The crisp, cold air stung Snow’s face as soon as she stepped outside and she pulled her hood up over her head to block the wind and snow.
Nettle hooked her arm around Snow’s. “Snow covers the stairs, m’lady, go slow.”
Thaw followed the pair down the steps, keeping watch on Snow until they reached the bottom.
“Thaw runs ahead,” Nettle said, watching the pup rush off. “He heads to the crowd gathered in the middle of the village.”
“Hurry and get us there, Nettle,” Snow urged.
“Much snow has fallen in a short time,” Nettled explained as she kept tight hold of Snow’s arm and headed to the crowd as Thaw had done.
“Fear not, this will be dealt with!”
Snow recognized her husband’s strong, commanding voice ring out and, though he had warned against it, she couldn’t stop a twinge of fear from striking her. What could have driven people from their warm beds in the middle of the night to go outside in the cold and falling snow?
Nettle eased their way through the crowd, though when people saw who she brought with her, they parted leaving a path for Lord Tarass’s new wife.
When they got near to the front of the crowd, Nettle caught sight of what had frightened the people. She came to an abrupt halt, shivered, and gasped, “Oh, Lord, have mercy on us.”
Chapter 18
“What is it?” Snow asked in a whisper.
“Another pool of blood, that devours the snow,” Nettle murmured, tales of the first pool of blood having circulated the clan.
“The dwarfs, Fjalar and Galar, are here. They look for more blood,” someone in the crowd called out.
“They search for knowledge like they did with Kvasir,” another called out.
Rannock’s strong voice rang clear. “Then none of you have anything to worry about since the lot of you lack knowledge.”
“Heads are nodding and smiles are breaking out,” Nettle whispered to Snow. “They are happy to be ignorant.”
Another person spoke up. “Someone here is wise like Kvasir and the dwarfs want his knowledge. What if they choose the wrong person and drain him of his blood by mistake?”
Gasps rushed through the crowd.
“Fear replaces the smiles,” Nettle told Snow.
“I will see to this. You have nothing to fear,” Tarass commanded.
“This danger arrived with your new wife. It is she who the dwarfs want,” someone shouted.
Nettle wrapped her arm around Snow. “We should leave.”
“No,” Snow said. “Stand me out in front of the crowd and do not argue over it with me.”
Nettle did as she was told, then stepped to Snow’s side while Thaw wasted no time in running to her and taking a protective stance in front of her.
Snow kept her voice strong and clear. “I’ve brought no danger to your clan. What knowledge I have is easily obtainable by all, and I will not be maligned for something that doesn’t involve me. Look to yourselves, for I have nothing to do with this.”
Tarass had been annoyed when he first caught sight of his wife making her way through the crowd. She had disobeyed him and now here she stood in front of his clan having her say, and he couldn’t be more proud of her.
“If I hear anyone malign my wife, the consequences will be severe,” Tarass warned, his powerful voice carrying out over the crowd. “She had no part in this, and this,” —he pointed to the pool of blood in such stark contrast to the pure white snow— “is not the work of dwarfs. It is humans who did this, and I will find them and see them suffer. Now go home, sleep, and know you are safe.”
Grumbles and whispers were heard as the crowd dispersed.
Tarass turned to Rannock. “I don’t want a drop of this blood left here or seen anywhere in the village by morning.”
Rannock kept his voice low. “What if the dwarfs are here?”
“Then it will be their blood that is spilled,” Tarass said and walked around the pool of blood, smaller than the one they had come upon in the woods, and went straight to his wife.
“Your husband approaches… hastily,” Nettle said and stepped aside.
“You disobeyed me,” Tarass scolded sharply.
“Who are these dwarfs and this Kvasir?” Snow asked, ignoring his reprimand.
“That matters not,” he chided, taking her arm. “Nettle, you are no longer needed tonight.”
“It does matter,” she insisted as he forced her into step beside him before she could bid Nettle good-night. “It could be a clue in solving the mystery of the two pools of blood and perhaps they are connected with Finn and the stranger’s death.”
“Lord Tarass!”
He stopped and turned to see one of his warriors running toward him, the shocked look on his face alerting him to what was bound to be more disturbing news.
The warrior kept his voice low. “The body, my lord… it’s gone.”
“Which body?” Snow asked.
Tarass sent his wife a scowl, then realized she couldn’t see it. His annoyance grew when the warrior turned to her and answered.
“The stranger with the markings.”
“How…” Tarass shook his head, knowing the answer as did his wife.
“The pool of blood was used to distract,” Snow said.
“Did all the sentinels leave their posts to find out what was happening?” Tarass asked, his temper sparking.
The warrior lowered his head. “Aye, my lord.”
“Yet, you’re the only one who stands before me.”
The warrior bobbed his head, but said nothing.
“Wait for me at the hut,” Tarass ordered and turned away from the warrior.
“Please don’t have Nettle fetched again. I’ll go with you,” Snow said, locking her arm more firmly around her husband’s, determined to remain with him.
“It is cold and the snow falls heavily. You need to be inside where it’s warm and safe,” he argued.
