I part them again as he holds a bit of cheese that’s been dipped in what I assume is a type of fruit jam. It’s beyond delicious, more along the lines of decadent. I let out a small moan, unable to control myself, it’s that good.
“You don’t have a last name?” I ask. “A surname?”
Aaric frowns. “I’ve heard of these. Some of the people in other countries go by names like yours, three sometimes four of them. My people do not. We have a singular name. Then our children will carry on our name with an addition to the end.”
“For example?” I ask.
He grins. “Aaricson, for our son. Aaricdóttir, for our daughter.”
Wrinkling my nose, I shake my head. “No way,” I breathe. “I can’t name a sweet little girl that.”
I expect Aaric to grow angry with me, seeing as these are his traditions. Instead, he laughs softly and holds another piece of bread against my lips. “We will have to have our own traditions, maybe?”
I chew my food slowly and quietly, thinking about his words. Why would he all of a sudden be okay with anything? Yesterday, he was angry with my age, pissed off that the gods had somehow deceived him and ignored me.
Today, especially right now, he’s like a different man. I don’t trust it, don’t trust him. My stomach clenches and I hear the wind howling outside of the room. The small curtain that acts as our privacy from the outside world moves around.
“Aaric?” I whisper.
His eyes darken, they turn almost black and his head whips to the side, looking toward the window. The wind continues to grow in strength, the howling coming faster and louder with each passing moment.
“You don’t believe me and you’re using your powers to yield the weather, Liv,” he growls.
“I’m not,” I say, shaking my head.
Aaric snorts, shaking his head once, his black as coal eyes finding mine. “It is worse if you cannot control it, Liv. I knew you could control the sea, the waves and now the wind? You’re dangerous,” he hisses.
Without a word, he stands to his feet. I reach for him, but he’s too fast. He throws the door open and bellows out some words that I don’t understand. The wind starts to grow, there are people shouting outside, frantic voices that sound ripe with fear.
Four men appear in the room and before I can even blink, they are on me. They grab at me, my sheeting falling sometime during the struggle. They carry me out of the room completely naked. I cry out, trying to find Aaric’s eyes, but I can’t see him.
Pain rips through my entire body. I cannot hold back the blood-curdling scream that escapes my throat. I make a complete spectacle of myself. Tears stream down my temples as these men, his soldiers, carry me somewhere, my body on display for any person who looks in our direction.
Chapter Sixteen
AARIC
“What have you done?” the seeress hisses as she stands across from me.
Lifting my gaze to meet hers, I refuse to give her anything but an impassive expression. She narrows her gaze on me, then takes a step back, her lips parting as something akin to terror fills her gaze.
“Seeress,” I bark out.
She shakes her head, taking a step back, then another. “You are indeed Aaric the Ópyrmir,” she says with a gulp.
Ruthless. She’s called me Aaric the Ruthless.
Though, I should be proud of the title, and normally I am, that is not what is happening here. She is seeing something and if she does not tell me what she is seeing soon, I will lock her up next to my wife until she does.
“Speak,” I growl.
She presses her lips together, her gaze finding mine and then she nods her head with a jerk. “Konungr,” she grinds out. “Why have you shunned your bride?”
Frowning, I debate on telling her the truth or making up some story to appease her. In the end, I know that I must speak the truth. There is no honor in lying. There is no honor in what I’ve done to my wife either. However, that is something that I will never admit.
“I do not trust her and she certainly does not trust me. She holds magic, powerful magic. She used it again today. Did you enjoy the windstorm?” I ask, a smirk twitching on my lips.
The seeress inhales a sharp breath before letting it out. “She does not realize, Aaric. You know this, you must.”
Standing from my throne, I take the