The Wolf & The Fox

Chapter Three

Helia couldn't take her eyes off her. Keeping her gaze fixed ahead as she followed behind the silent warrior. The trembling torch flames bathed the corridor they walked through in amber light. Erric skulked by her side, Tomaz a few respectful steps behind. There were no female soldiers in the golden army, and before the Nordlings arrived, she hadn't known they existed outside of the ancient tales spun by Tomaz and his silken tongue. She hadn't recognised them when their armies battled, their feminine features hidden by the storm's darkness. This woman, with her pale hair, the colour of sunlight on fresh snow, was something she'd never seen before. Layers of furs and leathers increased the bulk of her body, but there was no disguising the muscles that coiled under the skin of her exposed arms. Ink snakes slivered across her upper arms and collarbone.

Her name was Agna. She was the most powerful woman Helia had ever seen and, for that reason alone, she was also the most beautiful.

That fateful night, with the castle cowering under the black storm and the burning embers of the wolf's eyes watching, her world had come crashing down. Agna had appeared and remained with the wolf throughout the long night. Had stood by his side as he ordered the soldiers who'd surrendered to be bound and dragged to the dungeon. The ones who'd resisted were thrown over the wall as Helia watched. As the sun rose, the cries of her people awakened the sleeping land.

She had not seen the wolf since.

"Where are you taking us?" Erric barked, drawing Helia from her thoughts and back into a body weak with fear. He sounded enraged rather than rattled, but she could see the tension in his jaw. She glanced at Tomaz, and he gave her a sliver of a smile. Agna said nothing and Erric's teeth clenched. He wasn't used to being ignored, especially by a woman. There were no questions in Helia's mind about where they were going. The riotous noise of music and mayhem from the hall was echoing throughout the castle. As was the smell of ale and roasted boar.

They'd been waiting for this. They'd had nothing else to do but wait. He'd them locked in the keep for days, banished to their rooms with warriors standing guard outside at all hours. They received food and drink, but no news. She had expected far worse. But days of silence, of knowing nothing of what was to come was its own kind of torture. And she was still alone. The flames didn't lick beneath her skin. Her weakened power slept on.

The closer they got, the more her stomach knotted, the more her bones seem to quiver beneath her flesh.

He was there, and he was waiting. She was sure of that. But what would he do with them? There were worse things than death, worse things than cages. She knew that and knew it well. Even so, she wasn't ready to die.

"I said, where are you taking..."

"We're going to the hall." Helia snapped. "If you had not worked that out, I wouldn't show your foolishness by revealing it." Erric glared at her, his face turning crimson. His lips parted, but Agna turned and raised a severe eyebrow. Erric's lips slammed shut. When she met his eyes, she knew that venomous look, though it lacked the power it once had. Without Bronson, he didn't have the potency to see through such dark thoughts. And they both knew it. He turned away.