Chapter 19 #3
“Jaevla hores,” she muttered, like she was sticking up for the sisterhood, but I could tell it had nothing to do with that, not when it came to Onyx anyway. How long had she been in love with him, even while she was married to someone else?
“Next competitor is the fearsome Night Hunter, Renyx!” a stocky man called out from the ring, pointing to Renyx, who was ripping off his shirt.
The man wore muted red trousers and a blue tunic, his voice somehow penetrating through the noise in the room.
“Against our champion, Tord!” He swung his arm to a shirtless brawny man with a crooked nose and only a few teeth.
His shredded body and angry demeanor suggested he had not lost very many fights.
He danced around the circle, punching the air, already spewing taunts at Renyx.
“Place your wagers now!” the stocky man yelled.
“Hey!” Bj?rn called out to the boy taking bets, dropping coins into his hand. “Ten marks on Renyx.”
“And add another ten for me.” Onyx nudged his friend.
“And me too.” Brynn grinned at the bid man.
“That’s thirty marks!” Bj?rn exclaimed.
“I have no money.” Onyx shrugged. “And you owe us for putting up with your shit.”
“Oh, then make my bet twenty,” Brynn told the boy.
“Fifty marks?” The boy sputtered.
Bj?rn wagged his head in a no, peering between his friends, but they both stared back at him.
“Fine.” He huffed, his shoulders dropping as he handed the boy the money.
“Renyx better win or you both owe me,” he protested.
“He will.” Onyx flicked his chin to their friend in the ring. Renyx swung his arms around, warming up. His muscular lean body, covered in tattoos and scars, was taut with anger. His expression was deadly, like he was begging for violence, pleading to release his anger and pain.
“You got this, Ren!” Brynn shouted out to him, pulling his focus to her for a moment. Seeing her seemed to only add fuel to his fire, bouncing him on his toes, his beautiful face contorting in a frightening determination.
The server pushed through us with a tray of drinks and sausages, my nose wrinkling at the scent while my stomach rumbled with hunger.
“Skj?nnhet!” Bj?rn cheered her presence. “You are my savior!” He shoved a sausage into his mouth, the grease dripping down his bearded chin as he grinned ear to ear, winking at her. Somehow looking charming instead of vulgar.
“You are such a brute, Bj?rn Larrsen.” She smacked his shoulder.
“Well, you clearly know my name, do I get the honor of yours, sweetheart, since I’ll be waking up in your bed tomorrow?”
“You’re a beast.” She laughed again.
“I hope I can be later.” He slugged down the contents of the drink, grinning wider.
She batted at him again, but peered over at Onyx, her eyes glinting in lust. “And what about you?”
“Ugh,” Brynn gagged, watching the woman turn her flirtation to Onyx.
“What about me?” Onyx took the cups off her tray, handing one to me, scooping up a few sausages.
My back stiffened as she scoured Onyx. Her side glances at him were not playful like she was with Bj?rn. They were pointed and leading. “I’ve heard you’re a beast too.”
“Seriously?” Brynn sighed louder, wagging her head in annoyance.
“Oh, I think my brother here can provide what you need much more.” Onyx shoved down a sausage in hunger, his attention going to me, completely dismissing her. “I know you don’t like meat, but it’s all there is for now.” He dropped a sausage wrapped in oily paper into my hand.
The barmaid’s expression pinched, a frown dropping her smile, but she turned back to flirt with Bj?rn before walking away.
I stared down at the cooked mutton in my hand. When I was a child, I befriended many of the animals down in the barn only to have them on our dinner plate later. Once I had snuck in and watched my favorite lamb being slaughtered; his cries still rang in my head.
No one ever detected or cared I wasn’t particularly fond of eating meat, including my father or Sarina.
It was embedded into our culture, the base substance for every meal, the item we sacrificed for a ritual.
Our realm was proud of being carnivores.
It showed wealth and prosperity. An advancement from our ancestors who were opportunistic eaters, scavenging for anything they could to fill their bellies.
But Onyx had noticed.
“Wagers are in!” The stocky man regained the room’s attention, cramming the invigorated crowd closer to the ring.
A body rammed into mine with force, knocking me forward, spilling the food and drink from my hand back onto me.
Mead splashing onto my face and soaking into my clothes, the grease from the sausage staining down my skirt.
“You okay?” Onyx grabbed onto my arm, holding me steady as he snarled back at the crowd, getting them to step back.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I brushed at my clothes, irritation sputtering up, feeling trails of liquid tracking down my chest. “I just want to find a towel to wipe this up.”
