Chapter 21
Twenty-One
FEIGRIND
I rode hard from sun up to sun down to get here as quickly as possible. Uttin was not far behind me. I wasn’t sure about the rest. I didn’t wait to see who would follow. I could only think of Simon. Feiskedr was insulted after the last blood duel when we wouldn’t give up Simon. I should have known he would come back. The Fer’na were not honorable. We should not have allowed them into the village in the first place.
I heard Simon’s challenge as I approached, and Feiskedr’s refusal, but I knew what I must do. Feiskedr had been a warrior almost longer than I had been alive, but it did not matter. I had to protect Simon.
Feiskedr looked defiant of my challenge. This did not surprise me. He lacked honor and often used his clan to do his bidding. I waited for him to offer someone else—I would have met whoever he threw at me head on—but he seemed resistant to that idea as well. What had Simon said to make him so hesitant?
“You cannot challenge me,” Feiskedr finally said, lifting his chin. “I have defeated your leader. Your clan belongs to me now.”
Simon moved before I even blinked, tossing his daggers. They hit their targets dead on, killing the two who held Orthorr hostage. The clan surged behind me, disarming the Fer’na in the village center who stood watch, leaving only Feiskedr to face me alone.
“Take mine,” I murmured low enough that Feiskedr could not hear me. I didn’t want Simon unarmed. He crouched and removed the dagger strapped to my calf, his eyes never leaving the Fer’na clan leader.
“I’ve got excellent aim, asshole. Either accept his challenge, or try your luck dodging me.”
Feiskedr’s eyes were wide with panic and anger. He knew he’d lost, but he could not accept it. We all waited for his next move, the world quiet as the grave. No one knew the mind of a coward. I did not dare assume to know what he’d do next.
His gaze darted around before landing on Simon and narrowing. “Fine. Let the whore fight your battles. He challenged me first. Should he lose, he and the clan belong to me.”
“Coward!”
“Too frightened to face a warrior! He would challenge a tribute instead!”
“He has no honor!”
The clan’s shouts angered Feiskedr, but Simon ignored them, taking a step forward. I caught his elbow, shaking my head, my heart lodged in my throat.
“You are a beautiful fighter, but he does not fight with honor. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The side of Simon’s mouth kicked up in a smirk. “I’m a whore, Feigrind. No one ever said anything about me fighting with honor. I can play his game just fine.”
He turned to accept the challenge, and I prayed to the heavens that someone would intervene. I had great faith in the goddess, but I didn’t know if she was listening.
Before Simon could speak, Einar stalked into the village center, marching straight up to Feiskedr. He cut off his head without blinking, then turned and headed for the rest, who were already disarmed. Uttin and several others swarmed in to stop him. It was dishonorable to kill unarmed warriors. They would face trial and sentencing. Should they be given the death sentence, only then would Einar be allowed to kill them.
“Woah. Guess that handles that,” Simon said, his tone impressed.
The clan worked together to handle the rest of the attackers. They were tied to stakes outside the village. In our culture, if someone was killed by wild animals while captured, it was the goddess who decided their fate. Rath took great enjoyment staking them close to the forest line, where the smell of blood would lure the beasts closer, after finding out one tried to rape his bondmate. Orthorr and many others who had been on guard and taken by surprise were brought to the healer’s tent, though we were lucky that none of our clan died this night.
I held Simon in my arms, watching the clan movements without moving away from him. I couldn’t. I knew Feiskedr’s goal was to take Simon. I knew what he would have done had he succeeded. My fiery, beautiful tribute would have become a broken shell of himself. I couldn’t stomach the thought.
While cleaning up the bodies, Bhortis brought Simon his daggers. I stiffened, daring him with my eyes to say something rude, but Bhortis’s expression held great respect when he handed the weapons back.
“I don’t think I’ve seen another who can aim that well without taking much time to line up their throws,” he said reverently. “You have great skill.”
Simon looked a little smug when he said, “I know.”
