Chapter 20
Final Night Together
After a riotous round of cheers, Njotd rose to his feet and addressed the crowd. “Our crews have restocked supplies for the return voyage to Normandy. Skugga and the Dokkálfar will undoubtedly attack as we attempt to set sail.”
“I shall remain at your side, to lure Gúldur.” Coppery hair shining in the soft firelight, Ildris inclined his luminous head to Njord.
“I shall defend our men with frostfire flame.” Skjold leapt to his feet, proudly displaying his ísfir shield, its Hrímsúl gem ablaze with violet fire.
“And should they attack by sea, I shall summon the Mélusines to sink Skugga’s ships.” Elfi’s confident voice echoed off the moonstone walls.
íssla raised an inquisitive royal brow. “The Mélusines?”
Elfi grinned at the perplexed queen. “The sea dragon warriors of the Gallizenae mermaids. The nine billow maiden daughters of the Sea Goddess Rán.” Blue green eyes glittering like the exquisite gems at her throat, Elfi whispered, “I am the daughter of the billow maiden Dúva and granddaughter of Rán. I inherited my mother’s sjóvaettir power, so I may summon the Mélusines to sink ships with their enormous fangs, sharp claws, and spiked tails.
I can hurl towering waves to inundate enemy hulls. Or invoke Rán with this necklace.”
She touched the droplet-shaped gems which shimmered with the colors of the sea.
“This was a bridal gift from Njord,” Elfi explained, flashing a radiant smile at her new husband.
“He found it in a marketplace on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It had once belonged to a Persian princess. But the original owner was Rán. This past summer, I voyaged to the íle de Sein, off the distant coast of Bretagne, to meet the Gallizenae mermaids and learn to wield my inherited power. While I was there, they took me to meet Rán. I am now able to summon her with this necklace, for she imbued it with sjósongr magic—the Song of the Sea.”
íssla beamed at her son’s beguiling bride. “Then we shall be well prepared for tomorrow’s battle. I am delighted Njord chose you for his wife.”
“A volva in Norway foresaw my future. She told me that my fate and my mate—the siren with sea goddess eyes—would be found on the shores of a distant sea.” Njord raised Elfi’s hand to his bearded lips and kissed her soft skin.
“I was the Danish Jarl of Ribe, and King Harald sent me to the Pays de Caux, for an arranged marriage with the daughter of a Norman count. The moment I saw her, I knew Elfi was my fated mate. I sensed it in my very soul.” Passion and pride burned in his feral lupine gaze.
“The Norns have interwoven the threads of our fates. Elfi and I are destined to wield our inherited magic. And fulfill the prophecy together.”
Elation illuminated Queen íssla’s lovely face.
She majestically rose to her royal feet and held her crystal goblet high.
“Tomorrow, we shall meet our fate and battle darkness.
But tonight, we honor love, life, and light as we celebrate the wedding of Elfi and Njord.
Let the Moonstone Hall fill with laughter and song. And let the dancing begin!"
As lively notes from lyres and lutes floated into the herb-scented air, Njord led Elfi down the carved moonstone steps at the end of the dais to the center of the polished stone floor. All eyes watched as the bride and groom led the first dance, then others joined in the celebration.
Njáll swirled Luna, Bodo twirled Sif, and Haldor held úlvhild against his chest. While a few of the couples exchanged partners, and Lugh accepted Elfi so that Njord could dance with his mother, Haldor refused to share úlvhild.
“We’ve been apart for eight long winters,” he snarled, holding her tight.
“Now that we’re finally together, I will never let go you. ”
In the middle of the dance floor, he swooped down like a falcon to claim her lips as prey.
And seared her soul with a scorching kiss.
The Blóesmier and úlfhéenar howled in roaring approval.
As she danced all night with her beloved Falcon, the melody, movement, and magic of being in his arms made úlvhild’s heart soar but also clench in sorrow.
For one day soon, Haldor would dance like this with Svanhild at their own wedding in Siguresholl.
The Orkney jarl’s lovely blonde daughter would be as beautiful a bride as Elfi.
And bear Haldor five strong, healthy sons.
The throttling thought nearly brought úlvhild to her knees.
As if he sensed her suffering, Haldor murmured into her ear, his breath hot against her cheek.
