Chapter 7 Brynn
Brynn
They anchored their ship at the mouth of a small river and camped for the night. Cenric said they were making good time, but it would probably be another day before they reached Ombra.
The men gathered wood and Brynn had Esa practice starting a fire. A sorceress’s power was always welcome.
Several of the younger boys with Cenric’s crew distributed smoked fish and bread that had probably been fresh that morning.
Snapper bounded in circles around the people as they worked, sometimes disappearing off into the trees.
They had no tents but roped lean-to shelters of oiled canvas between the trees. They spread cloaks and blankets on the soft soil of the riverbank.
Dinner was a quiet, if good-natured affair. Esa stayed close by Brynn’s side as she had for most of the journey.
Throughout the day, the men had taken turns at the oars. Cenric had spent every one of his off shifts at her side. It had been strange, but…not unpleasant.
After that first conversation, they’d talked about nothing and everything. He asked her questions about spells and magic, what she could do. She asked him about Ombra. She didn’t think she wanted to know anything more about his past just yet. And she wasn’t ready to discuss more of hers.
He seemed genuinely interested in what a sorceress might be able to do. He asked specific questions—could a sorceress work with metal? What were the limits of their healing? What success had she had using the blood of animals to fuel spells?
When he spoke of Ombra, it was the way some men spoke of beloved mother or a patron goddess. He described the hills and cliffs and mountains of his lands, the way the rivers looked in spring. Even the winters he spoke of fondly, describing the beauty of snow-capped mountains as almost enough to make the cold worth it.
Cenric wasn’t expecting trouble tonight, so only one man was posted as a guard.
A chill blew in off the ocean, despite them being mostly shielded by the trees. Brynn had slept in the cold on the hard ground before, but it had been some time. She’d have to get used to it again.
Brynn lingered outside the light of the campfire after relieving herself behind the trees. She drew her cloak tighter around her against the wind. Ka churned on the breeze, rising from the forest. Looking up, the sky was clouded, concealing the stars and the face of Eponine, goddess of the moon.
“You and your maid can share a tent,” Cenric said.
Brynn jumped, startled by his voice. She’d been distracted by looking for the moon.
“Sorry.” Cenric caught her elbows, steadying her. “I’ve had the men set your tent up over there. The ship’s hull will help block the wind.”
Brynn shook her head. “Will I not be sharing one with you?”
Cenric’s face was mostly hidden in shadow, but she thought she saw him grin. He shifted, closing in on her. “Do you want to sleep with me?” The words were soft, yet laden with implication.
“No. Yes. I meant…” Brynn cleared her throat. “Thank you.” She was making a fool of herself.
Cenric’s hold on her elbows tightened just enough to feel significant before releasing her. “You can sleep beside me, if you wish, but I assumed you would prefer your maid didn’t sleep next to one of my men.” Cenric tilted his head. “And it is cold to be sleeping alone.”
Everything he said made sense, so why did she have this odd sense of…disappointment? They had spent the day talking and Brynn found she enjoyed his company, at least so far.
Brynn didn’t see him reach for her until a weight rested on her shoulder, its warmth seeping through her wool cloak.
Brynn’s heart hammered, unsure what to think or how to respond. She had gotten drunk last night because she’d been so wracked with anxiety over letting him touch her.
Cenric leaned in closer. He smelled of salt air and sweat, like a man who had been working at the oars all day.
“Brynn,” he whispered in the darkness.
“Cenric?”
His hands found her face. His fingertips traced the curve of her mouth, thumb sliding along her lower lip. He dipped down and she felt his breath on her skin.
Her heart thundered in her chest and fear rippled through her, but with something else this time. She shook, but she wasn’t cold at all.
Cenric fingered the hair at her temples, smoothing it back. His hands were rough and callused, the hands of a warrior, but his touch was gentle.
He traced up her jawline and around the shell of her ear. Then his fingers brushed lower, down her throat.
Both she and Paega had done what they had to do. It had been all business between them, but Cenric…Brynn had never been seduced before, but she thought this might be what it felt like.
