Chapter 5 #2
Were they? I’d hoped I’d been able to hide this draining weakness. But I wondered…
“Are ye, Rowena?”
Her blue eyes darted up to meet mine for a second before dropping back to my shoulder. Her, “Aye,” was more of a whisper, and I watched her swallow.
“I mean, if you die, who will take me home next month?”
Home.
My chest had squeezed at the reminder that she didn’t think of Battleborn Village as home, not the way I did.
“I am sorry, you know,” she suddenly blurted, her attention intent on cleaning the sweat and training grime from the inflamed wound. “I should not have stabbed—”
“Ye were protecting yer people,” I said gently. “All of ye. ‘Twas battle.”
“Aye, well,” she grumbled, “I suppose you deserved it.”
There was my wee wildcat. My lips twitched, despite her prodding.
“The wound isnae too bad.”
“‘Tis infected.” She uncapped a flask I recognized as Maardok’s uisge beatha stash. “It needs to be cleaned and treated.”
I was already leaning away from her.
“Nay, I dinnae think ye need to—”
Before I had a chance to finish, she’d poured straight fire across the wound, and my muscles clenched at the pain.
Turning just my head, I glared at her.
“Ow.”
When I snatched the flask from her with my left hand, she didn’t resist, and I took a big gulp to dull the pain.
“Dinnae do that again,” I rasped.
“It worked.”
She poked the wound, then reached for a packet at her belt.
“Do not be a babe.”
“I’m no’ being a bairn,” I grumbled, taking another healthy swig. “Ye surprised me.”
“Aye, well, I am a surprising sort of female.”
Staring straight ahead, not seeing my training warriors, I found myself smiling, despite the ache in my shoulder.
“Aye, that ye are.”
She was fussing.
“Since I was the one who laid you low, I have been tasked with saving your sorry arse. You are to eat a full meal and sleep in the bed tonight.”
“I gave it up for ye.”
“Do not be stupid, Vrogul. ‘Tis big enough.”
When she said my name, my Kteer crowed, and wasn’t that an interesting response?
“Why are you pushing yourself?” she suddenly asked. “Why are you not resting, celebrating your victory? You won.”
I thought of her home, of how her friends and family must be mourning their losses right now, and shifted on the log in discomfort.
“We cannae allow our guard to drop,” I finally admitted. “We have nae won, but just delayed disaster for a while.”
She began to spread the poultice on my shoulder, and her touch—or mayhap the herbs—cooled me.
“I do not understand.”
To distract myself from my body’s response to her nearness, even with the underlying pain, I shifted my gaze to my sparring warriors.
“We are a sept of the Battleborn clan on the mainland. They are large and powerful and…at times, corrupt. We owe our allegiance to the current laird, Callor, who is wily and ambitious.”
“Ambitious, how?”
How to explain?
“Orcs dinnae think about gold or wealth the way humans do. We share what we have—”
“That is why you stole our cheese?”
My lips twitched.
“I stole those logs because Matthias introduced my sister to goat cheese and she hasnae shut up about it. Keeping her happy makes my life easier.”
When Rowena snorted softly in agreement, I remembered that she’d been spending much of her days with Issa.
“Callor doesnae yearn for wealth, Rowena, but power. He wants to control the clans around him the way he controls us.”
I blew out a breath as her small fingers spread the poultice gently across my injury.
“My father was one of his lieutenants, and when he requested permission to take a band of settlers to Islay and make our home here, Callor agreed. He was much younger then and saw Islay as the beginning of his empire.”
She hummed, an encouraging sound.
“Was it?”
“Aye,” I admitted. “When my father died, our people chose me as the next leader. We have welcomed refugees from other clans and from the human world, building our numbers until we are a substantial threat—”
“You are.”
Her tone was matter of fact as she began to wrap my shoulder in a clean bandage.
“Even in my world, we have heard whispers of the Battleborn of Islay, and the Stormseeker.”
I still preferred when she called me Vrogul. “But I am sworn to Callor and the mainland Battleborn. He demands, and we obey.”
Slowly, her hands stilled and her chin rose until she was meeting my gaze.
“The ore?” she whispered. “That is why it remains bundled, and the smith has not begun to work it?”
I nodded solemnly. “Our world is a mirror of yers, remember? We have the same ore deposits, but not the numbers needed to mine it.”
“And humans have already pillaged their landscape, so why bother ruining your land and air with smoke and scars, when you can take from us?” she whispered.
I winced and looked away.
“Aye. We have need for little, Rowena—the sword I fought with today was my grandfather’s. But Callor…”
“Callor demanded the ore, so you attacked my village to keep him happy.”
Before my gaze, the sparring warriors seemed to blur.
“I am pledged to him.”
“Well, that is stupid.”
She poked my injury, the sharp spike of pain grounding me in the here and now.
“You should break free of him.”
I swung on her.
