1
Brynn
Kingswerelikehearthfires—necessary but best kept at arm’s length.It was good to draw close to them, but never too close.The flame might offer protection from other elements, but they were still dangerous.It was best to be known by a king, able to direct his focus, but never the object of his focus.That was where the real danger lay.
Brynn had not needed to think about kings much these past months, but now Ovrek, king of Valdar, wanted something.He had not outright said he wanted something, but he had sent gifts.Sumptuous gifts from far-off lands, the kinds of gifts meant to impress.Kings did not grant such gifts freely.Men like him did not give without expecting to get in return, so what did Ovrek expect?
The riddle had harried Brynn for weeks now and she felt she had only half of it.What was she missing?
“Wife?”Cenric called to her in a way that indicated he’d called more than once.
“Yes?”Brynn smiled up at him, realizing she had been staring at the hearth in the middle of the great hall.
The cacophony of celebration roared around them.At least two hundred people packed into the hall, laughing, singing, and dancing wherever a patch of space could be found.
Cenric gestured to the young man standing before them.
“I wanted to thank you for your wedding gift.”Evred was a lanky young man, barely over twenty with a frame that hadn’t quite filled out yet.
Brynn inclined her head.“Of course.The blessings of your gods and mine to you and Rowan.”
“Your gods and mine,” Evred answered, bowing to Brynn.“Rowan wanted to make sure I thanked you before the night was over.”
Rowan should have thanked Brynn herself, but Brynn didn’t blame her for sending Evred instead.A part of Brynn was relieved that she had.Rowan had been Cenric’s concubine, living with him for over a year before he’d married Brynn.
Rowan and Cenric’s relationship had already ended by the time Brynn and Cenric had married, but it was still…awkward.There were confused feelings on all sides.
Now Rowan was marrying Evred, a thane in the household of a wealthy Ombra landowner.Brynn and Cenric had been invited.As the alderman and lady of the shire, they had decided it would be rude not to attend.
Brynn had gifted Rowan ten ells of woolen cloth reinforced with spells to ensure they would last longer, along with three strands of colored glass beads, a knife made from Kelethi steel, and copper brooch.They had been the finest gifts Brynn could think of giving while being useful and not too extravagant.
“Is this an Ombra tradition?”Brynn asked, gesturing to the crown of daisies on Evred’s head.
“This?”Evred pointed to the flowers and smirked.“No.I lost a wager to my sister.”
Brynn stopped herself from frowning.“A wager?”
Evred shrugged, good humor unabated.“Sisters.”
“Olfirth has Rowan’s silver,” Cenric said.
Olfirth was a respected, wealthy thane in Ombra and Evred was a warrior in his service.That was also why this wedding was being hosted in Olfirth’s hall.Brynn spied the old thane eyeing her husband from across the room.
Olfirth noticed Brynn watching him and raised his cup in salute.Brynn raised hers in response before sipping from her mead.It was sweet and crisp.Truly, Olfirth had provided the best for this wedding.
“What?”Evred’s brows rose in obvious surprise.
“I said Olfirth has agreed to hold the chest until you have a place for it,” Cenric repeated.
“What chest?”Evred shook his head.“What silver?”
Cenric blinked at him.“Rowan’s dowry.”
Evred glanced over his shoulder, but Rowan was at the center of a dance circle, twirling with her sisters and mother.
“Five hundred silver pennings,” Cenric explained.“That’s the amount I promised to Rowan when she left my household.”
Evred coughed.“How much?”
