by Nina Monroe
Tamzin didn’t respond as he helped her get out of bed. Like a child, he pulled the breeches over her naked legs and over her hips, before he pulled the tunic over her belly. Despite being loose on Will, the tunic clung to Tamzin’s round belly and large breasts. Her bruised legs had begun to heal, though they were still a dark purple and blue. Tamzin watched as Will dressed himself, throwing on a tunic and leather jerkin over his torso. His boots came next as Tamzin sat back down on the bed.
“Will they be chained up?” Tamzin asked as she pushed her hair behind her ear. “The men?”
“Chained up or not, none of those men will touch you. You’re in camp with nearly ten thousand men, and those same men no longer have wives or children because of those soldiers. Why, I think you’ve never been in a safer place before in your life,” Will said as he walked to the fire and brought her boots over. “Come on, the boots are still warm.” He slid the boots over her small feet, as delicately as a soldier could. Tamzin’s heart became as warm as her boots from his tenderness.
“I love you,” Tamzin said with a small smile as Will looked up at her with his ice blue eyes. “I don’t think I can do this.” Her eyes flooded with tears again before she felt his hands on her cheeks.
“You walked half a day’s walk in a wet shift while five months pregnant after being held captive for three months. You are braver than all the men I train and I have never been more honored to be your husband. You’re the bravest person I know, man or woman, and I know you can do this,” Will said as he pressed a hot kiss to her lips. With gentle hands, he lifted her from the bed and pressed his body as close to her as possible with her belly. “With the pair of us for parents, I don’t want to think what our boy will be like.”
“So you agree he’s a boy now?” Tamzin laughed as his hands touched her belly again. “You just need to accept that I’m always right.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Will smiled as he felt her hand take his. As they walked out of their hut, the cold air assaulted Tamzin and her arm immediately went across her belly. What she saw would forever be ingrained in her memory.
Thankfully, there were a lot more survivors than she anticipated but they were severely malnourished. The soldiers had their own haunted looks as they helped the survivors off carts or horses, some with broken bones or burns on their skin. Will’s eyes hardened as he watched his people and soon, Gregory approached them and pulled Will from her.
“Tamzin?”
Tamzin heard the familiar voice as she turned around. It was Jacque, or what was left of Jacque. He had a black eye and burns on his arms. The rest of his body was covered in soot. Without a second thought, Tamzin wrapped her arms around him and felt the relief flood through her.
“What happened?” Tamzin asked as she pulled away. Gently, she touched his black eye and inspected his injuries.
“Thurston Territory is gone,” Jacque let out a cry as he wiped his brow. “When Duke found out you escaped, he lost his mind. I don’t know how it happened, but we woke up and the castle was on fire and there were soldiers everywhere. Thurston men, the men who said they belonged to Isabelle, and Quincy was there. They freed nearly everyone and then we began to walk…”
“Jacque, sit,” Tamzin led him to a seat outside someone’s tent. “I’ll find you some water…”
“Kendall, she’s in one of the carts…” Jacque continued to babble and his words stopped Tamzin in her tracks. “I had to stitch the wound shut and she’s still alive…”
Tamzin began to run.
“Kendall!” She cried out as her hair whipped from the wind. It was utter chaos around her as she pushed through people and soldiers as she checked each cart. She could hear Will ordering people to do various jobs before an arm swept her up. “Let me go!”
“Calm down, little Princess,” Quincy said as he stopped her from pursuing more carts. “Jacque is not in his right mind…”
“I need to find Kendall!” Tamzin cried louder as she attempted to move past Quincy.
“Kendall is dead. I buried her myself,” Quincy said as he rubbed Tamzin’s arms. “Your Prince let you leave the hut without a cloak? In your condition?”
“Being with child does not make me helpless. When I killed Junior Johansson by myself, I proved that,” Tamzin gritted her teeth before she looked at the other carts. “She’s not dead…”
“A stab wound to your stomach will kill you. She died a good death.” Quincy’s voice wasn’t loud enough as Tamzin watched Garrett in the distance. She watched Will embrace him and that was when she knew. Tamzin knew Quincy was telling her the truth.
“I’m the reason she’s dead. I’m the reason why Thurston Territory is gone and so many people are dead.” Tamzin’s voice shook and her throat and tongue felt fuzzy as the realization hit her.
“A man wanted to make his point and he did. The responsibility of dead people weigh more on your husband than you,” Quincy whispered as he removed his cloak and placed it around her shoulders. “They,” Quincy pointed to the large and enclosed cart behind them, “will answer for their crimes.”
“And what will happen to me?” Tamzin asked as she kept her eyes trained on the soldiers in the cart.
“You’re about to become much more dangerous.”
