“What’s happening?”Brynn’s gaze fluttered between them all as they switched back to Valdari.
“Ovrek is sending two men to see if the Grandfather Yew is harmed as you say,” Cenric explained.
“It was,” Brynn answered flatly.“Someone was quite thorough.”
That made the back of Cenric’s neck prickle.He gave his personal allegiance to Morgi, but it was never wise to meddle with any god or to disobey the ancestors.
The First of Fathers himself had ordered the construction of the boundary stones and the protection of the yew tree.Generations had offered their sacrifices and prayers twice a year.Most people only made the journey a handful of times in their lives, but villages and settlements from across Valdar sent offerings of animals to the tree.
As long as the Grandfather Yew stood, Valdar would have good fortune.Every child grew up on the tales of how it had been planted to protect the islands and how evil would be unleashed if it should come to harm.
Cenric shot a glance to Ovrek, but the king’s attention was elsewhere.He said something to Hróarr, something about the bathhouse.
The pieces clattered into place in Cenric’s mind—Tullia calling her father cursed, the questions about yew wood followed by the betrayal from Dagrún and Egill.
Ovrek must have taken pieces of the Grandfather Yew for his flagship as if it was a common oak.The most holy place in Valdar, planted by the First of Fathers himself, and Ovrek had carved it up for timber.
It was unthinkable, an act of hubris that flew in the face of everything every Valdari child was taught from infancy.Nothing worthy of doing should be done in secret and if Ovrek felt the need to keep it secret, he should have known better.
Ovrek must have sensed Cenric’s attention.His gaze shifted back to them.“I trust you will escort your wife back to your camp.”Continuing to speak in Valdari, he cast Cenric a grin.“I still expect you to feast beside me tonight.Bring her with you, if you like.”
It was a command as much as a promise of reward.
Ovrek might have done the worst thing that any Valdari could do, but he was still Ovrek.He still commanded thousands of men and had the power to hurt Brynn.
Cenric bowed as he knew that was what his old mentor wanted.The king might be indebted to him now, but a king was still a king.None of his rewards, not even those that were earned, came without a debt attached.
Brynn had been agiftfrom another king who had also expected Cenric’s loyalty.Now it seemed that keeping her was indebting him to Ovrek.
The king turned his attention to his warriors.“Bring me Egill’s men.I want them all in this pit before the sun sets.”
Cenric returned his attention to Brynn.“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”She clung to his chest as if she was hiding from the Valdari men.Perhaps she was.
Cenric guided her back toward their tents.Brynn scooped Guin up in her arms, clutching the little dog to her breast.
Ovrek bellowed an order, and two more warriors broke off, falling in behind them.Brynn was still under guard, it seemed.
“What happened here?”Brynn asked, still gripping his arm.She watched as the king headed away from the thrall huts toward the beach, followed by most of his men.
“Egill and his son tried to kill Ovrek.”
“Those two men thrown in the pit?”
“Yes,” Cenric confirmed.“At least two of their men were a part of the plot, but I killed one and Ovrek finished off the other, so we won’t be hearing their version of the story.”
“You fought?”Brynn’s grip on his arm tightened.
“It wasn’t much of a fight,” Cenric said.“I wasn’t armed, but I managed.”
Brynn took in a shuddering breath.
“I saved the king’s life.”He felt a little pride at that, but not as much as he should have.The words felt tainted, somehow.Boasting was as much a part of being a warrior as hunting or feasting, but for some reason, Cenric was not entirely sure he had done the right thing this time.
Brynn stroked his arm as if reassuring herself he was real.“Good.”
An odd sensation of relief filled Cenric’s chest at that.Surely if Brynn approved, he had done the right thing.He wondered if the plot against Ovrek had anything to do with the murder of his concubine.It did seem convenient.
