“It would not be wise to keep a man’s wife from him,” Ulric warned.
“Do you threaten me?” King Talon demanded.
“Do you deny me my wife?” Ulric challenged.
Verity felt a chill race through her. Would Ulric go to war over her? No, she would only be the excuse he needed to go to war with the Pict. What of the King? Would he go to war to save one lone Pict?
“Prove to me Verity is your wife,” the King said.
Ulric grinned as if he already tasted victory. “My men were there at the ceremony that united us.”
King Talon shook his head. “Your men would lie for you. That proves nothing. Tell me something about Verity that only a husband would know.”
Ulric stared at him speechless.
“Does she snore when she sleeps?” King Talon asked.
“She breathes softly, but does not snore,” Wrath answered and Ulric looked from one man to other with contempt.
King Talon continued questioning. “Does she welcome you to her sleeping pallet?”
“Most eagerly,” Wrath said quicker to respond than Ulric.
“This proves nothing,” Ulric shouted. “She is my wife—”
“Prove it,” the King demanded once again.
“My word is not good enough?” Ulric challenged once again.
“There is a simple way to learn if he speaks the truth.”
All eyes turned to see Hemera standing on the top step of the second floor. All eyes widened along with curiosity. What had she been doing in the King’s private chambers?
“The dim-witted one,” Ulric said with a laugh. “Pay her no mind since she makes little sense when she speaks.”
“If I make no sense, what difference would it make if I spoke?” she asked, walking down a few steps.
Ulric laughed again and the two men with him laughed as well. “See, she does not even understand that her words would be wasted.”
Hemera stared at Ulric a moment.
“And it takes her time to understand most words and respond. Is. That. Not. Right, Hemera?” Ulric asked, speaking to her as if she could barely understand him.
“Is it not the King’s decision to hear me or not?”
“Enough!” the King ordered with a shout. “Come down, here, Hemera, and have your say and be quick about it.”
Verity wondered what her sister would say since there were times Hemera did not make sense. She only hoped this was not one of those times.
Hemera walked down the steps and Paine stepped aside so she could stand next to the King.
“Have your say,” King Talon ordered once more.
Hemera smiled at Ulric. “Verity has a mark since birth in a place only a husband would see. Let Ulric describe it.”
“How do you know of this mark?” Ulric challenged.
“We are sisters and bathed in the stream when the sun was hot,” Hemera said and turned to Verity and they shared a smile.
“Do as Hemera says and describe the mark and tell me where it is on Verity,” the King demanded.
Ulric’s lower lip began to twitch and once again his neck began to flame red as words seemed to fail him.
The King waited a few moments before saying, “Obviously Verity is not your wife. I would ask why you have lied to me, but I would get only more lies from you. Your father and I have forged an agreement so that our tribes may live in peace and trade may flourish between us. I will not jeopardize that over the foolish actions of his son.” Ulric went to speak and the King shouted, “Silence! I will hear no more of your lies. You will be escorted by Pict warriors all the way to your ship where you will take immediate leave. Your rogue warriors, if that is what they truly are, will be hunted, found, and executed. And when next I meet with your father, I will discuss this incident with him, for I do not trust you to tell him the truth.”
“You have not heard the last of this,” Ulric threatened.
“You had better hope I have,” the King warned. “Now be gone. You are not welcome here.”
Ulric turned and left with his two men, all the Pict warriors filing out behind them.
“They will not be left alone until your warriors watch the Northmen’s ship disappear in the distance,” Broc assured the King and with a nod, he followed the last of the Pict warriors out of the feasting hall.
The High Council members left as well, except for Paine and Wrath.
Paine hurried over to his wife who was already on her feet and walking over to join the group. He scowled at her and she smiled, resting her hand on his arm for support and he relented, not scooping her up in his arms to carry her, though he did slip his other arm around her waist.
“How wise of you, Hemera, to have Ulric describe Verity’s mark,” Anin said.
“Aye, wiser than you know,” Wrath said, “since Verity has no mark.”
The three women smiled and laughed, but when they saw the King scowl, their laughter quickly faded.
The King looked at Hemera. “What were you doing up in my private chambers?”
“Exploring,” she said innocently.
“Listen well, Hemera,” the King said, pointing his finger at her. “I forbid you to go anywhere near my private chambers.” He held up his hand when Hemera went to speak. “I forbid it and my word is law.” He turned to Verity. “Keep your sister in tow. Now go, I wish to talk with your husbands.”
Paine reluctantly turned over his wife’s care to the two women, each taking her arm and supporting her as they left the feasting hall.
“Where is your cloak?” Anin asked of Hemera as they stepped outside.
Hemera glanced at each of her shoulders and thought a moment. “I believe I left it on a bench in the feasting hall.” She scrunched her brow. “Or maybe I did not put it on when I left my dwelling this morn.”
“I will go see if it is at your dwelling,” Verity said, “if not I will look in the feasting hall.” Not that she wanted to go there and disturb the King, but it was cold and Hemera needed her cloak, the one she had returned to her only recently. “Stay with Anin, she needs your help,” she ordered Hemera and hurried off.
