All Brunhild Ranulfsdottir had ever wanted was to become a shield maiden. Like her Valkyrie namesake. Instead, her father had put her on a ship and sent her into the North Sea to wed a man she'd never met. He claimed her sacrifice was for the betterment of the kingdom. He claimed her brothers would do a much more capable job of following in his footsteps and waging war than his daughter.

Brunhild knew what the hilt of a sword felt like in her hand. Her ax was forged to cleave enemy skulls in two and her club never missed its mark.

None of that mattered because her kingdom and her father had decided her womb was of the most use to building their legacy.