The king harrumphed as he stared from me to Seindra to Darcke behind us.
The shaman placed a hand on his shoulder. “We cannot have an heir and a second with a romantic entanglement. The gods would not look favorably upon us if we allow it.”
“He knows that,” Guner snapped.
My brows furrowed at the king’s second’s tone, but I remained quiet, my pulse racing beneath my skin.
As something in the air shifted, the mist whirling up toward the sky like smoke from a chimney, the king shook his head. “This bores me.” He turned to me and Darcke, his commanding voice making my knees wobble. “You will not dishonor our clan. If I hear or see as much as one thing suggesting either of you is violating the bond, a dishonorable death awaits. I don’t care if you’re a commander or an heir.”
He turned to Seindra, erasing the smirk on her face. “And you. The gods allowed your daughter to choose him as her second, so unless you have something more tangible than a chief’s wife’s gut feeling, you will not waste my time again. You might not be part of the Hird, Seindra Sweengard, but I am still your king.” He spun so that his heavy fur cape flew out behind him, nearly smacking into the shaman’s face.
“Will these ships ever arrive?” Guner asked the shaman as the latter righted his long silk robe.
Sharpness still filled the king’s second’s words, and the shaman’s face twisted before he mumbled something I couldn’t make out and spun toward the sea.
Mist twirled toward the blue sky, painting everything around us in white, and that sound—the one that wasn’t Viking or animal—became stronger with every quiet second, layering around us like a blanket of whispers and dripping echoes.
“Any moment now,” he mumbled. “Any moment.”
“Entertainment is over,” Darcke snarled when the heirs and their seconds continued to stare at us, horror in some of theirfaces. “Unless you’re up for a challenge, of course. I’ve rested, and I haven’t spilled enough blood these past weeks.”
I was about to turn to him when the bond flickered with rejection.
Stay the fuck away from merang in Darcke’s mind, as loud as the steps my second took toward the stone stairs leading down to the beach where the king’s ship floated.
As I stopped my spin, Geord gave me a smile that made me want to turn my head over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming after me. My neck twitched, and the new heir smirked before following Darcke toward the foggy beach.
“You should go, Seindra,” Guner said. “Unless you believe there is something else your heir cannot handle?”
My mother pursed her lips.
“Great. You can join the court and the Solsken chief.” Guner waited until Seindra gave me a look of pure poison as she retreated to the top of the cliff where they would watch us greet our ships, before waving for me, Ivren, Rakkel, and Ottoh. “What are you waiting for?”
A pale Rakkel pulled at Stefen. “Nothing. We’ll… we’ll wait at the beach.”
She truly didn’t look well. I’d thought so before the bonding, but now she looked almost sickly. Perhaps her trial had been as hard as ours were.
Ottoh made to follow when he stiffened, turning to Guner. “I was with them out there.”
My soul went still, my heart stopping.
“Yes?” Guner said, his body twisted but face turned my way.
“Darcke was the perfect second. He would have given his life for her, which is the only thing an heir can demand.”
There was a moment’s hesitation before Guner dipped his chin. “I’ll be sure to keep the king informed.”
I struggled not to gape when Ottoh followed the female heir. He’d done nothing but live up to his vicious reputation until lastnight, but now he’d lied for me? He’d seen the tension between Darcke and me. There was no way he could have missed it.
Ivren and Viljan were waiting for me, but as I approached them, Guner raised a hand. “You’re staying back.”
“I—”
“That wasn’t a question, heir.”
“We’ll wait at the top of the stairs.” Ivren looked like he wanted to step in, his hands twitching toward the empty scabbard by his waist, but when I shook my head, his fingers curled, and he took Viljan with him so Guner and I were left alone.
I wanted nothing more than to snarl at the king’s second, but I made myself keep my mouth shut and eyes ahead. Everything I did now would be watched—scrutinized. As if I didn’t have enough problems.
