by A. E. Rayne
Evaine came out of the bedchamber, frowning at him. ‘Why are you here?’ she grumbled. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Happened?’ Morac looked from her moody face to Eadmund’s scowling one and wondered what he’d walked in on. ‘Nothing, I just thought Eadmund would like to know that Jaeger’s not waiting around out there. He’s sent someone for Draguta, apparently. She’s asked to inspect his men. I thought you’d want to be there,’ he said, wolfing down the bread and looking around for something to drink.
Eadmund nodded. ‘I do, thank you.’ And he turned back to the bedchamber for his swordbelt.
Morac smiled as Elfwyn came towards him with a jug of milk and a cup. She really was a most agreeable woman, he thought. ‘Will you come with me to see Morana?’ he asked Evaine, taking the cup with a nod to the shy servant who bobbed her head and quickly disappeared back to the kitchen.
‘Why?’
‘Why? Because she’s your mother, of course. Why wouldn’t you want to see her?’
‘What’s the point of visiting her?’ Evaine grumped. She had woken up so many times in the night that her temper was fraying like an old rug. ‘We may as well just stare at the wall instead. She can’t say anything, and she can’t do anything about what we say, so why bother?’
Eadmund came back into the main room and all of Evaine’s attention was drawn back to him. ‘Will you be long?’ she wondered.
‘I’ll be all day, I imagine,’ Eadmund said quickly, heading for the door. ‘There’s a lot to do. And I still need to find time to train.’
He was looking even leaner, Evaine thought. And though it was not unattractive, she missed the way he used to look. And the way he used to look at her. ‘I shall come and find you later. Bring you something to eat.’
Eadmund wasn’t listening as he pulled open the door, nodding briefly to Morac. ‘I’ll see you later, then.’ And he quickly shut the door.
Morac grabbed another slice of bread and cheese. ‘Shall we go?
Evaine realised that she faced a day alone if she didn’t go with him. Turning away from the door with a frown, she watched her father’s eyes drift towards Elfwyn, who seemed oblivious to his very obvious attention. ‘I’ll come,’ she said irritably, ‘but only if we don’t stay long. I can’t stand the smell of her!’
Thorgils was brimming with excitement at the sight of the fort in the distance. Not having paid much attention during their journey to Rissna, he had been surprised by how close they were to Andala.
And he couldn’t have been happier.
But then he frowned, looking at Karsten, whose wary eye was fixed straight ahead. ‘Looks like it’s still standing.’
‘Looks like it,’ Karsten agreed cautiously. ‘But it would’ve been hard to take down all of the walls. Unless she sent an army of dragons. We just have to hope that what’s inside is still standing too.’
‘Mmmm,’ Thorgils mumbled into his wet cloak. Despite the rain, it was a warm day, and he could feel himself starting to steam. ‘Hopefully, they’ve made that wall a little higher too. It’s not going to be long before we’re off again. And who knows when we’ll return from Hest.’
‘If we do,’ Karsten said, his thoughts snapping to Jaeger.
Thorgils turned to stare at him. ‘You think your brother will defeat us?’
‘Jaeger?’ Karsten spat. ‘He won’t. No, I’m saying that once I defeat him, I won’t be returning to Andala. I’ll be home. Where I belong. I’ll sit on the dragon throne, send for my family. Stick Jaeger’s head on a pike outside the castle so I can smile at it each day as I walk past.’
‘Ahhh, brotherly love, it’s a beautiful thing. I always wanted a brother or two, but maybe they’re more trouble than they’re worth? I only had a best friend and look at what he did to me.’
‘At least you’re not Berard,’ Karsten said. ‘Your arm’s still attached to your shoulder.’
‘True.’
‘So you’ve got a chance to take your revenge. Berard has to sit back and watch me do it for him.’
‘You’re a bit confident,’ Thorgils snorted, thinking about Skorro. ‘I remember your brother, and he’s going to take some beating. If we even get that far. If the monsters don’t kill us all first.’
Karsten stared at Thorgils, troubled by the very same thought. They had men now. More men than Jaeger did, he knew. But they were only men. And who knew if those men were capable of defeating monsters...
