Page 5 of Alliance Bride
So, a roundabout approach then. Aevar kept his silence.
Erik considered it. “She hasn’t even spoken, but the princess seems to have a lot of influence with the king.”
“Yes,” Fathir muttered, “he hardly speaks a word without seeking her approval. I don’t know if that is to our advantage or that we’d be fools to align ourselves with a king who does not know his own mind. A little of both, I fear.”
“You’d think they would have sought a stronger union by the king asking for a bride instead of offering his sister.”
Braan snorted, scratching the scar around his eye. “Maybe he’s too much of a coward to take a Nord wife.”
“Perhaps he would have if we had a sister to offer. At least this way none of us has to leave Nordra.” Erik paused for a moment of loud silence. The final buildup to the real issue. “The question is…who will marry the princess?”
Aevar almost rolled his eyes. “There is no question. It has to be me.”
Erik’s attention snapped to him, that familiar protective edge igniting. “Hold on. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still up for discussion.”
Braan raised his brows, and his mouth tightened as if biting back a response.
As much as Aevar appreciated Erik’s care, they were adults, and it was time they stopped treating him like he was glass, regardless of the past. “What is there to discuss? You’re married, and Braan is betrothed. I’m the only one left.” He turned to their father. “Surely you won’t ask Braan to give up Heida.”
Kian snorted. “Oh, she’d have a thing or two to say about that.”
Aevar met his father’s gaze. There it was again, that flash of protectiveness. The hesitation. But the truth was already on the table.
Fathir sighed as if in defeat. “You’re right, I’m afraid. You’re the only one who can do this. That makes the choice yours and yours alone. I won’t force you into a marriage. I’d sooner send the boy king back home to sort out his mess on his own. We do not need their alliance.”
Aevar let the words hang there as he stared out over the river. Marriage had been the furthest thing from his mind when they set foot in Essix. The last thing he’d been looking for.
He caught Erik watching him.
“Fathir is right. You don’t have to do this. We can still discuss the alliance without marriage…” Erik glanced at their father. “Though I’d be less inclined to trust them without such an arrangement.”
He, too, was right. The Essians couldn’t be trusted, but they were not without their uses.
“The trade agreement would serve us well,” Aevar reasoned. “More grain would ensure we do not struggle this winter, especially the northern clans. There is still plenty of rich land in Waelon and farther south to raid. Leaving Essix untouched will not hurt us. And if we’re aligned with both Talta and Essix, it would reinforce our truce with Kalgora. They’d be foolish to attack while we have the backing of two other kingdoms.” He motioned to Kian. “Would your uncle honor an alliance with Essix?”
Kian nodded. “Talta has no quarrel with Essix unless they make one. My uncle would likely even march alongside you to save their sorry backsides from Waelon should it come to that.”
They might not like or trust the Essians, but a three-wayalliance was much more appealing than the possible alternative. Aevar focused once more on his father. “I know we do not need this alliance, but if what they say is true and Waelon invades, it might become our problem. If Waelon took over Essix and aligned with Camria against us, we could face a war on both our southern and northern fronts. You know Kalgora will break the truce the moment they see an advantage.”
Fathir’s expression darkened. “This is true.”
There was no other choice then. “I’ll do it.”
Fathir stepped forward, placing a weathered hand on Aevar’s shoulder. His firm grip instilled in him a sense of courage, like when he was a boy. “Are you sure?”
Unspoken grief hung between them. They all knew why he was the last one this duty should fall to. Yet perhaps it was also the very reason it should. He’d already had his chance at love and lost it. He had no expectation or desire to find it again. The least he could do now was aid his people.
“Yes. I will marry her.”
His father’s face softened, the edges of his resolve easing into reluctant acceptance. “Very well. We’ll accept the marriage if their other terms are agreeable.”
He eyed their camp set up in the grass that was still matted and brown from the recently departed snow. “I do not wish to linger here. We have the Gathering to prepare for. I will ask that the marriage take place tomorrow morning. That gives us time to break camp and cover some ground before sundown. The sooner we return to Fjellheim, the longer the princess has to adjust before the jarls arrive.”
“Do you think they’ll agree to such a swift union?” Not that it mattered to Aevar. He’d already accepted the marriage. Best notlet it drag out. “It won’t be time for a traditional ceremony, and I’m sure none of us have brought enough for any sort of usual payment exchange.”
“If they are as desperate as I believe they are, they’ll agree. It doesn’t need to be traditional as long as it’s binding. It’s alliance agreements we’re bargaining over.”
At its core, this marriage was nothing more than a contract between Nordra and Essix.
