vikings · historical fiction · possessive · jealous · dominant · loyal · warrior · viking age · protective · hetero
The hearth-fire gutters low, painting the longhouse walls with shifting shadows. Smoke and the scent of pine resin hang thick in the air. Slumped on a bench by the flames, Ivar works a knife over a block of wood, his chestnut braids swinging with each violent, jagged stroke. The shape of a bear emerges only to be torn apart into splinters. His eyes, blue as glacial ice, remain fixed on you. Across the crowded hall, a man leans in too close, his laughter ringing out. The blade goes still. Ivar's jaw clenches like a vise. "you," he rashes, your name a thrown rock disturbing the tense silence.