by A. E. Rayne
Jaeger was too shocked to reply. He glanced at Meena who was trying not to react at all. ‘I... that is good news,’ he supposed, though his thoughts about that were clouded. He didn’t really feel anything.
‘An heir,’ Draguta repeated, her face shining. ‘And by the time he is ready to rule, he will rule over the whole of Osterland. That is the gift we will give him, you and I.’ She frowned suddenly, unsettled, feeling as though someone had touched her with an ice-cold hand.
Draguta turned around, confused.
She was sitting at the table; Meena and Jaeger standing before her.
There was no one else in the room.
Swallowing, Draguta pressed her hands against the cool cover of the book again and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. And there it was, back again, that certainty. That singular belief that soon she would conquer Osterland, kingdom by kingdom.
Piece by bloody piece.
Amma had come to the tents to see if Entorp needed anything, and she had ended up helping Astrid feed some of the remaining patients.
Edela smiled, pleased to see her. She had a strong suspicion that Amma was pregnant, but her confidence had been shaken by what had happened to Jael, and she didn’t want to reveal things that could turn out to be wrong. Not when it came to something as precious as a child.
She frowned, remembering how sad Jael had looked.
‘Are you alright, Edela?’ Ayla asked as she came to sit beside her. She felt ready to crawl into bed, but she had no intention of leaving without Bruno. Entorp was looking him over, deciding whether he would let him go, and Ayla was hopeful that tonight they would be in their own cottage, in a bed. Together.
Edela shook her head, pleased to have an experienced dreamer to talk to. ‘No, I feel unsettled. Not sure of myself. While you were ill, something happened.’
Ayla leaned in closer. ‘What?’
‘Jael was pregnant, and while she was away, she lost her baby. It died.’ She gulped in a big breath, feeling tears coming. ‘A little girl. I saw her, though. Before Jael left. I saw her alive. I didn’t see any danger.’ Her voice was low; it kept catching.
Ayla put her hand on Edela’s arm. ‘I am sorry,’ she murmured. ‘I saw it myself, but I didn’t want to say anything to Jael. It didn’t seem like the right time.’
‘Lydea came to me in my dreams. She said that Draguta can weave the threads now. Change destiny itself. Her power is growing, and I no longer trust what I see. How can I? How can any of us?’
‘Oh.’ Ayla felt light-headed. Anxious. Her relief at having survived the sickness, and being reunited with Bruno was tempered by the reminder that Draguta loomed above them all like a terrifying storm. ‘I think you’re right. We can’t. We can only try to forge a path ahead. Not get involved in predicting the future.’ She looked towards Amma, following Edela’s gaze. ‘For ourselves, or anyone else.’
Draguta felt energised after touching the book; renewed, eager to begin, but also filthy, and impatient to return to her chamber. But she would not be able to enjoy the relief of undressing in her beautiful room if she did not complete one more task. So, clasping the book to her chest, she sent Jaeger and Meena to the hall to check on Evaine and Eadmund as she turned down the corridor.
It tasted disgusting.
Morana gagged as Else pushed the spoon through her lips. She couldn’t keep them closed. She could barely even swallow on her own. Not that she wanted to. It tasted worse than it smelled. Sweet, full of some revolting spice she didn’t recognise.
The humming old bitch couldn’t cook.
No wonder Jaeger had gotten rid of her.
The door suddenly swung open with such force that it banged against the wall and Morana spat the spoonful of stew all over Else.
‘Oh, Morana, my poor Morana,’ Draguta purred, striding into the chamber, surprised by the fragrant aromas. She saw how utterly helpless Morana was and her smile grew.
Else shook, too terrified to move.
‘You will leave,’ Draguta ordered, not looking at her. ‘Find something to clean. I am going to have a little talk with Morana, here. Just the two of us.’
Else nodded, not even stopping to put the bowl of stew down. She carried it through the open door as fast as her shaking legs would take her.
Draguta glanced around the bare chamber, her nose in the air before turning back to Morana. She bent down, peering at her milky eye. ‘Oh, but doesn’t that make you look even uglier,’ she grinned. ‘Though now that poor Yorik Elstad is ash, there’s no one to care, is there?’
