Chapter 5 Brynn
Brynn
Brynn fell asleep thinking she couldn’t possibly be happier than she already was.
Cenric was a good man. He was often complicated, but good nonetheless.
It filled her with a sense of dread. She’d been happy other times in her life, just before tragedy had struck. What misfortunes might be ahead?
Snapper tried to wedge himself between Brynn and Cenric in the middle of the night. Before Brynn could realize what was happening, Cenric dragged him out of the way.
Brynn relaxed into her husband, melting into the safety of his arms. Guin lay close on Brynn’s other side, curled into a little grey ball.
Esa and Kalen slept quietly on their separate pallets. Outside the tent, Istra was mostly silent, save for the waves crashing on the shore. Brynn drifted back off to sleep with Cenric’s arms coiled around her.
The next morning, Cenric rose early to meet with Ovrek. He kissed her, his hand lingering on her shoulder. Glancing to Kalen and Esa still on their pallets, he said, “I need to speak to you.”
Those words never signaled anything good. “What is it?”
“A foretelling,” Cenric exhaled. At her tensing shoulders, he added, “We have time, but…”
Kalen stirred. The boy didn’t rise, but he was close to waking.
Cenric gave her a reassuring smile that did nothing to quell the uneasiness deep in her gut. “I will tell you more tonight.”
When they could talk away from listening ears, he meant.
The comfort Brynn had taken in her husband last night was snuffed out in a moment. Dread coiled through her, but she tried to push it down.
Things would work out. They had to.
She helped Cenric don his tunic and pin his mantle in place so Kalen could go on sleeping. He reached for his sword belt and Brynn stiffened.
“I don’t plan to need it.” He buckled it around his waist calmly, casting her a smile that was almost forlorn. “But I’d rather have it today.”
Brynn smoothed his mantle over the sword, partially covering it. “Does it have anything to do with your foretelling?”
“Yes and no. There is time, love,” he promised her. “I will tell you more tonight.” Cenric pressed a kiss to her forehead before striding from their tent.
Brynn watched him walk out of sight from the entry way, Snapper trotting happily at his heels.
If Cenric chose to side with Ovrek instead of Aelgar, Brynn wasn’t sure what she would do. Last autumn, she would have sided with her uncle, but now…
No one had loved Brynn before, not like this. No one had cared for her this much since her sister’s death.
Brynn would try to persuade Cenric to remain loyal to Aelgar, but if he didn’t? Would she leave him? Could she bring herself to do it? Just the thought sent a pang through her chest.
It turned out Daven and several of Cenric’s thanes all spoke Valdari as well. Were Brynn and Esa the only ones in their party who didn’t?
Laden with pots of honey, casks of wine, peppercorns, and iron, Brynn sent Daven and a few others into the gathering on a large field where the thick of the trading seemed to be taking place.
There would be silks, precious metals, rare stones, and even some foreign spices, but all of that could be acquired farther south.
Brynn wanted cloth. While no one would be naked anytime soon, much of their household needed new clothes.
Many of the youths who worked in the longhouse wore clothes that had been patched, repaired, and handed down since the days when Cenric’s mother had been lady of Ombra.
Brynn didn’t blame Rowan for the oversight.
Rowan had never run a great household before and had done an excellent job all things considered, but it was something that may take time to fix.
Brynn had considered seeking girls across the shire to work for her in weaving and spinning, but that might have to wait for another year. If they could acquire the cloth they needed here in Valdar, that would save Brynn, Esa, and the other women of the household months of work.
If possible, she wanted the men to acquire walrus ivory, too. That would be rare back in Hylden and there was an almost endless number of things that could be made from the large tusks.
Brynn and Esa took Guin for a walk in the crisp seaside air. They walked along a rocky stretch of beach, watching as Guin leapt at the waves and chased gulls. A few of the town dogs padded up to Guin and she dropped onto her belly in a play stance.
Another of the dogs pounced and Guin wrestled with the larger animals, growling her little puppy sounds.
“Such a fierce girl,” Brynn laughed.
“She’ll be as big as them soon,” Esa said. “She’s more than doubled in size since you got her.”
It was true. Guin would outgrow being carried soon. Brynn felt a little sad at that thought.
“Will you take her hunting, do you think?”
“Maybe.” Brynn watched as the puppy sniffed at the ground, nosing out the remains of a mussel shell. “But we’ll see if Guin takes to it when she’s bigger.”
Guin turned at her name, like she usually did. She dropped back on her haunches, ears forward. Her paws had grown out of proportion to the rest of her, making her awkward on her feet.
