From high overhead Briana O’Toole heard the cry of a seagull. Pushing aside her reddish-blonde hair, Bree looked up to a flash of wings. In that moment the dangers of the past week seemed far away.

With one swoop the gull landed on the rocky ledge in front of her. Beady eyes upon her, he tipped his head, and shrieked again. A moment later, he lifted his wings and was up and away.

Bree watched him go. Would she ever feel that free again?

Ignoring the uneasiness she felt, Bree watched the gull fly across the water. Early that morning she and others from Leif Erikson’s ship had climbed to the top of this island in the great open sea.

As she started back down the steep side, Bree felt the sun on her face and light entered her heart. Then she glanced toward Mikkel.

My enemy, Bree thought out of long habit. But this time she wondered something more. Could he ever become a friend she respected?

Only one year older than Bree, Mikkel had led a raid that carried off rich treasure from the Glendalough Monastery in Ireland. During that raid, his men also captured Bree, her brother, and other Irish from the surrounding countryside.

Nearly four years had passed since that day late in the tenth century, and Mikkel was now eighteen. At a wider place between rocks he turned. “Let’s make a new start,” he said.

“A new start?” Bree felt the surprise of it. It was his fault that she had become a slave. “Do you really think we can?”

Mikkel looked her straight in the eye. “I’m sure of it.” His voice spilled over with confidence. “All we have to do is trust each other.”

“Trust.” Bree stared at him. Like a storm ready to break, the word hung in the air. How could any trust between them possibly last?

“That’s all?” she asked. “Can’t you think of something a bit harder?”

Mikkel’s grin lit his face. “I’ll help you. I’ll prove I’m worthy of trust.”

Of all the things Mikkel could promise, that was the hardest to imagine. Yet he stood his ground and didn’t even blink.

Watching him, Bree wondered how he could feel so sure of himself. Especially now, when they were about to enter a new world. A world where no one, not even Leif Erikson, could know what would happen.

“You’ll see,” Mikkel promised.

There it was again. The confidence in his voice that he could win. That he could really be trusted to do what he promised. Maybe, just possibly—

If there was anything in the world that Bree wanted, it was being able to believe in Mikkel. If that happened—

For a moment Bree dared to hope. Maybe Mikkel would even take her and her brother Devin home.

Far below, surrounded by the blue waters of the sea, Leif’s ship lay anchored in a cove. Some of the men had stayed behind to guard it. As Bree looked down upon them her uneasiness returned.

Leif knows the dangers we face, she tried to tell herself. Danger to Mikkel and to all of us. Like the others around her, Bree had learned to value the wise and strong leader of their expedition.

Just then Mikkel spoke again. “Leif’s calling.”

Leaping between the rocks, Mikkel led the way back up the steep west side of the island. When they reached the top, Leif stood on a high point, looking across a great expanse of water.

With blond hair and a beard trimmed close to his face, Leif stood taller than most men. Though still a young man, he had earned the respect of everyone who knew him, including the Norwegian king.

“There’s something I want you to see.” Leif’s voice was filled with excitement.

When his crew gathered around him, Bree remembered that as a slave she should stand apart. Instead, she moved forward, wanting to hear every word that Leif said.

But Mikkel left the others behind. Walking out on a rocky ledge, he looked in every direction.

Behind them lay the great expanse of water they had crossed when sailing from Greenland. To their right the blue coast of a rocky wooded land. And ahead of them—

When he turned to Leif, Mikkel’s face shone. “A fjord! A waterway leading into the land!”

Leif grinned. “A gateway that will help us explore.”

“And good markers!” Mikkel pointed off to his left. Like a gigantic ball of rock, the round head of a cape loomed against the horizon.