Chapter 15 #2
Just before she could say something a worried voice interrupted her.
“Me jarl, ye need tae come. Now.”
Erik pulled back from Claricia reluctantly, the taste of her still on his lips, his hand lingering at the small of her back. The lad who’d burst through the corridor entrance stood panting, his face flushed red, his eyes wide with something that looked like fear.
Of course… the gods wouldnae let me have one wretched moment of peace.
“What is it?” Erik kept his voice level despite the frustration coiling in his chest. Beside him, Claricia stepped away, though her cheeks remained flushed and her breathing unsteady.
“Bodies, me jarl. Two of them—found dead near the western perimeter.” The lad swallowed hard. “Throats cut. Clean.”
The warmth that had been building in Erik’s chest turned to ice.
“When?” The question came out sharp as a blade.
“Found them at first light. Aksel sent me tae fetch ye immediately.”
Erik’s mind raced through the implications. Two guards. Western perimeter. Professional kills.
“Tell Aksel I’m comin’. Have him gather the Council in the war room.
Every man who serves in me guard—I want names, faces, where they were last night.
” Erik was already moving, his hand finding the small of Claricia’s back again, this time to guide rather than caress.
“And double the watch on all entrances.”
The boy bowed and sprinted back the way he’d come.
Claricia turned to look up at him, “The attack on me ship—”
“Aye, I ken.” He wanted to pull her close again, to promise her she’d be safe, but there wasn’t time for gentleness now. “Come. I need tae get ye somewhere secure, then I’ll deal with this.”
“I can help—”
“Nay.” The word came out harder than he intended, and he saw her stiffen. “I need ye alive, little bird. That means keepin’ ye behind walls I trust until I ken who’s behind this.”
For a moment he thought she’d argue, but then she simply nodded.
Smart lass.
They moved through the corridor toward their chamber, Erik’s eyes scanning every shadow, every doorway. The kiss they’d shared moments before felt like it had happened in another lifetime, though his lips still burned with the memory of it.
Later. We’ll have time fer that later. If I can keep her alive long enough.
The war room smelled of old leather and tension. Erik stood at the head of the table, his hands braced against the scarred oak surface as Aksel laid out what they knew.
“Finn and Broderick—good men, loyal, been with us fer years.” Aksel’s voice was steady, but Erik could see the anger simmering beneath his friend’s controlled exterior. “Killed sometime between midnight and dawn. Nay signs of struggle or alarm.”
“Which means they kent who did it,” Erik said grimly. “Trusted them enough tae let them get close.”
Around the table, his council members exchanged grim looks. Harald leaned back in his chair, his pale eyes calculating. Magnus drummed his fingers on the table, while Ivar simply stared at the map spread before them, his jaw tight.
“The attack on Lady Thorsen’s ship,” one of the older council members began, “ye think it’s connected?”
“I ken it is.” Erik straightened, his hand moving to rest on the pommel of his sword—an old habit when his mind worked through problems. “Someone wants her dead or captured. The ship attack failed, so now they’re tryin’ another way. Testing our defenses. Seein’ how close they can get.”
“Or sendin’ a message,” Aksel added quietly.
The room went silent. Erik let the weight of that truth settle over them all.
“I want every man who serves in this castle questioned,” Erik finally said, his voice carrying the kind of quiet authority that made men move.
“Find out where they were last night. Who they spoke tae. If anyone actin’ strange, anyone with new coin in their purse.
And I want camps searched. If there are men watchin’ us from outside the walls, root them out. ”
“That could take days,” Magnus pointed out. “Maybe weeks if they’re well hidden.”
“We dinnae have weeks.” Harald’s voice cut through the tension, his eyes hard. “If there’s an organized threat comin’ against the Pact, me lands could be next. Or any of yers.” His eyes swept over Ivar, Ragnar and Magnus. “We need tae get back tae our own clans, ensure our defenses are sound.”
“Aye,” Magnus agreed grimly. “We’ll stay long enough tae help with the initial search, but after that…” he let the implication hang.
“Then we start now.” Erik’s eyes were cold as winter steel. “Aksel, ye’ll come with me. We’ll ride out tae the western perimeter, see what we can learn from the bodies. The rest of ye—organize search parties. Small groups, experienced men.”
“And Lady Thorsen?” Harald asked, one eyebrow raised.
Erik’s jaw tightened. “She stays in our chamber. Under guard. She daesnae leave unless I’m with her.”
