holding our husband."

"I will," Tyler promised.

He kept his promise too. He held Josva until he, like Runa, cried himself to sleep in Tyler's arms. Tyler didn't release him after that either. Tyler barely slept at all that night, speaking softly to Jenna as she cried, and holding Josva while he slept.

More than once, Runa was awakened by nightmares, and Tyler was the one who soothed her, Josva, and Jenna back to sleep afterwards. The lack of sleep didn't feel like much of a loss to Tyler though. Two lives had been taken by the Jötunn tonight, and although the gyðjur in their family were able to save little Runa from the same fate, this village had experienced much more profound losses than a few hours of sleep.