8. Magnar

1000 YEARS AGO

Days turned into weeks which bled into months and years.

We hunted the monsters who now called themselves the Belvederes across the great continent they’d discovered, often slaying their foul creations but never coming close to them. They ran from us whenever we drew near and their damn rune-stones made it almost impossible for us to track them down again.

I was beginning to lose hope. It was pointless. What was it all for? I’d given my whole life to this cause and I’d achieved nothing. It had been eight years since they’d murdered my father and justice still hadn’t been served.

I felt cheated. Cheated by fate, the gods, life. I’d sacrificed everything to this search and what did I have to show for it?

A betrothal to a woman I could never love. A vendetta which I was beginning to fear would never be set right. An aching desire for revenge which tainted every good moment that was presented to me so that I couldn’t fully enjoy it.

For all that I had offered the gods, they’d given me very little in return. Idun never answered my calls anymore, but I was sure I could feel her presence, her amusement when I was feeling my lowest. As I did at this moment.

“Why watch me if you won’t speak with me?” I demanded of the deity. “Is my misery so interesting to you?”

The wind shifted in the trees and I looked up at the rustling branches with a scowl. It was the height of summer; there was no natural reason for such a cold wind to blow. She wanted me to know she was here. She wanted me to know she still refused to speak with me. Cruel whore.

“I hate you,” I murmured. “I hope you know it. You are stealing my life from me with this crusade, and you offer me no assistance. I would end them all, each and every one of them if only I could find them. But you won’t help me, will you? Even though I am sure you know where they are.”

A rat scampered out of the hedges and paused before me, tilting its head as it inspected me. I frowned at the rodent as it rubbed its paws across its face before shifting closer to me.

I stayed still, wondering if this creature had been sent by the goddess. It certainly seemed too tame to be natural and yet I knew it was no Familiar.

The rat hopped onto my boot and proceeded to take a shit before scampering away from me again.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I shook my head.

“Bitch,” I muttered.

She could force a rat to take a shit on me, but she couldn’t guide me to my enemies.

I got to my feet, shaking my boot to remove the animal droppings from it before heading into the trees. I was late to return and no doubt my betrothed would be scouring the camp for me already. I’d promised to dine with her tonight out of sheer frustration from the amount of times she’d asked me, but I was sincerely regretting it now.

It took me longer than expected to make it back to camp and by the time I arrived, the sun was setting and the blue sky was streaked with pink and orange. I must have wandered further than I’d realised and I sighed as I passed the sentries, knowing I was about to get a mouthful from Valentina.

I was sure she’d already been informed of my arrival by one of her many loyal followers within the clans. I wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed it but Valentina had gathered a sizeable group of admirers from each and every clan. They called her my queen even though they knew we weren’t wed yet and I was fairly sure their loyalty to her now rivalled their loyalty to me.

I supposed it should have annoyed me more than it did, but somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to care enough to do anything about it. If it kept her busy, then all the better. And if she was so interested in being called queen, then why not? Though sometimes I could see the pain it caused my mother to hear her referred to as such. But the days of my father’s rule were long behind us now and as much as I’d prefer not to hold his title and have him back among us, it was a futile hope. Life went on.

I’d been Earl for eight years already, my father had only ruled for eighteen. It wouldn’t be long before I passed him in that too. Especially as the Belvederes continued to evade us and I wasn’t likely to receive a warrior’s death any time soon.

I wondered if Valentina was building up her following so that she could force my hand in finally honouring my commitment to her. But if that was her plan, she was a fool. The clans weren’t just loyal to me because they loved me - and I didn’t much care if they did or not - they were loyal because their vow demanded it. Turning from me would have been the same as abandoning their vow and doing so equalled death from the goddess.

“Magnar!” Julius called as he spotted me, and I summoned a smile as I made my way towards him through the mess of tents.

“Brother,” I replied, clasping his forearm in greeting. “Allow me to hazard a guess - am I in trouble?”

“The strangest thing is that I don’t think you are,” Julius teased. “But I have been tasked with hurrying you along all the same.”

“Oh? And how long ago did you promise to find me?”

“Well, I had to eat first,” he replied with a shrug. “I couldn’t very well wander into the woods on an empty stomach. What if I’d come over all faint? Half the women in camp would be heartbroken if something ever became of me in the wilderness.”