Verity was disappointed when she did not find Hemera’s cloak in her dwelling. She was even more surprised and upset when she saw Hemera, the hood of her cloak up on her head as she headed for the open gates where a line of warriors, three across, were filing out of the stronghold behind Ulric and his troop.
Verity kept her eyes on her sister and when Hemera slipped through the open gate, Verity’s heart slammed in her chest, and she hurried after her. She could not make sense of why Hemera would leave the stronghold or leave Anin, knowing she needed help.
Verity brought herself to an abrupt halt.
Hemera would not do that. That may be Hemera’s cloak a distance ahead, but it was not Hemera wearing it. She turned and ran, realizing it was a trap and hoping it was not too late. She had only gone a short distance when two men jumped out from either side of the path at her and when she saw who one of them was, she ran faster.
Chapter Thirty-three
“You have had the Girthrig and Lammok warriors follow the Northmen since landing on our shores, have you not?” Wrath asked the King.
“Did you truly think I would trust the Northmen on our land without watching them? The Northmen are no fools. They did nothing to stir suspicion that they were here for anything other than to speak with me. They contacted none of their fellow warriors who were already here. I believe that group landed far from where Ulric did and with our focus on Ulric, we failed to look elsewhere. I imagine they intended to meet up somewhere along our shores.”
“We cannot cover all our shoreline,” Paine said.
“No, but I am making certain that word is spread that Northmen are infiltrating some of our tribes and to be alert to unknown travelers.”
“Do you think Ulric’s father, Haggard, knows what his son has done?” Wrath asked.
“I doubt it. Haggard knows peace will serve both our lands well,” the Ki
ng said.
Minn entered the feasting hall and did not wait for permission to speak. “I think there is a problem. I saw Verity leaving the stronghold and I believe she was following her sister, though when I came here to tell you, I saw Hemera helping Anin inside her dwelling. I think someone wanted Verity to believe she followed her sister.”
“Guards!” Wrath shouted and two of the King’s personal guards appeared out of the shadows. “Let no one near the King.”
“I go with you,” the King commanded.
“This could be a trap to get to you,” Wrath argued.
“I will not run nor cower from those who are after me.”
“We do not know how many are out there.”
“One or two perhaps,” the King said, “anymore would have been spotted.”
“Then I can dispatch them with ease, though I will take Paine and Minn to ease your worry,” Wrath said. “But you, my King, will stay here or you will make my task more difficult.”
King Talon acquiesced, understanding what Wrath said. He was duty-bound to protect the King at all cost, even if it meant his life. If the King joined him and was put in a position where Wrath would have to choose between saving the King or saving his wife, there would be no choice. Wrath was an honorable warrior and he had pledged to protect the King. Talon would not put his friend in that position.
“Go and bring your wife home,” the King ordered and turned to Paine. “I will have guards look after Anin and Hemera.”
Paine nodded and hurried off with Wrath and Minn.
~~~
Once again Verity found herself running from Lars and once again he caught her and flung her to the ground.
“We have no time to waste,” the other man said, Verity not recognizing him. “We need to be far gone from here before they realize she is missing.”
His words while frightening were also helpful. She could not let them take her far from the stronghold and with no time to spare, she let loose with a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the woods.
Verity ducked out of the way of Lars’ hand as he swung at her, hitting nothing but cold air. She let loose with another scream, knowing she had little time before he either gagged her or knocked her out.
He shoved her hard to the ground, his hand going to the back of her head to keep her face planted in the snow, making it difficult for her to breath.
“We have to go. Someone had to have heard her,” the other man urged.
Lars pulled her head back roughly and as he did, he placed a knife to her cheek. “I will cut that pretty face of yours every time you scream.”
Verity did not hesitate. She let loose with another scream, which turned into an agonizing cry as she felt the blade slice along her jaw.
“Are you crazy?” the man cried out. “Gag her and be done with it. We need to leave here now unless death is what you want.” He handed Lars a small cloth.
Lars swiped it out of his hand, annoyed, and shoved it hard into Verity’s mouth, causing her to gag. “Spit it out and I’ll cut you again before gagging you again.”
Verity left the gag in her mouth, though she struggled against him when he took her arm, forcing her to walk.
“Pick her up,” the man ordered and hurried off ahead of Lars, too afraid to linger any longer.
Lars did exactly what Verity wanted him to do. He grabbed her and flung her over his shoulder. She turned her head so that the blood from her wound dripped down, staining the white snow as Lars walked. After seeing that the blood was leaving a good trail, she worked the gag out of her mouth and let it drop to the ground. She made no noise. She waited, confident Wrath would find her and, strange as it was, hoping she would continue bleeding until he did.
Lars suddenly stopped and Verity could feel that he was turning his head as if anxiously looking for something or someone.
“Neddle,” Lars called out. “Neddle, where are you?”
Verity listened for a response and none came.
Lars took a couple of steps and called out once again. “Neddle.”
