Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-four
Morning nudged at Eadlyn’s senses, but she lingered in the space between sleep and waking, unwilling to leave the surrounding warmth.
Yet as she drifted, she became aware of Aevar’s arm draped over her waist, solid and reassuring.
She let her fingers trace over his. He responded by pulling her closer, and his chest pressed against her back, rising and falling with each steady breath. This was right.
For several peaceful minutes, they lay there in stillness, listening to the subtle creaks of the longhouse and the birdsong beyond the window. Then he shifted. A breath of air brushed past her ear, and a moment later, a kiss landed just beneath it.
She squirmed, laughing as his beard prickled her skin. “That tickles.”
He chuckled low in his chest. Fully awake now, she rolled over to face him. He was propped up on one elbow, staring at her as if content to lie there and watch her forever.
“Góthan morgin,” he murmured.
She echoed the words before he leaned in and kissed her, slow and lingering.
The kind of kiss that made the rest of the world distant and unimportant.
By the time they parted, sunlight streamed through the window.
Eadlyn sighed, brushing her thumb along his jaw.
“It’s late. If we don’t move soon, we’ll miss breakfast.”
Aevar didn’t appear even slightly concerned. “We could stay here all day.”
She raised a brow, though her smile betrayed her amusement. “Someone will come looking for us.”
“Let them,” he said, shifting closer. “I’ll send them away. Tell them you’ve been kidnapped by your husband and negotiations are ongoing.”
She laughed and sat up. “Tempting, but we both have work to do.”
He groaned and flopped back against the pillow. “You’re a princess. You shouldn’t want to work.”
“Are you saying I should be lazy?”
“I’m saying you’ve earned a slow morning.”
She leaned over and gave him one more quick kiss. “We’ve already had one.”
Grumbling good-naturedly, Aevar sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. She followed, and they both dressed for the day.
After brushing out her hair, she settled at the table in the corner and tried to twist it up the way Ranvi had shown her. But the braid slipped through her fingers again, unraveling for the third time.
With a frustrated huff, she muttered, “I do not know how your mother and Ranvi manage this. I’m not sure I’ll ever learn.”
Aevar came up behind her. “Let me.”
She froze as his hands combed through her hair and gathered the strands with unexpected ease.
“How did you learn to do this?”
“Thora wasn’t good at it either. Móthir and Ranvi used to do it for her, and I watched.”
Eadlyn blinked, struck by the simple honesty of it. He hadn’t needed to explain, but he had. And that, more than anything, told her what she needed to know. He wasn’t erasing the past or avoiding it. He was offering her a place within it.
Curiosity sparked within her. “What was she like?”
A beat of silence passed before he answered softly. “She was fierce. She could give Heida a challenge and even bested my brothers in a bout or two. But she was also kind and loved deeply.” He finished the braid and tied it off before resting a hand on her shoulder. “All qualities you share.”
Eadlyn smiled, though something uncertain tugged at her heart. “I’m not a warrior.”
He moved to her side to see her face. “You don’t need to be. There are many other ways to fight that do not involve a weapon. You fought for your people by coming here when you did not know what awaited you. That took a warrior’s courage.”
The tiny bit of insecurity faded. “Tahk fyr.”
They left their room, and the hall was already full and lively, as expected.
Runar had Trygg slung over his shoulder, threatening to feed him to the frost giants.
The little boy squealed in mock terror, kicking his feet while Katla shrieked with laughter at their grandfather’s side.
Everyone else, save for Inga and Ranvi, was already seated at the table.
As Aevar and Eadlyn approached, he rested a hand at the small of her back, guiding her with comfortable familiarity. Before they sat down, he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to the base of her neck, but the moment was short-lived. From across the table came a voice that was far too casual.
“Sleep well last night?”
Eadlyn found Braan watching them. His expression was all innocent curiosity, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
A beat passed, and realization dawned. This was the first morning she and Aevar had left their room together.
And her hair braided in a way she hadn’t mastered on her own. A style Thora had worn.
Oh no.
Flames lit her cheeks. She ducked her head, trying not to meet anyone’s eyes. Across the table, Heida smacked Braan’s shoulder and leveled him with a glare that promised violence. Next to her, Kian appeared to be trying mightily to hold back a grin as if he’d incur her wrath as well.
Aevar didn’t miss a beat. “We slept very well, thank you.”
The smug humor in his voice made Eadlyn want to sink under the table. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to kick him or kiss him.
Ranvi appeared and set a bowl of fresh berries down. “What did I miss?”
Eadlyn peeked up as she glanced between them. Ranvi took in every detail before her expression turned to one of accusation she pinned on Erik.
“Ignore them, Eadlyn. They are children.”
Erik raised his hands. “What? I’ve said nothing.”
A low chuckle rumbled from Aevar, and it was impossible not to smile.
Even with the embarrassment, something warm and wonderful permeated this moment.
These people—this family—were hers now. She’d never belonged more than she did right here, heat still rising in her cheeks, laughter on her lips, and Aevar grinning beside her.
The forest was quiet. Peaceful.
Slowly, Aevar followed the path he hadn’t been able to bring himself to walk in the last three years.
But after last night and Eadlyn’s declaration, it was time.
A few months ago, before everything had changed—before Eadlyn—he wouldn’t have made it this far.
The weight would have crushed him. Now, as the clearing opened before him, he paused.
Emotion swelled, pressing heavy against his chest, but not unbearable.
Grass-covered mounds and memorial stones stretched out across the glade, nestled among the roots of ancient trees.
Generations of Fjellheim’s dead laid to rest here, their names carved into stone, their stories remembered.
He took a deep breath and moved forward, weaving between the mounds until he reached the one near an ash tree.
His gaze landed on the runes etched into the stone.
