Chapter 21 Brynn
Brynn
“Lady, riders!” Gannon panted, rushing into the paddock.
“How many?” Brynn set down the leg of the donkey she had been healing. It seemed the little animal had stepped on something sharp and gotten infected. She’d spent the better part of the past hour draining the infection and then using ka to heal the wound. She might have to drain the wound again if it healed incorrectly, but it was a start.
The animal’s owner was a stern woman of middle years who bowed her thanks to Brynn.
“At least twenty!” Gannon gasped.
“Armed?” Brynn washed her hands in the bucket of water she had been using before drying them on her apron. She slipped under the paddock fence.
“Oh, yes!”
Of course they were. And once again, they were arriving while her husband was away. How convenient. “Which direction?”
“The inland road, lady.”
They were approaching the longhouse from Olfirth’s lands, if she had to guess. Again.
Brynn stifled a sigh. Aelgar had told her that Ombra was isolated and remote and her contact with the outside world would be limited. It seemed he had lied. This was their third batch of surprise visitors in two weeks.
“What will you do, lady?” Esa’s voice held a note of fear, though she remained outwardly composed.
Brynn paused a moment to stroke Guin, held in Esa’s arms while Brynn had worked on the donkey. “It’s probably nothing. I will go to see, but just in case, wait here with Guin.”
Esa’s chin jerked in a shaky nod. “As you say.”
The puppy whined, trying to reach Brynn, but the sorceress wanted to keep her hands free just in case. She left the puppy and her ward in the shade of the stable, following Gannon.
Brynn strode up the hill toward the longhouse, stifling a sigh. What fresh ordeal was this?
Thorn came trotting after Brynn as she walked up the hill. The grey-speckled dog followed like a second shadow.
Brynn spied the group of riders as they wended down the path. Once again, Gannon had exaggerated.
Brynn counted perhaps ten riders, and a covered wagon pulled by a team of mules. White mules.
Brynn’s heart sank. Surely not. Surely it wasn’t…
She reached out with her sense of ka as she drew nearer. As she felt the ka surrounding the newcomers, her fears were confirmed. They were using spells. Simple ones that appeared to be holding cloaks in place or soothing blisters on their hands, but spells nonetheless. At least three of the guards were sorcerers, if weak ones. There were also three others of considerable power.
Brynn’s heart raced as she drew nearer. She wished Cenric was here. Surely, he would have stood by her in this. If there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he hated disrespect.
Brynn marched into the yard as the caravan pulled in front of the longhouse. At least they had not beaten her to the front door.
“Lady Brynn!” called one of the riders encircling the caravan. She recognized him as one of Cenric’s thanes posted to guard the road after Olfirth’s surprise visit. The thane inclined his head to her. “They said they were here to see you.”
“Thank you.” Brynn raised her chin as the caravan trundled to a halt. She’d known this confrontation would come eventually. It might as well happen now.
One of the caravan guards dismounted and bowed to her. “It has been a long time.”
“Not long enough, Neirin.” Brynn cocked her head at the man. “Never long enough.”
Two women rode behind the wagon on two more white mules, wearing black dresses. Black and white, the colors of the moon goddess. The women were twins, almost identical in outward appearance. They dressed alike, had similar mannerisms, and trained their voices to sound alike.
Many made the mistake of thinking they were the same person in different bodies, but Brynn knew better. Tessaine was dispassionate, so aloof she seemed more like animated stone than living flesh. Anselma was like a dandelion on the breeze, ever flowing to and fro on gusts of emotion.
Brynn was never sure if those were their natural personalities, or if they had adopted mirrored ones for the sake of their performance. Because that was what their lives were, a performance. It was a farce to lend power and mystique to the woman they served.
“Lady Brynn!” Anselma cried, her face alight. “So good to see you!”
Brynn met the greeting with stony silence. She folded her arms across her chest. Perhaps she should feel some kinship. She didn’t.
Gaitha and the household girls gathered at the front of the longhouse, watching carefully. The stable boys peered from the entrances to the barns. All seemed to be waiting to see what Brynn would do. They were taking directions from her and accepted her as their leader, at least in Cenric’s absence.
