“Father said you destroyed him.” She shivers, hoping she misheard his interrogation of Rolf.
Calder stares at her. “There is no turning back, Princess. If you join me, it is to kill a god.”
With her chin raised, she withdraws her father’s axe from her belt. Following two failed kidnapping attempts, Aura’s hands quiver as the adrenaline leaves her system and exhaustion replaces it.
Her father's fate may still be unclear, and her emotions waver under the uncertainty of this choice. But three things are certain.
One. There is no turning back. She is not returning to Treland.
Two. She must save Skalor.
And three, Calder must help her accomplish it.
She slices along the inside of her arm in an act that cannot be undone.
He must honor the blood oath.
“I, Aura Sigvidsson-Redwood, swear fealty, even in death, to my Jarl Calder Avardsson.” Her haughty gaze meets his own unflinching stare.
17
CALDER
September 6th, Year 21, 10th Era
Kaldrgataness, Skalor
The creaking of the longship along the early morning current is the sole source of comfort Calder takes as they sail into the dark waters of the Bay of Souls.
The gateway to Skalor.
What little sun rays that illuminate the dark clouds overhead cast a faint glow on his ship.
Curled under the bow is a bound Isabel, a hunk of canvas draped over much of her body for warmth. Thora sits near their prisoner, her back upright, head lolling gently in a light sleep—a throwing knife clutched in each hand. Pipe smoke swirls around the mast where Edmund leans, silently drinking in his surroundings.
And then there is the youngest Treland Princess.
Aura slumbers against the side of the hull within his sight. She and Thora still wear their matching styled gowns from the Farewell Feast. Hardly enough to keep warm in Skalor, even in early fall.
The closer they sail to Kaldrgataness, the colder the air becomes.
Suddenly, her body convulses from the chilled air. Even in sleep, she cannot escape the bone-biting wind of Skalor.
Quietly, he collects his grizzly bear cloak–stashed away in the stern–and kneels beside her, gently laying the fabric over her body. He places a hand on her forehead, his thumb brushing against her bright pink nose, frigid from the cold.
She pledged herself to me. Using the Drengr blood oath.
As he strokes her cheek, recalling the intensity of her gaze, he is certain she knows the implications of her actions.
The daughter of the Lord Commander of the Drengr army has given a blood oath to the Iss Drengr of Skalor.
An act worse than my king, her father, learning that I was fingers deep inside her cunt.
As if their adventure was not already fraught with enough perils, now they‘ll soon have Sigvid on their ass.
Once her little snores recommence, he returns to the steering oar, choosing to ignore the blatant judgment Edmund tosses his way.
He senses the Gothi shifting his stance and slips to the stern beside him.