“I burn to see your bare skin.” Warm, eager lips suckled the side of her throat.
“I hunger for your taste.” He lowered a hand from the center of her back to her hips, pulling her against his hardened length.
“I cannot wait to sink into your firm, wet flesh.”
Just as úlvhild’s legs went weak with desire, the music stopped and a hush swept across the hall when Njord’s skald Stig appeared beneath the entry of the twin moonstone doors.
A silver circlet bearing the carved image of a striking wolf head with glinting eyes of lapis lazuli set low upon his brow.
Dark curls fell to Stig’s slim shoulders, his long beard braided with sparkling blue beads.
Beneath a white wolfskin pelt fastened with a wolf head clasp, the poet’s deep blue tunic was edged with Nordic runes, crashing waves, and snarling wolves embroidered in silver thread.
Cradled in his slender hands was a wooden lyre of pale, polished birch, carved with runes and swirling scrolls, its nine strings shimmering in the soft light.
A whalebone flute—similar to the one Elfi played, which had once belonged to her brother Dag—hung over his shoulder in a leather sling of grey sealskin.
Raising the whalebone flute to his bearded lips, the skald played a haunting melody as he entered the Moonstone Hall and slowly approached Elfi and Njord, now encircled by the standing wedding guests who had been dancing.
When Stig reached the bridal couple, he released the flute and began strumming the gleaming lyre.
His mellow voice deep, rich, and clear, Stig sang his Song of the Siren and the Sea Wolf.
the wedding ballad he had composed for Elfi and Njord.
As he enthralled the throng, he strummed his lyre, alternating with the flute between each verse.
Like a cresting wave, the melody rose, swelling and surging through the hall, carrying the hearts of the wedding guests across the Nordic Seas.
As the final note faded, a reverent silence fell over the awestruck crowd.
A few moments later, joyous applause and jubilant cheers erupted, their spirits lifted by the skald’s sublime song.
Njord released Elfi’s hand and stepped forward, obviously moved by the soulful wedding song.
Fixing Stig with a steadfast gaze, he raised his deep voice to ring out the skald’s praise.
"Your stirring song of the sea wolf’s roar and the siren’s call has swept this night into legend.
” Removing a silver torc from his upper right arm, Njord presented it to the exceptional skald.
In the firelight and moonglow of the radiant hall, waves and wolves danced on the sea of silver.
Once again, Njord’s deep voice carried across the hushed hall.
“May this torc, carved with the strength of the sea and the spirit of the wolf, remind all of the skald’s song that honored this wedding night.”
Beaming with pride and profound gratitude, Stig accepted the silver torc and, with a wry smile, secured it over his right arm, reducing it from Njord’s enormous wolf warrior size to his own much leaner limb.
When he spoke, the skald’s lyrical voice quavered with emotion.
"Your gift bears the strength of the wolf and the song of the sea.
I will wear it with honor, and sing your praise as long as winds flow over waves.
" Stig raised his lyre in a musical tribute to the wedded couple, a humble smile stretching across his radiant face.
While her royal attendants refilled the drinking vessels of guests seated at tables, and others provided new goblets to the bridal couple and guests gathered in the center of the dance floor, Queen íssla rose gracefully from her crystal throne.
She raised her goblet to toast the skillful skald, her regal voice filled with admiration and awe.
"To Stig, whose voice has woven our hearts together with Elfi and Njord’s wedding song.
May his words sail far, and the winds carry wide, the Saga of the Siren and the Sea Wolf. ”
The Moonstone Hall echoed with her blessing, and the guests lifted their cups in unison, voices rising in a joyful cheer. “Skál!”
As the evening wound to a close, the wedding guests congratulated Elfi and Njord, bowed before the Ljósálfar queen, and exited the fortress of íslyra to return to the village at the base of the black mountain.
úlvhild overheard grunts and growls from the úlfhéenar about wanting to find a willing woman to warm their beds the night before battle.
Since Haldor was sharing a room with úlvhild, Skjold decided to lodge in the úlfskál tavern with the Blóesmier and the crew of their five ships moored in the harbor. He said goodnight to Haldor and úlvhild, agreeing to meet them near the docks in the morning.
Where Skugga and the Dokkálfar would undoubtedly attack.