Bridei knew he had to get away from her before he threw his pride away and gave in to everything that was clamoring inside of him. The urge to pull her into his arms. The urge to kiss her so hard that she wouldn’t be able to draw a breath. The urge to forgive her everything as long as she promised to stay with him forever. And the urge to strip her bare and drive his cock so deep in her that she screamed his name.Hisname.No one else’s.
They rode straight through the day at a fast clip, and arrived home by nightfall. He had returned to Tallorc triumphant, and his people cheered and called his name. He held his sword high in the air and shouted at the top of his lungs, his horse dancing in tight circles at the command of his thighs against the stallion’s flanks. This was the hour he had been fighting for since the moment he became King of his people. He had never imagined that it would be so bittersweet.
Nessa watched from the far edge of the crowd, and despite everything, pride swelled up in her chest. Bridei had done what no one else could: routed the Saxons and freed his people from slavery and a lifetime of paying tribute, uniting them again as a single Pictish nation under one King.
Her hand slid to her stomach, cradling the tiny new life growing there. He just needed some time. She could wait. After all, she had nothing else in this new world but time. Veda caught the motion of her hand, and though Nessa quickly moved it away, Veda raised an eyebrow in question, then her eyes became knowing. The look on Nessa’s face was, evidently, answer enough.
“Comein Nessa dear”, Meara called from behind the door.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Your emotions ride ahead of you on the breeze. I felt the sorrow and frustration some time before you arrived.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” She really didn’t mean to be bringing everyone down. She had been avoiding Meara since her return, mostly because Nessa hated to put her in an awkward position with the king. Who, incidentally, was still shunning her with a vengeance. Or, more accurately, pretending she didn’t exist at all.
“No worries”, Meara told her with a gentle smile. “Sit. Tea?” She held up a clay cup questioningly.
“Aye. Thank you.” Nessa sat down and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m here because…”
“I know why you’re here”, Meara interrupted. “But let’s make sure everything is clear, once and for all, shall we? Tell me why you left, and why you came back, and then maybe I can help you.”
Nessa drew in a deep breath. “My coming here the first time was an accident. I left behind—quite suddenly and without warning—my entire life. I had my family there, and a man, Nathan, that I had…promised myself to. When Nathan showed up here so suddenly…I felt so guilty because I… because I had been with someone else. And I had even beenhappy, while all that time my grandmother had been dying alone. I let that guilt and sense of loyalty guide me, and I shouldn’t have. It should have been my heart that I was listening to. I know that now. I came back because my old world was falling apart, and all I wanted was to be here, with the man that I…that I love.”
Meara only nodded. “That’s just what I thought had happened. Where have you been sleeping, child?”
She shrugged. “In the woods at the edge of the village. I figured it was safer than out in the open.” No one was going to help her or take her in, and she didn’t blame them. The king had forbidden it, and she’d seen his punishments first hand. In fact, she wouldn’t have let anyone help her, even if they’d offered. Luckily, it was summer and there were berries and greens to eat, and the few vegetables that fell out of baskets or carts at the edges of the fields. She couldn’t say she wasn’t a little hungry, but at least she had yet to starve.
Meara nodded, taking her half-empty cup out of Nessa’s hand and urging her to her feet. “Go now, and have patience and hope. I have work to do.”
Bridei was not at the night fires with everyone else. Instead, Meara found him alone in the hall of the broch, pacing in front of his chair as if he couldn’t quite calm himself enough to sit.
“Nessa”, she said to him, crossing her arms.
He stopped pacing for a moment and looked at her, but quickly began again. “What of her?”
“Do you know that she’s been sleeping in the forest? Existing on berries and nuts, I assume. She looks very thin.”
“So?”
Meara raised an eyebrow. “So? It isn’t good for the child she carries. Many a woman has lost a babe in times of famine. Have you so little regard for your own son?”
He stopped cold. Turned around slowly. The blood visibly drained from his face. His voice was shaky. “She’s still carrying my child? She kept my son?”
Meara glared at him. As far as she was concerned, he had sulked and raged long enough. “Aye, of course. She loves you, and the child.”
He put both hands on the table in front of him, bracing himself. It seemed he could barely speak. “How can you be certain?”
“I amcertain, Bridei. As certain as I am standing before you now.”
Nessasat back on her heels and drew a deep breath. The fires were lit and dozens of people basked in their warm glow. People that she had known, and had once been included among. Now she was alone, still heartbroken, and uncertain of her future. She had no idea what she was going to do once winter arrived. She might have to tell Bridei about the baby just so that he would give her food and shelter. Her hand went to her stomach and her eyes welled up with tears. She didn’t want it to be that way. He hadn’t wanted a child, true, but she had hoped that after a happy reunion, she might tell him and he would accept it and maybe even be glad after all. Now apparently all she could hope for was his mercy to save their lives.
Nessa took another deep, shuddering breath. What a mess she had made of things, and how naïve she had been, thinking she could walk back into Bridei’s life after hurting him and still have everything turn out like the fairy-tale ending she had secretly imagined. Maybe she had imagined his feelings for her as well, though hers were still as strong as ever. The tears began to fall because she just couldn’t hold them in anymore. The patience and hope Meara had told her to hold on to now seemed much too heavy. All at once the dam broke, and she sobbed until there were no more tears left to fall. She must have cried herself to sleep, because the sudden sound of shouting startled her awake.
“Raid! Raid!”
There was a clamor of metal and loud voices and when she looked up with sleep-bleary eyes. She saw men in the distance fighting with swords, knives and fists. It was then that she felt an arm curve around her waist and a hand cover her mouth. Acting on pure instinct, she bit the hand as hard as she could and managed a single scream before the silent threat of violence in the form of a blade at her throat quieted her. As she was dragged farther into the woods, she saw a second shadowy figure following. She stumbled after her captor for several long minutes until they finally emerged near a narrow road where three horses stood waiting, nothing more than black silhouettes in the moonlight. One of the horses carried a third man, and she knew then that she was sorely outnumbered. The men stopped briefly to tie a leather gag across her mouth and bind her hands behind her back. She fought them as hard as she could, because she knew no one would be coming for her. The terror she felt was all-consuming. She was utterly alone.
Bridei had just learned that he wasstillgoing to be a father, and his head was reeling with the implications. She had come back to him, and with the babe. Could he have been too hasty in his judgement of her? He had just opened his mouth to ask Meara’s advice on the matter, his heart in his throat, when suddenly the night was shattered with calls of a raid. Bridei sighed in annoyance, but immediately turned to run toward the call. It wasn’t uncommon for neighboring tribes to sweep in at night and try to make off with food or weapons. Some even considered it a rite of manhood to steal from a wealthier village, and to the people of Tallorc, it was usually more of an irritation than a real danger.