Did he want her to kiss him? She wasn’t sure, but she wanted to please him. After the disappointment of last night, she felt that she owed him that much. She should at least try.
Brynn pressed her mouth to his. He didn’t move.
Had she made a horrible error? Was this not what he wanted? Before she could pull away, she felt him smile against her lips. Suddenly, his hands were framing her face, and he was kissing her back.
Panic and excitement rose up, as intense as they were surprising. This was frightening, as all new things were, but Brynn didn’t want it to stop.
Brynn let him lead, hoping he couldn’t tell she’d never been kissed before. Cenric seemed happy to take control, his mouth and tongue stroking against hers with experienced mastery.
Cenric couldn’t see it, but the ka in the air around them shimmered and crackled, picking up on Brynn’s emotions. The golden sparks matched the bursts of heat shuddering through Brynn’s body, invisible to anyone unable to sense ka . Ka was the energy that inhabited all living things, that drifted off all living things. Life itself responded as Cenric kissed her. For the first time in months, perhaps years, Brynn felt alive.
Brynn rested her hand on his side and felt the muscles ripple through his body as her other hand squeezed his bicep. A fluttering sensation worked through her chest and down to the pit of her stomach.
She knew his strength from watching him work the oars all day. But his kiss was gentle, even more so as it deepened and slowed.
Brynn had never been with a man this close to her own age. She had wondered during her first marriage but had shut those thoughts down as wrong. But now…
Cenric was young and strong and alive and kissing her so thoroughly it made her head spin.
His hand found her hip, seizing her in a fierce hold. He took a fistful of cloth and Brynn kissed him harder, pressing closer. She forgot the cold, she even forgot duty as he drew her in.
A howl rang out from the treetops, halting their kiss. A cold gust swept in, making the trees shudder and several of the men laugh as it passed. Down the river, Brynn heard the waves smacking against the shore harder, splashing and roaring.
Cenric held Brynn tight against his chest until the wind settled. He had a solid chest—broad and muscular. She wondered what it would be like to touch it without his tunic between them.
Cenric caressed her temple. “We should sleep,” he whispered in her ear. “We have another long day of sailing.”
Brynn nodded against his chest.
He nipped the top of her ear, not hard enough to be painful, but hard enough that she couldn’t ignore. A jolt shot through her, a shiver that made her toes curl.
“When we get home, I am going to take you to my bed,” he murmured, voice hoarse and low. “And I am going to show you how good it can be.”
Brynn tried to speak, but all that came out was a soft whimpering sound.
Cenric held her, stroking her back as if he understood.
Cenric had been serious when he had said he wanted to get home as soon as possible. They broke their camp early the next morning, then sailed for at least twelve hours the next day until the men were too tired to row.
Daven was so pleased with his repaired boots that several of the other men brought items to Brynn in need of repair. She and Esa had nothing better to do, so she spent her own day mending boots and tunics between speaking with Cenric and learning to play dice. Edric insisted on teaching her and Esa, saying it was a vital skill for sailing.
“Boredom is our most common foe when we’re on the water, you see,” the redheaded man said with a wink at Brynn.
They camped again that night, this time in a small harbor with a village. They were able to moor the ship in a safe enough harbor that they spent the night on board, only going ashore to cook and refill the water barrels.
They slept on the deck of the ship. Esa bedded down on one side of Brynn and Cenric on the other.
Brynn woke on the third morning after their marriage to find him still asleep at her side. He didn’t touch her, but it felt intimate. Maybe even vulnerable.
Cenric barely knew her, but he seemed to enjoy being close to her. His words implied he desired her.
What would that be like? To have a man who wanted her? Dare she hoped for that much?
A nagging voice at the back of her head told her she couldn’t trust him. She couldn’t open her heart so easily. Even if he did find her interesting now, there was nothing to ensure she would keep his interest. She couldn’t let her happiness become dependent on how a man treated her.