Bhortis took no offense, snorting before he returned to his task. Simon wiped the blades on his pant leg before trying to walk away. When my arms tightened around him, he huffed out a laugh, tipping his head away from the fire.
“Come with me, then. I need to return these.”
Reluctantly, I let him leave the circle of my arms, following him to where Einar stood staring out at the darkness. He was still on high alert, waiting for something more to pass. I hoped his instinct was wrong.
“Thank you for lending me these,” Simon said, stepping up to him.
Einar pulled his gaze from the darkness to glance down at Simon, then away again. “Keep them. They are of better use to you than me.”
That surprised me. Einar was a hoarder of weapons. He did not like to give them up without good reason. Apparently, Simon had earned his respect as well.
“You’re covered in blood,” Simon pointed out with a frown. “Are you hurt?”
I hadn’t noticed, but most of my focus was on Simon. When I finally looked at my brother, I realized his face was covered in blood, as were his clothes. Worry swept through me, but he quickly dismissed the notion.
“It is not mine. I would have come sooner to deal with the rat, but several cowards crept in from different directions and attacked the women. I made sure they did not succeed in their attempts.”
So it was not only Finn who was attacked in such a way. The Fer’na really were without honor. You were not considered a man if you resorted to those means of assault.
“Would you like someone to stay with you?” I asked. Others were posted on guard—we would not risk an attack twice—but he stood alone in this area. That seemed unsafe.
“No. I will watch over the east until the sun rises.” He turned his gaze to Simon, then to me. “Your tribute took down many enemies to protect our clan. Should he wish for it, you should bring him back to his home. He has earned his freedom.”
Simon sucked in a breath of surprise. Meanwhile, my heart sank. Einar was right. Simon had done a great favor to our clan. He’d protected its members and saved Orthorr. Should he request it, I was sure anyone would be willing to return him to his town. And I’d have no choice but to let him go.
SIMON
We checked on Maman first before heading back to Feigrind’s tent. She was unharmed, the attackers never having gone near her, but she wanted to know what happened, and she wouldn’t let us leave before we told her the story. By the time she was satisfied, I was exhausted, and my feet were dragging as we walked away.
The bodies of the men I’d killed were gone by the time we got to Feigrind’s tent. They weren’t my first. Life as a whore was dangerous, and I had to be willing to take a life to save my own. It was never something I enjoyed, and I was glad I didn’t have to see the results of my actions. I could just move on from it and hopefully get some rest.
Feigrind was quiet as we stepped inside. He noticed the tear in the tent immediately, and I flashed him a pained smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t want them trapping me in here. I cut my way out and?—”
He shook his head, interrupting me. “You need not apologize. You did what you had to in order to stay safe. I would never begrudge you that.”
He fell silent again, and after a while, it started to weigh on me. I didn’t know what he was thinking. He hadn’t said much when I told Maman what happened, and his jaw was tight the entire time. It felt like he was angry at me for fighting, even though he’d just said he wasn’t.
“What?” I snapped, turning to face him with my hands planted on my hips.
He shook his head, but I put a hand up to stall him before he could outright lie to me.
“Don’t start. I know you’re mad about something. So spit it out already. I’m tired, and I just want to sleep.”
“I’m not angry,” he said, his voice tight with pent-up emotion.
I gave him a sour look. He was hiding something, and I wasn’t going to be able to sleep until I figured out what.
“You can tell me, or I’ll go stay with Maman. I’m not playing this game with you tonight.”
His hands fisted at his sides, and his jaw flexed as he gritted out, “If that is what you wish.”
I threw my hands into the air, exasperated. “It’s not what I wish! What I wish is for you to tell me what’s wrong! I wish to finally get a good night’s sleep because, daggers or not, I didn’t sleep well while you were gone! I wish?—”
He lunged, cutting me off by slamming his lips to mine. I never backed down from a challenge, so I met him head on, practically climbing his body to get on more equal ground. He lifted me off my feet, his big hands cradling my ass as he kissed me fiercely, like he wanted to devour me whole. Despite my exhaustion, my cock hardened against his abs, and I grew breathless and needy under his assault.
