While Elfi struggled not to swoon out of her seat, servants arrived with trenchers of salted boar dripping with honey, grilled salmon, and roasted vegetables with fine herbs to serve the new arrivals.
TheÚlfhéðnarattacked their heaping plateswith loud, appreciative enthusiasm.
“After we’ve eaten, I’d like to walk along the shore with you in the moonlight. I have so much to tell you about what happened today.” Njörd leanedback, withdrew a parcel wrapped in leather from a scabbard at his waist, and opened it on the table before Elfi.
“These are from the same white wolf as the fur of my cloak,” he said, pointing to two large bones that were each several inches long. “They will be used to craft Light Elven weapons for your defense. And this,” he said, withdrawing a loop-shaped iron amulet suspended from a black leather cord, “is atrollkorstalisman,which you must wear at all times. I had planned to give it to you tomorrow when we trained in the sacred grove, but I’d rather give it to you now. It will protect youfrom Dark Elves and shapeshifting trolls.” He took hold of the ends of the leather cord and leaned forward, as if to place it around her throat. “May I?”
Elfi nodded, lifting her long hair so that he could tie the amulet behind her neck. She smoothed her locks over her shoulders when he’d finished, running her fingers over the intricately carved Nordic runes and the trio of lapis lazuli gems, which she recognized, for they were the same stones as those in the necklace Njörd had given her as a bridal gift. Palpable power thrummed beneath her touch.
“I’ll tell you about my visit today with thevölvawhen we walk on the beach. She’s the one who imbued thetrollkorswithgaldrmagic to protect you. Be sure you keep it on, even when you sleep.” He dove into his meal, humming with approval. “This is delicious.”
Elfi smiled and sipped her mead, admiring the spiral curves at the ends of the looped amulet around her neck. The etched runes were a deep red, sending a shiver up her arms as she touched them. “Is this blood?” she asked, with a morbid blend of horror and fascination.
Njörd washed down a mouthful of salted boar with a gulp of mead, wiping his dark beard with the back of a swarthy hand. “Já.It’s mine. The blood of the wolf to protect you.” His deep blue eyes washed her in waves of longing.
I can’t wait until we walk together in the moonlight. I yearn to be alone with him. I want him to kiss me like he did when we danced by the fire.
When thenáttmálmeal was finally over, thralls cleared away empty trenchers and arranged the eating benches against the walls, setting up beds for the warriors who slept in the Great Hall.
TheÚlfhéðnarshookhands with Jarl Rikard, Count Skårde, Bjarke, and Varg, bowing before Oda and Elfi as they said goodnight. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Elfi.” Úlf kissed her hand and turned toward Njörd. “See you in the morning. Tomorrow night—we train again as wolves.” The tall blond clad in the great grey wolf cloak led theÚlfhéðnartoward the enormous wooden exit door.
Elfi noticed that Bodo lingered behind, his eyes following Sif, who quickly finished her nightly chores and approached the high table to whisper again in Elfi’s ear. “I’m going to walk with Bodo, if that’s alright? I’ll be back later to dress you for bed. He’ll see me to the castle door.”
Elfi nodded and whispered back, “Of course it’s alright. Enjoy your time together. I’m going to walk along the shore with Njörd. There’s no need for you to rush back. I can certainly undress myself and unbraid my own hair.”
Delight danced in Sif’s dark eyes. “Thank you, Elfi. I’ll tell you all about it when I come home.” With a soft squeal of utter joy, Sif turned away and rushed to Bodo’s awaiting side.
Njörd chuckled deeply. “Looks like those two are smitten with each other. Bodo mentioned earlier how eager he was to get back to the castle and see your pretty thrall.” He rose from the table and grinned down at Elfi. “Would you like to walk along the beach now? The moon is full, and the light dances on the sea.”
Elfi’s heart soared at the thought of being alone with him. Near the sea that had brought them together and linked their souls. “I would love that.” She smiled up at him as she stood, turning to speak softly to her grandmother. “Njörd and I are going for a walk along the shore. He’ll bring me back to the castle in a little while.”
Oda’s knowing eyes gleamed in the candlelight. “Don’t be too late. Bjarke and Jarl Rikardwill want the castle secured for the night.” Sheclucked like a mother hen as Elfi bent down to kiss her crinkled cheek. Oda smiled up at Njörd as Vilde approached, ready to help prepare the agingchâtelainefor bed. “Take good care of my granddaughter, and bring her back soon. Goodnight, Jarl Njörd.” Oda allowed Vilde to lead her from the Great Hall toward the stairwell in the foyer.