When the rain eased, Ulf took Bram to the harbour to look over the sheds.
Most were kindling.
‘Not sure there’ll be any forest left by the time we’re done here,’ Ulf laughed, stretching out his back. ‘It took years to get this harbour built to Ranuf Furyck’s satisfaction. He wanted to bring more trade into Andala. A market to rival Hest’s.’
‘I don’t suppose he was allowing for serpents or dragons,’ Bram grinned as a crew of strangers wandered down the path from the cove. He watched as the men on the gates lifted their spears and went out to meet them.
Bram walked over to join them.
‘Your harbour’s not quite what I’d imagined,’ the big man said. He was taller than Thorgils, with a shining, bald head. Tattoos everywhere. ‘We’ve moored up the coast. In a cove.’
‘And you’re from?’
‘Helsabor. Rollo Barda’s the name. We’ve a shipload of skins. Some salt and spices. A bit of tin and soapstone too. Been round the Fire Lands. Thought we’d try our luck here.’
Bram narrowed his eyes. Having spent much of his life at sea, trading, he was suspicious of this man who didn’t look like any sort of trader he’d met before. Not with arms like those. Not with all those scars. ‘And you didn’t go to Hest?’
Rollo laughed, shaking his head. ‘We were warned away. Their harbour’s as bad as yours. But mainly we heard that things had changed. Thought we’d try Andala instead before heading up North.’
‘Well, Rollo, I’m Bram Svanter. If there’s anything you need while you’re here, I’m the man to find. You can head into the fort, grab a cart. Bring your goods in. I’ll look them over, get you a table. We can go over how things work here.’
Rollo nodded, sensing that Bram Svanter wasn’t a man to try his luck with. The old man’s eyes were sharp, taking in everything about him and his men. He just needed to get into the fort, and not cause any trouble. Draguta would be watching, he knew. And he had work to do.
Rollo reached out an arm, clasping Bram’s. ‘Thank you. Maybe you could point me to where I could get my men a drink of ale and a bench first? It’s been a long and wet few days.’
His smile was wide, though Bram wasn’t sure he was really smiling at all. ‘Head to the hall, you’ll find someone there,’ he said before turning back to Ulf who was studying Rollo as closely as he was.
They both stood back, watching as the straggly crew followed their bald-headed leader in through the gates.
‘Looks like the offspring of a giant and a god,’ Ulf murmured, shaking his head. ‘Wouldn’t like to come up against him in a dark alley.’
Bram nodded, thinking how right he was.
Leaving Bruno to sleep, Ayla headed for the hall to see what she could do to help, running into the three wet figures of Eydis, Edela, and Biddy on the way. ‘Bruno is much better today, but I’ve left him in bed. He needs some sleep,’ Ayla smiled, looking much better herself. Her brown eyes were bright again as she took Edela’s hand and helped her up the hall steps, frowning at the train of big men following behind them.
Edela didn’t notice as she tried to think of how to steer the conversation towards the prickly subject she needed to discuss, and wanting to get rid of Biddy and Eydis before she did. She was barely listening to Ayla chatting away beside her as they headed into the hall.
‘When did you and Bruno meet?’ Edela wondered as Biddy excused herself and headed for Gisila and Branwyn.
Eydis stopped by Amma who led her towards the fire where Selene and Leya were playing with a giggling Mads.
Ayla was surprised by the question. ‘Oh, it must be seven years ago now. Time has gone so quickly, and yet it feels as though we’re still newly married. I expect that was the life of a merchant. Never putting down roots. Never feeling as though you have a home, or the chance to make one.’
She sounded sad, Edela thought, though she didn’t look Ayla’s way. She was too busy trying to decide how to begin, but, in the end, she simply blurted it out. ‘I had a dream about Bruno.’
Ayla stopped, hearing the tension in the old dreamer’s voice. ‘What about?’ Her voice was a whisper, searching Edela’s eyes which were struggling to meet her own.
Edela glanced around. She could see Alaric and Derwa talking in the distance, looking their way, but there was no one in earshot. ‘He was in a tavern. I don’t know where, and I don’t know when, but he looked much younger. His hair was black. He was clean-shaven. Thinner too.’