“So now she’s angry with both of us no doubt,” I replied and I couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased that Valentina’s anger would be split between my brother and I. “I’m a little surprised she didn’t send a storm cloud after me again.”

“Well you did stay out in that rain for nearly three days last time,” he reminded me. “So it wasn’t an entirely successful attempt to rein you in.”

I chuckled in response as we drew closer to the fire pit. I’d been fucking miserable out in that storm for days, watching the sun shining brightly over our camp from afar while I refused to return. But there was no way in hell I’d let her whip me like a dog and chase me home with a storm. I’d only come back when she’d finally given in and withdrawn the cursed clouds and even then I’d waited several hours. I’d been soaking wet, freezing cold and as angry as the beasts of Ragnarok, but I’d beaten her at her petty game so it had been worth my suffering.

“And where is my bride to be?” I asked, scanning the clansmen around the fire and not finding her among them.

“She said you were dining in private. Which I imagine is why she’s been in and out of your tent all afternoon ‘getting ready.’”

I sighed and clapped him on the back before heading away from the fire to find my tent.

It wasn’t long before I arrived outside it, and I reached for the flap just as I heard my name.

“Magnar!” Elissa called and I paused to glance at her as she emerged from her tent which was pitched beside mine.

“Do you mean me this time?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She and Aelfric had named their first born after me which had seemed like a touching idea at first but had quickly become confusing when I constantly heard her calling my name.

“Yes,” she replied with a smirk as she adjusted their second born, Ferne, over the swell of her stomach. She was yet to tell me that they were expecting their third child, but it was fairly apparent. “And I still don’t regret naming him that so you’ll have to put up with it.”

I grinned at her, unable to pretend to be angry with her over it. “So as you do mean me this time, what is it you want?”

“Apples,” she replied. “But Aelfric is taking too long about fetching them and I fear he’s accidentally ended up drinking ale instead. He took little Magnar with him but I don’t want to carry Ferne all that way...”

I smiled at the little girl and snatched her before Elissa could even finish asking. She was as light as a feather in my arms as I swung her into the air, and she giggled excitedly.

“Mag-mag!” she cried, reaching towards me until I let her grab my hair.

“You’re the best.” Elissa hurried away and I waited until she was out of sight before lifting Ferne up to look me in the eye.

“You wanna go high?” I asked her in a low whisper.

She was nearing her first birth moon and didn’t have many words yet, but she nodded excitedly.

I double checked that Elissa was gone then tossed her up into the air. She squealed with excitement as she flew towards the sky and fell into raucous giggles as I caught her again. The sound made my heart lighten and I laughed too before throwing her into the air again.

“You know, we could have some of our own if you’d just marry me,” Valentina said loudly as I caught Ferne for the fourth time.

I held the little girl close to my chest and she instantly started tugging on my hair again.

“That is probably the first thing you’ve ever said to me that might tempt me into action,” I replied teasingly as I turned towards Valentina.

She was wearing a grey dress which was cut low to reveal her breasts and she’d left her hair loose for once. The effect was quite striking; she seemed somehow softer, more feminine. Her eyes drifted to the child in my arms and I was fairly certain discomfort flickered across her gaze. I’d never once seen her playing with any of the village children and the fact that she was suggesting that she’d like to be a mother quite frankly surprised me.

“Well we could have a go at making one tonight?” she suggested.

“You know you wouldn’t get pregnant unless we were wed first,” I reminded her, though no doubt that was why she was offering it. It was another of the goddess’s rules which bound our people; slayers were unable to conceive children outside of wedlock.

“We could do that tonight too.”

I laughed as if it had been a joke and turned my attention back to the little girl in my arms. I pressed a kiss to her head and she giggled appreciatively.

“Mag-mag,” Ferne cooed, yanking on my hair again and I laughed properly.

“Go high?” I whispered and she nodded enthusiastically, releasing her grip on my hair so that I could toss her towards the sky again.

“If my wife catches you doing that she’ll castrate you!” Aelfric called as he approached us.

“Doing what?” I asked innocently as I tucked Ferne against my chest once more.

“Nothing. So long as you don’t tell her we stopped for an ale on our way back.”