Breaking away, he nipped and kissed down my neck instead, intensifying my desire even more.
“I wish for you to stay,” he murmured against my neck between kisses. “I am not angry. Einar was right. If you wish to leave, I will have no choice but to bring you where you want to go. It would bring me dishonor to do otherwise. But I don’t want you to go.”
The need and heartache in his voice tugged on my soul. Never in my life had someone cared so much about me that they begged me to stay. Even my mother, despite how much she loved me, eventually sold me off to the brothel. She had no other choice, she couldn’t afford to feed us both after she got sick, and I would have ended up there eventually when she died a year later. But her love wasn’t enough to keep me with her and safe. Feigrind wanted to keep me. He didn’t want me to go.
Gripping his hair, I forced his head back, kissing him again. “I don’t want to go,” I murmured against his lips. “I want to stay here with you.”
He groaned, dropping to his knees before laying me gently on the bedding. I pulled him down with me, our mouths fused together as we reached heights of desperation I’d never felt before. I enjoyed sex. I’d never needed it before. I needed it now. Needed to feel him inside me, to be wrapped up in him in every way I could.
Feigrind must have felt the same, because he literally ripped the clothes from my body and his, only breaking the kiss when he absolutely had to. He didn’t even pull away to find the oil, and I heard the clatter of things being knocked about as he reached for it blindly. Laughter bubbled up in my chest, but it quickly dissolved into moans as his slick fingers reached between us to rub against my hole.
He pulled back, breathless as he looked down to where he touched me. “I don’t want to hurt you. How?—”
Grabbing his wrist, I tugged his hand closer, groaning when he pushed one finger inside. “Keep going. I’ll tell you if it hurts.”
“Simon,” he breathed, capturing my lips again.
He was careful as he stretched me, a little hesitant thanks to his inexperience, but I didn't care. He was touching me. It was all I wanted.
For a little while, anyway. Eventually, I got frustrated and pushed his hand away. “I’m good. In me. Now.”
He groaned against my mouth, his expression pained. He was close to losing it. I seriously loved bringing him to the edge like that.
I wrapped my legs around his hips as he slicked up his cock with oil, dragging him closer until he was above me, his pupils blown and his breathing heavy. I had always made the first move, sinking onto his cock and riding him to get us started, so he stared in fascination as I pulled my knees to my chest and he pushed inside me for the first time. My eyes rolled back as that perfect dick stroked along all my sensitive spots, my legs tightening to hurry him along when he moved too slowly. We could do slow later. I wanted him now.
“Fuck me, Feigrind,” I demanded.
He seated himself fully inside me and shifted to rest on his elbows, bringing his face closer to mine. When he captured my mouth, it was in a sweet kiss, one that made my chest tight and my soul reach out for his. Tears pricked my eyes, though I wasn’t sure why, and emotion overwhelmed me.
“No, kolrav. I will not fuck you. From now until eternity, I will only make love with you. Because you are precious to me, and deserve only the best of what I can offer.”
I stared up at him, stunned silent for the first time in my life. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I didn’t know what to do with it. Thankfully, he didn’t make me answer him. He dipped his head, drawing me into another sweet kiss, and his hips began moving, knocking all sense from me.
His thrusts were perfect, hitting my pleasure spot each time. I mewled into his mouth, lifting my hips to meet his in a plea for more. He gave it to me, fucking me harder and faster, until I was keening from pleasure overload and desperate to come. I felt my breath catch in my chest, felt myself teetering on the edge of an explosive release, when Feigrind’s hand wrapped around my cock. He stroked it only once before I embarrassed myself yet again and came without warning. The pleasure overwhelmed me, and I swore I stopped breathing for a moment. Feigrind followed soon after me, muffling his shout against my neck as he filled my channel with his cum. I shivered at the thought and clenched around him, making him gasp and groan against me.
We were both out of breath, sticky from my release, and sweating when Feigrind finally lifted his head. He brushed his fingers through my hair and kissed me with that same softness of before, murmuring against my lips.
“Thank you, Simon. For choosing me.”