Suddenly a horrific roar ripped through the air and Verity was flung off Lars’ shoulder and she hit the ground hard. Hands grabbed at her, dragging her away, then yanking her to her feet and rushing her off and when she was finally able to see who had helped her— “Minn.”
“You are safe now,” Minn assured her.
Verity smiled her thanks and quickly turned her head and saw her husband running straight for Lars. While there had been a rage in Wrath when he had attacked the warriors who had descended on the Raban Tribe, it was nothing compared to what she saw now. It was as if his fierce fury empowered him with unbelievable strength and skill beyond what he already possessed. Lars could barely match Wrath’s vicious sword thrusts, since they struck at him so rapidly. Blood began to drip from various places on Lars’ body, his arms, his sides, his face.
Verity noticed that Paine had joined her and Minn, and when she saw his battle axe dripping blood, she knew Neddle was dead.
Her eyes returned to her husband and she was not surprised to see Lars drop to his knees, his sword falling on the ground beside his limp arm. Blood was spreading rapidly out from spots on his tunic to cover nearly the entire garment and his fur leg wraps. Wrath had chopped away at him piece by piece.
Wrath stood before him. “I would like to leave you here to bleed slowly so that the animals would smell you and come feast on you while you still lived, but I will not take the chance that you may have friends nearby who would attempt to help you.” Wrath dropped his sword, grabbed viciously at the hair atop of Lars’ head, pulled the knife from the sheath at Lars’ belt, and sliced his throat from ear to ear. He released him with a shove. Lars fell backward on the ground, the white snow staining red with his blood that rapidly began to pool around his head and he choked and spurted as his life drained away.
Wrath did not turn away from Lars until he was sure he was dead, then he looked for his wife and when he saw her, he hurried over to her to take her in his arms, but stopped and took hold of her by her shoulders, his fury that had tempered some rising again when he saw the blood dripping from her wound on to her cloak. He had been too late to protect her, to keep her safe.
Verity knew his thoughts by seeing the hurt and anger in his dark eyes and before she could explain to Wrath, Paine spoke.
“We need to leave now. It is not safe. There were more tracks than those of two men and troops must be sent after them. Much could be learned if only one was captured.”
Wrath lifted his wife up into his arms, tucking her close against him and without another word from any of them, they took off.
Once in the stronghold, Paine went to alert the King and Minn went to get the healer and Hemera.
Wrath settled Verity on the sleeping pallet in their dwelling. He discarded her cloak to the ground. He would not see her wear it again, the bloody stains forever a reminder of...
“You did not fail to protect me,” Verity said softly.
Wrath remained silent as he lifted her chin to examine her wound. Only a little blood dripped along the slim cut that ran along her jaw on the right side of her face.
“Are you in pain?” he asked abruptly.
“You did not fail to protect me,” she repeated.
Gently, he placed his hand beneath the wound as if his touch would take her pain away and heal the injury. “You should have never suffered this.”
“I did not have to suffer it. I did so on purpose.”
Wrath sat beside her on the sleeping pallet, his brow scrunched and his hand leaving her face to rest on her arm. “What do you mean?”
“Lars told me to stay quiet or he would cut my face. I wanted you to have an easy trail to follow, since I worried that Lars and the other man would split and take separate paths and you would not know which tracks to follow. Blood is easy to follow in the snow.”
Wrath shook his head and lowered it slowly to deposit a tender kiss on her lips. “You are a brave woman, Verit
y.”
“No, I am not brave,” she said. “I was full of fear.”
He raised his head. “And rightfully so, Lars would frighten anyone.”
She pressed her hand to his cheek. “It was not him I feared. It was never seeing you again. Never having you hold me again. Never joining with you again. Never—”
His lips silenced her with a soft kiss. “We belong to each other and never would I let us be separated. I would find you no matter where you were. You have my heart, wife, I cannot live without you, nor do I want to. You are stuck with me—”
Verity brushed her lips over his and smiled, “Forever.”
Wrath returned her smile before he ran his lips over hers as he whispered, “And ever and ever and ever.”
Chapter Thirty-four
One moon cycle later
Wrath hurried to his dwelling, the snow that had started falling at dusk, growing heavier. The High Council meeting took longer than usual since the council celebrated the newly appointed member not only of the council, but of the King’s personal guard as well. Broc had been made Warrior Commander and Tilden had been appointed to the King’s personal guard.
Tilden had trained with the other personal guards for the last moon cycle and had done exceptionally well and the other guards were pleased to have him join them.
After the meeting had finished, Wrath went to see how Hemera was doing at the executioner’s dwelling. The move had been made only a few sunsets ago and already his wife was worrying about her sister being too far from her. Anin must have thought the same since Paine had been there when he arrived at the dwelling.
He had to laugh when Paine, with a scowl, had offered Hemera to come sleep at their dwelling in case the snow worsened, which was what Wrath was going to suggest. He had been glad when Paine had asked first. Hemera had refused and hurried the two men home to their wives.
Paine had commented on how strange Hemera could be at times and Wrath had laughed and said, “Unlike you who is not at all strange?”
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