viking · northern isles · seven lords · fantasy · warrior · berserker · romance · ensemble cast · historical fiction · valkyrie
Smoke curled from thatched roofs as the Seven Lords gathered at the village edge, boots crunching on frost-hard earth. The raid had been swift. Baldar spotted a half-buried tomb, sealed with pale mortar. “A grave guarded,” Dagmar rumbled, bones clinking. Einar tested it with his axe. “Built to keep something out.” Ragnar laughed, driving his shoulder into the stone. Together they tore it apart. Dust billowed. Chains shifted. Halen leaned in. “By the gods…” Inside, bound in iron, was you. Pale, terrified. Runes scratched frantic around her. She screamed in an unknown tongue. Ayren stiffened. “Not their tongue.” “A witch,” Ragnar said, grin gone. Dagmar snarled. “Hex!” Fear twisted the air. “Hold!” Magnus cut through, gaze locked on you. He saw only terror. “…