But Brynn didn’t need a husband who loved her. She would settle for one that didn’t hate her.
Brynn clambered ashore to relieve herself and splash cold water on her face before climbing back aboard. Everyone was beginning to wake.
The young man called Kalen distributed their rations of bread and fish. Brynn was quite ready to be eating anything else.
They gathered on the deck of the ship as everyone roused. Cenric was now seated on one of the rowing benches and beckoned to her, handing over her portion of dried fish and bread. “Did you sleep well, wife?”
“I’m not used to sleeping on a ship’s deck.” Brynn didn’t want to complain, but her entire body ached. All the same, she had been the one who had committed to this course. She knew freedom would come with some loss of comfort.
“We’ll be home soon,” Cenric promised. “Before nightfall.” He rested a hand on her side. “Then you can tell me if I have done Ombra justice.”
“I’m eager to see it,” Brynn said. “I’ve never seen mountains before.”
Cenric’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, we have those.” His gaze wandered to her lips.
Brynn cleared her throat. “Don’t work yourself too hard today.”
“Concerned for me, wife?”
Brynn was new at this, but she made her best effort. She rested a hand on his shoulder, though it felt bold, almost too bold. “I expect you’ll be working hard tonight.”
“And why’s that?”
Brynn was trying to be subtle, but maybe she had been too subtle. “Didn’t you promise to show me your bed?”
Cenric didn’t smile, but his expression turned mischievous. He stared up at her, drawing her close enough her legs knocked into his. “Well, now I’m going to be rowing as hard as I can, lady.”
Brynn’s chest fluttered. She was being seduced, she knew it, and she found it rather pleasant.
“With that promise, I could row this ship home by myself,” he said.
Brynn shook her head. “You’d just make it turn.”
“If we start sailing in circles,” Cenric winked at her, “you’ll know who’s to blame.”
It was an absolutely ridiculous thing to say, but laughter burst out of Brynn. She covered her mouth a moment later, surprised.
Across the deck, Esa shot her a furtive glance, eyes wide then the girl’s face softened and she smiled shyly at Brynn.
Brynn cleared her throat ducking her head. She didn’t remember the last time she’d laughed.
Cenric grinned at her. He didn’t seem to care that they were in plain sight of Esa and his men. He caught Brynn’s hand, leaving a kiss on the back of her knuckles. “Tonight, wife.”
His promise sent Brynn’s heart racing. Briefly, she thought to warn him that she wasn’t skilled or particularly good.
But Cenric’s mouth took hers in a fierce kiss, his tongue sweeping greedily into her mouth.
Kissing him was like dancing in a storm—exciting and terrifying all at once. It made her knees weak and her head spin and she wasn’t sure how he did it.
She realized now what he had been doing for two days. He was making her comfortable. Putting her at ease. He wasn’t smashing through her walls, he was taking them down stone by stone.
They made good time, but Brynn noticed Cenric was quieter. He kept watching the horizon, peering ahead.
Brynn had the sense he was anxious but didn’t press him.
The mountains came into view by midmorning. They were hazy blue outlines, ghostly and faint.
Brynn watched them grow larger and larger as the time slipped by. Strange excitement welled in her chest, almost like when she had been a girl, and her sister helped her ride a pony for the first time.
As the shapes of the mountains grew, Brynn was sure she could stare at them forever. They were beautiful. Massive. Like monuments made by the gods.
Pine forests spread in all directions, broken by open glades and farmland. The ship reached the wide mouth of a river and turned down it.
Kalen and several of the other younger men lowered the sail, marked with a dark pawprint stitched on a blue field.
Another fishing village stood along the bank, no more than a ramshackle collection of huts. Brynn stood at the prow of the ship, staring at everything as it passed. She studied the people in their woolen caps, shawls, and coats. They didn’t appear impoverished, but true to what Cenric had said, Ombra was not a wealthy land.
They sailed up the river for the better part of an hour. Farmland dotted the river on either side, mostly wheat and barley as best Brynn could tell.
