Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The morning air held a keen edge, thick with fjord salt and the promise of adventure.
It hummed in the sounds of boots over planks, the shouts of orders and farewells, and the dull thud of crates and chests loaded into longships.
Nearly all of Fjellheim had gathered at the docks to see the raiders off to seek their fortunes outside Nordra.
Eadlyn stood amidst the bustle and observed as men carried bundles of supplies onto the waiting ships, while others held their wives and children in long embraces. There was excitement, but also somberness in it all. The kind that came from knowing some of these goodbyes might be the last.
She had grown up hearing the dreadful tales of Nord raids along Essix’s coast. Of ships landing without warning, villages set ablaze, and people dragged away from their homes.
How strange to stand on the other side now, watching the same ships depart under the blessing of people she had come to care about.
Because of the alliance, Essix was now spared such horror. She found grim relief in that.
She scanned the crowd and found Aevar near one of the docks, clasping forearms with one of the departing warriors. He wasn’t among those leaving. Thank God for that. She approached him as he stepped away from the man, his expression unreadable.
“Where are the men headed?”
“Waelon. We figure if they are dealing with raids, they will be too busy to think about invading Essix, and we will not have to march to your brother’s aid. It benefits both sides of the alliance.”
A tangle of mixed emotions knotted inside her.
Relief, yes, but also guilt. Waelon might be an enemy of Essix, but the ones who suffered most were the farmers, the villagers, the children.
She offered a silent prayer for them. For those with no warning or say.
The people around her might not approve, but she couldn’t pretend she did not care.
She let her attention drift over the raiders themselves, many faces she now recognized, and prayed for their safety too. This was her home now, and though she didn’t condone their violence, she didn’t wish grief on their families either.
She turned her attention back to Aevar. “Have you ever been raiding?”
“A couple of times. Years ago. My family usually stays here in case Kalgora breaks the truce. There’s no guarantee year to year, and we must keep a strong enough force to hold them off.”
She didn’t ask whether he had raided Essix. She didn’t want to know. Not now, when things between them were easier.
He caught her eye. For a moment, something lingered in his gaze. A glint of understanding. Maybe even regret. He didn’t speak, but it felt like an apology just the same.
When the final longship pushed away from the dock, a chorus of farewells followed.
Dozens of oars dug into the fjord in unison, churning up the water.
Soon, a wide sweep of ships dotted the horizon, their long hulls cutting west toward the sea.
The crowd dispersed, and Eadlyn spotted Oda farther down the beach, arms folded, her expression stony as she stared at her.
She wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Perhaps we should’ve ordered her onto one of the ships,” Erik muttered.
Braan motioned toward the water. “Some of the northern clans haven’t passed by yet. We can still toss her aboard.”
Kian raised his brows. “Sounds like a dangerous endeavor.”
“I’ll do it,” Heida said, settling her hands meaningfully on her twin axes.
Braan’s chuckle was low and dark. The brothers and Kian joined in. Oda’s face darkened further when she caught their eyes, and she spun around, storming away from the beach. Eadlyn might have felt sorry for her had she not brought it on herself.
Back at the longhouse, the mood was lighter. The sun shone across the village, hinting at the summer soon to come. With the men occupied and chores finished, the women gathered outside with their various projects. Alys and Nesta arranged chairs in the grass, and the children played nearby.
Eadlyn joined the women, careful not to tangle the threads of her tablet weaving as she sat.
She tied one end of the trim to a short pole Alys had driven into the ground and the other end to her belt to keep tension on the warp.
She passed the shuttle through, tamped down the row, and turned the tablets as Ranvi had shown her.
For the thread, she had chosen blue, gray, and white—colors of the fjord—and while not as intricate as Ranvi’s work, it was the first piece she’d done on her own.
Each row brought quiet contentment and pride.
“You’re getting good at that,” Inga said, leaning over to examine her progress.
“Tahk fyr.” The thank you still felt new on her tongue, but she used every opportunity to practice.
She wasn’t sure which meant more, the compliment or the genuine tone behind it. Her governess growing up had been strict. Not cruel but never kind. And when the noblewomen of Essix offered praise, it was often sugar-laced flattery. A bargaining tool more than the truth.
As they worked, the conversation drifted toward a few budding romances in the village, light laughter shared among the women. This sparked Eadlyn’s curiosity. She glanced toward Inga. “How did you and Runar meet?”
A fond smile creased Inga’s age-lined face. “Much like you and Aevar did.”
Eadlyn paused, shifting her full attention to her mother-in-law.
“I’m from one of the western clans. Jarl Skaldar is my brother,” Inga said, setting her work in her lap.