“We? I don’t see your son anywhere,” I pointed out.

“Oh for the love of the gods!” Aelfric looked down at his legs then started hunting the spaces between the tents for little Magnar.

The sound of laughter reached us as the two year old peeked out from his hiding place behind my tent and Aelfric made a show of pretending to be mad at him.

After listening to his father for half a minute, little Magnar sidestepped him and ran towards me.

“Hi Mag-mag,” he said with an impish smile. “Go high?”

“On your head be it,” Aelfric said as I gave him an imploring look, then he took Ferne from me so I could throw their son into the air instead.

Valentina watched us playing but made no attempt to join in, and I wondered again why she’d suggested for us to have a child. If I truly thought she meant it, I might have been tempted to set a date for our wedding after all. It wasn’t as though I was any closer to fulfilling my promise to Idun anyway and I was yet to meet a woman who held my interest for more than a few weeks. Perhaps that kind of love just wasn’t in my future. But the love of a child was something I could still have if I went through with the wedding.

“Magnar Elioson!” Elisa yelled angrily as she spotted me tossing her son high above my head.

I laughed as I placed little Magnar on his feet then hurried into my tent, pushing Valentina ahead of me so that I didn’t have to face Elissa’s wrath.

“You really want a child, don’t you?” Valentina asked thoughtfully as I stepped around her and unstrapped the sheathes which secured my swords to my back.

“One day,” I replied vaguely, not wanting to think on it too much.

I’d dedicated my life to removing the Revenants from the Earth in the hopes that I could make those kinds of decisions once they were gone, but maybe she actually had a point. The longer I put my life on hold, the more I prolonged my own suffering. Perhaps I should have been thinking about my own future rather than letting it pass me by in my quest for revenge. I was mortal after all. I wasn’t going to live forever.

I placed my swords down and turned my back to my betrothed, wondering why she’d been in and out of my tent all afternoon because I couldn’t spot anything different about it...although everything did look very clean.

Valentina moved to sit at the small table which I used for meals when I didn’t feel like interacting with the other clansmen, which wasn’t particularly often. Two plates of food sat waiting on it and I grinned as I took a seat opposite her.

“Cold food, good idea,” I said with a smirk as I ripped a hunk of bread apart.

“Well at least I knew that when you were late it wouldn’t have gone bad,” she replied lightly.

“And I am always late.”

“Well you are when you’re meeting me,” she agreed though her voice didn’t hold any irritation at the fact.

“So how was your day?” I asked as I filled my stomach.

“Good. I cleaned up in here a bit.” She pointed around the tent and I nodded, though I couldn’t have said specifically what she’d done.

“Thanks,” I said a little late as I realised that was what she was waiting for.

She slid a full jug of ale towards me and I offered her a smile as I emptied it in one long drink. She didn’t usually encourage my drinking but if she’d decided to allow it without protest for once then I wasn’t going to complain.

“Have you ever thought about what you’d like to call them?” she asked as she refilled my jug, leaning forward as she did so and offering me a view down her dress.

“What?” I asked with a frown as my head swum for a moment.

I had no idea where she’d gotten that ale, but it was strong as shit. I emptied the second jug and she laughed like I’d said something amusing.

“Our children. What will you call them?” she pressed.

“I haven’t thought on it,” I replied.

“Imagine if they inherited both of our gifts,” she said softly.

I felt a heavy pressure building in the air for a moment as she drew electricity from the atmosphere then released it again, her eyes flaring in time with her power.

Though it was possible, it wasn’t likely. Children almost always inherited the gifts of whichever parent was stronger. Though I couldn’t be sure who that would be between Valentina and I; our gifts were too different to easily compare their strength. There were only a few cases of children inheriting both lines of gifts anyway.

“They would be a force to be reckoned with, with parents such as us whatever way their gifts fell,” I said before wondering why I was entertaining this fantasy. I normally shot down any conversation about us as a couple, but somehow that one had slipped past me by accident.

“They would,” she agreed with a warm smile as she refilled my jug again. “Imagine inheriting the strength of the most powerful man on Earth and being able to harness the wildness of the storms like I do. They’d be unstoppable. Legendary,” she breathed, that last word captivating me.

