“I shall not harm you,” came Gaelfr’s voice, lower than before. “Or our son.”
Our son. It flared up more wild, desperate terror — what the hell did he mean,ourson? — and a sob so shrill it might have been a laugh. “You’re lying,” Raye gulped, as she scrubbed her shaking hands at her wet face. “You’ve come to steal Svein away from me!”
Her voice sounded so panicked, so weak and screeching and helpless, that Raye fully expected to hear a laugh behind the door. Some kind of insult, or mockery, demanding what the hellshe had expected. Calling her a wild fool wench, good only for bearing and raising their sons…
But instead, there was silence. Heavy, powerful silence, pooling under the door, tainting the entire room beneath the weight of it.
“I shall not steal him away from you,” Gaelfr finally said, so low Raye had to strain to hear it. “I shall not harm him, or you.”
Raye should have laughed again, or maybe shouted, hurled out as many empty threats as she could think of — but she suddenly felt blank, helpless, utterly exhausted. She’d been up so late working last night, she was so cold and hungry, Svein was trapped in that tiny hole yet again…
“How can I believe you,” she choked. “How can I trust a single damned word you say? You already stole my mate, and ruined mylife!”
There was more silence from Gaelfr beyond the door, stretching out long and thick. “I have stolen naught from you, woman,” he said, his voice very steady. “And should you grant me entry, we shall speak of the truth of this.”
No. Raye didn’t want to speak to him. She didn’t want anything to do with him. He was her enemy, her betrayer, she hated him, shehatedhim…
“I shall not harm you, woman,” came his voice again, almost soft this time. “I shall help you, and guard you, and speak truth to you.”
Help you. Guard you. Speak truth to you. All of it clutching painful and powerful in Raye’s gut, enough that she buried her palms in her eyes, and dragged in deep, bracing breaths. No. She didn’t want that. She couldn’t trust him. Shecouldn’t.
“I swear this to you, woman,” he said, even softer, a low husky rumble that vibrated through Raye’s belly. “I vow this, before the goddess.”
Before the goddess. It churned up the sudden, spiralling vision of Kalfr on his knees before her, his hand over his heart.I pledge you my troth, he’d told her.I shall honour you, and cherish you, and care for you, for as long as I bear breath. I vow this, before the goddess.
But it didn’t matter. Itdidn’t. Even if Raye could still see Kalfr murmuring his morning prayers, or speaking of his goddess with such quiet reverence in his voice.She is wise, and brave, and faithful, he’d told her once.Even in the darkest nights, she will never forsake us.
But he’d made that vow to Raye before his goddess, and then he’d broken it. He’d betrayed her, hurt her, threatened her…
And then, he’d kept coming. He’d kept bringing food and coin and gifts. He’d honoured her wishes, and hadn’t once threatened her or harmed her. He’d sought to be a good father to Svein, in the only way she’d allowed it.
The misery surged again, raw and dark with despair, with regret. And before she could stop it, Raye reeled toward the door, and yanked it open.
3
Behind the door, Raye knew what to expect. The same big, bulky, craggy-faced orc she remembered from that long-ago night. Huge, hostile, and hateful.
But as she blinked at the orc standing before her, she found someone… different. Still the same orc, yes, with the same heavy features, the huge powerful body, the massive axe on his back. And he had a sword at his side now too, long and curved and gleaming, with vicious serrated edges.
But he also looked… older. Tired. With a tight, grim mouth, and deep hollows under his dark eyes. And though he couldn’t be much older than Raye’s own thirty-odd years, his long black hair betrayed several streaks of grey, half-bound back into a thick knot on his head.
He was looking at Raye too, his assessing eyes sweeping up and down her body in her baggy threadbare dress. As if he was judging her, weighing her, and Raye fought down the urge to cross her arms over her breasts, to hide herself from his gaze. Gods, this was the worst idea, what was she thinking, what the fuck was she doing…
But she couldn’t move, and couldn’t stop looking at him, either. She hadn’t seen another orc up close since the day she’d threatened Kalfr, and she’d forgotten how rich their grey skin was, how they dressed like this, in rugged-looking leathers and furs. And how their nostrils would flare like that, always sniffing for scents, just like Svein did. And Gaelfr’s tall pointed ears were just like Svein’s too, and that stubborn set to his mouth, and Raye could even smell something similar on his scent, wild and musky and sweet.
“Woman,” Gaelfr said, deep and decisive, as if something had been settled between them — and he stalked past Raye, and into the cottage. Frowning around at it with that same intent judgement, his eyes flicking over the empty fireplace, the small table with its two stools, the large spools of spun yarn, the bolts of woven cloth, the loom and spinning wheel taking up almost half the room. And finally, his narrow eyes flicked to the closed door to Svein’s room, reinforced with multiple bands of steel.
“So?” Raye’s thin voice croaked, into the silence. “What the hell do you want?”
Gaelfr turned his heavy gaze upon her, his brow furrowed. “Why is Kalfr not here?” he demanded. “Why is there no new scent of him upon you, or in this house?”
Raye blinked at him, once, and barked a hoarse, grating laugh. “Is that supposed to be a joke?” she shot back. “As ifyouneed to ask?!”
Gaelfr’s lip curled, but his brow furrowed deeper, and his head cocked sideways. A look that shot more strange sudden recognition through Raye’s scrambling thoughts, because Svein so often looked at her like that, even with his brow furrowed like that, oh gods.
“Ach, I need to ask,” Gaelfr said, slow and deliberate, as if he were talking to a child. “Kalfr ought to be here. He ought to be caring for you, and our son.”
Our son, again. More icy alarm wrenched up Raye’s back, because yes, this terrifying orc still thought that, and how had she forgotten it? This was what was at stake here. Gaelfr was her betrayer. Herenemy.