“There was bad blood between my father and Runar’s, like between Runar and Staegar.
Enough that the other clans feared a war would split us all.
So Runar’s father proposed a marriage between Runar and me. ”
Another alliance bride.
“My father brought me here to the Gathering when I was seventeen. Because of the strain between our clans, I had never attended before, so I had never met Runar.” She peered out toward the fjord, a faraway look in her eyes.
“But I still remember seeing him for the first time, standing on the dock, so strong and handsome.”
Eadlyn shared a grin with Ranvi and caught a giggle from Nesta where she and Alys worked on spinning a little farther away.
Inga just smiled.
Ranvi leaned toward her. “I’m sure he was equally smitten.”
Inga nodded in happy agreement.
“Were you afraid?” Eadlyn asked, thinking of the terror she had lived with before coming here. The uncertainties must have been just as great for Inga, especially with the tension between their families.
“Yes, but he treated me kindly, and I soon found myself at ease with him.”
Like Aevar. “And you fell in love?”
“We did.”
The warmth in her voice stirred something in Eadlyn.
She had not married for love or even companionship, yet a corner of her heart still desired it.
Was it possible for her and Aevar to share the same story as Inga and Runar?
Of course, they had more to overcome in their vastly different backgrounds and the scars Aevar carried from the past. Yet, like a tiny ember kept sheltered in a jar, she lifted the hope up in prayer.
Aevar smiled at the way Trygg’s laughter echoed through the air as he approached the longhouse.
His nephew’s voice rose in a tangle of words loud enough to reach halfway across the village.
He didn’t know anyone as enthusiastic about life as that boy.
It was infectious. Untouched. Aevar reached for the Thor’s hammer amulet resting against his chest, a habit so familiar he hardly thought about it.
The weight of it pressed against his palm, and for a moment, he considered sending up a silent prayer.
A simple wish that the world wouldn’t crush the boy’s spirit.
But he hesitated. Would the gods even acknowledge him if he made a request on behalf of his nephew?
Eadlyn’s words whispered in his mind. God always hears and answers prayers. He brushed them away. Even if it were true, he was not Christian. Her God would not hear or answer him.
As he drew near the longhouse and took in the peaceful scene outside, he slowed to a halt.
His mother and Ranvi were sitting in the sun.
Nearby, Eadlyn knelt beside Trygg and Katla in the grass, her hands resting in her lap as Trygg showed her a rock he’d found.
Eadlyn listened with full attention, as if he’d discovered a rare gem.
She tried to answer something he’d said and butchered it.
Trygg doubled over in giggles, prompting Katla to do the same.
Móthir and Ranvi joined in the mirth, gently correcting Eadlyn’s mistake.
A few paces away, Alvir wobbled forward on unsteady legs, determined to be part of the moment.
Eadlyn straightened as he raised his arms toward her.
She lifted him up without hesitation and settled him on her hip.
The sight hit Aevar square in the chest as if his pendant had turned into Thor’s true hammer.
She looked so natural and comfortable standing there with a child in her arms, the other two at her skirts, almost as if he were seeing a vision of what the future could hold.
He tried to take a breath, but his lungs struggled to expand at the ache that grew in his heart.
And yet, icy dread pooled in his stomach. The two battled each other until something brushed his shoulder. He jerked his head around, finding Braan at his side. He banished the tumult within him.
His brother observed the scene, arms crossed. “She’d make a good mother.”
Aevar fought a wince, unable to disagree with him. “She would.”
Braan said nothing. Only watched until Aevar felt his attention shift to him. “Well, there’s only one way to make that happen. Maybe stop treating her like a guest and start treating her like your wife.”
The words hit a raw nerve. Aevar straightened his spine. “I won’t do that. Not without her consent.”
Braan’s brow lifted. “Have you asked her lately?”
Aevar shot him a sour look. His brother needed to mind his own business.
Braan held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. Be miserable.”
“I’m not miserable.”
Braan let out a dry laugh. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked off, muttering something under his breath that Aevar didn’t bother trying to catch.
Aevar remained behind, jaw clenched, the weight in his chest morphing into something harsher.
Frustration. Shame. Maybe even grief, though he didn’t know what for.
His attention drifted back to Eadlyn as she bent to hand Alvir over to Ranvi.
He sucked in a hard breath, banishing any remnant of the longing that had arisen so fiercely, and forced his gaze away.
He didn’t want a wife, and he didn’t want children.
The arrangement with Eadlyn worked just fine. She may never have her own children, but at least she could enjoy Erik and Ranvi’s. That was enough for both of them.
It had to be.