Empire of Ashes

Chapter XVI - Bridal Shopping

Oh... By the abyss, he didn't mean...

"Marriage?" Ulric considered. "Yes, I suppose that would work. My son is already engaged, but I have a daughter your age."

That bothered me far more than it should have.

The warlord laughed. "Oh, you don't want her to marry me. My wife will become a Valkyr and lead women to war. It would be far safer for this girl if she were to wed someone else. I had been thinking of my sister for your son — my brother is too young for a wife."

I resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Damned treacherous hormones, overruling all my inhibitions. This lord's daughter wouldn't die by my hand, then.

Fendur chuckled. "I volunteer."

"Not you. You're not a relative of mine, so you'll have to find your own wife," Temris said, rolling his eyes. He turned back to Ulric. "I do have a cousin. He has a swathe of land and a title of his own. The girl will be taken care of, on my honour."

Oh, Anlai would love this. He didn't seem the type to settle down with a single woman and start a family. But he would do it if Temris asked him to, I knew that much. He might rage and rant about it, but he would do it in the end.

"She had better be," Ulric warned. "Very well. Melia shall wed this cousin of yours. I will have her ready to leave with you tomorrow. But mark my words — if any harm comes to her, the alliance is off."

"Understood," Temris agreed. "Would you like to bloodswear, or is my word enough?"

In answer, the lord picked up an eating knife and made a short slice across his palm. He winced horribly, his hand visibly shaking. All three of us pretended not to notice. Temris made the same cut over an existing scar without so much as blinking. I wondered briefly if that was the mark from bloodswearing with his Iyrak. Fendur and Colloe both had similar scars.

The two men clasped hands, mixing their blood. This tradition was one of the few that all of Cambria shared. Once you had sworn by blood, there was no going back. Anyone who broke their oath was branded as an outcast and forsaken.

Temris went first. "I swear to kill the king and free Cambria from his rule or die trying. I swear to protect your daughter from harm and see that she is happy. My cousin, Anlai Bladeborn, will wed her and provide for her."

Ulric grimaced. "I swear to play my part in your rebellion. Although, if you should fail, this did not happen. My daughter would be an unwilling hostage, and I acted only to protect her."

I wanted to slap him for that. It was fine for us to risk everything, as long as he was okay. It annoyed me that should this fail, he would probably kneel to the king to save his own skin. Then again, Temris had done the same. A kneeling man could rise to his feet again, but a dead man stayed down.

Temris simply nodded. "It is done."

Lord Ulric didn't bother to stay long after that. The meal was eaten in sullen silence, as the diners brooded over what had just occurred. The north and south were linked by blood now. There wasn't any possibility of second thoughts. We would stand against the throne and hope we could keep our footing.

Once he excused himself, Temris helped me back to bed. While I wriggled around, trying to get comfortable, he tugged off his tunic and claimed the other side of the bed. That served suitably to keep me awake.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

He shrugged at me, a faint smile on his lips. "Sleeping shirtless is more comfortable."

I prodded him with a cold toe. "You wore your tunic in the tent."

"Yes, to avoid freezing to death. It's warmer in here."