Her husband’s dyrehunds barked and howled at the strangers like they did with all newcomers. Ash bounced around the wagon and tried to get pets from Neirin before trotting over to Brynn’s side and plopping down. Brynn stroked the dog’s ears, focusing on the silky fur of her coat to steady herself.
Thorn lumbered up to Brynn’s side. He didn’t growl, but his whole body was rigid as he remained standing.
Brynn was lady of Ombra. She was married to Cenric. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t bedded her yet, she was his wife in the eyes of the king and the people of this shire and that was all that mattered.
There was nothing anyone could do about it, not even Selene of the Istovari.
The curtains of the wagon stirred and out stepped a woman with raven black hair streaked with silver. As a child, Brynn had always wanted that raven black hair instead of her grandmother’s dirty blonde.
Selene’s gaze was warm, motherly, and deceptively marked with smile lines. Her smile fell on her daughter and Brynn felt the predator closing in.
“Brynn! My dear girl.” Selene tripped as she stepped down, though it might have been an act. She laughed as she righted herself. “Oh, clumsy me.”
Brynn was unmoved, though she could see the people around them relaxed. No one should lower their guard around Selene. Brynn would prefer Hróarr and ninety-nine of his kin over this woman any day.
Selene came toward Brynn, adding a slight wobble to her step. Selene was nearing fifty, but Brynn had seen her feign infirmity too many times to trust it now. She sensed no errant ka in the woman’s body.
“My sweet daughter, it has been too long.” Selene wrapped Brynn in an embrace. “I was so sorry to hear of what happened. Such a tragedy. Such a shame.”
Brynn didn’t move. She stared straight ahead, giving her mother nothing. One lesson she had learned from Paega, apathy was much harder to fight than outright rejection.
Selene pretended as if nothing was unusual. “I came as soon as I heard.” She lowered her voice. “Wassa told me Aelgar forced you to marry. Without your mother’s permission? Unacceptable.”
“I didn’t need your permission.” Brynn kept her voice devoid of emotion. She stepped away from her mother, folding her arms back across her chest. She raised her voice so that the onlookers could hear. “The king was kind enough to arrange a marriage at my request.”
Selene’s jaw ticked, the only sign she was displeased. “Yes, so kind of him.” That eternal smile never wavered. “Neirin, help the girls take our things inside.”
The guard headed to the back of the wagon where Tessaine and Anselma were unloading bags.
Brynn raised her voice to make sure everyone heard. “You can set your tents on the field below the longhouse.” If it was good enough for Hróarr and his Valdari, it would be good enough for Selene. Hopefully, being so close to Vana would be as uncomfortable for Selene as it had been for Brynn these past few nights.
“I am sure there’s room for us in the house,” Selene chuckled good-naturedly. “We don’t need that much space, my dear.”
Gaitha stepped down from the doorway. “Brynn, if you would like, we can—”
“The field.” Brynn spoke the words firmly, shooting Gaitha a significant look.
Gaitha frowned for just a second, making the freckles around her nose scrunch. Then she caught on. “Yes, the field is quite lovely. The girls can show you the way.”
Selene looked to the longhouse. “But such a grand house as this…”
“Is full,” Brynn snapped. If her mother wanted to keep pushing the matter, she was willing to simply say the woman wasn’t welcome. “It is a pity you did not give us warning of your coming. Perhaps then we could have prepared for you.”
Selene laughed good-naturedly, but Brynn knew her mother caught the meaning of her words— I know you tried to catch me off guard and this is your punishment . As Paega’s wife, Brynn had learned to manage an estate, care for crops, and mediate disputes. But she had learned the art of politics as Selene’s daughter.
All her life, her mother had taught her the subtle art of getting what you wanted by giving people what they wanted. Selene had learned early on that Brynn hungered for her mother’s praise and acceptance. Like a good politician, Selene had withheld both until Brynn had complied with whatever her mother demanded. Whether it had been studying her spells, attending her prayers, or marrying a man some forty years her senior.
But for the first time in Brynn’s life, she was the one with all the power. Because she had something that Selene wanted.
And Selene had nothing Brynn wanted.