Eira: Banished (Viking Guardians Book 1)

worked hard and they enjoyed the prosperity and prestige that came with being the clan’s leading family. They had thralls captured from other clans or purchased at the slave market and as a result, she didn’t have to work too hard, although she would never be idle. She was fortunate that Bjarni had disdained the practice of taking multiple wives as did many other clan leaders. He always said she was enough for him. She was grateful; it meant that she didn’t have to compete with other women or share their dwelling. He was the best man a wife could want. There was just one problem: Eira.

"Speak up, woman. You sit there staring at me like I have died and my ghost is eating my food.”

Bjarni's voice cut through her thoughts. "Oh, stop shouting and finish up your meal, will you?" she scowled at him, but there was no malice behind her words.

Bjarni laughed at her. He had forgotten how stubborn his wife was. No wonder they were having problems with Eira. She was so much like her mother that Bjarni often felt as if he were looking at a young Astrid when he looked at Eira. They were alike physically and also in their spirited personalities. Eira had Astrid’s stunning green eyes and long, thick, blonde hair. Her skin was smooth and clear and her features were perfectly proportioned. She was a fortunate girl indeed to have inherited her mother’s beauty. Not that it had done her any good in finding a husband. He noticed the men looking at her with hunger in their eyes but no one was brave enough to touch the daughter of the clan’s chief.

"You are a bully. Just like your daughter," he told Astrid. He never let her get away with bossing him around.

She playfully slapped his arm. "Bjarni, you whine a lot. How is it that I have not divorced you and married another?"

"Because there is not a man in the land who would put up with you as I do. You know that and so do I!”

It was Astrid's turn to laugh. She went to sit beside him as he finished the meal. As soon as he had wiped his hands clean, she leaned her head against his shoulder and allowed him to pull her closer.

"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked.

Astrid sighed. "It is Eira who bothers me."

Bjarni turned to face her. "Has she caused you trouble, too?"

"No. I just feel she is not safe around here anymore, if you know what I mean. The village people are suspicious of her, the men look at her as if they want to eat her, and we’ve been unable to find a husband to protect her."

"What would you have me do then?" he asked. "I do my best to protect her from them, as do her brothers. But you know her better than any of us. The girl is as wild as a boar."

Astrid got up and walked towards a corner by the room. She picked up a handcrafted amulet and held it in her hands for a while. "Maybe we can send her away from here," she said.

Bjarni rose from his seat, feeling agitated. He didn’t want to even think about sending his daughter away. Despite the difficulties she caused him, he loved her. Their home would seem so empty without her. "The girl has done nothing to warrant such treatment!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together.

The door opened and Eira walked in carrying as many roots as her hands could hold. "Who has done something? Who are you sending away?"

Bjarni looked from his wife to his daughter and back. He stood there, head bowed in silence as he tried to come up with a plausible answer to her question.

"Who is going away, Mother?" Eira asked again.

Astrid came to stand beside her husband. She needed his support; she knew it would be difficult to get Eira to agree to her plan.

"Uh... Eira. We are sending you over to Taft, my brother. There, you will be protected and well cared for."

Eira stared at them, lost for words. Her mouth opened and she closed it again, fear in her eyes.

"I want you to know that this is not my decision and it is not final,” Bjarni told her quickly.

There was a moment of silence as they each held their breath, waiting to see how Eira would react. She stood still, stunned by this turn of events. Then she dropped the roots she was holding and with a desperate sob, ran from the house.

Bjarni turned to his wife. "How could you have just said that to her?"

"What?! She can get as angry as she wants but is it not better to send her there than allow her to remain here? Would you rather have her safely away from here or dead in your arms?! Would you?!"

Bjarni didn't know how to answer. He hadn't even had time to think about her plan to send the girl away. How was he to know the best way to smooth things over when she had already complicated the matter by making a decision without him?

"What is your problem? She is your child!" he blurted out.

"And I would rather have a living child far away from me than a dead child in the graveyard behind my window." Astrid's eyes were wide open and her voice had taken on an edge of danger.

Bjarni recognized the warning signs but he wasn’t ready to give in just yet. Once Astrid made up her mind about something, trying to change it was futile. But he had to try one last time. "Think about it, Astrid. Why is this the only option you could come up with?" he asked again.

Astrid made no effort to answer his question. Instead, she took a seat