Ayla waited to hear more, her shoulders tightening.
‘There was a woman.’ She saw Ayla’s lips twitch. ‘She wanted to trade something with him. Five chests of gold for the...’
Ayla leaned closer, watching as Edela glanced around again.
‘Prophecy.’
‘What? The prophecy?’
‘I’m not sure it was the actual prophecy. It could have been the scroll stolen from the temple years ago. Alaric mentioned that a merchant bought it.’
‘And you think Bruno took it?’
Edela shrugged. ‘I don’t know. A woman wanted to buy it. It seems that Bruno had it. I don’t know if he gave it to this woman. I woke up before I found out much more, unfortunately. I wanted to tell you. To see what you thought about it?’
Ayla didn’t know what she thought about it, but her arms had started shaking.
‘Do you think Bruno is well enough for us to ask him?’ Edela wondered delicately. She could see that she had unsettled Ayla, and after what Ayla had just been through, she felt guilty.
‘Yes, we can talk to him.’ Ayla felt odd. Hesitant. Bruno had never spoken about his life before her in great detail, and she had never pried, but she’d always had the impression that he’d been happy to leave it all behind.
And now she was about to find out why.
Jael felt uneasy as they approached the main gates down the narrow path that wound its way between two sloping mountains. She couldn’t see anything unusual, and she hadn’t seen the raven again, but every wet hair on the back of her wet neck was standing on end.
She kept seeing visions of Eadmund; fleeting glimpses of him with Evaine. But he looked so different that she wondered if she was just imagining things. He didn’t look like the Eadmund she remembered. He was all sharp edges and cold eyes. He had a jaw, cheekbones, and a hardness about him that was not familiar at all.
‘Are you alright?’ Gant asked, riding up beside Jael. She hadn’t spoken much to anyone since they’d set off, and he couldn’t help but worry about her, especially after what she had told him about her baby.
‘Just wondering how things are in there,’ she said, nodding towards the fort.
‘Mmmm,’ Gant agreed, feeling the tension in his shoulders tighten further. They had no idea what they were about to ride into. ‘Hopefully, Draguta found something else to do while we were gone.’
Jael’s mind wandered straight back to Eadmund.
‘Are you... going to talk to Gisila?’ Gant mumbled, looking straight ahead. Gus and Tig walked side by side, their ears swivelling, already picking up the familiar sounds of home. ‘About Raymon?’
Jael sighed. ‘I suppose I am.’ She didn’t want to think about how that would go.
‘It will be a shock for her.’
‘You don’t think she suspected?’
Gant shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t know. Things were difficult with them at times. As stubborn as Ranuf was, your mother could be just as bad.’ He frowned. ‘I don’t think things were ever right after your brothers died. They went their separate ways to deal with the pain, from what I understand. And then, of course, Tuura happened...’
Jael kept her mouth closed. She didn’t want to imagine what her father was doing when he wasn’t in Tuura protecting his family.
Gant knew what her silence meant. ‘When we all came back, and Ranuf learned what had happened, he fell to pieces,’ he said quietly. ‘No one saw it, of course, but he was not good for a long time. What happened to Gisila and you... losing Harald. The three of us had been friends since we were crawling.’ Gant dropped his eyes, reaching out to pat Gus. ‘Fianna too. He blamed himself for all of it. It never left him, Jael.’
Jael was almost glad to hear it.
‘Perhaps it’s better coming from you?’ she suggested craftily. ‘Telling Gisila? You know more about it than I do. You’d be able to explain it better than I could.’
Gant wanted to argue with that, but he couldn’t. ‘I think you’re right,’ he admitted. ‘Your father didn’t carry all that guilt on his own. I was there too.’ His voice grew reed-thin; Jael almost couldn’t hear him over the loud clopping of the horses down the path. ‘I let you all down that night.’
Jael reached out and squeezed his arm, her eyes meeting his. ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘No, you didn’t. You saved us from being killed. Those men would have killed us. But you killed all of them. You saved our lives.’