She let off a low yip, leaping toward a speck of motion on the rocks. A crab scuttled away from her, and she leapt around it, ears forward as she sniffed it. The other dogs followed her, rushing to see what had drawn her attention.
Brynn inhaled slowly. The world was rich with ka. Overflowing with it. She had always thought of these northern islands as stark and barren, but they teemed with life. She could feel the power swelling from the forest to the sea. Even from the rocks, though not as strong.
Behind them, the town was very much alive. Most of it was certainly the jarls and others gathered here for the Althing, but not all.
“Kalen says that the dyrehunds are unmatched trackers.” Esa watched the puppy as she scurried back and forth. “He says I should come hunting. If you’ll allow it, of course.”
“You speak with Kalen often?” Brynn tried not to sound too teasing.
“We’ve done nothing wrong.” Esa answered a little too quickly, the words tripping over each other in their haste to get out. “I like him, is all.”
She smiled at the girl, a sad twisting in her chest. At Esa’s age, Brynn had been embroiled in a war for her family’s survival. She’d barely had time to notice boys, much less act on it. “Kalen is a fine young man.” Brynn didn’t insult Esa by telling her to be careful.
Esa knew well enough. Besides, Kalen was probably the safest object of Esa’s affections there could be.
Brynn sensed someone approaching and turned. The young woman was likely around Esa’s age and dressed plainly but appeared clean and well-fed. Brynn’s brow furrowed at the sight of her. She had an unusual amount of ka in her body, shimmering off her in golden whisps.
The girl was a sorceress. She wasn’t summoning ka to herself strategically, quite the opposite. It was the wild, accidental way of drawing power that marked younger, unpracticed Istovari.
Brynn almost took a step back but suppressed her shock by the time the girl reached them.
Guin yipped at the girl, her tail stiffening as she moved closer to Brynn. The little dog had become more protective since arriving in Istra. Maybe Cenric had told her to guard Brynn or something of that nature. Guin did not speak to Cenric, but he still tried speaking to her.
The girl greeted them with a low bow, dark hair catching in the wind. “Lady, you are Brynn of Ombra?” Her Hyldish was heavily accented and spoken hesitantly, but Brynn understood it well enough.
“I am.” Brynn folded her hands before her, fighting to remain composed.
“I am handmaiden to Lady Tullia. She has sent me to serve you however I may.”
Brynn had almost forgotten Tullia’s promise to provide a translator. “Yes. My thanks to your mistress.” Brynn glanced at Esa.
From Esa’s expression, she could see the girl’s ka as well.
Brynn would need to think of how to address this, if at all. “What is your name?”
“Lena.” The girl’s eyes remained downcast.
“Where…” Brynn hesitated. “You are from Hylden?” Tullia had already hinted at that.
“My mother was Hyldish.” Lena’s gaze wavered, as if searching the ground for something. “She taught me her language.”
A sinking sense of suspicion mixed with dread pooled in Brynn’s gut. Did Tullia know what this thrall girl was? Did Tullia intend this as a message?
Brynn glanced past Lena, noticing several young men heading in their direction. “Child, did you bring an escort?”
“No, lady,” Lena answered, head remaining firmly down. “They followed me here.”
Brynn straightened. The three young men appeared to be approaching them directly.
“Lady Brynn!” called one of the men in the front, shading his eyes against the rising sun. “Is that you?”
Brynn saw no point in lying. “Yes. Why were you following my interpreter?”
The leader spread his hands toward Brynn in the universal gesture of peace. “I knew my sister was to send you a servant. It seemed the easiest way to find you.”
“Your sister?”
“Tullia.” The young man drew closer, keeping his hands in sight. “I am Tolvir. We met briefly yesterday.”
Up close, Brynn now recognized him. “Yes.” She inclined her head.
Brynn hadn’t realized Tolvir spoke Hyldish. His mastery of the language seemed shakier than his sister’s, but she could understand him.
The two youths at his sides appeared to be about his same age, dressed in embroidered tunics with iron arm rings. Belts of ornately patterned tablet weaving lashed their waists in addition to their leather knife belts. They were wealthy young men, probably his companions.
Lena drew back from them. Esa did not.
Esa knew as well as Brynn that if it came to real danger, all three boys wore no armor, and their woolen tunics would be short work for Brynn.
“If you seek my husband, he is with your father this morning.”
Tolvir cleared his throat. “You are a sorceress, yes?”
Brynn thought that common knowledge. “I am.”