“Unload the men!” Tamzin turned to hear Will call as he approached the cart, where he kicked the wheel roughly. “Fetch me my armor and my sword.” It was the yells from the Thurston men and the growls of delight from the surviving people of Thurston that made the most noise. She knew this sound; it was from a ritual her father always shielded her from.
This is why their enemies feared the Northern men. Though she had pleaded with Will not to stoop to their level, the blaze in her husband’s eyes told her that she would not be able to convince him otherwise. He would lose the respect of his men and his father as well if he didn’t do this. Some of the deaths would be quick, yes, but the man with a missing hand would probably be skinned alive. Rainer would be quartered and his innards pulled out. Tamzin didn’t want to wonder what would be Duke’s punishment.
One by one, fifty-three men were laid out as Tamzin watched Henry Covington, thin and ragged, spoke to Will, with their eyes darting from each other to her. Quincy kept a hand on her shoulder and his other hand rested on his hip near his sword. She noted Red and his men sat around the fire and ate what food was left, but all were afraid to approach her.
Will, with his armor on, came to her in a swift stride, a menacing look on his face that frightened even Quincy, who backed away cautiously. With a gentle hand on her hip and a finger that traced over her belly from the opening in the cloak, Will pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Identify those you remember, and then I will give you leave,” Will whispered into her ear as his lips traced the shell to her earlobe. As he wrapped his arm around her waist, he led her towards the men. While his gesture was meant to be comforting, Tamzin had never felt more trapped. With heavy eyes, she barely recognized the majority of the men. As she walked down the line, the men watched her with fear and trepidation, but it wasn’t until she saw the handless man that she nearly shirked Will’s arm. “A handless man? I know who you are.”
“Do you?” the man asked as he leered at Tamzin’s form. “Your wife’s hot cunt was worth losing a hand over. I can still make her moan with a nub.” His words made Will grit his teeth as he kicked the man in the neck and forced him to his back.
“A fire death for you,” Will said as his grip around Tamzin’s waist tightened. With his free hand, he leaned in and grabbed the man by his throat and lifted him clear off the ground. “You want a hot cunt? I’ll let you feel the hottest flames imaginable.”
Tamzin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thankful as she felt her babe stir beneath her skin. Her hand absentmindedly touched her belly when she heard a snicker. When she opened her brown eyes, she looked down the line to find Duke about halfway. His face was covered in soot and his clothes torn, but he wore a smile like h
e had won the kingdom.
“Keeping your child warm, are we?” Duke asked. Tamzin felt her ears become hot from the accusation as the soldiers around her gasped. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I sent a letter to Douglas Johansson that all was not lost. The King will want his grandchild.”
“What are you insinuating?” Gregory asked as he pushed past Will and Tamzin.
“I am letting you know that the plot has thickened, little brother,” Duke said as he stood with his hands bound behind his body. “I let Johansson know that his bastard dipped his wick in the Princess’ tight fit and the child she carries is his.”
“You’re lying,” Tamzin screamed as she came to stand in front of Duke. “Junior tried to rape me and I stuck a knife in his throat. I was with child before my husband left for battle.”
“So you say…”
“Look at my belly, you vile usurper,” Tamzin said as she grabbed the cloak to show her belly. “Does it look like I am a woman only two or three moons along? In my belly is a boy nearly six moons big and his father is Prince William of Thurston Territory, First in his Name.”
“My point is that more soldiers are on their way for you. The child you carry causes a problem for someone. You either carry the child of your enemy or you carry the child that will rule the North, one child of one bloodline. It’s very neat package, indeed,” Duke said as he stared at her belly with contempt. “I think it elevates your status a bit more than what is necessary for a woman. You’re nothing but a brooding mare, really.”
“Cut out his tongue,” Will ordered as his hand touched her arm to pull Tamzin back. “Let him choke on his own blood.”
“Prince, have you ever seen a baby that has been born too early? As a future father, I imagine you are very impatient to meet your babe…” Duke showed his teeth as Tamzin felt a strong hand on her shoulder while the tip of a blade touched Duke’s throat.
“You murdered my wife, and I’ll be damned if I let you hurt my nephew or his mother,” Garrett said as he pressed the tip of the sword a bit harder and a thin stream of blood began to flow. “Let me kill him. Dear God, let me kill him.”
“I have no objections,” Gregory said, as Tamzin felt Will nod behind her.
“Come, my sweet,” Will whispered in her ear as he steered her away from what was about to happen. When she heard the first screams of pain, Will wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her into their hut. It was so much warmer inside and she felt her hands begin to warm. Will sat her down on the bed and joined her as he removed her cloak. “If I could drown out the noise, I would.” He took her hands in his and brought them to his mouth, where he blew his hot breath on her freezing skin. “Are you tired?”
