Chapter 6 #2
I’d never heard of the oath. While some people, especially Ibarrans, still worshipped the old gods and goddesses, Liriens as a whole had lost devotion to the gods who’d died or distanced themselves from humanity at the end of the Fourth Age.
Most Liriens only worshipped Solric, God of light, and Nyxva, the goddess of the underworld.
Even I, with the finest education Lirien offered, knew little about the old gods. But I knew enough to recognize the name she’d mentioned.
“Bryndis? As in the Eldra goddess of love?” I asked.
“Yes.” She clearly has some education.
“And … this oath changed my hair?”
“You seem very attached to your previous hair color.” A hint of a smile curled at her lips.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Not if keeping it meant my head being separated from my body.”
Her wit was oddly comforting. “Point taken.”
She shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, mine changed too. And so did my eyes, though I don’t think your eyes did.”
I rubbed my jaw, trying to process everything she’d said. “What do you mean by you claimed me?”
Seren clasped her hands. “In the strictest sense—”
I got the feeling I wasn’t going to like her answer.
“—we’re spouses.”
Spouses?
She didn’t appear to be joking, though. “As in married?”
She looked away. “It’s more complicated than that, but for the purposes of saving you from being executed, yes. I claimed you as my husband. The bond is both physical and spiritual—it supersedes our laws.”
My head spun.
She’d been in a predicament, obviously. Pendaran customs were clear about life debts.
“What if I’m already married?”
Her eyes widened. “Are you? Most of the Sealed aren’t.”
A few beats passed. Would lying give me any advantage? “No,” I finally admitted.
Was that relief on her face?
“The oath was the only way to save you and buy time to figure out what to do next. It’s rare, ancient magic—not something I entered into lightly.
But it was the best option available, and I’d do it again if it meant keeping you alive,” she said.
“Ciaran tried to find me more information about the oath, but our repository of books here is limited. Most people don’t bring books with them when they escape Lirien. ”
As though Lirien were a prison.
Her hatred for my kingdom seemed so dissonant with her integrity. Even in front of Ciaran, she’d stood by her choice to save my life, her confidence unwavering.
Don’t be an idiot.
Before I’d been Sealed, my idealistic, naive side would have drowned out the voice of caution now ringing through my thoughts. She may have saved me, but she was still Viori. An enemy to my kingdom. I’d witnessed their ruthlessness too many times with the Regulation.
You can’t trust her. If she had even the slightest clue who I was, she’d turn me over immediately. Use me for ransom—or worse.
Fortunately, the Seal on my back protected my identity.
“How did you learn about this rare, ancient oath in the first place?”
“I have a … skill. I memorize anything I read. And my mother brought her spell books with her when she came here. I’ve studied them.”
I gave her a hard stare. “I can’t be married to you. Or any other Viori traitor.”
“Traitor?” Her voice was hard. Cold. “If I’m a traitor, what does that make you—a Lirien soldier running from your own people?”
She crossed her arms. “Right now, this marriage is the only thing keeping you alive. My tribe is furious. Our laws about Liriens are absolute and they might not admit you. The Viori believe anyone who comes outside of the Harvest Moon is a spy or a threat, and they’ll make an example of you.”
“If I am admitted, then what?” I demanded. “Will they let me go? Or am I just trading one prison for another?”
Seren’s expression darkened. “That depends. If we can prove that I had the right to claim you, you’ll earn the right to stay … and maybe leave, if we can break the bond between us and you find a way to escape from the territory. If we fail, you won’t leave at all.”
“Sounds like my options are all curpiss.” I let the blanket fall away and stood. “I need my clothes. And where’s my sword?”
She crossed over to a table where trousers, a clean shirt, and a fur-lined leather vest had been placed. “These are my brother’s. I think they’ll fit you.” She held out the trousers as I approached, her gaze focused on my face.
How respectful.
I smirked. “If we’re married, you should be able to handle seeing me naked.”
“Don’t get too cocky. I wouldn’t remain married to a Lirien if you were the last man in the world.” Her eyes narrowed. “Your sword is buried inside the vuk. I couldn’t carry both it and you, so I chose you.”
Anger tore through me, but I forced it down as I tugged on the trousers. They were snug around the thighs and short, but better than being naked. She couldn’t have known the sword’s value, and I needed to be rational. “Then I have to retrieve it.”
She handed me my boots as I finished with the clothing. “You can’t leave.”
“I need my sword.” I couldn’t stand being at anyone’s mercy—not hers, not theirs. If I couldn’t even hold on to my own blade, what did that make me?
“My tribe is convening a council meeting this afternoon to judge us both. If they decide the oath wasn’t justified, I’ll be punished too—banishment at best, execution at worst. I’ve staked my life on this, Rykr. On you. You need to understand that.”
I had no intention of standing trial. “But I’m not imprisoned, right?” The panels of this tent suffocated me.
“Not precisely.”
“Then I’m not staying.” My father needed to know about my attack—I’d been here too long already. Surely someone in Lirien could undo this fucking blood oath. The High Magister of Ibarra, at the very least. “If you could point me toward my sword, we’ll call it even.”
She didn’t answer as I pushed aside the tent flap.
True to his word, Ciaran stood only about fifteen feet away, a sword in hand.
Beyond him loomed the Dreadwood, its gnarled trees rising like jagged teeth against the grey sky. Wooden spikes encircled the small tent—more a deterrent than a true barrier—but enough to contain me. The air was heavy, damp with moss and decay, as though the forest itself was watching.
Two large Vangar warriors blocked the exit to the enclosure, their hands resting on their weapons.
“You can’t leave.”
I should have known.
I spun toward Seren, my temper flaring. “What the fuck is this? I thought you said I wasn’t imprisoned.”
“Calm down—”
I planted myself between her and the exit, arms crossed, every muscle taut. “No more lies.”
Seren didn’t flinch, her voice cutting through my rage like a blade.
“I haven’t lied to you. I told you—you can’t leave.
Even if you escaped this encampment, what then?
Take on hundreds of Vangar scouts unarmed?
” She leaned closer, her composure maddening.
“You’ll get yourself killed, and then my life will be for nothing. Think, Lirien.”
Helplessness clawed at me, a loss of control I couldn’t stand.
“No.” I snatched the dagger from her side, testing its weight in my palm. Seren’s lips pursed like I was being inconvenient. “You’re just going to stand there? Don’t think I won’t use this if you push me far enough. Tell the men at the gates to stand down.”
Ciaran strode toward us. “Get that fucking dagger away from her.”
“You stay out of it,” I snapped. Ciaran’s eyes bulged, as though stunned by my audacity.
Seren rolled her eyes. “Go ahead and leave if you want.” The corners of her eyes squinted.
“But those guards will kill you. And, like I said, the bond between us is more complicated than marriage. If one of us dies, so will the other. I was counting on all that honor you showed when you saved my life.”
I froze. No wonder she’d been so calm this whole time.
Clever little bitch.
Something inside me felt different. I’d been Sealed. I knew what blood magic felt like.
I didn’t care that I was supposed to be grateful.
If her fucking people weren’t savages, she wouldn’t have had to “spare me” in the first place.
“Fuck you,” I spat, then backed away.
I dropped the dagger, lifting my hands in surrender.
The guards approached with irons.
My gaze stayed locked with Seren’s and unrelenting, raging fury spiraled like fire in my veins.
I’d take my chances in escaping. Fight against the best of their warriors. But a fatal life bound to a woman I couldn’t trust?
This place isn’t my prison.
She is.