Gant kept seeing the image of Aleksander running for his mother, watching as she cut her own throat. ‘I didn’t save everyone.’
‘No, but you never can. Which we’re about to find out when we head for Hest. You always have to make choices about who will live and who will die. They’re never easy.’
She thought about Ravenna.
‘And what about Eadmund?’ Gant wondered. ‘Will you have to make a choice about him? If you can’t save him? If he stands in your way?’
Jael dropped her eyes to her hands, watching her wedding band glinting in the returning sun. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I have to believe that we can save him. That there’s time. But if we can’t...’ She looked up at Gant, swallowing. ‘I honestly don’t know.’
Eadmund had bitten his tongue throughout Jaeger’s performance; watching as he puffed out his chest and showed off his Hestian warriors to Draguta, explaining their strategy for attacking Helsabor. He had walked alongside them, trying not to groan as he listened to Jaeger’s self-important drivel. Draguta was listening eagerly it seemed, occasionally glancing at Eadmund for confirmation of what Jaeger was saying. Mostly he just nodded. His mind was far away, thinking about Oss.
‘Eadmund?’ Draguta snapped. ‘You’ve barely said a word. Why don’t we leave Jaeger to sort out the men, and you can walk me back to my chamber?’
Jaeger looked annoyed.
Eadmund was pleased that it was over. He smiled at Draguta and turned towards the castle, eager to get out of the sun. He had a permanent burn on the back of his neck, and he felt wistful for the cold gloom of home.
‘Tell me,’ Draguta murmured as he followed her up the steps. ‘When did you stop feeling anything for Evaine?’
Eadmund blinked in surprise as she waited for him to catch up to her.
Draguta laughed, slipping her arm through his. ‘You do realise I can read your thoughts, don’t you? I can see inside your soul, Eadmund, and I know for certain that it no longer belongs to Evaine.’ She looked around quickly, not wanting to deal with the scene a wailing Evaine would certainly cause if she found out.
‘I...’ Eadmund shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. A day or so.’
‘Hmmm, and what does that mean? Remember now, I see and hear everything. Lying to me would be pointless, and it would displease me greatly to think that we couldn’t trust one another.’
Eadmund heard the disappointment in Draguta’s voice, and his body responded with panic. ‘I don’t know what it means. I just don’t feel the same. I don’t feel anything.’
‘I’m not sure that’s true,’ Draguta mused. ‘Not really. I imagine you love Jael Furyck
again, don’t you? You loved your wife before Evaine bound you, so it makes sense that you would love her again now that her spell is broken. Am I right?’
Eadmund tried to clear his mind and his heart, but he could feel Draguta squeezing his arm, and he felt torn, confused, and eventually, desperate to please her by telling her the truth.
‘Yes. I do.’
42
Axl smiled at Jael over Amma’s head, feeling his body sink against her in relief that she was alright. That everyone was alright.
Jael smiled back, squeezing Eydis tightly.
‘We’ve had so many dreams, Jael!’ Eydis exclaimed, turning towards where she knew Biddy and Edela were standing. ‘Well, Edela has had more than me, but we have been busy. Well, Edela has.’
Jael laughed. ‘So, what have you actually done, Eydis? Looked after the puppies, I hope?’ she said, bending down to pat Ido and Vella, who were not puppies at all now, she realised. They wiggled themselves into a frenzy, jumping up at her, pink tongues flapping, as badly behaved as ever.
‘You’re back, then?’ Bram grinned looking from Thorgils, who was buried in Isaura to Jael. ‘No problems?’
Jael glanced at Thorgils. ‘One or two. How about you?’
Bram was intrigued, suddenly shy as Fyn approached with Runa. ‘We haven’t stopped. Been working on the piers, and getting that wall higher. More catapults too.’
‘So I see,’ Jael said, smiling at Runa who didn’t appear any closer to teasing Bram out of his awkwardness. ‘Still, it needs to be higher than that. We don’t want to leave here with half a wall.’ Her eyes drifted towards Gisila, who was hugging Axl; Gant standing behind them. Jael inclined her head towards her mother, and he frowned at her. ‘And the sea-fire?’