“No,” I repeat, shaking my head frantically. “No!”
I drop to my knees, and with trembling hands, I gather Catherine’s head. I hold it between my palms, staring into the eyes of my daughter. “I am eternally sorry. I failed you. I failed to protect you when I promised that I would.”
A single tear trickles down my cheek as I draw her head toward me, and I lay a kiss on her still-warm lips. “I love you, my daughter. You died a warrior, and I promise, I will avenge thee. Wait for me, my child, for I will come meet you soon.”
The fighting has ceased because the gravity of what Aethelbald has done has sunk in. Skarth’s lips move as he mutters something in Norse under his breath. I know he is asking Odin to welcome Catherine into Valhalla.
With her head still in my hands, I slowly rise and don’t waver as I stare Aethelbald down. “She will have a royal funeral, for she was the first woman sworn into knighthood.”
Aethelbald throws his sword into the ground; it is erect in the mud. “She will be laid to rest in the field in an unmarked grave, for she was not of royal blood.”
Skarth clenches his fists as Aric stands beside him. The look he carries is one I know all too well—he will avenge his beloved.
Benedict wipes the vomit from his chin with the back of his hand. He understands what was sacrificed here tonight because it would have been his head if not for Catherine.
“You took a life, now I want one saved!”
“I changed my mind.” Aethelbald doesn’t care. He just killed my child, which means my children are fair game. I believed they were safe, but the rules have suddenly changed.
Aethelbald senses the danger he is in. I can smell his fear, which is why we must go to the monastery tomorrow.
“Come morrow, the church will surrender to your rule. I promise thee. In return, I want Catherine to be buried in the royal cemetery. Next to my mother.” I can’t keep the contempt from my tone because this bastard has taken my family from me, just as I did to him.
I can read the defeat in Aethelbald’s eyes. He needs me because I know something he does not and probably never will, because he knows the brothers would rather cut out their own tongues than divulge their plans.
For once, I have the upper hand.
“Fine. But don’t say I don’t do anything for you.”
He storms off, gesturing that the remaining prisoners are to be brought back to the dungeons.
With Catherine’s head still in my hands, I nod at Skarth, promising we will avenge our daughter and that everything will be all right.
It must be.
Fifteen
Queen Emeline
Catherine was buried next to my mother in the royal cemetery. She got the burial she deserved. But regardless, it provides me no solace because my daughter is dead. She would have achieved such greatness, and I have no doubt that she would have changed the world. But now she lies headless and rotting in the ground because of Aethelbald.
I am numb. Just when I thought my heart couldn’t be destroyed any more than it already has been, life proves me wrong. I’m broken beyond repair. But ironically, Catherine’s death has only fueled the fire inside me.
Most may give up, surrender to what seems the inevitable, but not me. Once I buried Catherine, I bathed and dressed in a simple black dress, for I am in mourning. I sat by the window and watched the sun rise because, after this day is done, I do not know if I’ll ever see another sunrise.
I’ve not slept.
I’ve not eaten.
None of this matters because all I want is to destroy Aethelbald and erase any trace of him from this earth.
But I must be smart and not allow my emotions to rule me. He must be in the belief that he’s in charge until the very end because blindsiding him is the only way to win. He would be acquiring every soldier to ride to the monastery with us. So I know we’re outnumbered.
I don’t know what to expect, but I hope once the brothers see us, they’ll fight alongside me. Although they don’t condone violence, they will fight to protect themselves and their Lord.
My door opens, and Sigrith enters.
Without a word, she places shackles on my wrists. I don’t fight. I simply stare blankly at her, fists clenched. I don’t recognize the woman before me as she places a metal collar around my neck. Once I am chained, she yanks me up by the chain attached to the collar and forces me to stand. She leads me from the room where soldiers wait.