Morana was vibrating, desperate to disappear.
Wanting it to be over.
‘Shall we begin, then?’ Draguta cooed. ‘I won’t be able to enjoy the rest of my day until I have dealt with you.’
26
Jaeger stared at Eadmund.
Eadmund glared back at him.
Evaine stood between them, keeping her mouth shut. It would do no good to cause more problems, though the temptation to see Eadmund beat Jaeger to a bloody pulp was hard to resist. Eadmund was becoming stronger and more powerful, and though he wasn’t quite as big as Jaeger, Evaine was starting to believe that soon Eadmund might have a chance of defeating him.
Morac fretted beside her, wondering what was happening with his sister. He glanced at Meena. ‘I’m not sure why Draguta blames Morana,’ he muttered. ‘She didn’t stab her. She didn’t throw the knife.’ He looked at Jaeger, his beady eyes quickly scurrying away as Jaeger turned towards him.
‘She would have,’ Jaeger growled. ‘You know that. It’s only that she wasn’t strong enough. She wanted to, and that’s all that matters to Draguta now. She will make Morana pay for her disloyalty.’
Morac stepped forward, anger overwhelming good sense. ‘But she’ll reward yours?’
Jaeger scowled at the old man. ‘I am the king here. Draguta’s heir. I made mistakes, but I am part of Hest’s future, as is Meena. As for you and your daughter, I have no idea why she’d have any use for either of you. Once she gets rid of Morana, I imagine you’ll be next. Perhaps you should run away now before it’s too late?’
Eadmund ignored Evaine’s sudden grip of his arm, shaking her off as he turned to Jaeger. ‘Perhaps you should shut your mouth?’ he suggested coldly. ‘You not being Draguta and knowing anything about what plans she might have for anyone.’
Jaeger looked surprised. ‘You do realise that you’re standing in my castle? Insulting me? A king?’
Rollo lumbered into the hall, looking for Eadmund, eager to loosen his stiff muscles with some training. He quickly noticed the tension between Eadmund and Jaeger Dragos and he rolled his eyes, knowing how that fight would work out for Draguta’s little pet. ‘Eadmund, we should go. I found a training ring. After all that riding, we’re overdue some practice.’
Eadmund didn’t move. His eyes were still on Jaeger.
Rollo patted his shoulder. ‘Come on, we’d better get on with it before you end up making a mistake. You’re not ready to take on the king, here. Not yet.’
‘He’s not as tough as he looks,’ Eadmund growled. ‘My wife defeated him easily enough. Had him on his back in no time.’ He blinked, reminded of his dream again; seeing himself bending towards Jael’s lips, drawn in by the smile in her eyes.
Rollo stepped in. ‘Well, I’d like to see the size of your wife,’ he grinned, dragging Eadmund away before Jaeger could lunge at him. ‘Let’s go train. You want to make Draguta happy, don’t you?’
‘Yes, hurry away, Eadmund. I’ll stay here and look after Evaine,’ Jaeger smiled. ‘She’ll be perfectly safe with me, don’t worry.’
Eadmund froze, glancing at Evaine whose big, blue eyes were blinking rapidly. She nodded at Eadmund, urging him to go with Rollo.
Morac put his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. ‘You go, Eadmund,’ he insisted. ‘I’ll stay with Evaine.’
Eadmund frowned, suddenly noticing Morac.
Jael’s words about Morac killing his father echoed in his h
ead. He clenched his fists as they rolled over him and away, dissolving like mist, and then his mind was clear of everything except the thought that training would please Draguta. ‘Evaine, stay with Morac,’ he said, glaring at Jaeger before turning to follow a relieved Rollo out of the hall.
Evaine took one look at Jaeger and grabbed her father’s arm, hurrying after them.
The stool looked like an unstable bunch of old sticks, but Draguta sat on it anyway, the book on her lap.
Morana was desperate to look at it. Desperate to look away from Draguta.
But she couldn’t.
‘You said a lot of things, I remember,’ Draguta began. ‘That night. You do remember that night, don’t you, Morana? The last night you were truly yourself? The night I locked you in this cage?’ She laughed, looking at the mess before her. ‘And only I have the key.’ Lifting the piece of rawhide with her shoe, Draguta uncovered the symbol Dragmall had carved into the flagstone. ‘A nice try, but my curses are not broken that easily.’
