“She offered me wealth beyond imagining.” Guy puffs out his chest. “What of you, Calder? What did she promise the Iss Drengr?”
Death, she always promises me death.
He shrugs. “With any luck, Lavinia will slit her own neck as my reward for delivering the Princess to sacrificeupon an altar.”
Odo laughs heartily, clearly not understanding the joke, while Guy glances around awkwardly. Part of him genuinely wants these fools to believe him.
“Well, I cannot wait to finally drink in ourobjective. I've heard she's a cute little thing. Her fate is a shame.” Odo says while throwing back his drink. “I’ll have the lass in my bed by the end of the evening. Better enjoy her while we can.” His eyes twinkle with excitement while Guy snorts.
Both Jarls suddenly shiver and pull their cloaks tighter around themselves, despite many in the tavern wearing no tunics at all. Guy even tugs his gloves back on.
Calder clenches his fists. Frost coats his hands and the underside of the table. It creeps along the floor towards their boots.
I’ll be damned if they get close enough to so much as bask in her scent.
No, he had not relayed Lavinia’s directive to Sigvid. The King of Treland would declare immediate war on Skalor with his axe head buried in the flesh of Jarls Odo, Guy, and Rolf. After his old friend devoured their hearts, they would have a long, bloody war.
Sigvid should feel relieved, for those threatening Aura have yet to understand true suffering. TheseidrCalder invokes upon them will horrify the demon gods his Lord Commander seeks to destroy. The gods will offer him a throne in the wretched Abyss.
“What if she is uninterested in you?” Calder taps two fingers along the table while pipe smoke billows around his head.
Don’t freeze their hearts just yet. There will be time for that.
Guy shivers, glancing around to see if he is the only one slowly freezing.
He and Odo are just one comment away from becoming frozen fixtures at Feat’s.
“We are powerful men of a distant realm.” Guy tousles his hair. “I think you underestimate the impressionable nature of a young girl.”
He chuckles darkly as he conjures the image of Aura’s very womanly naked body exposed on the hull of his ship. A woman with her curves and that defiant mouth belongs on her knees, strugglingto take his cock.“Try telling her that, and then we will see if you are still alive.”
Guy’s smile is sickening. “I have my plans to obtain the girl. Oh look, your Gothi has returned.”
Calder takes the appearance of Edmund and the scantily-clad whores as his chance to leave.
The summer air feels stale, a stark contrast to the bitter winds of Skalor that blow nearly every day of the year. He rolls his sleeves up to his elbows and strides down the street, contemplating a return to his guest room at Blackwood, in hopes of finding the sleep that has eluded him. A sentiment that seems more and more inviting as clusters of Trelanders pause to whisper as he passes by.
“There’s my good man!” Grim Woods shakes him from his thoughts. The older Drengr, one of Sigvid’s closest confidants, grew acquainted with Calder during the War for Treland. He strides down the cobblestone street with his arms spread at his sides.
The men embrace with a rare grin on Calder’s face. “I heard you were appointed the Governor of Timber.”
Grim nods, looking quite proud of himself. “Avina insisted that I take the position about eight winters ago to regain control from the wretched Manchineel family. Still, I find myself in Salt more often than not. You know how Sigvid loathes Timber,” he laughs, “he tugs me away from Scarwood Citadel at any chance he gets. The more important question is, what brings you home?”
“Skalor was formally invited to the Conclave. Our Queen saw fit to send her Jarls instead.” He breathes in the comforting aroma of honey and leather that hangs in the air throughout the city. “I couldn’t say no to walking the streets of Toftlund again.” He glances over Grim’s shoulder at a group of women whispering and pointing at him,no matter how unfriendly they might be.
“Gods, it’s been nine winters since I saw you last. Do you remember when Sigvid, Slode, and I surprised you in Kaldrgataness?” His smile twinkles like a boon after all the hardships.
“I had just sat down to eat my midday meal when you all bangedon my door.” Calder strokes his beard, reminiscing on better days. “You lot drank three of my mead barrels.”
Grim chortles, his deep laugh a welcome warmth to what little remained of Calder’s soul. “I hate to run off on you, but I am in a bit of a situation.”
“What has happened?”
“Well,” Grim scratches the back of his neck, looking slightly sheepish. “It’s Princess Aura. Sigvid asked that I watch over her now that she has healed from the Trial, but I fear she gave me the slip earlier. She has vanished from Blackwood, and with no one else around,” he shakes his head. “I am at a loss. I don't understand what could have upset her.”
Calder pats his shoulder. “You speak as if something truly terrible has occurred, old friend.”
She must still be struggling with the outcome of the Trial. She will seek a secluded spot far from her family's prying eyes, where she will have a solid vantage point from which to search for the Kilton woman.
