The Viking Warrior's Bride

‘I know.’ Eirik nodded. ‘It’s why you would’ve been my first choice for this marriage. I only chose Magnus because I know you’re not ready, but due to the circumstances...here we are. Ready or not.’

Vidar nodded. He’d spent the past few months coming to terms with that. While he was still bitter, he had come to accept his duty. ‘I still feel that Magnus made a mistake. This place was meant for him.’ He spread his arms out wide to encompass the entirety of the manor and the village beyond. Magnus was a leader who had flourished building the settlement. He was meant to lead a colony. To defend rather than attack. ‘Magnus could’ve been a king here. And yet he chose a mere settlement and a lowborn Saxon.’ Vidar had struggled not to resent his friend for his choice.

‘He chose the woman who held his heart,’ Eirik said. ‘Much as I did.’

‘It’s not the same. You left our home to come to the Saxon lands and now you live as a king. You bettered your fortune. You still had adventure. You didn’t give it all away.’

‘Is that all that matters to you?’ Eirik narrowed his eyes at him. ‘Adventure? Treasure? Battle? What’s left after all of that? One day you’ll have found more treasure than you can hold and more adventure than your old bones can handle. What then?’

One day Vidar might be too old to travel, but it wouldn’t be for a very long time. The answer was simple. ‘When that day comes—I die. I’ll die in battle and take my place in Valhalla.’

‘But what if you could have a little taste of that feast in Valhalla before you go?’

Eirik had lost his reasoning somewhere along the way. Vidar shook his head. ‘You’re mad, Brother. Are you trying to say that my betrothed could provide me with a taste of the pleasures to be had after my death?’

Eirik’s eyes brightened and he smiled. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

It was Vidar’s turn to laugh. ‘The only pleasure that woman has in mind is the pleasure she’ll have when my ballocks are served to her at her table.’

‘You could change your approach,’ his brother countered. ‘She may want to be a warrior, but she’s not. You can’t win her over by defeating her.’

Vidar snorted and shook his head, walking towards his warriors on the sparring field.

‘Try it, Brother,’ Eirik called after him. ‘A warm wife is better than a cold one.’

Vidar only shook his head again. That woman wanted to be married to him about as much as he wanted to be married to her. He’d wed her, bed her and then figure out a way to leave her behind as he went on his next adventure. They’d both be happier with that arrangement.

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