Morana couldn’t breathe. She could feel sweat coursing down her back; pooling between her breasts. Her backside was numb. Her head was pounding. She wanted to move.
She had to move!
‘You were not loyal, Morana. Not to me, at least,’ Draguta murmured. ‘You would not give up Raemus, would you? I saved you when I killed his pathetic Followers. You and the idiot girl. I gave you a chance. Rescued you from a well-deserved death and how did you repay me? Skulking around, trying to find ways to kill me? Still hoping to bring Raemus back!’ Draguta shivered, dark patches flashing across her eyes. She blinked rapidly, feeling the momentary panic of being trapped in the Dolma again, and it distracted her.
Morana couldn’t do anything but watch.
And wait.
‘I have thought long and hard about what to do with you,’ Draguta carried on, her hands on the book, feeling its power vibrating up her arms, soothing her. Focusing her. ‘And, in the end, I decided to do... nothing.’ She stood up and smiled, leaning over, letting Morana see the book she so wanted to command herself. ‘I am going to do nothing at all. I have been in the Dolma,’ Draguta said. ‘And it was torture. Endless days of darkness and cold, but I could move and feel and touch. Compared to your prison, it was pure luxury. So, I realised that killing you would be a gift, Morana. A gift you do not deserve. Not for what you tried to do to me.’ She straightened up, inhaling, surprised to smell roses. ‘I shall leave you in this prison instead. And you shall have your cheerful servant remain by your side, feeding you like a baby bird, filling your chamber with scented flowers. She will brush your hair and wash you. All those things you hate so much. And she will make sure that you live. I would hate to think that you would simply fade away and die, Morana. What fun would there be in that?’
Draguta stood and glided to the door, eager to head for her chamber. ‘You are mine. My prisoner. And I will keep you for all time. I have your niece, and though she is mostly useless, she will be easier to control than you.’ And, opening the door, she turned to smile at Morana before closing it behind her.
Morana didn’t know whether she wanted to scream or cry.
But she couldn’t do either.
Morac’s mouth gaped open, watching Eadmund train with Rollo. ‘Eirik wouldn’t believe his eyes,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘How did Eadmund get like that?’
‘Draguta,’ Evaine sighed, not caring how Eadmund looked or how well he was fighting. ‘She makes him practice all day. That’s why she brought Rollo along.’
The training ring Rollo had chosen had no railings, so they had to jump out of the way as the two red-faced, sweaty men came barreling towards them, tumbling into the dust.
Morac coughed, moving Evaine into the shade, under a yellow-and-white striped awning. ‘Why does Draguta care about Eadmund?’ he wondered. ‘What does she want him to do?’
‘I don’t know,’ Evaine admitted. ‘But I’m glad she’s making him train. Jaeger is going to cause problems, isn’t he? The way he was talking in the hall? I’m sure he’s going to tell Eadmund what happened to me. What he did to me.’ She swallowed, uncomfortable mentioning it. Uncomfortable thinking about it. Turning back to the training ring, she watched as Eadmund and Rollo bent over, hands on knees, drained by the intense heat of the sun.
Eadmund looked up and smiled at her, slapping Rollo on the shoulder before heading over. ‘We have to keep Eadmund away from Jaeger. He can’t know.’ Evaine shook all over, panicking in hoarse whispers. ‘He can’t know!’ She blinked quickly as Eadmund bent under the awning and kissed her.
‘Let’s go and find something to drink,’ he panted, wiping sweat out of his eyes. ‘Rollo heard about a good tavern down this street.’
Evaine looked mortified. ‘Eadmund, you’re a king! You can’t go and drink in a tavern.’
Eadmund burst out laughing. ‘Would you rather go back to the castle and run into Jaeger? Surely you’d choose a tavern over him?’
Evaine glanced at her father, then at Rollo who approached, running a hand over his shining head.
‘Ready?’ Rollo asked.
Morac nodded, taking Evaine’s arm. ‘Yes, let’s go. It will be nice to get away from the castle for a while.’ He couldn’t stop thinking about Morana, but he wasn’t in any hurry to return to her chamber, afraid of what he would find.
