“I’ve got you.” I was being scooped into his chest, closed my eyes against the world’s turning.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t be.”
I could hear his heartbeat against my head, faster than I’d imagined. He was walking swiftly, and I curled into that warmth, just shut my eyes.
Then he stopped.
“Little Khal,” a voice in front of him drawled, common tongue, hardly a hint of an accent there. “You made it back.”
“Sephar.” Khal’s voice was tight, strained.
"Now, now, where’s the warm reception, when your big cousin comes to welcome you home? Don't tell me you've cast me aside?"
"This is a bad time."
"What?" Nothing about the tone had changed, which felt itself like danger, but I didn't dare open my eyes.
“I’m saying we can talk later, not now.”
"Why? …oh.So this is the captive bride I've heard so much about."
"She's not a captive."
"I guess the chieftains will decide that, won't they?"
Khal must not have realized how his grip tightened on me. "What do you want?"
"It's a little pale. Are you sure you're treating it right?"
"She just needs rest."
"Casting aside your kin for afagrik. And after all I've done for you, little cousin."
"Next time you burn down a city wall to save my life, we'll talk. Let me through."
I was afraid to move.
The sound of feet moving was quiet, a whisper, as the stranger stepped to the side. Khal moved again. Behind us, the other man's voice rung out.
"They all ignored what you were before, but you've messed up this time, little Khal. No one will be able to ignore where your loyalties lie, with that one waiting in your bed."
Khal stopped. This whole time, he had spoken quietly, urgently. Now his voice boomed, rolled over the walkways and bridges. "My father taught you to make fish hooks," he said, icy calm. "He helped you when you almost lost that hand. You spent nearly every night beside our hearth. You speak Common almost as well as I do because of it.'' I felt him turn. "So don't pretend this is about loyalty. Don't make yourself despicable to the people who still care about you, when you can just say that you hate me and always have."
The silence was frigid, peaked.
"You can challenge me at the circle when the time comes. I will fight you. I might lose. But I won't be turning my back onsomeone who raised me." Khal turned away, back to the bridge. "This was in Common as a courtesy,Cousin.Next time, it will be in our tongue. And what a pity it would be to let your hangers-on see any humanity in you."
There were others on the path now, as he walked. I could sense them in the pattern of his steps, quiet grunts and words. But no one stopped us, and then the heavy door was shutting, and he was laying me down on the floor of Vrathgar's cottage.
"Rowena?" His voice was so different, so soft. "Can I get you anything?"
My head wasn't spinning as much. "I think I'm better; thank you." I tried to sit up, but leaned against the wall as the weakness hit.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that." He was moving quickly, draping the blanket over me, acting to build a fire in the central hearth. "You don't have to worry. There won't be trouble." He spoke as if I couldn't see his eyes trace again to the door to see that it was barred, as if I wouldn't notice that as soon as the fire had started, he shuttered and barred the window.
"You're facing a lot because of me." I hugged myself and tried not to shiver. I didn't need to be a problem in another way.