Onyx’s teeth gritted, looking from me back to where his friend was starting to box his opponent.
“I can get it myself.”
“I’m not letting you go on your own,” he snapped, peering over the room.
“Where am I gonna go?” I motioned around. “You think anyone here will help me? I can’t run away. I promise to return most obediently to you.”
“That’s not—” A synchronous groan came from the spectators; the sound of flesh and bone being hit taking Onyx’s attention back to the fight.
“I’ll be right back, master,” I snipped, turning away before he could stop me, my annoyance rolling off me like a cloud.
“Kanin . . .” I heard him growl, but I slipped away through the throng, the fight pushing the crowd forward. Heading toward the food stall, I weaved through the dense horde, trying to keep calm against the claustrophobia of the packed figures.
“Hey.” A man stepped in front of me, his speech slurring. “Where’s a little thing like you think you’re going?”
Tipping my head back, I saw a tall, dark-haired man.
In his twenties, he had a short beard and long plaited hair, tattoos covering the side of his face, his nose flat.
He could have been deemed somewhat attractive except for the lecherous smile curling his lips.
His gaze leered down at me, tracking my face under the hood, stopping on my grey-blue irises.
The smile faded, his blurred eyes clearing, his built frame stiffening.
“What the fuck?” He stepped right into me, the packed-in bodies barricaded around me, not letting me retreat. He reached over, yanking down my hood, the light from the torches shimmering over my hair. “Well, look what we have here, boys.” He tipped his head. “A little Day ravn far from home.”
Four other large, menacing men stepped in behind him, wearing the same black trousers and tunics as him. Danger prickled at the back of my neck and the instinct to run burned in my gut, screaming at me to move, to flee them.
“Excuse me.” I tried to push past them.
“Whoa.” The leader grabbed my arm with force, wrenching me back. “You aren’t going anywhere, fitte.”
“Let me go.”
“I don’t think so.” His lip lifted, his manner filled with violence and controlling dominance.
“I said, let me go.” I hissed, yanking on my arm. “I promise, you do not want to do this. You will not like the outcome.”
He let out a laugh, his eyes glinting. “Did you hear that, fellas? Sounds like we’ll be sorry,” he mocked, and his friends laughed in unison, their energy just as threatening.
“What are you gonna do, fitte?” He brought me closer, his ale-smelling breath beating down on my face.
“You are either an enemy hiding among us, which then I am only doing my civic duty. Or you are someone’s thrall, and they don’t care enough about you to let you wander unsupervised.
” He licked his lip, violence and control bubbling up into lust. “They won’t mind if I see to your punishment. Make sure you understand your place.”
I tried to twist my arm from his grip the way Yanric taught me, but he smirked, clutching both wrists in one hand, his buddies coming in around me and blocking me in.
“Think we all will take turns teaching you a lesson. Test out what a Day cunt is like.” He reached under my cloak, squeezing my breasts.
I struggled against his hold, but they cinched in the circle, pushing me into him, their hands touching me from behind.
My heartbeat hammered in my chest, the noise from the crowd deafening, making me feel isolated in the massive crowd.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I seethed. He pushed his fingers inside my bodice, the movement undoing the tie at my throat, dropping it off my shoulders.
His attention dove to the runes decorating my throat and jerked back. For a second, I thought I saw fear flash over his face, before a fiery hate drew his gaze up to mine, his flat nose flaring.
“You belong to—”
“To me.” A deep voice severed through all the noise, the growl pulsing over my skin. “And if you don’t step away from her now, I will cut your ribs away from your spine and feed them to my horse.”
All heads whipped to where Onyx stood with his arms crossed. Though he appeared calm, I could spot the tension in his jaw, the rage in his eyes.
“Onyx.” The man spat out the name, a snarl hitching his mouth.
“Stigr,” Onyx spat back. “And your merry band of witless disciples.” He nodded to his friends. “How adorable, you all dressed alike.” He lifted a brow at the dark clothing they were all wearing. “Trying to play dress-up like the big boys, Stigr?”
“Fuck you!” he snarled, still holding my arm.
“I think you will be the one with something obtrusive shoved up your ass if you don’t let her fucking go,” Onyx growled, stepping in, his body vibrating with fury.
“Another good thing about not being one of you,” Stigr hissed back, his lids narrowing. “I don’t have to fucking listen to you.”
“Really?” It was a warning. A challenge. Onyx took another step, his body tense, looming a few inches over Stigr. “The emblem I wear tells me you do.”