The seeress presses her lips together, rolling them as her gaze flicks from me to the office where Runa and Aaric are talking. When her gaze comes back to me she lets out a heavy sigh.
“You are his wife, this is true. However, you must understand that he is the ruler and you are merely his wife. One day he could give you more duties, perhaps you will have his ear eventually, but as of right now—” She shakes her head. “Nei.”
Rolling my eyes, I let out a grunt. “This is archaic and stupid,” I mumble.
Hillevi smirks. “I take it women have different roles where you are from?” she asks.
Pressing my lips together, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and shrug a shoulder. I could lie, I could tell her that women are these powerful beings in my world, but I won’t.
“We’ve come a long way,” I mutter. “We aren’t exactly ruling the world, but I’ll tell you one thing, we are running it.”
Hillevi laughs softly. “Believe it or not, it is much of the same here. You don’t see it, but look a bit deeper and you will.”
“Seeress,” Aaric’s voice booms from behind us.
She stands slowly, turning her head slightly and tilting it back to look up at him. Without a word to him, she slowly shifts past and never says a single word. He watches her for a moment, grunts then sinks down in the seat next to me again.
“Did you find out whatever it was you needed?” I ask, hoping that he’ll tell me something, anything.
Aaric’s gaze is focused on his brother for a moment before he turns his head and looks down at me. “I did,” he says.
“And?”
He frowns, his eyes searching mine. “All will be well, víf.”
I want to roll my eyes at his response, but I don’t. I have to think about what Seeress said. This is a different time, a different world. I have to earn my place here next to him, I have to earn his ear and I will.
I vow it.
Aaric will fall in love with me. He will value not only me but my opinion and advice as well.
Chapter Twenty-Four
AARIC
I avoid my brother and any serious conversation with Liv for the next few days. I busy myself with ensuring that the ships will be ready for travel and that my men are ready for battle. My evenings are for filling my wife with my seed, as are my mornings.
“We are ready?” Gunnar asks.
“We are.” I nod. “It will not be easy to take her, to do what we need to do to her, but it must be done. She will suffer greatly, but if she can remove the demon, then we can have Fiske back. If not, the only other option is the Blood Eagle.”
Gunnar doesn’t say anything for a moment as he stands next to me watching the men and women load the ships. He has something on the tip of his tongue to say. I decide to wait him out quietly, instead of asking him what he wishes to say.
“Runa thinks that this will work?”
I clear my throat. “She does.”
“He will not like this and she frightens me.”
Nodding my head a couple of times, I let out a grunt. “I agree. She is terrifying if she is the one who summoned the demon into my brother.”
“He does not love her, he will thank you, eventually,” Gunnar says.
Inhaling a deep breath, I let it out with a grunt. “She will try to harm Liv. Runa has already warned me. If this happens, or if she attempts to harm me, you will protect my víf.”
It is not a question for my man, it is a demand of my friend, of my brother. Gunnar clears his throat, moving his head up and down as he continues to watch the boats being loaded with equipment.
“You know that I will.” We don’t say anything else, not for a long moment. “Is she with child, yet?” he asks.
“I have been afraid to ask Runa or the seeress. If she is, I will not want to take her on the journey. If she is not, I will not want to go on the journey at all. This needs to happen, Isolda needs to be away from my people. I cannot believe that I brought her into my world, that I brought her into my bed for the length of time that I did.”
Gunnar lifts his hand, clapping it down on my shoulder, squeezing me before he says anything right away.
“You did not know. We never know who we bring as our thralls when we raid. You are stronger than Fiske, not only in body, but in mind. It is why she never could get to you.”
“Aaric,” a soft sweet voice calls from behind me.
Gunnar grunts, turning away, he stomps off almost angrily. Sylvi slips her hand in my arm and rests her cheek against my bicep. I don’t look down at her, my gaze still very much focused on the ships being loaded.
“What is this?” I ask when she doesn’t say anything immediately.
“I do not wish to marry my handsome warrior from Faraway Isle, brother.”
My body jolts at her words. Turning my head, I tip it down to look at her. She’s not watching me, her gaze is focused on something else, and it is not the ships. It is Gunnar who is now talking with Kjeld.
“Sylvi,” my voice rumbles.
She turns to look at me, her cheeks tinted pink. “Have you laid with Gunnar?” I demand. Her pink cheeks turn bright red at my question.
“Aaric,” she hisses.
“Answer me,” I demand.
She shakes her head once. “He does not love me, Aaric,” she whispers, her eyes wetting with unshed tears.
I snort. “Has he touched you?” I ask, a bit more delicately.
“Nei, he has not. He would not, though he’s made it clear that I disgust him,” she states.
Shaking my head, I reach for my sister, grabbing ahold of her biceps and forcing her to face me. Looking into her eyes, I give her a rough shake.
“Listen to me, Sylvi,” I bark. “He would be a lucky man if I approved a match between you. There is no doubt in my mind that he probably does desire you, why would he not? You, Oili, and Liv are the most beautiful women in all of Wolfjour Ail.”
She presses her lips together, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. “I tried to kiss him,” she blurts out. “He pushed me away.”
“Because he knew I would have his head, Sylvi.”
Her eyes widen, at the same time her lips part in awe. “Aaric,” she breathes.
“I would cut his böllur off for everyone to see and present it to Wylo himself.”
“You wouldn’t,” she exhales.
“The God of the Underworld would welcome the sacrifice, Sylvi,” I snap.
There is a moment of silence between us. Then she throws back her head in laughter. Her entire body shakes and my own laugh bubbles from within me. Tugging her close to my chest, I wrap my arms around her and hold her close.
“If you have not laid with him, Sylvi. Why do you not wish to marry your handsome warrior, huh?”
She takes a step back from me and lets out a heavy sigh. Her gaze flicks to the ground, then slowly lifts back up to meet my own.
“I love Gunnar, Aaric. I know that you may not believe me, and he may not even want me, but that does not matter. And if I have fallen in love with Gunnar, how can I love the warrior who is a stranger to me?”
Clearing my throat, I shift my gaze over her head and look down at Gunnar. He is looking up at us, but he does not see me, he only sees Sylvi. How could I have missed this? How could I have not seen that my closest friend lusts after my sister?