I found myself smiling at the idea. Valentina held my eye and dipped her finger into my drink before raising it to her mouth. I watched as she sucked the ale from her finger and my attention caught on the curve of her lips, the intention behind her action clear. Lightning flashed in her eyes as thunder rumbled overhead. A storm was coming and I wondered if I might like to be caught in it for once.

I drained my jug again and my head swam from the strong drink. Valentina leaned over the table, her dress seeming even lower cut than it had before as she gave me a view of her breasts again.

I blinked in confusion, forcing my gaze away as the unwanted thoughts kept swimming across my mind.

“I could bear you sons and daughters who the gods themselves would sing songs about. No one has blood so pure as ours or gifts so potent,” she breathed, and the dream was a little intoxicating.

Valentina refilled my jug for a fourth time but she placed her hand around it before I could lift it to my mouth. She slid from her seat and moved towards me, perching on the table as she raised the jug to my lips. I kept my eyes on her as I drank it and the warmth from the alcohol fizzled into my blood. I shouldn’t have been feeling as drunk as I was and I began to wonder where the hell she’d gotten this ale. But she distracted me by sliding from the table onto my lap.

She pressed herself against me and I couldn’t help but feel a little aroused as she held my eye. She reached out to refill the jug again, but I snared her hand in mine and knocked it from her grip instead. She stilled in my arms, watching me as I looked at her in a way I’d never allowed myself to do before. She was beautiful and loyal and the picture she was painting of the life we might have was tempting me in a way it had never done previously.

“What do you want, Magnar?” she breathed seductively. “Just tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

“Love,” I replied, a faint frown pulling at my features as I wondered why I’d just told her that.

“I love you,” she replied instantly and I found I liked the way it sounded. She smiled, reaching up to trace her fingers along my face. “I love you and I want to show you how much. I want to be your lover, the mother of your children, and your queen.”

My heart leapt and I shifted my grip to her waist, feeling the warmth of her body beneath my palms.

“I want that too,” I said although I wasn’t sure if the words were mine or not. But I didn’t have time to think on it before my desire for her took over and I pulled her towards me.

Her lips were full and demanding against mine. I kissed her like I never had before and my body ached with lust as I realised I wanted to do so much more than that to her.

Valentina shifted on my lap, straddling me as her fingernails bit into my shoulders and she devoured my kisses.

She gripped my shirt and tore it off of me, and I groaned as her hands moved over my flesh. I wanted more of her. All of her. I pushed her dress up and smiled when I realised she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it.

She started pulling at my belt and I couldn’t help but wonder why I hadn’t done this before. She was mine. She’d always been mine. As soon as I took her to my bed, I knew there would be no going back on it. I’d marry her and she’d have my children and-

I yanked my head back and frowned at her in confusion.

She looked at me uncertainly and I could see a flicker of concern in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she breathed as she shifted her hands beneath my waistband, but I caught her wrists in my grasp, halting her as I tried to work out what was happening.

My head felt thick with desire for her. It was like I’d seen her a thousand times before but I’d never really looked at her until now and it turned out she was everything I’d ever wanted. Except that couldn’t be right. She’d offered her body to me plenty of times before and I’d never felt tempted enough to act on it.

She leaned closer, trying to kiss me again and I wanted it. I wanted it like I wouldn’t be able to breathe again until I lost myself in the feeling of her skin against mine and I bound our souls together in marriage like I’d always intended to do.

I stood up suddenly, knocking her off of me.

“What was in that ale?” I growled as she stared up at me in fright.

I half wanted to grab her again and spend the night losing myself in her body, but I shook my head harshly, trying to clear the cloud from my mind.

“I...nothing,” she gasped, shaking her head fearfully.

“Tell me if you want to keep your head on your shoulders,” I growled. “An attack against your Earl is punishable by death.”

“It wasn’t an attack!” she said desperately. “Idun gave it to me for you. She said it would help you find happiness, that’s all, I swear it.”

I cursed at her as another wave of desire racked my body and I turned and strode out of the tent before I could do something that I would regret.

I headed away as quickly as I could without running and set my sights on the fire pit in the distance.

I still ached with a longing to satisfy the need for Valentina in my flesh, but that was easily solved. Any brown haired woman would do. And if Valentina had even an ounce of sense at all, she wouldn’t come near me again any time soon.