Now that I’m climbing higher in age, I realize that I need a good woman beside me, if for nothing else than to carry my heirs.
“Aaric,” Gunnar’s voice rumbles from beside me.
Shifting from beneath Liv’s body, I roll to the side and rise from the bottom of the boat. Grabbing ahold of the fur at our feet, I slide it over her body to keep the sea chill from her bones.
“Gunn,” I murmur.
He grunts and turns toward the opposite side of the boat. I follow behind him, leaning against the side once we arrive and close my eyes as the salty air washes over me. This is where I belong. This is where I was meant to always be. There is no greater love for me than the beautiful mistress of the sea.
“She’s been surprisingly strong during this journey,” he points out.
Opening my eyes, I nod once. “She has. Sometimes I think that she is royalty and unused to the harsh realities of life, other times…”
“The sea, during your play and her crescendo… something happened,” he murmurs, careful not to be overheard by the rest of the men.
“Speak plainly, Gunnar.”
He clears his throat, his eyes finding mine. “She is a völva,” he hisses. A sorceress, and he would be correct, I sensed it too. Even if I tried to deny it before we left for home, I sensed it fully at the same time he did.
“Já, Gunnar,” I say, nodding my head in agreement. “I felt it too. I thought maybe, but I am now convinced.”
“Yet, you still wish to make her your dróttning?” he asks, his eyes wide in surprise. “What if she has bewitched you, Aaric?”
My gaze shifts from him to the blackness ahead of me. I cannot see anything, it is the middle of the night and far too dark to take in what I know is a spectacular view of the green ocean. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I let the breath out of my mouth on a long sigh.
“I am not bewitched. The gods put her in my path for good reason. They led me to her and I am not sure why, except that she is my match.”
“You’ll be seeking out the seeress on our arrival home?” he asks.
“You know that I will.”
There is a moment of silence, then I feel his hand clamp down against my shoulder and his fingers squeeze. I turn to face him as he speaks. “I am concerned because I love you as if you were of my own flesh.”
“I know, I would feel the same if our positions were reversed.”
He nods, his gaze searching mine then he shakes his head a couple of times. “She is a rare beauty, your children will be breathtaking,” he admits.
My lips curve up into a grin at the idea of a daughter with bright fire in her hair and eyes the color of the sea. Men would have battles to win her affections. She would be coveted throughout the islands and possibly the world.
“And blessed by the gods, perhaps even of the gods themselves.” I grin.
“You have high hopes for her true identity, don’t you?” He chuckles.
Shrugging a shoulder, I cannot hide my smile. I feel as though I am a young man with my first woman. There is something special about Liv, whether it is because she holds magic or that she was created by the gods specifically for me, I do not know, nor do I care overly much. All I do know is that she is minn.
“It matters not, Gunnar. I have hopes that the gods created her for me, placed her in my path so that we could rule together. So that we could raid, conquer, and rule over more lands—as one.”
Gunnar chuckles, his fingers squeeze my shoulder before his hand drops. “You will, Aaric. All you have ever wished to achieve you have done and more. I have no doubt that you will succeed greatly in this new endeavor. Watch for Fiske though, he has an anger inside of him that has the potential to become extremely dangerous.”
Jerking my chin, I must agree with my man. I have noticed the anger in my brother has started to grow since Liv joined us. It is as if he senses that she is some kind of enemy. Which, to be certain when she produces my heirs, they will push Fiske down the line of succession.
Chapter Seven
AARIC
Standing at the bow of the ship, I inhale the salty air as I