Page 125 of The Warrior
“Marcus,” my mom said in a pleading voice.
“Don’t!” He gave her a hard stare. “If you think eating potatoes is the worst that will happen to him, you’re wrong. Magni will grow up to be a warrior and he’ll endure torture and pain like a real man.”
“But he’s so little,” Dina defended me.
“Eat the fucking potatoes!” My dad’s hand flew to my neck and forced my head down to my plate.
It made me see red. I knocked the plate from the dinner table and kicked the chair back to get up.
“I’m not eating them,” I shouted and swung my hand across the table, sending my plate, glass, fork, and knife into the wall.
“Magni,” my mom screamed and reached for me.
That only made me scream louder, trampling on the potatoes that were now on the floor, and picking one up to throw again.
It was my father’s deep laughter that got my attention, and my hand with the potato stalled mid-air.
“That’s my boy. Did you ever see such fire and strength in a five-year-old?”
My mom gave a strained smile.
“You’re not going to allow any man to mess with you, are you, Magni?” My father was still laughing and used his finger as a hook to reel me in. “Soon, grown men are gonna fear you, my son.” His large hand tousled my hair and everyone relaxed again. “You chose his name well, Erika.”
My mother smiled. “Yes, he lives up to it.”
“Tell me the story about my name again.” It was one of my favorites.
“Magni was the son of Thor and the strongest among the Norse Gods,” Khan said in a flat tone and rolled his eyes. “We’ve told you a million times.”
I lifted my chin, declaring, “I’m going to be the strongest too.”
Even my sister was smiling now. “I know you will, Magni.”
I plumped myself down on the small bed in the cabin, pushing the childhood memory away. No wonder I’d become so temperamental, when it had been a source of amusement for my father. Problem was that even though I understood it, I had no clue how to change it.
Closing my eyes, I directed my thoughts to one of my favorite memories instead, bringing back images from my first night with Laura.
“I choose Magni Aurelius.” April’s words made my body tense up. I hadn’t waited this long to marry the wrong sister.
Laura’s head turned to her twin and her eyes narrowed a little. She wasn’t happy about April’s choice.
Khan stood between the two brides and us ten champions. He knew I wanted Laura. We had talked about it many times.
My lips were pressed together and I was breathing through my nose. Why the fuck had he asked April before Laura? No one in the audience would have noticed if he’d made a small error and asked the younger twin before the older. What was an age difference of seven minutes anyway?
Laura was watching the nine champions left to choose from. I wanted her to look at me, but her eyes stopped and rested on the man to my right.
No no no… I wanted to shout for her to pick me, but speaking could get me disqualified.
“I choose…” she began before she trailed off and lowered her eyes.
I’d never used the word please in my life, but at that moment, I chanted it over and over, willing her to pick me.
As if hearing my thoughts, Laura lifted her face and locked eyes with me. Please, please, please pick me, I repeated on the inside, not speaking a word.
“I choose Magni Aurelius too.”
At the wedding reception everyone was talking about the cat fight that Khan had to break up between the two sisters. Men gave me nods of respect and envious smiles when they saw my arm around Laura. Both twins were beautiful, but to me Laura was the most incredible woman in the world. Her innocence intrigued me but it was the strength that shone from those pretty blue eyes of hers that had me fucking obsessed with her.
