They had reached the paddock, and Bridei slipped the simple bridle from the stallion’s nose, opening the gate and giving the horse a light slap on the rump so that he went in to join the other horses who were happily grazing on the fresh spring grasses.
Then he turned to her, arms crossed over his chest, and stared, as if trying to decide his next move. His skin glistened with sweat from the recent sparring, and his muscles were still taught and straining from the effort. He was untamed; an ancient warrior who lived by his sword. Dangerous. Bold and arrogant. Decisive in every word and action. Unafraid to risk everything and confident that he would always prevail. And so far, he had. It was these traits that made him a great leader. He had forced the tribes of Orkney into submission, and routed the forces at Dunnottar. Of course she would be fascinated by him, she told herself; anyone would.
And the way he spoke… it was as if he took the language that to her ears had long been flat and lifeless, and breathed into it another place and time full of possibilities she’d never dreamed of. And if she didn’t have so much to lose—if she knew for certain she could go back at any time—she might have been tempted to stay for a while. She could have listened to the Pictish language for hours on end and never grown tired of the beautiful, melodic sound. Her grandmother had treasured it more than Nessa ever had. Though Gram had tried again and again to pique her interest when she was younger, Nessa had been forever running off to play in the hills and streams. But her grandmother’s words were still there, tucked away in her mind, and even now some of those words floated to the surface.
Imagine a whole language, all those words spoken so many thousands of times in love and anger, hate and joy. To have that disappear as if it never was… Just the language alone is a treasure. It’s like a living, breathing thing. I have always been proud to keep it alive. One day, you will know what I mean.
Now she understood exactly what Gram had meant. But at the moment Bridei himself was staring down at her, filling her with such incongruous thoughts and feelings that she wanted to crawl out of her own skin. Finally he spoke.
“I grow tired of watching you and waiting. But what to do with you?” He reached out and touched a strand of her hair, pensively letting it slide though his fingers. “You don’t have the coloring of a Pict. Your words are strange.” His hand moved to her face, cupping her cheek, his thumb nearly touching her bottom lip. Something began vibrating between them. An energy she could feel dancing across her skin. A magnetic pull that made her want to lean closer. Her head began to swim, and she thought she heard him draw a small, sharp breath.
“You show me little fear, but perhaps you only hide it well. Who wouldn’t be afraid of a man such as I?” His fingers tightened ever so slightly against her face, and his body swayed a tiny bit closer as his lips parted slightly. She looked up into his eyes, and she could have sworn she saw raw hunger there. Had this been any other man, any man at all, Nessa would have known for certain that she was about to be kissed.
She pulled away with a small gasp, stepping back and out of his reach.
His hand dropped to his side and he laughed. “Ah, so youareafraid of me.”
“No”, she said quickly. “I’m not afraid. But I won’t fall for any of your tricks, either.” She already had. She’d downed that drugged wine without a second thought. She would be much more careful from now on.
His lips curled into the semblance of a smile. “Tricks. I don’t need to use tricks. I use force. Tricks are for the weak and powerless.”
“But you drugged me…”
“Come.” Without another word, he took hold of her wrist and marched her back into the village, into the broch, and up the stairs to his chamber. She nearly had to run to keep up with his stride, or else she might have been dragged through the dirt.
He pushed her, not gently, into the room and towards the large wooden pole in the center, then he picked up the ropes and gestured with his chin for her to take up her usual place.
She sighed. Fighting would only waste energy, but this routine was growing old very fast. She neededsomethingto happen, whether it was finding Angus or going to the well herself, and being tied up yet again wasn’t going to help.
“You still don’t trust me enough to leave me untied? Where would I possibly go with an entire army just outside the walls?”
“Of course I don’t trust you. If I gave out my trust so easily, I would have been dead long ago, lass. And you must have come past the walls and the army to be here in the first place. Besides, your travelling companion is missing”, he said pointedly.
Glaring at him, she sat and held out her hands to be bound.If only he knew how she had really come to be here. He knelt in front of her, and she held her breath as he slipped the rope around her wrists, his calloused fingers brushing the tender skin near her pulse point. Her thighs squeezed tighter together of their own accord, and she raised her eyes to catch him looking at her. He swallowed hard, his throat moving with the effort. He quickly finished the knot he’d been working on and then stood up, turning to leave.
“Wait! Has there been any word on my uncle?” she asked yet again, without much hope of the answer she wanted.
He turned back, one hand on the door.
“My men have found no sign of him. I only hope for your sake that he hasn’t compromised us in any way. I would be forced to deal with him harshly. There would be no mercy, lass.”
No mercy. She had seen first-hand what ‘no mercy’ meant. She looked away, uncomfortable and irritated and quickly losing her patience with the whole impossible situation. What she wouldn’t give just to take a shower and stretch out in a comfortable bed. She smelled like dust and sweat and a few other things. She’d been washing herself with a cloth and a bowl of water after she helped Veda in the garden, but she still didn’t feel clean. Thankfully her period had only lasted a couple of days, probably because of all of the stress she was under, or things would have been even worse.
She raised her face to the king. “I want a bath, please”, she demanded with as much force as she could muster. “I’m filthy, and I’m sure I’m starting to smell bad, too.”
Bridei appeared to consider her request for a moment, then tilted his head toward the wooden tub near the fireplace. “I will have someone bring hot water, then.”
Nessa’s mouth dropped open in shock. She hadn’t actually expected him to grant her request.
But then his lips curled into a roguish smile. “And I will watch you bathe.”
“What?” She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “No! I’m not bathing with you watching me!” He knew, of course, that she had balked at being naked in front of others on the day she arrived. Now he was testing her resolve.
“This is my chamber, lass.”
“And I didn’t ask to be here.”
He smirked at her. “If you want a bath, I will gladly oblige, but you will have one here, with me watching you. I don’t trust you, remember? Unless you want to bathe with your wrists and ankles bound.”