Thora.
Brenna.
His vision blurred.
Memories surfaced unbidden. The weight of Thora’s body in his arms as he’d laid her on the pyre. The small bundle holding their daughter as his mother had passed her to him. So tiny and perfect, her downy wisps of hair golden like her mother’s.
He knelt beside the mound where he’d buried their ashes.
His breath shuddered in his lungs, but after a moment, he could breathe again.
For a long time, he sat in the silence, letting his mind wander the past. The memories, the love, the loss would always be a part of him.
Nothing would ever take that away, but what he hadn’t realized until Eadlyn was that there was room for more.
He reached for his seax knife and dug a small hole in the earth.
Then he sheathed the blade again and unfastened the pouch at his belt.
From it, he withdrew a silver arm ring. The sun caught on the polished metal, highlighting the twin horse heads that adorned the ends.
He traced the familiar pattern with his thumb and had to clear his throat to work his voice past the knot there.
“I kept my promise to you. Now I intend to give it to another. This time I hope I am the one who takes it to the grave.”
He placed the ring into the hollow and covered it with care. A couple of tears rolled down his face, but he brushed them away and pushed to his feet. His old life was behind him. His new one was just beginning.
Back at the village, Aevar stepped into the smith’s shop, greeted by the familiar scent of scorched leather, oil, and smoke. Tallak turned from his workbench, sweat beading at his brow. He swiped an arm across his forehead.
“Let me guess. A gift for Eadlyn?”
Aevar smiled. Apparently, he was becoming predictable. “Yes.”
“You’re going to single-handedly keep me in business buying things for your wife.”
“Then I will happily keep you in business.”
Tallak chuckled and set his tools aside. “What’ll it be this time?”
Aevar set a leather pouch onto the bench. It clinked heavily. Though he knew how much the cross necklace meant to Eadlyn, to him, this had greater meaning.
Tallak picked up the pouch, his brows lifting at the weight. “Must be something special.” He opened it and looked inside, the beginnings of a grin spreading across his face. “Ah. I think I know what you want.”
The afternoon sun beat down on Fjellheim, filling the air with the earthy aroma of herbs.
Eadlyn brushed stray wisps of hair from her forehead, sweat clinging to her temples.
She tied off a bundle of sage stems with a strip of leather and crossed to the drying rack, the heat-dried grass crunching beneath her feet.
Ranvi passed her with a handful of thyme.
Gathering for the upcoming winter would soon begin in earnest now that summer waned.
Eadlyn found a deep sense of purpose and belonging in being part of it.
As a princess in Essix, she’d often felt useless much of the time, especially when her father had ruled and prevented her from seeking more ways to be of use to Essian citizens.
But here, the simple act of gathering for her family filled her with contentment.
She returned to the table. As she reached for another bundle, strong arms slipped around her waist from behind. Her breath caught, but she relaxed into the familiar embrace as Aevar pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.
She leaned into him. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he murmured in her ear. “Walk with me.”
She hesitated, glancing at the mound of herbs on the table. But then she looked back, meeting his eyes, and whatever resolve she had melted. Work could wait.
His fingers laced through hers. She caught Ranvi’s smile as they passed. Though she had never questioned her position here, truly being Aevar’s wife seemed to have deepened her camaraderie with her sister-in-law and permanently secured her place in the family.
They followed a narrower path than usual, one that wound toward the southern edge of the village, beyond the docks and the noise. The beach here was quiet and untouched. Only gull tracks and driftwood marked the sand.
Eadlyn turned to him, curious. “So why did you bring me out here?”
His lips lifted. “Do I need a reason?”
“No reason at all, but I think you have one.”
He chuckled. “You’re right.”
Something in his expression changed subtly.
He reached into the pouch and withdrew a round silver object—an arm ring like she’d seen others wear, including Ranvi.
Her heart thudded as he took her hand, his thumb brushing across her wrist as he slipped the ring up her arm to rest snugly above her elbow.
His eyes found hers again, more serious now, and she knew this was more than a piece of jewelry or symbol of status or wealth. This meant something. She could hear it in his voice.
“When I married Thora, I swore to her there would be no one else. That I would remain faithful to her and her alone. Even after she died, I felt bound to that oath. But I’ve come to realize I buried that promise with her, unbroken.
I now give you the same oath. For as long as we both draw breath, there will be none but you. ”
Eadlyn didn’t try to stop the tears from welling. They burned but were full of something too deep for words.
“You have the same oath from me,” she whispered.
He leaned in and kissed her. The kind of kiss that sealed vows.
When they parted, she studied the ring on her arm.
Intricate knotwork wove around its surface.
And there, at the very center, so subtle she almost missed it, was a cross.
Her throat tightened again, and her fingers brushed it with wonder.
All this time, he could have tried to forbid her from practicing her faith.
It was what she had expected before meeting him and his family.
Instead, he’d shown her nothing but respect and acceptance.
She exhaled, letting the wave of emotion wash through her and settle. “It’s beautiful.” She looked up at him. “Your mother and Ranvi, were their arm rings given with the same oath?”
“Yes.” His hand caressed her arm. “My father taught us that we should cherish our women. He believes that if a man cannot honor one woman for a lifetime, he has no business taking a wife.”
“Your father is a good man. And he raised good men. Even in Essix, most do not hold their marriage vows in such high esteem.”
“Some have mocked us for it, but it’s important to us.”
“I’m sure their marriages are much less pleasant.”
He nodded and reached up, cradling her face and skimming his thumb over the scars on her cheek. Drawing her closer, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and murmured, “ást mín.”
She repeated the phrase. “My love.”
Though his actions had already made it clear, this was the first time he’d uttered the word.
He drew back to look her in the eyes. “Yes. My love.”