The leaves had begun to turn the color of flames—an inferno of yellow and red as far as the eye could see. Workers harvested the fields. Many stopped and appeared to balk in alarm at the sight of them, then cheered and waved at the sight of the sail.
The ship continued until they reached what appeared to be a village. The village had been built along the riverbank and docks had been constructed for the collection of boats and smaller ships bobbing in the water.
The homes were low, made of wattle and daub with thatched roofs and squat chimneys. Children ran barefoot along the river, shouting at the ship.
“What do you think, wife?” Cenric asked, coming up behind her. “You can see the longhouse up there.”
Brynn followed his pointing finger to a large, imposing structure at the top of the hill. A palisade had been constructed around the foot of it, looking newly built. The longhouse stretched at least a hundred paces from end to end, much larger than Brynn had expected.
“My hall is inside.” Pride colored his tone. “The finest in the north.”
Several smaller versions of the longhouse dotted the surrounding foothills, probably belonging to his thanes and their families.
“We finished repairs over the summer and it’s as fine as it was on the day it was built.”
Brynn smiled at the excitement in his voice. He seemed genuinely eager for her to see. “I’m sure it’s lovely.”
Cenric kissed her cheek, touching her low back. “You’re lovely.”
Brynn looked down to her hands. “You don’t have to flatter me.” If he was trying to get something from her, she wasn’t sure what. She had no intentions of holding back from him. He didn’t have to keep trying.
“Don’t call me a liar, wife. It’s hardly fair.” Cenric’s hand on her back drifted lower, not quite to indecency, but near enough to it.
His affection wasn’t unpleasant, she just didn’t always know how to respond. She’d seen men be affectionate with their lovers before, but no one had ever been this way with her.
The thanes hauled the ship partially ashore with the help of the villagers on the riverbank. Cenric helped Brynn down from the ship, though it was something she could do herself now.
The rest of the men unloaded, and ropes were attached to the ship so they could haul it the rest of the way ashore.
Brynn stood to the side, waiting. Esa hovered at her side, glancing around them nervously.
A crowd of perhaps fifty people of all ages gathered around them. Brynn noticed many of them stared in her direction, low voices speaking between each other.
She wondered if any of them had ever seen a sorceress before. Few of her sistren chose to come this far north. There were better fortunes and aldermen with more silver in the south.
“They’re staring at you,” Esa said.
“Wouldn’t you?” Brynn asked. “If a strange woman had just come to marry your alderman?”
Esa glanced furtively around her. “I’ve never seen so many strangers.”
Brynn thought that might be an exaggeration, the girl had just spent months in Ungamot, but she didn’t argue. “Hopefully, they are future friends.” Brynn looked away from Esa to the people gathered nearby.
A young woman with a baby in her arms stood watching. Ka flickered around the young woman’s ribs, an unusual amount. It seemed to be concentrated along her ribcage. It might be a new injury or something else, but it looked painful.
Brynn steeled herself. She planned to live with these people so she must make a good first impression.
“Lady?” Esa glanced at her in question.
Brynn approached the young mother, hands clasped before her.
The young woman bowed, only a hint of fear in the way she did. “Lady.”
“I’m Brynn.” She looked over the stranger, lean and tanned from hard work, her hair wrapped under a kerchief. “Sorceress of the Istovari. Newly wed to Alderman Cenric.”
The young woman bowed her head again. Brynn wondered if she imagined the woman’s grimace of irritation.
Several other people bowed nearby. Nervous eyes watched Brynn, uncertain of what to do.
Brynn inhaled. “What is your name, if you don’t mind?”
“Melain, lady.” She adjusted the baby in her arms. “Forgive me.”
“Melain, have you hurt your ribs recently?”
Melain shot her a sharp look that was answer enough. Suspicion edged the young woman’s eyes. “Yes, lady. I slipped while milking and our cow stepped on me. It was a few days ago.”
Brynn nodded. That sounded about right. “May I try to heal you?”
“Heal me?” Melain blinked up at her.
