Valkyrie Fallen, Chapter 23

Bjorn

The day of Bjorn’s departure for Ravndal had arrived, and he kept dallying, finding excuses to fiddle with things while Soren waited impatiently outside. The girls were also outside, waiting to see him off, and I’d remained to help him collect his supplies, but now I’d turned into family counselor.

“Bjorn, do you doubt my ability to defend your family?” I’d gotten well past the gentle encouragement and was in full-on sass mode. “Remember who you’re speaking to,” I hinted.

“No, I don’t doubt you,” he grumbled.

“So what is your issue?"

“I-” he sighed, his eyes tracking around the homestead as he avoided my gaze. “It’s just that the last time I left, Signe fell. I wasn’t here to help her. I can’t help thinking that will happen again.”

I rubbed the space between my brows, drawing on myself for more patience. “You do know the difference between that time and this time, don’t you?”

He shook his head, cerulean eyes begging me to make it clear.

“The difference is I’m here. Even though you’re leaving, the girls are not alone. I am here if they need help. So if you can trust that I am capable of taking care of them, then you can leave knowing that they will be fine while you are gone.”

He appeared to have a static expression, but I knew better: I could see his jaw flexing under the neatly trimmed bulk of his beard. Bjorn’s massive hands were picking up small things in the room, worrying them, then replacing them. It was almost comical, if I couldn’t hear Soren cursing outside and didn’t know the reason he was so concerned.

“Bjorn.” I reached up to grasp each of his massive biceps with my hands, drawing his attention back to myself. “They will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to them. Do you trust me?”

His nervous energy stopped, and Bjorn gazed deeply into my eyes, searching for something within them. I gazed back at him as steadily as I was able, trying to convey security and trust, strength that he could count on.

Without warning, his massive palms rose to cup my cheeks, and Bjorn kissed me. It was rough, nothing suave or gentle with his approach. The stiff hairs of his beard tickled my face, prickling the skin below my nose even before his lips touched mine. My heart lurched into my throat, and before I could even kiss him back—before I was even sure I wanted to—he withdrew, gazing intently at me once more. “I trust you,” he whispered, then left.

I staggered backward to the bench seat for just a moment, encouraging my head to catch up to my racing heart. What the hell just happened? 

*

Bjorn

*

I don’t know why I did it. My concern for my sisters and their safety was real, and hardly lust-inducing. But when I looked into her eyes and read the confidence and sincerity they held, it drew me to her. I had no words, just a single thought that occupied my mind.

I had to know what her lips felt like.

The impulse overcame every other thought in my head and I just acted on it without thought or reason. Now, of course, as Soren and I trudged to Ravndal, a thousand things flew through my brain. Things I should have said, tasks I wasn’t sure I’d completed before we left, a list of chores that needed to get done.

But the loudest one, the one that circled back again and again to the forefront of my mind: What did Brenna think?

Was she attracted to me at all? Or was I just a temporary source of food and shelter? Her expression afterward had been pure shock—she certainly didn’t give me a clue about her feelings and I didn’t stick around to find out.

Coward that I was, I left that kiss hanging in the air while I disappeared for a week.

Truthfully, it was fine. When I returned, if she acted as if it never happened, then I would too. Brenna didn’t strike me as the type to lead a man on if she wasn’t interested, so I would know how she felt when I returned.

I had far more important things to worry about for the next seven days. Namely: How to get an audience with the Jarl and broach the subject of our raiding party?

Soren was the brains of this operation. I was certain he had plans. However, I also knew I had far more at stake than he did, and we were planning to leverage my family and any goodwill that netted us to pull as many strings as we could. My parents’ deaths, my sisters, Signe’s condition; all of it could be enough to request an audience with the Jarl.

And then we’d just have to hope he’d be in an indulgent mood.

My mind drifted back to Brenna. Leif had promised to check in on the farm while we were gone. Thinking of the younger man, guilt again filled my heart; I knew he had a crush on Brenna. It was impossible to ignore the glow in his eyes around her. His entire demeanor had shifted, from grieving brother and wayward-minded poet to attentive lover, practically overnight. Eyes always darting in her direction, trying to anticipate her needs and offer her what she needed before she sought it herself, even if it was just a cup of water. Part of me worried he’d press the advantage of Soren and I being gone to make a pest of himself in our absence… and then I remembered there was no competition, implied or otherwise. Of course, if Leif wanted to pursue her, he should. And I shouldn’t have kissed her. I knew how he felt before I did it. That was not the way brothers treated each other, and our relationship was more important to me than any woman could possibly be.

Soren, Leif, and I had a bond that no one could understand, or break. Resolving to keep that firmly in the forefront of my mind, I extended my stride to catch up to Soren a few feet ahead and engage him in conversation about our strategy for the Jarl.

This was where my head needed to be, and not on Brenna’s lips.

No matter how soft they were, and despite the spark I felt between us in our shared breath.

It would never happen again.

Can't wait for the next post? Get your own copy here!