“This will never end,” Tamzin said solemnly as she watched the flames in the fireplace, something she had seen Will do a thousand times. Like him, she searched for answers in the flames but they could give her the words she wanted. “You will never stop killing people.”
“I’m a soldier,” Will said like it was the answer to every question. “Soldiers kill people.”
“You’re a Prince,” Tamzin sniffled as she felt his thumb rub soothing circles over her knuckles. “You’re supposed to be good and kind and protective.”
“Am I not all those things with you?” Will asked, though she knew he was merely amusing her. She believed that he probably thought she was just tired and upset, her womanly hormones were making her mind foggy.
“That man out there is your family. How long until you turn on me like you did with him?” She asked and felt the sting of her question as greatly as he did. Will stood from the bed and stood before her.
“Are you crazy? How can you ask me that?” Will barked before he dropped to his knees in front of her. “He is not my family, not like you are.”
“I wear a ring. We share no blood and you share a resemblance with him, just like your own father. I already betrayed you once, even though it was an accident. You can do that to a man who has your same eyes, then what would you do to me if my father didn’t support you anymore?” Tamzin asked, her tone serious with question.
“This is why I would never hurt you,” Will said as he placed both hands on her swollen belly. “This is why I will love you forever. I will never be more bonded with anyone like I will be with the baby in your belly. What have I done to make you believe I would do this?” Will asked as he raised his hands to cradle her face. “You’re the mother of my child. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, both inside and out. When I become King, there is no one I want more by my side than you.”
“Please, please don’t do this, Will. So many people have died because of me and I can’t bear the guilt…” Tamzin cried before she felt Will pull her to the floor and into his arms. “Duke destroyed your home because I ran away…”
“Duke destroyed my kingdom because he’s a rotting excuse of a human. People are dead because of him, not you. People are dead because of my arrogance and naïve belief that people should be afraid of me without proving it. I am going to show the South why they should fear me and put them back into their place. I can rebuild a home, but I can never find a woman I love more than you. Do you hear me? I love you more than anything; I love our baby more than anything. If I could, I would take all the pain you feel and take it into myself. Worry about the middle name we will give our boy. Worry about how your father will react that we’re naming our boy after someone not in your family…”
“Will?” Gregory’s voice said from the entrance of the hut. “Your aunt is here.”
With that, Isabelle pushed her way past Gregory and into the hut where she saw Will and Tamzin on the floor together. She pursed her lips, but she was still gorgeous with her red lips, pale skin, and her dark hair up in an intricate bun.
“I ought to slap you. Do you know what your mother would say if she were still alive? Leaving your swollen wife alone as you go to battle?” Isabelle scolded as she pulled Will up his armor sleeve. “And she doesn’t even have a proper dress?”
“Aunt Isabelle, I’m sorry…” Will began but she silenced him before she embraced him tightly.
“All is forgiven, my darling. You are safe, she is safe, that is what matters. Do not forget this lesson. Now, you and your father have men to execute. I will tend to Tamzin, sweetheart. And Gregory,” Isabelle turned to look at Gregory. “That offer is a true one. Despite our past, we are family and we must band together.”
“I will take it into great consideration,” Gregory said before he motioned for Will to join him. As Will began to leave the tent, Isabelle smiled at Tamzin and helped her stand.
“Motherhood agrees with you, darling. I’ve brought you a dress I’ve been meaning to send you and there is this as well,” Isabelle said as she opened a pouch in her cloak. She pulled out three crowns: Will’s, the crown Tamzin wore woven in her hair, and the ruby crown from her mother. Tamzin’s eyes watered again. “The only things saved from the fire were these three crowns. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more clear sign,” Isabelle continued as she placed the ruby crown on Tamzin’s head. “You two are meant to be King and Queen.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
As Isabelle combed out her hair, Tamzin listened to the calls and jeers from the soldiers and people as Will killed the Johansson men. It made her sick to her stomach, but Isabelle’s conversations about unimportant topics kept her mind occupied.
“Do you think you’re having a boy or a girl?” Isabelle smiled, as she looked down at Tamzin’s pronounced bump as she swept her hair to the side, unsure of the style she wanted. “When John was in my belly, he was so quiet and didn’t move much. Dinah was the exact opposite. I carried both of them low, so that old wives tale most likely isn’t true.”
“Before, I knew I wanted the baby to be a boy, but now I just want the babe to be healthy. I’ve gone days without food and so much stress. I’m afraid something will be wrong.” Tamzin chewed on her bottom lip as she fiddled with the ring on her finger. “But I do think it
’s a boy.”