Dragmall blinked in surprise.
So did Meena.
‘She wants you to keep her alive?’
Else shook all over, nodding at the same time. ‘Oh yes, if Morana dies Draguta said that she would hold me responsible. That she would... kill me.’
Meena gulped, looking from Else to Morana. ‘She wants to punish Morana.’
‘Well, that would do it,’ Dragmall said. ‘It would be different if Morana had lost her mind, but she appears aware of everything. Draguta has her trapped as if she had locked her in an actual dungeon.’
Else didn’t know what to do with herself. She kept peering at Morana to make sure that she was still breathing. ‘I think she saw the symbol too,’ she whispered, pointing to the piece of rawhide that was no longer covering the symbol. ‘Morana couldn’t do that.’
Dragmall swallowed, his eyes darting about nervously. ‘So, she knows that we tried to help her?’ It was unsettling, and he wanted to head straight back to his cave, yet he was worried about Else. Meena too. And confused as to why the curse breaking didn’t work.
‘She knows everything,’ Meena said blankly. ‘She hears and sees everything too. We must leave Morana like this. As Draguta wants. You should go, Dragmall.’ She spoke boldly, certain that somehow Draguta was listening. ‘Go back to your cave. There is nothing for you to do now. Else needs to stay here, and I must go and find Jaeger. Or Draguta. She may need my help.’
Dragmall nodded, knowing that Meena was right. It was better to fade into the background, at least until Draguta had grown bored with the idea of torturing Morana and turned her mind to other pleasures, which she was sure to find in the Book of Darkness. ‘I’ll walk with you. Good day to you, Else,’ he said quickly, bobbing his head. ‘And don’t forget to come by and pick up those herbs to help you sleep. Hopefully, you can find someone to watch Morana.’ And after staring into Else’s eyes for a moment, he turned after Meena and hurried out of the chamber.
Draguta lay her head back on the little pillow, enjoying the steaming heat of the water as it lapped over her shoulders. Her body loosened, unwinding with every slow breath; her mind meandering down a winding path, leading to...
She didn’t know.
Her urgency to act was dulled by the slumberous warmth of the hot pool; by the relief of being away from the stone hovel that was Flane. Returned to her rightful place. Reunited with the book. In command of a pliable Jaeger and an imprisoned Morana. And she had blunted the potency of Jael Furyck too. Taking her husband, killing her baby.
Draguta couldn’t stop smiling.
There were problems – of course, there were problems – but for now, she f
elt comfortable letting the solutions come to her. She felt no panic. No urgency. Just an overwhelmingly sublime peace.
Let everyone panic around her.
She was in complete control.
It was still raining.
‘My trousers are so wet, I can’t tell if I’ve pissed myself!’ Thorgils laughed.
Jael was too cold to laugh. For all the things she could have and should have been thinking about, what was at the forefront of her mind was how quickly she could get to a fire.
Her teeth were chattering.
‘It’s not that cold!’ Thorgils insisted with a grin, looking at her miserable, wet face.
Jael glowered at him. ‘Why do you feel the need to talk to me? Go find another friend. Your queen wishes to be alone.’
‘Well, Jael, I don’t think that’s true,’ Thorgils insisted. ‘For I have a bit of salt fish in my pouch. Likely it’s a little wet now, but I’m sure you’d enjoy chewing on something while you ride?’
‘You think you can bribe me?’ Jael grumbled, watching as he pulled a limp strip of fish out of his pouch and wiggled it at her. ‘With salt fish?’ And finally, she did laugh. ‘I hardly think I want to eat that! You can take your soggy fish and stuff it in that big mouth of yours.’ Once she had craved salt fish endlessly, she remembered. Not so long ago.
She had little appetite now.
Thorgils shrugged and took a bite. ‘Suit yourself,’ he mumbled, letting Rufus slip back to walk with Fyn who would surely be better company.
Gant had been off with the scouts, checking the road ahead, and now he made his way back to her. ‘All clear that I can see,’ he reported, shaking his dripping hair out of his eyes. ‘No one and nothing is lurking out there.’