Hradi felt as if his lungs had been ripped from his chest. Had Katrin known all along that Gunilla would marry her off in such a manner? He thought hard about how she often seemed to withhold important details of her life. Had he been so enamored of her passion he'd ignored obvious signs of her deceit?
What of these allies the unknown man spoke of? Had Grindafell been a target for attack all along, as Kori suspected? His anger at being betrayed yet again by a woman slowly suffocated any affection he had felt toward Katrin.
This was worse than when his slave had turned on him. Katrin had come willingly to him, well, at least accepting. Her responseswere not fake, of that Hradi was still sure. Maybe that was why the shredding of his heart stole his ability to see, hear, even breathe, for several moments. When clarity returned, ice had taken hold in his veins.
She would pay for her treachery, as would Gunilla. A plan slowly pieced itself together. First he must speak with Kori, to put their plan of defense into action now. The foretold battle was clearly soon at hand.
He recalled Katrin's words the other morning when she had held his father's hand and described her vision. And while he believed her gift to be real, he now questioned her intentions. He didn't know what to think, but surely his brother would know just what to do. At that moment, all he wanted was to make her pay for deceiving him.
And she would.
***
Katrin opened her eyes and stretched, quickly shaking off the last tendrils of sleep. Several deep breaths revived her further and, reaching for her wand beside her, she swung her legs over the side of the bunk. A quick glance around the room told her she was alone. Good. She needed some time to gather her thoughts and prepare herself for facing Gunilla again, dreading the confrontation. Any last vestiges of trust had been shattered this morning when the woman had protested Katrin seeking visions for Thorfinn any more. The jarl clearly was close to the end of his patience with Gunilla. Somehow, Katrin must find a way to free herself from the older Seeress' grasp before the woman's fate played out, possibly condemning her as well.
Gunilla's extreme dislike of Hradi made little sense. At first, Katrin had believed the woman only sought to protect her, but there was much more to it than that. Her opposition to Dream Man's presence and obvious courting was peculiar and more vigorous than her ordinary resistance to others who had tried in the past to court Katrin. Katrin remained convinced her mistressknew of the foreseen battle. What did she know, who did she know, and why did she keep it a secret?
They'd never had an army, and had fled every village in secret, so there were no allies, at least, none that Katrin could recall. Who could Gunilla know that would want to attack Grindafell? And what did she gain from such an attack?
Part of her longed to seek out Hradi and discuss this with him, but she didn't have enough evidence of any wrongdoing, just her own hunches and suspicions. Perhaps after she had spoken with Gunilla again, and convince the woman to give her answers to her questions, she would discuss her worries with him.
A shadow fell over her and she looked up. Though silhouetted in the light from the smoke hole, she couldn't clearly see Hradi's face, but fiery bursts of rage seemed to surround him, reaching out to stab her. Why was he so angry?
Before she could ask, he grabbed her arm and hauled her up. Her fingers tightened on the wand, as if sensing his next move. Once again, her instinct proved correct when he reached for the slender wood and ripped it from her grip. She yanked against his hold, her outraged cry echoing around them when he carelessly tossed the wand aside.
Fury drove her to slap him hard with her free hand, landing several blows before he caught her wrists and pinned her hands behind her back with one of his own. She shoved and pulled in an attempt to free herself, but he merely tightened his hold, wrapping his other arm around her and pressing her tight against his chest.
"You witch!"
The venom in his voice left her flinching. What had she possibly done to deserve such hatred? His next squeeze forced the breath from her lungs. She glared at him and jerked her head against his chin. Hard. The resulting pain left her momentarily stunned, but it was enough for Hradi to ease his grip. She sucked in a breath.
"What has happened? Why are you so angry?"
"You lied to me. After I told you how I vowed never to be betrayed again, you knew. You came willingly to me because you wanted to learn our weaknesses. But your crimes have been discovered."
For a seemingly endless moment, Katrin believed he had gone mad. Searching his dark gaze, flaring with rage, she realized he truly believed she had committed a crime. What?
She swallowed and willed herself into calmness. Without her wand, she felt oddly adrift, her senses unsteady and not recognizing the elements she needed from which to draw strength. Though he didn't hold her as tightly as before, he still held her captive, but his embrace was far from welcoming. Still, warmth spread through her, despite the impossible situation. She lifted her chin.
"Hradi, you must explain. I truly don't know what you speak of."
"Your mistress has an army that is about to attack Grindafell. Did you mock us when you saw my father in battle?"
Katrin's response died on her tongue. Gunilla had an army? How was that possible? Only Katrin and the girls, along with various servants or slaves, such as those who had steered their most recently acquired boat, were the only people Gunilla had any control over. Surely if she had been amassing an army, which seemed ridiculous, Katrin would have known. A strange panic rushed through her, leaving her knees weak and threatening to collapse.
"There is no army. Gunilla does not have the ability –"
"I heard her myself. Along with the one you have been promised to."
Her mouth fell open. She shook her head. Had she heard him correctly? What had he heard, for surely he misunderstood. Where was Gunilla? Sweat beaded on her brow, her stomach sinking as if she had eaten stones.
"I am promised to no one!"
He squeezed her tight again. "Do not lie to me. I saw him. On the morning after next, you will be wed and on a boat away from here."
She shook her head. "No! You're mistaken! That's impossible!"
"Well, that is now true, for you won't be going anywhere. I am keeping you." He drew away, still holding her wrists in one hand. The room seemed to spin about her, but angry fear chased the lure of darkness when she spotted the rope in Hradi's free hand. She tugged and tried to back away, but had no leverage to succeed before he turned her. A moment later, the rope wrapped around her wrists. Once more, he turned her, this time to face him. She had barely a moment to recognize the fury in his gaze, before he caught her chin and pulled her closer. With her arms behind her, she had no way to resist. He studied her, the anger in his eyes now flickering with something just as hot. Lust. His chest heaved with each breath and her jaw burned where he held her. She needed to try and convince him he had misheard, or that Gunilla was lying, but no words formed.