Snow rested her hand on her husband’s chest. “It is our wedding night and while I’d prefer to be in our bedchamber together, what I want most is for us to be together wherever that might be. So please don’t send me away from you.”
Married a few hours and his petite wife had already worked her way deeper into his heart.
He took her hand in his and scolded, “Where are your gloves? Your hands feel like ice.”
“I was in a rush and forgot them,” Snow said.
Tarass caught sight of Nettle at the keep steps and shouted, “Nettle, fetch Lady Snow’s gloves.”
“Aye, my lord,” she said and lifted the hem of her garments to carefully, yet quickly, climb the snow-covered steps.
“We wait here for her,” Tarass said.
Snow snuggled against him. “Good, then it gives you a chance to tell me about the dwarfs and who Kvasir is and why your clan thought of them at the sight of the pool of blood.”
Tarass felt more content standing there in the snow and cold, his wife snug against him, then he had in some time. His mum had told him not to settle for anything but love when it came time for him to choose to wed. After his parents’ brutal deaths, his only thought had been to do whatever was necessary to find the person responsible and make him pay with his life. He liked to think that somehow his mum had had a hand in bringing Snow to him to make sure he married for love.
“It’s a tale told by my mum’s people. Kvasir was born of two gods. He possessed great wisdom and he taught and spread his wisdom in his travels. The dwarfs, Fjalar and Galar, were jealous creatures and wanted his wisdom. They captured Kvasir and drained him of all his blood, hoping to gain all his knowledge.”
She glanced up at him, seeing only a gray blur and wishing she could see her husband’s face clearly. She recalled when she had last seen him, but he had been young, with fine features and an arrogant stride of youthful confidence. She wondered what he looked like now, though she had no doubt that arrogant stride of youthful confidence had become more powerful and confident with age.
<
br /> “So the pools of blood could be a message of sorts.” She scrunched her brow. “Someone searching for knowledge? What knowledge? And why two pools of blood? Or was it simply a distraction to steal the body and put fear in your clan?”
Tarass admired her quick perception, his own thoughts being the same.
Snow gripped his arm. “You search for the person responsible for your parents’ death. Could this be a message that if you gain that knowledge you will die? The arrow that almost struck me could have been meant for you, the marksman having missed his target. Someone wants to keep knowledge from you, perhaps the knowledge of your parents’ deaths.”
“You piece puzzles together quickly, wife,” he said, hugging her.
“Not all puzzles,” she said, frowning. “I can’t understand why we dally out here on our wedding night when we should be in our bedchamber making lo—”
“I have the gloves, my lord,” Nettle called out as she approached.
Tarass slipped his hand beneath his wife’s cloak to give her backside a hasty squeeze. “I will rectify that soon.”
He took the gloves from Nettle and dismissed her for the night once again. He slipped the gloves on his wife’s hands, then took her arm.
“We will see this done quickly,” he said and took her arm.
Tarass stopped to talk with Rannock briefly, explaining what the warrior had told him and that he was on his way to speak with the warriors who had failed to do their duty. He ordered Rannock to send four other warriors to the hut.
“Do you mind waiting inside the hut?” Tarass asked as they approached the area.
“I don’t mind. the dead can’t hurt us,” Snow said.
Tarass escorted her inside the hut. “I won’t be long.” He turned to Thaw, the pup having followed them in. “Guard Snow, Thaw.”
Thaw gave a bark and pressed against Snow’s leg.
“I won’t be long,” he said again and left.
“You all failed tonight!”
Snow cringed at the powerful anger in her husband’s voice and felt sorry for his warriors, though they had failed him and needed to face the consequences of their failure. She recalled the last time she was here and moved slowly, bumping into the edge of a table. She reached out and found the table empty. It had been the one her friend had laid upon.
“Rest in peace, Finn,” she said and turned, recalling Nettle saying something about the tables the dead men rested on lay close to each other. A few steps and she touched an empty table. Even with the commotion the pool of blood had caused, wouldn’t someone have seen the body being removed from the hut.
She heard sniffs and low growls and called out to Thaw. “What is it, Thaw? What have you found?”
She followed his sounds and found him in one of the corners of the hut, digging. She was about to lean down to find out what he was up to when she heard a slight crack. She reached out and touched the crudely built wall, that did little to keep out the cold, and the section moved against her hand. She pushed at it and the section fell away.
Thaw gave a yap and scurried past her leg.
“Thaw,” she called and followed after him.
She had only taken a few steps when Thaw returned to her and gave her hem a tug. He wanted her to follow him and without thought, she did.
When a branch brushed her cheek, she knew he had taken her into the woods and she stopped, realizing her mistake. “Thaw, we need to go back and get Tarass.”
He barked, then tugged at her hem again.
He was desperate to show her something and she was desperate to alert Tarass to her whereabouts.
“You can show me, Thaw, but first…” She cupped her hands together so her voice would carry far, and shouted, “Tarass! Tarass!” She hoped he heard her and she planned to call out to him again, but first she took a cautious step forward to appease Thaw, who was tugging wildly at her hem.
Her foot hit something and she crouched down, her hand reaching out to touch a body.
Thaw started growling low and deep as he made his way around her and climbed up on the body to position himself protectively in front of her.
