"What was it about?" She shifted, folding her hands on his chest and resting her chin upon them.
He hesitated. "I don't remember it."
"Perhaps I can help."
"What do you mean?"
She sat up and he felt suddenly cold without her body against his. The chill passed when she reached out for his hands.
"Tell me what you do remember. I might be able to help you recall the rest."
He shifted his hands so he enclosed her fingers in his grip. "I don't remember anything. I just feel… angry."
She stared into his eyes. "It was about a woman."
He nodded. That was the only thing he was certain about.
"She is dead?"
He nodded again. Uneasiness crept along his spine, not sure if he liked the way she could read so much into his few words. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. He found himself staring at the rosy tips of her breasts, somehow resisting the urge to reach out and tease her nipples into hardness. Surely the strength to hold back must have come from the gods themselves.
When she opened her eyes once more, he read the curiosity there. "Tell me about her."
His growing desire now halted, he heaved another deep breath. "She was a … slave."
"Yours?"
"Yes. Though I had planned to free her, perhaps even take her as wife."
He noted the odd gleam creeping into Katrin's eyes. He held back a smile. "Are you jealous, Little Witch?"
She shook her head. "No. But if you had wed her, I suppose I would not be here with you now."
"You are right about that."
"She died before you could free her?"
"No, I decided not to free her and sold her to someone else."
"Why?" Katrin's eyes had grown wide and frightened.
"She betrayed me, and my clan."
Several moments of heavy silence passed before Katrin spoke.
"Tell me."
"It is a long tale."
"We have several hours beforeSólrises in the sky."
"Nosy little witch, aren't you?" He softened his words with an affectionate smile.
"Perhaps. But it might do you well to share it with me."
He nodded. "Very well. Dota was a slave. We took her in a raid led by my brother. She was part of the spoils."
A brief pause calmed the familiar turmoil accompanied by thoughts of the slave. "I didn't take her, another did. He treated her terribly. Geira, my brother's slave, was her friend and put herself in danger to protect her."
