Page 41 of Alliance Bride
Eadlyn suppressed a grin. Hewaslistening. “Yes, but they are just people, flawed and sinful, prone to making terrible choices and mistakes. We all are. That’s the amazing thing about God. Even when we fail or rebel, His plans don’t. And even more incredible, He still loves us in spite of it.” She paused, then added, “Have you heard about Jesus?”
Aevar shrugged. “A little. He died and came back, supposedly.”
“He did.” She shifted, setting the parchment aside for a moment. “Do you know why?”
“A sacrifice of some sort?”
“Yes, because sin can only be covered by death and blood. It’s part of why Abel’s offering was acceptable and Cain’s was not. We are all born sinners because we have a sin nature that has been passed down by our fathers ever since Adam. Elsewhere inScripture it says the wages of sin is death. That debt is on us, but Jesus, who is fully God, gave up everything to become human and die to pay that debt for us. He offers salvation and forgiveness of sin freely to anyone who will accept and trust His sacrifice.”
Something flickered in Aevar’s expression, but he remained silent.
“It’s simple,” she continued. “The Bible says,if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Nothing complicated. Just faith.”
Aevar didn’t reply, but she didn’t expect him to, and she prayed the seeds would take root. For now, she was simply content to be here, sharing these quiet moments and trusting that God was at work in ways she did not yet see.
Chapter Fifteen
Thesunshoneoutsidethe hall, the air much warmer than Eadlyn’s first couple of weeks in Nordra. A welcome change. It pulled at her, awakening a familiar yearning. Back in Kenwich, she had loved her morning walks through the gardens when the weather allowed. She missed that, especially now with the first green of spring creeping across the land.
Leaving the hearth, where she had helped the women prepare breakfast, she walked over to the table and sat down beside Aevar. “If you have time today, could you show me around the village?”
Though she had seen parts of it, she had never had the chance to explore it properly. It was time she learned more about the place that was now her home.
He turned to her. Something about him was different this morning. She hoped she wasn’t imagining it, but the steady way he met her gaze gave her hope. Maybe speaking of Thora last night had shifted something between them. Maybe acknowledging the pain had begun to heal some of it.
“I’ll take you afterwe eat,” he said.
She smiled in thanks as Alys and Nesta brought breakfast to the table. The rest of the family gathered and served themselves enthusiastically. Eadlyn paused to bow her head in prayer before eating. No one ever commented or objected, and she appreciated the silent respect. Another Nord family may have opposed, but God had blessed her in this situation.
Mealtime had become one of her favorite parts of the day. The camaraderie, the teasing, the sheer life that pulsed around the table. So different from the tense, formal meals she had grown up with. Here, love permeated every glance and offhanded jest. It gave her plenty of opportunities to work on her Nordric. Like Kian had said, understanding it came faster than speaking it. While she still couldn’t follow an entire conversation, she picked up more words and phrases each day, the language gradually becoming less foreign to her ears.
When breakfast finished, she retrieved her shawl in case she needed it, and together she and Aevar stepped out into the morning. Sunlight warmed her face, the crisp air sweet with budding leaves. She drew a deep breath, and something within her lifted.
Aevar led her through the village, pointing out the different craftsmen and important locations. He introduced her to several people along the way. She remembered seeing a couple of them in passing at the Gathering. One was Alrik the shipwright, Alys’s betrothed. He was a big man with strongly muscled arms from his work. Eadlyn understood now why Alys was so smitten.
They conversed with him for a few minutes before continuing. At the edge of the village, they came to a large wooden structure. Outside, a man leaned on a staff, his shoulders hunched, and his long gray beard touching his waist. His blue-green eyes fixed onthem with clear, alert interest. Aevar introduced him as Hjor, keeper of the messenger ravens.
Eadlyn tried to keep up with their conversation, catching a few words about food that made Aevar chuckle. He then led her inside.
Dusty wood, straw, and the musk of feathers lingered in the air. Tall wooden cages were built into the walls and housed sleek black ravens. They shifted and flapped, their sharp eyes following every movement.
“This is how we communicate with the other clans,” Aevar said, leading her down the center aisle. “The ravens carry messages across Nordra and sometimes to Talta.”
He opened one cage, and a raven hopped onto his arm. Up close, its feathers gleamed like polished obsidian. Aevar stroked its head, and it croaked low in its throat.
“I used to sneak in here as a boy. There were two ravens named Huginn and Muninn, after the ravens said to wander the earth and report to Odin what they have seen. At that age, I thought they really were Odin’s messengers, so I’d ask them to take my requests to the Allfather. I even bribed them with treats.” He chuckled at the memory. “One day Hjor caught me and told me I had to stop because I was making them too fat to fly.”
Eadlyn laughed, imagining a young Aevar with a fistful of treats and grand ambitions. “What kinds of requests?”
“The usual things a boy of seven asks for. A sword, a horse, to outgrow my brothers.”
Another laugh trickled between them, thinking of Erik’s towering stature.
Aevar shrugged, and his humor faded. “But the gods have never seen fit to answer any of my requests. I do not know if they even hear me.”
Eadlyn’s heart ached for him. How many prayers had he offered—not just childish ones, but desperate ones—that seemed to fall on deaf ears? “At times I’ve felt like God didn’t hear me either. But He does. Always. Even when the answer is no, even when we don’t understand, He hears. And He loves.”
Aevar didn’t answer, his attention fixed on the raven, but she hoped some part of her words found a place in his heart.