He could already imagine her reaction to that. Could picture those blue-green eyes flashing with indignation, that sharp tongue ready to flay him for treating her like a prisoner.
“There’s one more thing,” Erik said, his voice dropping lower. The men around the table leaned in, sensing the shift in his tone. “I want an invitation sent tae Laird Finnian MacKenzie.”
“Ye cannae be serious,” one of the council members sputtered. “Invite a Highland laird here? Now? With all this—”
“I am serious.” Erik’s gaze swept the table, daring anyone else to challenge him. “I’ll nae have her think I’m keepin’ her from her kin.”
“Me jarl,” another voice spoke up—Brandr, one of his oldest advisors. “The risk—”
“Is mine tae take.” Erik’s voice was final. “She’s me wife. Her comfort, her safety—that’s me responsibility now.”
Aksel was studying him with those too-knowing pale eyes, and Erik could see the question forming there.
Brandr hesitated, then asked the question Erik had been waiting for. “And ye trust that—”
“I trust me wife.” The words came out with more force than Erik intended, and he saw several men straighten in surprise.
“Aye, ye heard me right. I trust her.” He paused, letting that sink in.
“If she wanted me dead, she’s had plenty of chances already.
The fact that I’m still breathin’ tells me all I need tae ken. ”
Erik pushed away from the table. “Aksel, with me. The rest of ye—ye have yer orders. I want answers by nightfall.”
The sun was climbing toward its peak when Erik and Aksel reached the western perimeter. The bodies had been moved—laid out on cloth and covered respectfully—but the blood remained. Dark stains on the rocky ground, already turning brown in the autumn air.
Erik crouched beside the nearest puddle, studying the pattern, the angle of the cuts he’d seen on the bodies before they’d been moved.
“Professional,” Aksel said quietly, echoing Erik’s own thoughts. “Someone who kens how tae kill quick and quiet.”
“Aye.” Erik straightened, his eyes scanning the surrounding landscape. Rocky ground, sparse vegetation, plenty of places tae hide and watch. “And someone who kent the guards’ patrol times.”
“Speyingr.” Aksel’s jaw tightened.
“Aye.” The word tasted bitter. “Someone’s been watchin’ us.”
They spent the next hour searching, looking for any sign of the killers—footprints, disturbed ground, anything that might tell them how many there had been or where they’d gone. But the rocky terrain gave up few secrets.
The next time he spoke, Aksel’s voice was tight. “Ye need tae see this.”
Erik moved to where his friend stood at the edge of a small rise, looking down into a shallow valley. And there, hidden by the natural dip in the land, were the signs of a camp. Recent. Multiple fires, by the look of it. Disturbed ground where men had slept.
“How many?” Erik asked quietly.
“Dozen, maybe more.” Aksel crouched, examining the ground. “They’ve been here a while. A week at least, maybe longer.”
A week. Someone had been watching his castle, watching his walls, for at least a week. Before Claricia had even arrived, perhaps. Planning. Waiting.
Fer what?
Erik’s hand moved to his sword hilt. “They’re gone now.”
“Aye. Moved out fast, too—didnae even try tae hide the signs. Either they got what they came fer, or they ken we’d find them eventually.”
“Or they’re plannin’ somethin’ that makes hidin’ unnecessary.” Erik’s mind raced through possibilities, each darker than the last. “We need more men out here. Search parties in every direction. I want tae ken where they went, how many there are, and who’s leadin’ them.”
“Already done. Sent word before we left.” Aksel straightened. “But Erik—if they’ve been here a week, watchin’ us… they kent when Lady Thorsen arrived. They kent about the wedding. They might even ken about the prisoner in the North Wing.”
The implications of that settled over them both like a shroud.
“We’re goin’ back,” Erik said abruptly. “Now.”
They rode hard back toward the castle, the autumn wind biting at their faces. Erik’s mind kept circling back to Claricia—alone in their chamber, guarded by men he trusted but men who could be fooled, could be bribed, could be killed.
By the time they reached the castle gates, the sun was beginning its descent toward the western horizon. Erik dismounted quickly, tossing his reins to a stable lad, already moving toward the keep.
“I’ll report tae the Council,” Aksel called after him. “Ye go check on yer wife.”
Erik didn’t slow down. Didn’t acknowledge the knowing tone in his friend’s voice.
He just moved on pure instinct.