Raiding season was about to be in full swing, but raiders would have come under cover of night.They didn’t usually drag their boat ashore in full view of the sun.
“Let’s see what this is about.”Cenric kicked his horse forward and onward to the longhouse, the main residence of his estate.
Brynn steered her horse closer to his, just enough that he noticed.She was protective, this wife of his.He did not feel he needed it, but he didn’t entirely mind it, either.
They drew up in the stable yard, the space between the front of the house and the entrance to the stables.Chickens scurried out of their path and dogs barked.
Friends!Snapper rushed to greet Ash, Thorn, and the other dogs.
Cenric home!The other dyrehunds chorused.Cenric!Brynn!
Stable boys rushed to meet them and take their horses.
Gannon, one of the younger boys, was the first to reach Cenric.“Valdari, lord!”
“Who leads them?Did they give a name?”He didn’t see the red sails of his cousin’s ship.
“Berdun, lord.He said he’s here to see you.”Gannon was breathless, as if he had been fighting to keep everything contained until now.
Brynn dismounted and set Guin down.The little dyrehund leapt to greet the other dogs.Brynn watched Cenric, waving for silence when several of the household girls clustered around her.
“Berdun?”Edric cast a look to Cenric.“Haven’t seen that old whoreson in years.”
Gaitha dismounted her own horse, leveling a hard look at her husband.“Friend of yours?”
“We know him,” Edric answered noncommittally.“He’s one of Ovrek’s men.”
At the name of the Valdari king, Brynn stepped to Cenric’s side.She squeezed his arm.“Cenric?”
He hated the worry in her voice.Cenric covered her hand with his.“If they were going to attack, they would have done it already.I’ll talk to Berdun and tell you why he’s here.”
Brynn’s fingers tightened and he thought she might argue, but she said, “Be safe.”
Cenric kissed her forehead.“I’ll tell you everything he says when I return.”
Brynn released his arm, though he knew anxiety still radiated through her.Brynn was a strange creature.He had seen her keep her cool in battle and remain calm in the face of armed thanes.She wore composure like a hauberk and serenity like a helm.But her armor always cracked when she looked at him.
“I’ll be as safe with them as I was with Olfirth,” Cenric promised.He headed down toward the river.“Edric, with me.”
Brynn didn’t follow or protest further, but she remained in the stable yard, watching.
Thorn, the oldest dyrehund in Ombra, nosed at Brynn’s hand, drawing her attention down.He wagged his tail, his one remaining eye fixed on her.Like Olfirth, Thorn was another grizzled warrior with a soft spot for Brynn.
Cenric tried to quash the nagging sense of unease in the back of his mind, yet it lingered.
Shortly after gifts had come for no reason, one of Ovrek’s most trusted men came to visit.Cenric wouldn’t have been concerned if not for Brynn’s worrying these past days.She had predicted Ovrek wanted something, and she was rarely wrong.
Edric turned serious as they walked down the hill toward the village.“It looks like Lady Brynn was right.”
Cenric shot him a glare.
“Don’t look at me like that.Gaitha overhears things.”
“You and your wife gossip too much.”
“It’s not gossiping if it’s your wife,” Edric countered.
The longships drew closer.The newcomers rose at their approach.It appeared to be a small crew of less than twenty men across two ships.They were obviously Valdari from their thick woolen clothes and the rings in their beards.