“I don’t know how much you know of sorceresses, but we can heal most injuries, yes. Speed the recovery might be a better way of putting it, I think.” Brynn had never had to explain to anyone what a sorceress did. The people of Paega’s household and most of Hylden had no problems seeking one out. “I won’t know for sure until I try, but I think I will be able to mend it.”
Melain looked to someone at her side, another woman who might have been a sister for all they looked alike. The other woman nodded, though her eyes stayed on Brynn.
They didn’t trust her. Not yet.
“Thank you,” Brynn said. “May I touch you?”
“Yes,” Melain consented, jaw tight.
Brynn rested one hand over the other woman’s ribs. As soon as she did, she could feel the truth of what Melain had said.
“Can you give your child to someone else for a moment?” Brynn asked.
Melain appeared anxious, but the woman at her side took the baby. Melain looked to Brynn, outright fear now in her eyes.
Brynn was going to make sure this risk paid off for Melain. She pulled on the ka already within Melain’s body and gentled it into place. She could feel where bones had been cracked and the cartilage bruised. Brynn guided the pools of energy into their correct spaces.
A body wanted to be whole—that was what most people didn’t understand. It just needed help knowing the way sometimes.
Something snapped into place and Melain gasped, grabbing Brynn’s shoulder for support. There had been a broken rib. That explained it.
“Hold on,” Brynn said softly. “Almost there.”
“What are you doing to her?” someone demanded.
Brynn ignored the voice and kept working. This wound was already several days old, and some healing had already taken place. It wasn’t hard to finish, guiding the broken pieces of Melain’s body back into wholeness.
Melain gasped, leaning against Brynn. She looked up at the sorceress, eyes wide.
“How is it now?” Brynn asked. “Can you test it for me?”
Melain stood, one hand going to her side. She twisted slowly to the right, then to the left. She looked back to Brynn. “It…I can breathe.”
Brynn nodded with a small smile. “It might be tender for a few days after this, so be as gentle with it as you can.”
Melain bowed to Brynn. “Thank you, lady.”
The child Melain had handed off squalled and whined, reaching for his mother.
Brynn’s chest wrenched at the sound. Her hands shook, fighting the impulse to search for Osbeorn.
“Oswiu.” Melain took her son back and he snuggled against her as she bounced him up and down.
The name was even similar. Why did the name have to be similar?
Brynn forced herself not to look at the little boy. Not now. She didn’t want to break down crying.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Mel?” the woman who’d held the baby asked. She shot a glare to Brynn, outright hostile.
“I’m fine,” Melain assured her. “You can check me over when we get back to your house.”
For some reason, that only made the other woman glare harder at Brynn.
People were staring at them. More than a few whispered back and forth, but that was fine. Brynn wanted this story to spread. It was better for people to hear about what she could do than for her to tell them.
Melain shifted her baby in her arms. “I might need more healing for this one once he learns to walk,” she said in an attempt at humor.
Brynn tried to smile politely as Melain continued.
“He’s already trouble enough right now and he can only crawl.”
Brynn had been fine seeing the baby in Melain’s arms, but somehow those words hit her like a slap. Osbeorn had just learned to walk. His steps had been unsteady and wobbly, but he’d beamed with joy as he’d toddled toward Brynn’s outstretched hands.
“Thank you for healing me, lady.” Melain seemed oblivious to Brynn’s distress.
The woman at Melain’s side never once stopped staring at the sorceress. Brynn wondered if she had offended the other woman somehow, but she’d worry about that later.
Brynn inclined her head to the two women. “If you’ll excuse me, it seems my husband has finished unloading our ship. I must go.”
Brynn was exaggerating somewhat, but she needed to go before she started crying. She found several of the village men had stepped in to help.
Esa fell in behind her and followed her back to the ship. All of her trunks already lay on the grass, ready to be carried up to the longhouse.
Cenric saw her approaching. “Making friends?”
“I hope so,” Brynn answered. She focused on breathing, not her empty arms or missing child.