Bride of the Sea (The Prophecy of Sisters #2) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,37

that I can understand why they would send me a woman of her age, unable to bear me the heirs that I desire. Why, if she is meant to be mine, they would wait as long as they did? Essentially too late.

Inhaling a deep breath, I let it out on a sigh. “She will be fine. You and Gunnar will keep her under watchful guard when I am not around. Otherwise, I will just keep her too busy to attempt to escape.”

“How?” Hagen asks.

My lips twitch into a smirk. “The only way that I know how, frændi.”

“Aaric,” he grunts.

“She will be so busy, she will not have the time, or inclination, to attempt to leave me.”

Gunnar chuckles at the same time Hagen does. Both understand my words completely. Though I am not making light of the situation, myself, I will keep her busy. We do not have time to play games, me and her. She needs to be with child yesterday.

“Are you ready?” Gunnar asks.

Shrugging a shoulder, I think about the question. Am I ready to take this woman as my wife? Am I ready to deal with whatever she brings my way with this prophecy? I still don’t know the depth of the magic, of the power that she will yield because of this prophecy and union.

I don’t know if the feelings that I have toward her are real or fictitious. It is not like me to go into something, possibly a battle, without being fully prepared. And yet, that is exactly how I feel about taking her as my wife.

Hagen dips his chin before turning around to leave and take his post beside Liv.

“Have you thought about what your children could be? If they will be human?” Gunnar asks once the room clears of the rest of my men.

I press my lips together in a flat line. “I have. All I can do is trust the fate of the gods, Gunn. There is a reason she was gifted to me, sent to me. The prophecy has been partially revealed and all I can do is have faith that the gods would not harm me or my people.”

“We will have your back, Konungr. In all things to come.”

Gunnar leaves me alone and I inhale a deep breath before I turn toward the door. My húsgørd is full of my family, friends, and townspeople. I walk through the parted crowd until I reach the front. Dipping my chin at the hofgothi, who is waiting to begin the ceremony, I turn to watch for my bride.

I’m still not sure how I should feel about this. When I saw her, I knew that the fates had aligned. It was meant to be, the gods had sent her to me. Now that I know, yes, they have sent her to me, but at what cost?

The whispers begin, the sounds rising. She is here. My people do not know her, they couldn’t even talk to her if they wanted to get to know her. She is a stranger, a foreigner, and now their dróttning. They will not easily accept her, though they will no doubt respect her.

Liv makes her way toward me, her hair is displayed beautifully. There are braids, twists, and knots along with flowers interweaved throughout. Her dress makes her look like the goddess that she is. In this moment, all of my worries fade away as she makes her way closer toward me.

Our ceremony is short, no confessions of love, or words about lifetimes together. Slipping the plain golden band on her finger, she does the same with mine and I vow to adorn her with jewels later.

Turning to face our audience, together we walk through the cheering crowd. Once we are outside, I guide her over toward the woods. The rest of the village will be following us, but we will have a moment alone first, as is our custom.

There is a goat and a sow waiting for us, sacrificial gifts to our god and goddess. Gifts to them for a blessed union and fertility. I snort to myself, fertility. What a joke. At her age, I will be lucky to have one heir. If I do not have a son, I will have no legacy.

“What is this?” Liv asks, speaking for the first time.

She stops walking once she notices that we are in a circular clearing in the middle of the forest. We aren’t deep enough to be anywhere near my cabin, but we are far enough that she