Page 93 of A Light So Blinding
“Bright one,” he murmured, nuzzling his face into the silky strands of her hair. “We have to get up.”
Astrid groaned, tucking her face against his neck. The sound made it seem like he’d asked her to move mountains, when all he needed was for her to get up so he could feed her. There had to be something to eat in the kitchen. Someone must have knownthat... Well, he supposed no one would have stocked it because no one had known he was returning.
He’d have to go get food. Which was fine, he supposed. He slid out from underneath Astrid, arranging her body on the bed so he could leave without waking her. After all, they’d been busy last night. He’d done enough to her that would tire any person out, and she’d been trying her very best to keep up with him. The poor woman hadn’t realized just how creative he was.
And he was quite proud of that.
Bjorn pulled on his pants in the other room, not wanting his movement to wake her, and then headed out the front door. If he was lucky, the market would already be set up, but not with many people. Crowds were still difficult for him, as evidenced yesterday. He’d been alone in a cell for such a long time, having all those bodies surrounding him felt like he was supposed to be fighting. Even though he knew he wasn’t.
But the moment he opened the door, he realized he had worried about nothing. Because there were already people walking up the path toward his new home.
He leaned against the door and waited there, watching as a green-bodied troll shouldered his way past the few brambles that had fallen in front of the path. Gunnar’s hair was a wild mane around his head, tangled with curls that Bjorn didn’t remember being there. He’d always been a handsome young man, but now he was even more so. And then Astrid’s sister trailed along behind him, stoically allowing Gunnar to touch her with his hand on her back even though Bjorn could see how much she didn’t want him to.
Rose had a lot of work to do, he knew. That poor woman had been through far more than any of them would ever know. He remembered her in the labyrinth. She had always been a shell of a woman, barely there no matter how many times she’dbeen given to others. Even those men who had gotten her had whispered about how she was a hollow creature.
Behind them were Ragnar and Maia, the two of them fitting far better than he had expected. He’d only seen them together a few times, and now he could see why they were well suited. They were both muscular. Capable. They moved with the confidence of people who knew their bodies well and knew their own limits. He would have been impressed if he hadn’t also noticed their arms were laden with food.
He waited until they were within earshot before calling out, “That’s quite a lot in your arms there, Ragnar. You sure you can carry that much?”
His lavender-skinned friend snorted. “I’d like to see you try.”
“I’ve carried more than that for miles on end. When was the last time you carried something heavy, healer?” He headed out to help, taking as much of the food as he could in his own arms and splitting the difference of weight.
Bjorn might have added a few more items to his own armload, just in case Ragnar had forgotten how strong he really was.
Maia snorted. “Considering how thin you are, Bjorn, I think you might need a few weeks of eating right before you get into a wrestling match with Ragnar.”
“Careful, fire hair.” Bjorn remembered the nickname from when he had last seen them together, although he wasn’t certain he should call her such a personal nickname. He did so, though, to see Ragnar’s cheeks darken with disapproval. “You might end up in the wrestling match, and I don’t think you’ll hold up against a troll.”
With a hiss of sound, Ragnar wrapped his arm around his troll wife and tugged her against his side. “Don’t talk about wrestling with my wife.”
“Not while you’re here. Understood.” He heaved the food a little higher and headed into his home.
Depositing the food took only a few moments, and then he made his way into the bedroom to wake Astrid. She was already up though, sliding the spider silk dress over her arms like she had been born for it, and he...
Fuck, she was so beautiful.
Walking up behind her, he helped get the dress on until the hem kissed the floor and then framed her hips in his hands. He pressed against her, holding tightly to the woman he was so enamored with, and pressed a long kiss to her shoulder. “We have visitors.”
“I heard them,” she replied with a soft laugh. Turning in his arms, she blocked the kiss he would have given her with her hand. “And I heard you flirting.”
“Flirting?”
“Joking about wrestling with another woman?” He didn’t think she was entirely serious, although there was a spark of jealousy in her eyes that he had never seen before.
Bjorn nipped at her fingers. “It is hard for me to look at anyone else beyond the sight of your stunning beauty, bright one. I teased my oldest friend, saying what I knew would make him angry. But my eyes never strayed from you, nor did my heart ever skip a beat for another. You are without a doubt my guiding star. I would follow you through any darkness, Astrid. I would be a fool indeed to look anywhere else.”
The anger in her gaze turned molten. He could feel her using her power to see if he was being honest, and he wondered if she could tell if someone was lying. No wonder the lords of her kingdom had wanted to use her as much as they could. Her power was legendary.
Then she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. As long as you aren’t looking at anyone else seriously.”
“Why would I? I have perfection right in front of me.” He leaned back, staring down at her body in that silk dress and marveling at her beauty. It was hard to not look like a dopey, love-sick moron, but by all the gods. She was remarkable.
“Bjorn, enough,” she said with a soft laugh. “You said we have visitors?”
“Your sister, my friends Gunnar and Ragnar, and Ragnar’s troll wife, Maia,” he replied. “They came with food and, I assume, for some other reasons.”
“You didn’t ask?”
