This all seemed too good to be true and Cenric couldn’t shake the feeling it was a trap.
King Aelgar had said she was a reward for his loyalty. Cenric had pledged allegiance to Aelgar, but so did every other alderman in Hylden. Cenric had done no great service that he could think of.
Cenric held Ombra, but that had belonged to his family for generations. And it served Aelgar—Ombra was the farthest northern holding in the kingdom. It was usually the first to be raided by Valdari ships. Aelgar’s best interest was to see that Ombra remained a secure stronghold.
Who better to secure it than Cenric of Ombra? The man who was as much Valdari as Hyldish.
Cenric realized he had been staring at his intended for several moments without speaking. She looked straight ahead, not quite at him. “Lady Brynn.” Cenric cleared his throat. “Are you being forced into this?”
Brynn’s face remained impassive. “I am not.”
Cenric looked over to where the king spoke with a man who appeared to be a thane, though his eyes remained on them. “You, a sorceress and the daughter of a king, are marrying a northern alderman?”
The same day her first marriage was ended, no less.
“If you’ll have me.” Brynn’s tone was flat, disinterested, but her lip trembled, like she was overcome with emotion.
Cenric exhaled a long breath. He’d asked Aelgar to find him a sorceress to wed years ago when he had become alderman. Every time he had followed up, the king’s servants had responded that there were no suitable sorceresses willing to marry into Ombra. Cenric had moved on with his life.
Then, last month, the king’s messengers arrived with the wonderful news that yes, the king had finally found one for him. Cenric had accepted.
Now he wondered if this was somehow a mistake.
Cenric shifted. He felt as if he was missing something, as if there was some detail that had escaped him. “You left Paega on grounds of dereliction?”
“Yes.” Brynn’s expression closed off, reverting to that empty look she’d worn while standing before the king.
Divorcement was rare, but for it to be on grounds of dereliction was rarer. If a man failed to provide for his wife, especially if she was a sorceress, she usually had other recourse.
“If Glasney was not able to meet your standard of living, I doubt Ombra will be better.” Cenric thought it best to be honest. “We are not as rich or prosperous as the shires to the south.” Cenric hoped some of that would change with a sorceress in his lands, but it was fact.
Brynn shook her head, looking away from him. “It wasn’t about comfort.”
“No?” Cenric tried to think of what else dereliction could mean. Failure to perform his bed duties would have been grounds of deprivation or impotence.
Brynn took a deep breath. “Failure to provide defense.”
A wife had the right to her husband’s protection, but Cenric had never heard of a man shirking that. A man who couldn’t protect his woman was bad enough, but a man whowouldn’t?
Cenric frowned, glancing over to the king. Aelgar watched them from across the room, speaking to another man with his back to Cenric. What had Aelgar left out of that missive last week?
“Defense.” Brynn stared to the floor, that vacant look intensifying.
“What does that mean?” This time of year, Cenric was disconnected from news in the south.
“Raiders attacked Glasney,” Brynn said. “They came at night. Just before the spring equinox.”
“Raiders attack everyone.” Cenric still didn’t understand. “If you have something worth stealing, men will try to steal it.”
Brynn grimaced as if she was in pain. “There were no guards set. Paega and his thanes had gone hunting again.” Bitterness entered her voice at that. “I managed most of the shire, but Paega’s thanes were still loyal to him, and I could not manage them on top of everything else.”
Cenric frowned at that. Why had she been running the shire?
Brynn’s voice cracked and she blinked quickly. “I couldn’t do it anymore.”
“So.” Cenric had the feeling she was upset and didn’t like it, but he needed to know what he was getting into. “You left him because…” Cenric didn’t know how to word the question. “They hurt you?”
“Not me,” Brynn said quietly. “I was making rounds in the shire that night. I wasn’t home.” She looked down at her hands.
