Chapter 41 Calder #2
Anticipating his mentor’s motion, Calder catches the weapon by the head and embeds it into the wall behind him before blocking another hit with the great axe.
“My duty to you led to her being nearly raped three times before being captured by the Manchineel woman! Had I embraced earlier what her existence does to my fucking soul, then perhaps she would be safe in Treland!”
Sigvid’s fist smashes into his face. An explosion of pain and blood spurts from his mouth as he turns away from the blow.
Godsdamn, his halvgud blood meeting mine blow for blow.
Calder slides backward, narrowly avoiding his blade.
Sorry, Sigvid, but my might exceeds yours.
The impact of the great axe halts Sigvid’s assault, disarming him entirely. “I do not need weapons to kill you!” He snarls.
He charges again, catching Calder around the waist.
With a groan, both men tumble backward until they crash against one of the long wooden tables, splintering it at their backs. Calder kicks him off, sending his mentor tumbling violently into the wall and shattering the window above.
Shards of glass rain down upon him.
Sigvid drops to his knees. Blood obscures the permanent death tracker along the left side of his body. Calder’s massive form casts a shadow over the man he has respected for over half his life.
“You must know I would never harm Queen Avina or Princess Aura. I am your Drengr through and through! I won’t apologize,” the emotion thickens in his throat, “I won’t apologize for Aura.”
“How can I trust you?” Sigvid glances up through his crimson gaze.
“In the same way you have since I stumbled into Toftlund as a broken boy.”
Sigvid shakes his head, shoving to his feet. “Aura was just your conquest.”
Without thinking, he sinks his fist into Sigvid’s face. Before he collapses back to the floor, Calder forcefully grabs his shoulders, shoving him against the wall so they are eye to eye.
“I love Aura!” He snarls, spit splattering over Sigvid’s bloodied face.
“I love her more than anything on this godsdamned continent! You can hate me for that. You can demonize me. Fuck, you can send me to the Abyss for losing my heart to her! At least I will die having known salvation in the depths of her soul!” His voice cracks at the end.
He watches Sigvid’s eyes fade back to blue from the berserker crimson. Instead of inflexible anger, he shows utter defeat. His battle-worn body slips from Calder’s grip, sinking to the floor with a hand tugging at his warrior braid.
“My rage took over my senses, and I said something awful to Aura.” He smashes his fist into the floor and bangs the back of his head against the wall. “The last words I uttered to her were despicable. And then the Manchineel bitch forced me to watch as they took my child away.”
Calder nods, having witnessed through Aura’s memory the height of disappointment expressed by her father. “Aura deserves your penitence.”
Does Sigvid deserve her forgiveness?
With his head resting against the wall, the King nods as he catches his breath.
“The gods tasked me with one fucking mission in this life. And it was to shelter my Keeper.” He fists his hands on his thighs. “If I weren’t so godsdamn furious with her, she would have been at my side when Lavinia’s men attacked. I could have shielded her.”
“Lavinia has loathed your existence since you nearly decapitated her, defending your love of Avina. She has been awaiting the chance to ruin your life.”
Calder kneels beside his mentor, who stood with him through every bout of darkness when even the gods had abandoned him. The man who took in a young boy and raised him to be the most notorious Drengr on the continent.
“We will get them back, I promise. But I need you to stand with me, not against me.”
Sigvid smears the blood across his face. After staring into the distance long enough for Calder to wonder if he had truly broken the man, Sig extends his arm. Calder grips his muscle-hardened forearm, pulling Sigvid to his feet.
“I trusted you to protect my daughter, not fall in love.” He spits the last word as if it were venom on his tongue.
“Trust me, that was far from my intention.” His breathy chuckle barely acknowledges the unexpected nature of his relationship with the Princess.
“My respect for you stayed my hand more than you can understand. However, my existence is devoted to Aura. I cannot foresee a future where she is not at my side.”
Sigvid folds his arms as he listens. The berserker may have hit its limit, but the man bore more wrath than a thousand men.
“I gave you my oath, Lord Commander, but I must continue to disobey your blacklist.” He lifts his Drengr medallion off his neck and slams it into Sigvid’s chest. “Claim your blood oath.”
Sigvid seizes the emblem, staring blankly at the symbol.
“Your life would be wasted if I sent you to the Depths now.” He shoves it back at Calder.
“Besides, no one has ever bested me in strength alone. You have long been among my most trusted Drengr in my circle.” He lowers into a chair, wincing at his wounds.
“If anyone is worthy of Aura, it is you.”
“Makt, in his infinite kindness, granted me four days, now three, to decide to be his vessel before Lavinia cuts the cord on Avina and forces Aura to agree to his possession.” His voice wavers as the reality of facing a reality without his beautiful girl crashes down on him.
He will not damn her to wander the Abyss.
“I assume you know where they are held?” The animalistic grunt and glance away betray the Lord Commander’s inner turmoil over losing control.
For once, Sigvid’s guilt and self-loathing strike a high chord. Blaming Calder has been an easier venture than accepting his part in losing his family.
A reaction the Iss Drenger anticipated.
“Nightwall Keep. We are only a couple of hours away by sail.” Calder settles into a chair at the opposite side of the table. “Lavinia has a tower where she keeps her favorite torture victims.”
“Your mother is a fucking peach.” He rubs his forehead. “How many reinforcements do we have?”
Calder explains the situation and his plot to save Avina and Aura before killing his parents. Sigvid listens in rapt silence, only tapping two fingers on his leg.
“This will be fucking fun.” Sigvid smiles, cracking his knuckles. “Perhaps events have clouded my judgment lately.” An unusual sheepish expression crosses his face. “Please accept my apology for doubting your loyalty.”
Calder stands, extending a hand to him.
Sigvid growls as he accepts. “Now, where the fuck are my Drengr?”
Calder removes his pipe, lighting the bowl dismissively.
His one command to Thora and Edmund would preserve the greatness of the Lord Commander. No one could attest to what occurred between the two warriors in the longhouse. He knew dragging Sigvid with him over the ledge of truth was the only way to end their confrontation.
I needed him to burn out his seidr or risk another confrontation.
The Beast of Salt may have fallen to his knees in defeat, but Calder will accept the only victory between them: the life of the Princess of Treland.
Aura’s heart and blood oath belong to the Iss Drengr.