“At least these are not as slimy as the ones in the Shellycoat’s castle,” Hazel grumbles as we begin to climb.
There is nothing but the sound of our breathing as we make our way up the increasingly narrow and steep stairs.
The higher we go, the more the wind whistles past us, wet and murderous, intent on knocking me off my feet, making Hazel’s skirts billow wildly. I grab hold of her clothing and haulher to me, making sure she cannot fall. The wind gets louder and louder. I can’t be sure she can hear me as I call to her. Hazel’s head is bowed as she concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other, her chest heaving against my grip. I might not be able to hear it, but I can feel it…her heart, pounding in her chest.
The wind and noise increase as we get close to the top. I pull her hard against me, wanting to feel her heat, needing her near me.
“The top is a few paces away.” I have to bellow into her ear against the noise. “The Thegn has to be there or this wind wouldn’t be trying to stop us.”
She says something, but it’s pulled from her lips into the air and away. There’s no further time to wait. If the Thegn hasn’t realised we’re coming, this storm will soon alert him. I swing Hazel around, shielding her with my body, and I fling us both out of the crack at the top.
The wind is wild, and it is fighting with the mist for dominance. It shrieks in our ears, and a thousand tiny needles prick my exposed skin.
I never should have brought my mate here. I might be immortal, but she is not. The Thegn might want her magic, but there’s nothing to say it won’t attempt to get it without hurting her.
In fact, as it’s a Thegn, the chances are it will only want her magic, her body being the mere vessel. I thank my horns and hooves she has the protection of her amulet along with me. I can provide the physical protection.
I will provide her with my body. It belongs to her.
“Warden?” Hazel is gazing at me, the sword in her hand, the amulet glowing around her neck.
“Yes, my love, my mare, my mate?”
“What are you going on about?”
“You have me, my lady. You have all of me, at your disposal.”
“That’s a good thing, Warden.” The voice of the Thegn booms through the rain and the wind and the mist. “Because I wish to have my immortality back.”
A spear of lightning slams into the ground next to me, singeing my flesh.
“Not until you are long gone,” I respond. “And we are here to deal with you.”
“It is too late,” the Thegn thunders. “I cannot be stopped, not without destroying the Yeavering and every creature in it.”
HAZEL
The Thegn is even bigger than before, wreathed in something which could be fog but could also be souls, like those it has drawn from the depths under the Yeavering as an army advancing in the wrong direction.
“My army is where it needs to be,” the Thegn growls.
“Is it though?” I stare up at it before Warden blots out my view.
“But is it?” I feel the twitch in my sword. It dislikes the Thegn. It dislikes the dishonour which it was made to witness.
This weapon has honour. It has a soul, and it is not one the Thegn thinks it has.
Instead, for the first time in what turns out to be a short period of time since I arrived here, the shard of metal wrapped in leather speaks to me. It pierces my soul and begs for my forgiveness.
“My lady?” Warden rumbles in my ear.
“The sword,” I rasp back. “The sword is the key.”
“It is indeed the key, little one,” the Thegn booms. “And if you give it to me, you’ll find out exactly what it is in the correct hands.”
I look up into Warden’s handsome face.
“I need to give it the sword.”
