“Massive,” King Håkonsson said, nodding.Aye, he is.
“Every last part,” Sir James said darkly. The Northmen gave a chuckle at the dirty remark.
The king didn’t join the mirth; his eyes were steel. “A mercenary turned knight. Such a feat is a rare case.” His gaze was keen as he leaned back in his throne. “Another knight paid me call upon his way while returning to his ship, Sir Kolbein. Appears the King of the Scots is refusing my claims to the isles which have been under my rule.”
“May I speak, Lord King?” Aonghus asked formally.
King Håkonsson nodded consent; a silver lock feathering through his flaxen hair fell over the liver-spotted brow.
“Those very same isles you speak of were only under your rule given the force with which they were taken from Scots hands. It was not a peaceful transition, which is what my lord king seeks from you in this moment upon us,” Aonghus said with conviction. “We come bearing the offer Sir Kolbein refused to place before you for your consideration.”
The king eyed the royal guardsman on his right with an incline of his brow toward the missive in her knight’s grasp.The crinkle sound caressed the cabin after King Håkonsson tore the wax seal after it was retrieved. Her heart quickened. The king tore into the seal at the quick. Perhaps there was still a chance for peace and both sides would step away. Oh, if only! His expressionwasintrigued. Perhaps…The missive became flattened on the table under King Håkonsson’s fist. NO! Perhaps not.
“The lot of you will remain under guard till my victory is secured.” The king’s words bound their fate.
She shrank when the falcon swooped in for the kill. “May I humbly ask they be seen to captivity upon my ship?” Lord Kollungr asked, his eyes devouring her.You Northern wretch, your time is done – right now!
“Lord King, there is one other matter I ask to place before your consideration.” Her voice had remained steady. How did she manage that feat? The reason held her hand steady and sure and strong – Aonghus.
The king nodded. “Be brief, Lady Keirah.”
She squeezed her knight’s fingers.Now, my lad.He let her loose before retrieving the coin hidden within a sewn fold upon his tunic sleeve.Rip. The gold gleamed on his palm before he set the prize upon the table. With one flick from his wrist, a steady vibration took the oak surface between spent tankards and goblets while the coin rolled toward King Håkonsson, whoslammedhis palm down upon the coin right before it landed in his lap.
Carefully, he plucked the find off the smooth oak, studying the gleaming surface appearing almost like a tiny sun in the light from the oil lamps.
“The dowry,” King Håkonsson murmured. Lord Kollungr turned into carved marble on her left when the king looked up at the falcon. “Stolen.”
“Aye.” She stepped forward. “Lord King, ’twas stolen, but not from the men outlawed by your order. The true thief stands here in Lord Kollungr.”
A stern silence captured the cabin, with the exception of the whine belonging to the ship’s boards with the waves splashing the hull. What would the king do? Lord Kollungr was one of his longest-standing advisors. Perhaps he would be seized and taken to the next Thing to be judged…wait. Why was the king looking more curious than enraged at Lord Kollungr?
“Ohhhh, my lady.” The falcon took the lead after a wordless exchange happened between him and the king. “You mean to smear me before my lord king, but ’tis you who are undone.”
Aonghus grasped her arm protectively when Lord Kollungr turned toward her to continue: “The coin. The theft from the outlaws was a ruse,” he enlightened. WHAT!?
The room took a spin. “I…I saw you kill those men who took the dowry,” she challenged, but her voice faltered.
“For certain,” Lord Kollungr replied amicably as if they spoke about the price of ale. “I ordered my warriors to slay every last one. When we returned to Bjørgvin, I approached my lord king with an idea regarding a test for you. See, I feared my lord king was growing…well, rather soft toward your delicate charms, my dear lady, and wanted to offer a test in loyalty. I laid the coin in your path unbeknownst to you, then simply waited to see if you would reveal the truth to the king. Alas, you never came forth, showing what I knew to be true. Your loyalty was always toyourKing of Scots. The coin is of no value now; I returnedthe remaining dowry we were able to gather with the princess to my lord king directly upon our return. However, I did savor watching you try to hide the little gold nugget each time you thought no one was looking…”
A sound half growl and half cry tore her throat. “You rotted soul! It was fear! Fear! You would have killed me if I had made it known upon Norse soil! There was nowhere I could hide – even in King Håkonsson’s court – nowhere you could not have reached with your tenacles and dragged me under,” she yelled, with Aonghus’s arms gathering her safely from behind to hold her against him.
Lord Kollungr raised a brow. “Tsk, tsk.” He waved his finger before her, scolding her like a child. “You belittle my lord king’s intelligence even now with your lies. I never threatened you,” he said, lacing accusation with deceit. “Truly, my lady, your imaginings run as wild as you.”
Knock. Knock.
“Enter,” a king’s guard called out.
A stern-looking Northman entered before a brief shuffling quickly ensued; he whispered something at the king, who stood immediately. Why?
“I will return in a moment. Lord Kollungr, hold the cabin,” the king advised while he vacated in a ruffle of furs swishing the floorboards.
Chapter 35
The second the door shut, the pasted smile on Lord Kollungr’s face vanished. And there he was.The side the kingneversaw, haunting her every nightmarish moment. He was present once again and staring right at her! Raging hell! She swallowed the acid bile burning her throat.
The falcon advanced a step while glaring at them both. “Do you truly consider you could defeat me?” he said in a telling not asking tone. “You are not mistaken, my lady, the reach I harness is beyond compare. I find your actions this day rather shocking. For a time, I thought perhaps you would forever lack the courage to face me with your golden prize.” Kollungr’s eyes strayed toward Aonghus behind her. “’Tisyourdoing, Scotsman. Getting her back up, a trait I worked years to stifle. ’Tis the damn Scottish in her blood, and you have dragged it back onto the surface! I will have a heavy-handed task to strangle it out from her once more.” He paused to return his fiendish attentions to her while her Scotsman’s fingers tightened on her as if he were trying to keep them from throttling the Northman’s neck. “Again, do you truly consider you could defeat me?Me?” Kollungr sounded the same as a devil making a promise. “ME! By this time upon the morrow I will have you screaming in my bed and your knight’s massive hide mounted upon my wall!”
Oh. My. Word. What had she done by bringing them here?