“What do ye ken of such things, wee human?”
Her gaze shuttered, and she dropped her chin, making herself small. Rowena was hiding something, and I didn’t like it. Didn’t like seeing her like this.
With a sigh, I reached for her hand but hesitated at the last minute.
“Are ye wearing yer dagger?”
She nodded mutely, gaze still downcast, and I slowly closed my hand around hers.
“Rowena.”
She finally peeked up at me.
“I am sorry for the pain I caused ye and yer people. I cannae say we wouldnae have raided without Callor’s demands—we are infamous for it—but we wouldnae have taken more than we needed. Seeds. Grain.”
Her lips twitched.
“Cheese.”
I nodded solemnly. “Cheese is verra important.”
Gently, I tugged her closer.
“Thank ye for fixing me.”
“You are not fixed yet. You need rest. A good night’s sleep.”
Before I could tell her I didn’t trust myself in bed with her, she distracted me with another blurted question.
“Why did you ask about my dagger?”
“Because,” I murmured, my gaze sweeping over her flushed face, the wee strands of hair sticking to her temples, “I needed to ken ye could defend yerself when I did this…”
Ever so slowly, I pulled her toward me, giving her plenty of time to object if she wanted to. She didn’t, merely held my gaze trustingly, making my Kteer purr happily.
With one last tug, I settled her on my lap.
Rowena held herself stiffly as I wrapped my arm around her back, holding her steady—safe—as I studied her features, so close to mine.
“Thank ye,” I whispered, but I wasn’t sure if I was thanking her again for tending my injury, or for allowing me to hold her.
Gods below, she felt right.
Beneath my kilt, my cock stirred, and I shifted so she couldn’t feel it.
“Rowena—”
“Why did you take me?”
The question seemed to wrench out of her, and she closed her lovely eyes, turning her face away from me as she continued in a softer voice.
“You called me a sacrifice…”
I lifted my fingers to her chin, turning her gently back toward me, wondering if she felt this same heat between us.
“I didnae ken,” I admitted. “No’ at the time. I just kenned…I could no’ leave ye behind. If I tore ye away from yer happiness, dkaar, then I am sorry for my selfishness.”
She studied me now, those blue eyes serious as they swept over my face, as if looking for the truth.
I realized she was holding her breath, and so I held mine, waiting for her to condemn me, or to assure me she was happier here.
Neither came, and at long last, she blew out a breath.
“Tonight, you take the bed.”
“Ye’re my guest, Rowena. I’ll no’ have ye sleeping on the floor.”
“I am your prisoner,” she countered briskly. “I bested you in battle, remember?”
Bested? Ha!
It took me a moment to realize she was teasing me, and a sense of peace settled over me, easing the tension from my muscles as I sat there with her on my lap. Gently, I slid my legs forward, shifting her weight so she leaned closer to me.
“Spar with me,” I commanded. “Tomorrow. We’ll see who bests who.”
Something like delight—or mayhap anticipation—sparkled in her eyes.
“You would give me a practice blade?”
“I would give ye back yer blade. Was it yer father’s as well?”
Rowena nodded, and I could sense her excitement.
“He taught me to fight as well as any man.”
“Any human man,” I taunted.
She bristled.
“When I beat you, I will not have you claim ‘twas because you were weak. Take the bed.”
My arm tightened around her, loving our verbal sparring as much as I knew I’d welcome the challenge of another battle with her.
“When I beat ye, wee wildcat, I’ll no’ have ye claim ‘twas because ye were tired from sleeping on the floor.”
She nodded firmly.
“We will share. I will make you something healthy and filling tonight, and you will sleep well, and tomorrow I will determine if you are well enough for a battle. I will not have you claim my victory was illegitimate.”
I found my gaze resting on her lips.
“I look forward to it.”
“We have a deal?”
My next words surprised me.
“Should we seal it with a kiss?”
Rowena suddenly stiffened. “I am not—that was not—you…”
I shook my head, wondering if I was feverish, and forced a smile.
“I promised ye lass: no’ until ye beg.”
The reminder was as much for me as ‘twas for her, and her response was all my Kteer needed to be reminded. Sputtering, she thrust herself to her feet and stumbled away from me.
“I will not beg, Vrogul.”
I nearly groaned, watching those lips curl around my name so soon after vowing to be strong.
“Aye lass. Keep telling yerself that.”
She shook her head, took a deep breath, then reached down to snag the bucket of water.
“You will come to the cottage early, eat a full dinner, and sleep well. Do you understand?”
This wee warrior of mine was used to command, and I couldn’t help but think of my sister and the way she bossed us all around. My lips curled into a smile.
“Aye, milady.”
She nodded firmly, then spun about.
“I will see you at home.”
I watched the sway of her gown about her hips as she marched past my men and realized I couldn’t wait until this afternoon.
Because she’d referred to my cottage as home.