Broken Souls (Book 1 of Seasons of the Cycle)

Chapter 69 - Bothvar Beorcolsson

"Really?" Bodvar asks, slanting his head in obvious skepticism.

"I would not lie to you," I say, and I am not lying. Surprisingly, the oaf somehow was given beautiful daughters. Obviously, it was his wife who gave them to him, since he is as ugly as a cow pie, not that I am a good judge of a man's handsomeness.

"I just don't know... There's no way they can be that skilled in fighting. Not like us," he says.

"Possibly. But don't you want to bed a pretty woman?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I mean, I guess. I like Vigdis."

I crank my head to the side at his preference. Vigdis? Solmund's youngest sister? She is his age, but she is not one I'd consider pretty. She definitely has the potential to be a great warrior and is rather fearless, but pretty? No. Definitely not like Arngunn. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes upon. I'll admit that Scyra is a close second. She had eyes I'd never seen before aside from her mother, along with that unnatural snow-white hair. And her face is as beautiful as it gets next to Arngunn's. "Vigdis? Why her? Why not someone like Einar's daughter, Thorgunna? Or even her sister Gudfrid? She might be on the more masculine side, but she has a pretty face."

"Gudfrid, maybe. I seen her knock a man out once. That got me excited. But Vigdis is fearless. She knows how to have fun. I want a woman that can keep up with me and knows how to have fun," he says.

Now I understand, he just wants a woman as crazy as he is. That makes sense, I guess. "Well, my brother, you are in luck. There is no one crazier than those Wolf women. They are beyond crazy."

He narrows his eyes, tilting his head. Then runs a hand through his blonde hair. "What do you mean, crazy? I don't want a woman who doesn't have a full quiver. Definitely no one like Throst's daughter, Arngunn. Or Grom's woman. Or his sister. They are crazy. One moment they are all nice and the next moment they are screaming at you. I don't want that."

I laugh hard. "No... Not that kind of crazy. I heard they're more like you. They have a thirst for battle and adventure. All the Wolf women do. They love to fight and raid. For the sake of the gods, they have wolves for pets. That's the kind of crazy they are. Completely fearless."

His eyes light up. "Really?"

I nod. "You'll have to be careful. I'm sure they'll want to fight you."

He scratches his chin. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all. At least if they are like you say. Any woman who's not afraid to fight a man is my kind of woman."

My brother has always been an odd one, but I can somewhat understand his taste. I do find it sexy when a woman knows how to handle a sword, but it is not something I prefer. Arngunn would never pick up a sword. She didn't care much for fighting. Once Bodvar says goodbye to all his friends and to my surprise he has many, our entire family gathers to meet with the Wolf Clan and, of course, they have their entire family as well.

Bjarni and his wife and son; Vidkunn and his wife; Vidkunn's sons, their wives and children, and his daughters; and Bjarni's daughter and her two children, Baldric and Siv, all stand waiting for us in the village. The rest of the city seems to have gathered around, including Eawyn, Kadal, and Scyra.

Bodvar pulls at my sleeve. I lean down as he whispers in my ear. "Which ones are Vidkunn's daughters?"

I look at Vidkunn and find his wife next to him, along with his youngest son, Gadaric, who will come with us. Next to the young pup is Vidkunn's oldest son, Thorgrim, and his wife, with their children whose names I can't remember. Next to him is his second oldest son, Thorhall, and then there are his two daughters. And they are beautiful. One's a little on the muscular side, but the other is around Bodvar's age. I barely manage to fight the smile, trying to conquer my lips as I bring them to my brother's ear. "The ones standing on the far right of the oaf beyond his sons."