I waited for him to send some warmth through the bond, perhaps something along the lines ofI do need a woman in my bed, and the only one I want is you,but there was nothing. Only cold rejection as he turned his back on us.
As Kilia struggled to his feet, footsteps sounded behind us. My stomach did a sickening roll when Darcke slowed to a stop as Borje and Torden broke into the clearing, their steps hurried and faces pale.
“What’s happened?” Darcke demanded.
“Another attack.” Borje’s voice was low and rough, as jagged as his face. “They killed the female heir’s third, and her fourth wasbadly injured. They’ve been relieved of their duties, and she’s had to select two new ones.”
Darcke tilted his head arrogantly. “And?”
“The king wants you all to leave for the trial of steel,” Torden interjected. “It’s too risky to wait.”
“Now?” Darcke repeated. “It’s too soon.”
“Now,” Borje confirmed.
“Fuck,” Darcke cursed.
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to calm the bond, which twisted in ways I wished it couldn’t. “We’ve trained more than the others have.”
Definitely more than Rakkel’s new iron-bound. My heart ached for the heir. She hadn’t been doing well before this, so I couldn’t even imagine how she was doing now. Urgency crushed my chest, and I headed toward the path behind Darcke’s men.
When Darcke didn’t fall in step with us, I turned my head over my shoulder. My second gave me a long look while Torden placed a hand at the top of his back.
“I’ll take them to the ship. You and Borje need to speak,” Torden said, ignoring Darcke’s scowl.
I narrowed my eyes, but it was like Darcke hadn’t only figured out how to drive me crazy but had also cut me off, the tether between us resounding with nothing but empty space and haziness when I reached out through it.
“Come on.” Ilse pulled at my jacket. “He doesn’t look like he’ll take well to arguing.”
I hadn’t been about to argue,only question, but when Torden shook his head, I swallowed the words on my tongue. Kilia took the lead through the forest with Ilse and me close behind, and Torden last.
We walked in silence for a while through the dry heat. I rolled my shoulders when my leathers grated against my collarbone, the soft fabric sticking to my damp skin.
As we came closer to the Hird, I waited for the sounds that always surrounded it: the clattering of plates and glasses andweapons, loud conversations, the opening and closing of tent flaps and sparks of fires. But the clearing was subdued, people walking quietly—cautiously—through it, their ears perked and eyes darting around them.
I slowed my strides until the warrior caught up with me. “How do these attacks keep happening?” I asked Torden.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean…” I threw out an arm toward the tents and the longhouse. “The king has his best men and women here. All initiates and heirs are here. Some of our parents and chiefs are here. It shouldn’t be possible, and if it was, our enemies shouldn’t be able to harm any of us—they should be taken down instantly.”
Torden’s silence made my hands twitch for my sword even though it had been weeks since I’d last had it. Ilse threw worried looks around the trees towering over us, and even though the shadows were calm, the woods quiet, a static charge trailed over my skin—a reminder of the day before the choosing, when I’d come up from the water and our enemies had found me.
“You think someone is letting them in,” I said slowly, bile rising in my throat. “That someone at the Hird is a traitor. That they’re telling them where to go.”
It wasn’t a question, but Torden nodded anyway.
Pressure built within my chest. “Why are they doing it?”
“Why indeed,” the warrior replied. “That is the question, isn’t it? Until we figure it out, you need to be careful.”
My pulse started racing. I didn’t like the emphasis Torden made on theyou. Or the way he looked at me—the apprehension as he cupped his neck.
Our enemies had attacked heirs first. Now they were going after the iron-bound: Vero; Rakkel’s third and fourth. Ilse looked everywhere but at me and the warrior, and even though we hadn’t bonded yet, it wasn’t too difficult to understand what made her shudder as her head turned back the way we’d come from.
There was one amongst us who wasn’t from here—who defied all orders he could. Someone who didn’t believein the heirs and the iron-bound and the Hird. Someone who’d commanded the king’s most vicious soldiers and had spent more time on the front lines than any other person.
When Torden lengthened his strides to catch up with Kilia, I grabbed Ilse’s arm.
