Lief by Celeste Barclay
Fate brought them together. Free will binds them.
Leif Ivarrson wants nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of home after sailing for months. When a neighboring jarl arrives bearing news of a threat to their land and security, Leif knows there will be no rest for him. Tasked with finding and bringing back this jarl’s niece, Leif departs on a journey that fate designed but he chooses to carry out.
Sigrid Torbensdóttir’s visions have been both a gift and a curse since she was a young girl. Now a woman, Sigrid’s position as a seer puts her in danger when enemies seek to take advantage of her gift for their benefit and to keep her from saving her family. Sigrid knows she cannot defy fate, and when Leif comes to her rescue, Leif discovers destiny cannot be ignored.
Leif and Sigrid struggle to reconcile the future the gods have shown her with the shifting fate their enemies attempt to control. Will a new love survive the tests of war and family? Can a match created by fate withstand the machinations of man?
If you love edge of your seat, breathless Viking romances with fantastic characters, then you’ll love Celeste Barclay’s steamy and passionate Leif.
Viking Glory is a steamy historical series that will transport you back to the world of the ancient Norse with brave heroes and even stronger heroines. The series follows the lives and loves of five friends. Brother and sister, Leif and Freya, along with their cousin, Bjorn, and their friends Strian and Tyra sail the seas and conquer hearts. This is a five book series where each book can be read as a standalone but is best read as part of the series.
Targeted Age Group:: Adult
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 4 – R Rated
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
When I was 10 years old, I spent three weeks in Denmark and was fascinated by Viking history. As I began reading Historical Romance, I found myself drawn to the Viking genre. I wanted an opportunity to combine what I'd learned decades ago with my love of writing romance. I also wanted to write a Viking series that broke from the mold of the typical Viking tropes. This book gave me a chance to explore tropes I haven't written before.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I've liked the names Leif and Sigrid for ages, so I knew they would be the first two characters in this series. Many Viking romances have alpha male leads who take most of the book to show a softer side. I wanted a hardened warrior but one who treated the heroine with respect from the very beginning. I wanted a heroine who was different from the people around her, making her resourceful and independent. This couple has to overcome not only an external enemy but learn to live with their very different roles in their clans.
Book Sample
Leif’s patience was finished. He watched as the younger woman tottered, looking close to collapsing twice. He marched forward once he saw the women were only talking.
“Can you not natter later? We must be on our way.” Leif drew up short when the young woman’s face came into view from the torches near the altar. He sucked in a breath as he took in her tousled hair and battered face.
“Who did this?” He seethed.
She gasped as she looked at Leif for the first time. She shook her head and tried to back up.
“You,” she whispered. “It’s you.”
“Do you know me?” The woman’s reaction perplexed Leif. “Have we already met?”
She shook her head again, but her eyes were large in her sallow and tired face.
“He is dead.”
“Who is?”
“You asked who beat me. The man is dead,” she pointed to the ground, “one of you put an arrow in his back.”
“Then we must be on our way.”
Leif turned away but heard the gasp and then the scuffle as Freya and Tyra caught the woman when her knees refused to bear her weight anymore. Leif stepped forward and swept her into his arms. He felt her go rigid for a moment before she looked into his stormy gray eyes. Something passed between them before she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her own misty silver eyes. Leif caught a wisp of floral scent from her blonde hair that rested against his shoulder. His heart sped up and heat rushed to his groin. The feel of her in his arms was better than any other woman had ever felt. He had barely touched her. She sighed but kept her eyes closed.
“You came.”
“Did you know I was supposed to?”
“Yes.” Her eyes flew open, and she attempted to sit up but almost fell out of Leif’s arms. “My staff. I cannot leave without it. I must have it.”
“You are the seer then.”
“Yes.” She continued to wriggle to get down. Her bottom brushed across the head of his already hard length, and he bit back a groan as he shifted her higher against his chest. “We shall bring your staff. We won’t leave it behind.”
His words mollified her. She nodded as she watched him before closing her eyes once again.
“How’d you know someone would come?”
“Not someone. You.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rangvald would have sent someone, most likely my cousin, but I knew I would meet you soon.”
“How could you know that?”
She gave a wry laugh and raised one eyebrow even though both of her eyes remained closed.
“You saw us meeting.”
“I have.”
“Have not had? You’ve seen it more than once?”
They reached the larger group of warriors and captives before they could say more.
“I’m Sigrid,” she whispered to Leif.
“I know. I am Leif,” he whispered back.
“I know.” Her smile made Leif’s heart skip. “Perhaps you should put me down now.”
Leif shook his head, but at her confused look, he explained aloud to everyone, “This woman, Sigrid, is the woman we searched for. She is Rangvald Thorsson’s seer and is under my protection.”
Sigrid stared up at him. He had all but declared her his woman.
“The men’s lust will still run hot after the battle even if it was short and not very hard. I would have none of them think you are available to them. You are under my protection until we can return you to your jarl.”
“Perhaps you could put me down now, so I look more like the seer I am and less like the concubine they now think I am.”
“What? No.” Leif looked around and saw the smirks from the men and the knowing looks from the women. He saw jealousy flash in the eyes of both men and women. He was not sure if his announcement had provided her the protection he intended.
“Leif, she will travel with me. You may have intended well, but she is right. They will think you have claimed her for yourself to warm your bed. Father will be furious if such rumors reach him. I heard him before we left.” Freya said no more, but her meaning was clear to Leif. She was not warning him away from Sigrid as much as she was warning him of their father.
He nodded and watched as Freya escorted her guest aboard ship. As she reached the top of the rope ladder, she looked over her shoulder at Leif and nodded once.
“I heard you tell my brother you knew he would come. That you saw the two of you meeting.”
“You have superb ears.”
“For my brother’s protection, I have the best.”
“You believe he is the one in need of protection?”
“You are a seer. You cast runes to learn of our fates. You commune with the spirits in their world.”
“Does that make me a danger?”
“It could.” Freya crossed her arms as she examined the woman in the light from the torches hung on the mast’s pegs. “You have the power to alter his fate.”
“I do not. I may be a seer, but I cannot alter what the gods already have planned for us. I might see parts of that fate, and I may ask the gods to change their plans, but I am not the one to make those decisions. I’m not one of them, but a woman just as you are.”
Freya looked long and hard at Sigrid.
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