When she unfurled the magnificent cloak, Skadi’s eyes widened in awe. “Silver fox fur…tinged with blue. By all the gods, it is beautiful!” She lurched to her feet, draped it over her shoulders, and twirled with delight. “You stitched it yourself…here in this cave? Oh, Úlvhild, I cannot thank you enough.” Clutching the cloak to her chest, Skadi bent to kiss Úlvhild’s smiling cheek.
Úlvhild beamed, amber eyes darting between Skadi and Skjöld. “Skjöld told me that his mother Ylva was crafting wedding rings with pale blue gems, and a gown of ice blue silk. I thought it would be the perfect color for your winter solstice wedding.”
“Open yours,” Haldor urged Skjöld.
Skjöld complied, unwrapping an ornate dagger sheathed in dark grey leather studded with smooth, glowing moonstones.
“I had Måhtte in the Sámi village craft the blade with your spirit stone,” Haldor said, as Skjöld unsheathed the dagger and ran reverent fingertips over the large lapis lazuli gem encased in the elaborate hilt.
“For eight winters, you trained with me. Became a warrior,vitkiandnoaidi.This blade is my gift to honor you as my equal… and to recognize you as mybroðir.” Haldor’s piercing falcon gaze filled Skjöld with fierce pride.
“Úlvhild crafted the leather sheath from the same fox fur as Skadi’s cloak,” he added, pulling Úlvhild affectionately against his side. “She adorned the scabbard with moonstones—her spirit stone as avölva—so that our combined gift to you is for your wedding day…and the culmination of your journey.”
Skjöld’s voice was thick with emotion. “Thank you both. I will treasure it always. As I will the life lessons you have taught me, Haldor.”
“Lugh and Luna have invited us to spend part of theJólseasonwith them.” Skadi leaned forward to grasp Úlvhild’s hand. “Skjöld and I will bring back wedding gifts for you and Haldor fromÁlfheim.”
They shared oat cakes topped with Úlvhild’s delicious blend of warm honey, dried lingonberries, and chopped hazelnuts, toasting to the winter solstice and both of their weddings.
Then, with warm hugs and fond farewells, Skjöld and Skadi left theDragon’s Leapcave.
Chapter 38
Solstice, Silk, and Swords
Everything was finally ready.
Le Château Blancwas adorned with garlands of holly and ivy, their dark green vines interwoven with fragrant whitehelléboreblossoms. An enormous bonfire roared in the clifftop clearing near the canopy of beech and oak trees alongside the castle, the open meadow dusted lightly with freshly fallen snow. Thegoðiwho would perform tonight’s pagan Viking ceremony had already sacrificed two boars—now roasting on spits in the castle kitchens for the wedding feast— and had saved the sacred blood to offer Odin, Freyr, and Freyja.
Seated with Skadi and Sif in the antechamber which connected her private quarters with Oda’s, Elfi’s heart overflowed.
“Thiskransenonce belonged to Skårde’s grandmother Gyda.” Ylva’s velvety voice was laced with love as she placed the delicate silver circlet atop Skadi’s intricately braided locks. “It looks beautiful with your long blonde hair.” Fetching the small silver box on the shelf, she opened it to displayed a pair of silver rings, each set with twin gemstones—a pale blue aquamarine that sparkled like an icy fjord, and a deep purple amethyst that blazed with violet fire. “A wedding gift for you and Skjöld,” she said with a warm smile. “I am most pleased with the fine craftsmanship. And the colors represent the Elven water andfrostfiremagic you share assoulboundmates.”
“I am most grateful,” Skadi murmured, as Ylva kissed her cheek. “This wedding gown…” she said, gesturing to the ice blue silk creation that Oda, Vilde, Ylva, and Vivi had meticulously stitched over the past several weeks which now draped her long, lithe body. “The kransen…the rings…the ceremony itself… I am simply overcome with joy.” Cupping her crumpled face in her pale hands, she released a single, heartfelt sob.
“And these are for you, dear Sif.” Oda bent to kiss her cheek and offered a similar silver box. “Your mother has been at my side for thirty winters,” she said softly, drawing Sif into an affectionate hug. Her wide, expressive eyes welled with tears as she smiled gratefully at Vilde. “I had the village silversmith craft them with gems to match your gown.”
Sif, seated beside Elfi and Skadi, opened the small box and gasped.
Inside, nestled in black velvet, were two silver wedding rings, each set with a sparkling faceted amethyst. Hers held a large oval gem, while Bodo’s broader band was inlaid with a smaller matching stone.
“Thank you, truly. They’re perfect.” Sif half rose from her chair, twisting her body so that she could wrap her arms around Oda. She kissed the soft, wrinkled cheek of Elfi’s belovedamma. When Sif slipped the ring on her finger, the deep purple gem glittered in the firelight. “I cannot wait to become Bodo’s wife.” Reluctantly removing the ring from her finger, she returned it to rest beside Bodo’s, and handed the small box to Vilde, who would hold it for the ceremony.
“I also have a gift to bestow.” Queen Íssla—who had arrived several days earlier with Njörd—rose regally from her seat near Oda. Set withgildirgemstones in shimmering silver, the slender crown atop her white blonde hair glittered like starlight on snow.
In her pearlescent hands was a narrow parcel wrapped in deep blue silk of the same hue as Elfi’s wedding gown. Íssla extended the gift to Elfi with a soft, radiant smile.
Elfi unwrapped the blue silk to reveal a whalebone flute, the pale ivory intricately carved with wavelike swirls, and the twin images of a wolf and a mermaid.
“Njörd told me how you always played your brother’s flute, and that you had buried it, along with his recoveredLjósálfarsword, alongside Dag’s grave in the sacred grove.” Tender, slender fingers caressed Elfi’s cheek. “When I learned how youhad summoned the wolves to saveChâteau Blanc—and that Jarl Rikard had bestowed upon you the title ofLa Louve Blanche—I had this crafted for you inÁlfheim.”Íssla traced the engraved images on the ivory flute cradled in Elfi’s hands. “The wolf represents Njörd, and the mermaid is you,sjóvættirdaughter of Dúva and granddaughter of the Sea Goddess Rán. But the wolf also commemorates your valor as La Louve Blanche. Shieldmaiden of Étretat.”
Tears welled in Elfi eyes as she beheld the priceless gift.
Now she could honor Dag in Valhalla—just as she had always done in the waterfall cave of the Mermaid Cove—by playing this precious whalebone flute that symbolized her marriage to Njörd.
And her identity as theShieldmaiden of Étretatthat Dag had trained her to be.
Elfi stood on unsteady legs, her hands trembling as she cradled the whalebone flute. “Thank you very much,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “You could not have given me a more splendid gift.”
