Page 42 of Alliance Bride
After a moment, he returned the raven to its cage, and they stepped back into the bright morning. Circling the edge of the village, they reached the fjord and paused on the beach. Eadlyn drank in the sight. The water glittered under the sun, and lazy waves lapped against the shoreline. Farther down the fjord, sheer cliffs rose along each side, dark gray and green. It was wild, beautiful, and so unlike the muddy river she had grown up near.
“You like the fjord?” Aevar asked.
“It’s beautiful. So much larger than anything I’ve seen.”
“I couldn’t imagine living far from the water.”
Though he’d lived here his whole life, she still sensed his deep appreciation for what lay before them. She breathed in deeply. The cool breeze coming off the fjord, laced with fish and pine, tickled the hair at her neck. Standing here, she felt…peaceful.
“Would it be all right if I came here on my own sometimes?”
Aevar looked back toward the village, then nodded. “The people know you are my wife. If anything happened to you, there would be consequences.”
She smiled, experiencing a strange sense of freedom she hadnever known before. Galen had accompanied her everywhere outside the palace. He wouldn’t be comfortable knowing she didn’t have the same watchful presence here, even with Aevar’s assurance, but she was happy to accept it.
After a few more minutes of standing at the water’s edge, they turned toward the village, walking in companionable silence. But as they rounded a corner, a familiar figure emerged, shattering the peace.
Oda's mouth curled into a sneer the instant she spotted them. Eadlyn glanced at Aevar. He eyed the woman dismissively, but she detected tension in his posture. As they drew near, he placed his hand on her back as if to guide her around the woman without acknowledging her. However, Oda’s voice spoiled the morning air. Eadlyn caught the wordEssianbut did not understand the others strung along with it. She was probably better off not knowing, judging by the woman’s caustic tone.
Aevar stopped and turned, maneuvering Eadlyn so she stood behind him. Whether or not for her benefit, he spoke in Aerlish, his words clipped. “Oda, do not treat my wife with such disrespect.”
“Your wife.” She sneered the words as if they tasted of bile. “So you defend the decision that forced you to marry her?”
“It was my choice. No one forced me.”
“And is it worth it, being stuck with thegrybbafor the rest of your life? Everyone knows we have no need of an alliance with Essix.”
“Oda,” he spoke her name harshly and with a tone of warning. “You will not insult her again. Leave politics to those who know what they are talking about and stay away.”
She seemed ready to keep arguing, but Aevar cut her off. “I mean it. I will not tolerate any continued harassment. I thought Heida already made that clear.”
So that had been the purpose behind the contest between Heida and Oda.
Oda’s thunderous look shifted from Aevar to Eadlyn, the loathing enough to send a chill to the blood. But Eadlyn refused to cower. She’d faced far more daunting foes, including her own father. She took a step forward, putting herself at Aevar’s side instead of behind him, and lifted her chin slightly. Tall and proud, like she’d instructed her brother.
With a snort, Oda glared at Aevar before turning on her heel and marching down a side path. Aevar didn’t move until she disappeared around another corner. Then he turned to Eadlyn, regret tightening his expression.
“I apologize. I thought the matter settled after the Gathering.”
Eadlyn drew a deep breath to calm the quiver in her stomach. She’d never liked confrontation, but it was often unavoidable. “Who is she?”
Aevar sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Clearly, the two shared a history.
“She was my sister-in-law, Thora’s half-sister. She was always jealous of Thora, and now it seems she is jealous of you.”
“Oh.” An envious rival was not something she foresaw.
“If she continues to harass you, let me know and I will put an end to it.”
Eadlyn nodded, but uncertainty lingered. “Will I still be able to walk to the fjord in themornings?”
Aevar peered down the road where Oda had gone but seemed confident when he spoke. “Yes. She will not dare harm you. Not physically. Like I said, if she speaks to you again, I will handle it.”
After seeing Eadlyn safely back at the longhouse, Aevar strode across the village toward the training field. He half hoped he’d come across Oda again. If he did, he’d be sorely tempted to drag her to the ring for aholmgangfor disrespecting Eadlyn and settle things the old way. Publicly and unmistakably.
She should have learned her lesson after the match with Heida, but Oda had never been one to back down. Memories returned of how she had skulked around before his wedding to Thora, full of half-hidden bitterness. Thora had taken her to the ring herself, but it was up to Aevar to see Eadlyn did not have to deal with her.
He reached the field and spotted Kian with the huskarls. A bout was underway with the youngest and oldest of the men facing off in the center, weapons clashing and shouts rising around them. It would’ve been a good fight to watch another day, but Aevar wasn’t in the mood. He caught Kian’s eye and nodded him over.