And Njörd escorted Elfi out the castle door.
****
Moonlight glimmered on the gentle waves of the Narrow Sea as Njörd held Elfi’s hand and guided her down the beaten path from the grassy plateau at the top of the cliff where the castle was perched to the pebbled shore far below.
Under a splendid starlit sky, with the lulling rhythm of lapping waves and the salty scent of the sea, Elfi hooked her arm through his, and they strolled along the secluded beach.
He told her about his childhood in Norway. About the white wolf in the woods near the cabin. How the otherworldly voice had told him to wear the wolfskin in battle and to keep the lupine bones to make weapons for his future mate. Njörd shared the Norwegianvölva’s vision that his fate and his mate—the siren with the sea goddess eyes—would lead him to distant shores across the Nordic Seas. He told her of the prophecy—that he was destined to wield a Dwarven sword—and how thevölvaÚlvhild had encouraged him to find Bodo, the crippled stonecutter who held the knowledge which he sought.
“Bodo knew my father,” Njörd said, pushing the head of the wolfskin cloak back to reveal his thick mane of long, dark, braided locks. “Brökk was the leader of theÚlfhéðnartribe in Norway. He and Bodo, along with thewolf warriors you met in the Great Hall tonight, were sent by King Harald Bluetooth to the Faroe Islands, where my father was gravely wounded in battle. Bodo and Njáll—the extremely tallÚlfhéðinnin the black wolfskin—set sail for Ísland, to bring my father to a giftedLjósálfarhealer. But Brökk died aboard ship during the voyage.” Njörd kicked a pebble with his booted foot, sighed loudly, and gazed out at the starlit sea. “Bobo and Njáll intend to bring me to Ísland, to reclaim my father’s Dwarven sword.” He stoppedwalking and turned to Elfi, incredulity blazing across his awestruck face. “From theLjósálfarwho is guarding it for me. My mother, the Light Elven healer Íssla.”
Chills shivered through Elfi’s body. His mother was one of theLjósálfar?Yet, she remembered what Njörd had said at the welcoming feast—that he was the son of a fisherman’s daughter from Norway. And that she had died when he was just a babe.“But… wasn’t your mother named Hlíf?”
“That’s what I had always been told. But Bodo explained that theDökkálfar—theDark Elves who had mortally wounded my father— were desperate to seize his Dwarven sword. They would track, hunt, and kill me, to prevent fulfillment of the prophesy. So my mother Íssla cloaked me with Light Elven magic, shielding me from theDökkálfar.And she cast a spell on a fisherman’s daughter in Norway, so that Hlíf would believe I was hers and raise me as her own. Only Bodo and Njáll knew the truth. That I was Brökk’s son, destined to wield his Dwarven sword,Úlfsongr.They are taking me to Ísland soon, so that I may reclaim it from myLjósálfarmother and fulfill the prophecy. But I still don’t know what that entails or what I am supposed to do with the sword once I have reclaimed it.”
A salty breeze gusted a strand of Njörd’s dark hair, entangling it in his long beard. “Your mother will know.” Elfi brushed the lock away, gazing up into his tormented eyes. She swallowed a sudden lump of sorrow. She didn’t want him to sail across the Nordic Seas. What if he didn’t return? “When do you sail for Ísland?”
Njörd caught her hand, opened it, and kissed the inside of her palm. A surge of desire shot up Elfi’s arm and weakened her knees. “Not until after your father returns safely tole Château Blanc. Because you must sail with us, too. Although Bodo doesn’t know how or why you are involved, he did say that Íssla told him your presence is essential for me to fulfill the prophecy.”
While her head spun at this startling revelation, Njörd pulled Elfi into his strong, sinewy arms. “I think you and I should visit Úlvhild together.Perhaps she can cast her runes… or foresee your future in aseiðrvision. We could go into the village tomorrow morning. Then come back to the castle for our training session in the sacred grove.”
Elfi’s mouth went dry as adrenaline spiked in her veins. “That’s an excellent idea. After the visit, when we return to the castle, I’ll slip up to my room to don my armor and grab my shield. And the bow and quiver of arrows you gave me. I’ll come down the hidden stairwell and meet you at the bottom of the castle keep—so no one sees me with weapons.”
Her heart pounded furiously against her ribs. Tomorrow, thevölvawould foresee her future. Elfi would train with Njörd in the sacred grove. Soon, she would sail with him across the Nordic Seas to the distant land of ice known as Ísland. And help him fulfill the prophecy to reclaim his father’s Dwarven sword!
