Painted Blade || sihtric

31.

THE next morning, Brida was just finishing off a braid in Bemia's hair when Bloodhair dragged a man toward them with Sihtric and Ebbe behind him.

"We have a message from Mercia," Bloodhair informed them.

From beside Bemia and Brida, Cnut arched a brow. "What is this?"

Bloodhair forced the man to his knees in front of Haesten and Skade who were seated in front of Bemia and Brida. "A message from the Dane-Slayer."

Bemia's eyes darted right to Sihtric and Ebbe, the two of them already watching her and didn't look away until she did. For Uhtred to send a message meant that he had to be close.

"Uhtred sent you?" Brida questioned the man.

The man released a cold breath. "He did, Lady."

"And his message is what?" Cnut demanded.

"He says he will come for you, Lord," the man confessed and Bemia shivered from either the cold or the tension thrown over them. Which one she did not know. "For all of you. In the night, as a shadow walker. He says you will die, as Ragnar died." Bemia didn't have to fake her grief at the mention of her older brother. "He says...he will send you all to Niflheim."

"I say, let him come," Bloodhair declared, and his son rolled his eyes behind him.

"Yes." Cnut lifted up his horn of ale.

"Feed his guts to Odin's ravens," Skade drawled.

Truly, it took everything in Bemia not to break character and throw away the whole mission just to defend her brother.

"I'll make a sacrifice of the Saxon bastard," Bloodhair announced.

"You should have done that at Faernham," Haesten muttered, looking away.

Bloodhair turned his cold gaze to him. "I hear a rat's wheeze."

"Here we fuckin' go," Ebbe groaned, sending Sihtric an annoyed look. But Sihtric was only watching his wife, watching as she slowly stood up, quietly telling Brida to do the same and moving out of dangers way.

"I said," Haesten started, looking back at Bloodhair, "if you wished to make a sacrifice of Uhtred, you should have done it at Fearnham. But you chose to run."

"Heasten, no," Cnut sighed, sending him a firm look.

"Mind how you speak," Bloodhair bit out.

Bemia left Brida's side, making her way toward Sihtric behind Bloodhair, his arm already extended out to her and the second his fingers touched her cloak, she was pulled behind his back.

"Oh, you fled, did you not?" Haesten taunted. "Run away."

"Bloodhair, say nothing," Cnut advised him.

But Bloodhair was fuming. "I lost men on a field of battle. You will feel enough to lose men in a fortress."

"Though I managed to keep hold of my woman," Haesten fired back with venom in his tone, standing up with a hand on Skade's shoulder.

"Shut your mouth," Bloodhair seethed as his son stepped closer to his back.

Haesten tilted his head. "Shall I show you how I bed her?"

"Shut your mouth!"

A dark chuckle left Haesten. "Come on. Come on, Bloodhair. I'll be gentle," he taunted, stepping away from Skade. "Come to Haesten, and I will whelp some pups on you."

"All of this over a witch?" Bemia whispered, holding onto Sihtric's upper arm as she rested her head against his arm. "Seems pathetic to me."

"Darling," Sihtric started, sending her a pleading look, "you know I love your opinion, but can we perhaps not hear it at this very second?"