by AJ Adams
“I know, love, I felt it, too.” Bliss is teaching our mini sibyl the ways of the world. “But remember what we do?”
“Look but don’t tell!”
“That’s right. Nobody likes having their feelings publicised.”
“Except Daddy because he’s the bravest warrior in the world and afraid of nothing!”
Daughters adore their fathers, and Astrid is no exception.
“My dad’s nicknamed Skull Crusher!”
Ulf is delighted by that, too. He’s just five but brave as a bull. He and Rune’s twin boys are always scrapping, fighting epic battles with their wooden swords and playing pirates in the bay.
“And my cousin in the west is called Tall Bear Ivar, and yours is Little Eagle Ragnhild!”
That’s another interesting development. Bliss has lots of visions, but in all these years, she’s had only one about our people. It came about six months after the battle on the beach. We were doing nothing in particular when Bliss got that look.
A few minutes later she had tears running down her face, but she was laughing. “Siv! It’s all okay!”
“Great. What is?”
“I saw your people!”
“What?”
She told me right there and then, and I’ve heard it a thousand times since, but it never fails to make me happy.
“We’re all on the beach, looking a hundred years old, and you’ve a scar on your cheek,” Bliss said. “Then a longship comes out of the mist. There’s a roar and then a cry of welcome. The Skraeling are home!” Her eyes were like sapphires. “Your people survived and will flourish, Siv. One day they’ll come back, and we’ll be here to see it.”
I would have been content with that, but the second Astrid learned to talk, she began giving us running updates on our cousins. “Ragnhild says her daddy remembers the ice fields, but her mummy has never seen them!”
At first we thought Astrid might just be fantasising, the way kids do, but she described my brother’s wolf tattoo, the one on his shoulder, and she saw the birthmark on my sister’s hand, the one I’d even forgotten about. Our Astrid is a vala, and a damn powerful one.
From what Astrid says, it seems my brother Egil’s daughter has vala talents, too. She’s Little Eagle Ragnhild, and her brother is Tall Bear Ivar. My sister Folke, it seems, is now Snow Hair Folke and mated with a man called Howling Wolf.
It sounds outlandish, but Astrid says they’re happy and flourishing, and Bliss says it’s the truth. So all of us at Skraeling Point see the mind meld updates as a blessing.
“It’s getting late!” Bliss is rocking happily. “Astrid, it’s time for you and Ulf to go to bed.”
“Yes, Mummy, but can we hear a story from Daddy first?” Astrid has me wound around her little finger. I know it, and it makes me happy.
They climb onto my lap, warm and happy. We do this every night, with old stories like the Saga of Gunnar, Thidrandi’s Killer and Helgi’s Magic Horn being favourites. But we also tell our own legends.
“Well, let’s see. Once upon a time brave warrior went out fishing. But while he was at sea, Rám’s daughters sent a huge storm his way.”
“The Beast and the Sibyl,” Astrid is sighing with delight. “Our best tale.”
And so it is. We had some dark times, but we’ve come through, and now we’re living in the light. We have our homes, our families and our children, a golden future filled with joy and laugher. I’ve still to earn that scar on my cheek, so there’s going to be a few damn good fights, too.
“Siv!” Oh oh, Bliss is giving me the evil eye.
I just blow her a kiss. “Well, sweeting, what do you expect? After all, I am a Beast!”
And that’s the end of our story. May Odin bless your fights and grant you victories and the Lady watch over your children.
THANK YOU for buying this book! Really, you made my day. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to write these novels. Please will you tell a friend about me? Word of mouth is the best way for indie writers like me to get known. And if you can, leave a rating or a review - ten words will do!
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Have you read all the AJ Adams novels?
The Bonus, Zeta Cartel series #1
Songbird, Zeta Cartel series #2
Dirty Dealings, Zeta Cartel series #3
Deliverance
The Degas Girl
Helpless, Belial Disciples MC series #1
Beast, Prydain series #1
The Beast and the Sibyl, Prydain series #2
Fletcher, Prydain series #3
I used to write as Storm Chase.
Wildcat in Moscow
Murder in Moscow
Blackmail Bride: An Erotic Romance in Scotland
Pandora
Lost Weekend: An Erotic Romance in Wales
The Gift: An Erotic Romance in Kiev
The Mule: An Erotic Romance in Colombia
Chocolate: An Erotic Romance in Siberia
Sold! An Erotic Romance in the Sudan
I also write sweet contemporary romance as Ellen Whyte.
His Competent Woman - A BWW-Billionaire Romance
His Laughing Girl - A BWW-Billionaire Romance
That’s it! Thanks again for reading this - and tell a friend, okay? See you soon, hugs, AJ
ENDS