Something or someone was there with them.
His growling intensified, letting her know that whatever it was… was drawing nearer.
“Snow! Snow!” came her husband’s frantic calls.
Thaw barked repeatedly while Snow shouted to her husband, “Tarass! Tarass!”
She was relieved to hear pounding footfalls, but she also heard a scurrying of sorts.
“Snow!” Tarass shouted when he caught sight of her and snatched her up off the ground to hug her tight.
Thaw kept barking.
“I’m here, Thaw, Snow is safe,” Tarass assured him.
“He’s letting you know someone was here and ran off,” Snow said.
“Search the woods!” Tarass commanded and his warriors trailing him took off, though two remained behind, aware their lord and lady were not to be left unprotected.
“There’s a body,” Snow said, pointing to the ground. “I think it’s the man with the markings. Thaw discovered the scent and was digging. I leaned on a section of the hut wall and it collapsed, then Thaw led me here.”
“Bring the torch closer,” Tarass commanded and when the warrior did, Tarass saw that his wife was right. “Dolan, get Rannock and more warriors.”
“Aye, my lord,” the young warrior said and hurried off.
Snow went to speak.
“Not a word, wife,” Tarass ordered. “You have disobeyed me twice tonight and put yourself in unnecessary danger.”
“You’re right. I followed Thaw without thinking. It was foolish of me and I called out to you as soon as I realized my mistake. I’m truly sorry.”
That she admitted her mistake and apologized for it caught him off guard. He expected her to argue and make excuses, but he should have realized that was not what his wife would do. She spoke her mind to him and she spoke the truth.
“We will discuss this later,” Tarass said.
“Aye, my lord,” she said softly, hearing footfalls approach and feeling as he might, that it was not a matter to be discussed in front of others.
While dark and gray shadows remained for Snow, she felt the heat of several torches around her and her husband’s hand clutching hers. He squeezed it now and again to either make it clear he had no intention of letting her go or to remind her that he was there with her. Either way, it comforted her.
Snow listened to the conversation between her husband and Rannock, offering no opinions, at least not yet.
“How do you get blood from a dead man who’s been frozen for a couple of weeks?” Rannock asked after some discussion.
Just as Snow had thought, someone had taken the dead man’s blood. “Your healer might know, if not, my sister would,” Snow offered and couldn’t stop the yawn that rushed up and out of her mouth.
“You’re tired,” Tarass said and got annoyed that it took a yawn for him to realize it. It had been a long, exhausting day and his wife needed sleep, which meant…
He silently let loose a string of oaths in his head, frustrated that their union would not be sealed tonight.
“See that the hut is repaired and the body returned there and keep two warriors, front and back of the hut, on guard,” Tarass ordered. “We’ll discuss more on the morrow.”
Snow yawned again as they walked away, Thaw following along with them.
“You need sleep,” Tarass said.
“I was so concerned over marrying Lord Polwarth that I didn’t sleep at all last night, the reason why I am so tired tonight,” she admitted and to prove it true, another yawn escaped her.
Tarass scooped her up in his arms and got a snarling bark from Thaw for it.
“You should have told me,” he said.
Snow didn’t respond, content in her husband’s arms. She might be tired, but it was her wedding night and their vows must be sealed. She almost chuckled, since what she truly wanted was to make lov
e with her husband, and being in her husband’s arms reminded her how she had felt when naked in his arms, and her passion sparked and ignited.
Once Tarass placed her on her feet in their bedchamber and took her cloak, she was eager to shed her garments, but his strong command stopped her.
“Leave your shift on to sleep. The room has chilled and it will keep you warm.” He went to the hearth to add more logs.
“You’ll keep me warm,” she said.
“You need sleep, if I get in bed with you, you will not sleep,” he said with snarl that rivaled Thaw’s.
Her eyes went wide and anger bubbled inside her. “You don’t intend to sleep with me?”
“Not tonight,” he said. “You’re exhausted and need sleep.”
“You decide when I sleep?” she argued.
Tarass did his best to temper his annoyance, but it wasn’t easy. He wanted to say the hell with it and whether she was tired or not, make love to his wife.
“Aye, I’m your husband and know what is best for you, especially when you’re too stubborn to realize it.”
Her mounting anger chased her exhaustion and she nearly ripped her tunic as she tore it off herself and threw it aside.
“You don’t command me when to sleep or what to wear to bed.” She grabbed the sides of her shift to tug it off.
“Don’t dare take that off!” he ordered sharply.
“Or what?” she challenged.
“You will obey me on this, Snow,” he warned. “Leave the shift on and get in bed.”
Thaw raised his head from where he was curled asleep by the hearth and started growling.
Snow stuck her chin up defiantly. “You’re not officially my husband until our vows are sealed so until then I’ll do as I please, and I please to sleep naked.” She yanked off her shift and stood naked, her hands on her hips. “Now what are you going to do?”
“Teach you obedience,” Tarass said.
Chapter 19
“What are you doing? Why is Thaw snarling so badly?” Snow demanded, worried for Thaw, though she knew Tarass would not harm the pup.
“He’s being put out of the room, since he won’t tolerate what I’m about to do to you,” Tarass said.
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