Bride of the Sea (The Prophecy of Sisters #2) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,1
around on the street around me. Dread fills me. Panic pulses through my veins.
Something big is going to happen. I can feel it from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I can’t put my finger on it, I don’t know what it could be, but it has to do with Sybilla and it is gigantic—I’m scared to death that it could be really fucking bad.
AARIC
My bed slave rolls over, placing her hand on my chest and slowly slides it down to my böllur. I’m hard, but I’m not sure I want her to salve my soul.
Grabbing ahold of her wrist, I look down at her. She’s pretty, a Llyneian named Isolda. One of my men grabbed her on a raid. A farmer’s daughter, I suppose, if I had to guess. I’ve never asked her.
“Nei,” I grunt.
She only understands a few words, but that one is clear. No. Her big brown eyes blink and her lips turn down in confusion.
“Gā,” I say, lifting my hand to shoo her away.
She releases my böllur and rolls over. Without a word, she climbs out of bed and slips away. I don’t know where she goes, nor do I give a skiter. Staring at the ceiling of my húsgørd, I wonder if this is the life that I have always been meant to live.
I enjoy being the konungr of my people. The title was passed down to me as the eldest child of my father’s. He made his way to Valhalla after a battle with sickness, my mother as well.
Thinking about my life again, I can’t help but feel that I am missing something very important. I enjoy sailing and being with my men. I have a full life, however, I don’t have an heir to my throne or a woman of my own.
I’m not sure that I want them.
With a family comes a different kind of responsibility that I’m just not sure I desire. Closing my eyes with a heavy sigh, I decide that I will settle down after my next raid. I’ve said it many times before, but this time it must happen. I am not going to become any younger.
With a grunt, I roll out of bed. Dressing, I don’t bother to brush my hair or have a thrall style it. Something has me feeling very off. Making my way toward Hillevi, my seeress, I don’t bother to knock as I enter her dwelling.
She is sitting with her back to me. She’s beautiful for a seeress, something that isn’t normal, but she is mine and I’ve paid quite a bit of gold to keep her as my personal seeress.
“Aaric,” she begins, her voice floating through the air. Her violet eyes meet mine and I let out a grunt.
“Tell me what is about to happen, Seeress,” I demand.
Her lips turn up into a small smile. “I cannot. Come sit with me, break your fast, my Konungr.”
Stomping toward her table, I sink down on her chair, sitting across from her. Her chair groans under my weight and she smiles softly.
“My life would be easier if you would marry me, Seeress,” I mutter, grinning over at her.
She shakes her head a couple of times. “You humor me. You’re about to leave on your next raid?” she asks.
Nodding my head, I wonder how she knew? It was a decision I made just moments ago. Though, I do not question her, because my seeress, she knows and sees more than I could ever imagine.
“Something is brewing. It will impact you greatly, Konungr, but mostly in a good way.”
“On this raid?” I ask, shifting forward.
She nods her head slowly. “Have an open mind, Aaric. Do not be closed off because you do not understand what is happening. Open your heart, your mind, and your soul and you will be rewarded, though the path will not be easy, trust this—it will be worth it.”
Without another word, we eat in silence. I chew the offered bread as I think about her words. Be open, heart, mind, soul, and hopefully body, though she left that part out. I don’t believe in love. I can believe in mutual respect and duty, but not love.
I’ve only ever loved my parents, my siblings, and my horse. If the seeress thinks that whatever befalls me on this raid will end in love, she is gravely mistaken.
Chapter One
TWO WEEKS LATER
LIV
Smoke fills my senses. My eyes open and I blink. It’s dark, but I’m outside and in some kind of forest. Placing