Myra began a slow, melodic chant, and as the room warmed and filled with the smell of incense and wood fire. I had to look away from Allete to see what was happening. The old witch was bathed in a golden light, and her hair floated around her as though she were suspended in water. Her eyes were closed and her hands out, her palms toward the ceiling. As I watched, a dagger with an intricately adorned handle appeared. The sight of something so deadly so close to Allete caused my need to protect her to surge forth, but I kept it in check. Myra had helped us before, and I needed to believe she was helping us again.
The witch’s eyes opened, and she held out her hand to me. “Blood is powerful. It gives life and the lack of it takes life away. Blood oaths work in the same manner. They give life to the joined pair, and they can take life if broken. You must truly want this and be unwavering in your commitment to her. Can you do that?”
“I can and I will,” I answered, using the oath binding language of my own clan.
“Expose the skin above your heart.”
My eyes narrowed on her. “Why?”
“Because the blood closest to the heart is the purest and cleanest. It is this blood that will be joined with hers,” she explained.
I did as she asked. Myra ran the dagger across my flesh, just over my heart. The blood welled up instantly, the bright red like a beacon against my tan skin. She coated either side of the edge of the blade in my blood and then looked down to Allete.
“You may turn your head to protect her modesty, as she is not yet your wife, but witnessing the blood binding is powerful. As she cannot observe the ceremony, perhaps you should.”
I leaned over Allete and positioned the duvet so that it would keep as much of her covered as possible while still exposing the creamy flesh over her heart. I ignored the fact that her skin smelled like lilacs and looked as soft as silk. And I bit back a growl as Myra ran the blade across that beautiful skin.
She laid the blade on its side across the cut, wiping my own blood on the wound, mixing the two liquids.
“Do you, Torben, accept your place as the soul anchor of Allete, Seer and Healer of the Hakon clan, committing your spirit to hers for all eternity? Do you agree to care for her, shelter her, and provide for her needs so that she can perform the task the gods have given to her? Do you swear to protect her from all threats? Do you bind yourself to these oaths with your life, knowing it is forfeit should you fail to keep the covenant you speak here today?”
“I do and I will.”
“Help me wake her,” she commanded.
“How?”
“Your blood is giving her strength as we speak. The magic of the bond you are forming between her now should be enough to wake her.”
“Allete. Princess,” I said gently as I shook her shoulder. “Wake up for me. I need to see you.”
She didn’t stir.
I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her neck just below her ear. “Hear me, Allete. I am yours. I’ve pledged it. I need to know that you are mine. I need you. Hear me,” I whispered pushing every ounce of that need into my voice.
After several heartbeats, she finally began to move. Her eyes shifted beneath her lids and then gradually began to flutter until they were open. She was looking directly up at me. Her brow drew together as the realization that I was in her room, on her bed with her, washed over her. Then her face scrunched up, her lips pulling tightly together.
“Ow,” she grumbled as she reached up and rubbed her chest where the cut had been made. Then, several remarkable things seemed to come to her mind all at once. “You have long hair and a beard. You’re in my room.” She turned and looked at Myra. “With a woman who claims to have magic. And you let her cut me.” Her eyes began to blaze with the heat of the anger that made me want to poke her more just to see how far I could push her. “What is going on, Torben, and why do you look like that?”
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
She nodded without even thinking. “I don’t know if I should any more since you allowed someone to carve me like a holiday bird.”
I smirked. “Being a bit dramatic, don’t you think, princess?”
“I woke up bleeding. I am entitled to dramatics.”
“I told you that you needed your anchor to survive,” Myra interrupted. “Do you remember that?”
She nodded.
“Torben is your anchor. He is the match for your soul, and without him, your ability to heal and continuation to do so will take a piece of your life with every attempt.”
“What?” I growled. “You didn’t say any of that to me, witch.”
“Did you want me to take time to explain while she slipped further into oblivion, or did you want her to live?”
I pursed my lips. “All right, you have sound reasoning.”
Myra turned back to Allete. “We have begun the bonding process by the joining of his blood with yours. Hence the cut.” She pointed to the wound. The bleeding had slowed, but not fast enough for my liking. I tore a piece of my tunic and pressed it to the wound. Allete slapped my hand away which made me chuckle.
“One day, princess, you won’t be pushing my hands away,” I said, knowing it would ignite her temper.
“Want to bargain on whether you can hold your breath longer than I can keep pushing your hands away?”
“Would you two please stop acting like kids with crushes and complete this bond so you both can be stronger?” Myra snapped.
I was too busy grinning down at the woman I had fallen for, loving that she always rose to the challenges that I threw at her. She was my equal in every way—my soul match.
Allete shot me one more glare before turning back to Myra. “Am I marrying him?”
Myra shook her head. “One day I’m sure you will marry in the way of your people. But what we are doing is more permeant. It is a merging of souls. There is no bond that is its equal. Soul matches are a rare occurrence that only happen with those who possess magic. This is not to be taken lightly.”
Allete turned and looked up at me. “You truly want this? We’ve only known each other a short while, and I still have no idea why you look so barbaric at the moment.”
“I am a Northman, a Viking. Myra put a spell on me and my men to make us look like Englishmen so we would be easily accepted as guards. What you are seeing now is what I truly look like.”
“Why did you come here and pretend to be my guard?” she asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “That’s a bit complicated.”
“I’m about to bind my soul to yours. Un-complicate it, and do it quickly.”
“The fear of rejection was not something with which I had ever contended. I am a warrior. I protect that which is mine, I destroy my enemy, and I lead my people. That is what I have always been. But with her, I am more. And even as a warrior, with all the times I stood on a battlefield staring down death, I was never as afraid as I was then. Staring down at my love and praying she did not destroy me by rejecting me.”
* * *
~Torben
“My clan came because our Jarl wanted to raid the ships of the king that was coming to marry you,” Torben said, then added reluctantly. “And your father as well.”
“And why did you come?” I could tell by the sound of his voice that his answer was not the complete story.
“I came for you,” he finally admitted.
“To abduct me?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. I came to court you, but the only way I could do that was by getting close to you. We came across Myra, and she agreed to help us.”