Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (28 page)

George brought over scrambled eggs. I shoveled them in between bites of fried bread and drank a load of sterilized water.

When I was full, I rose. "Thank you, George."

I kissed his cheek and his face reddened.

Kendra reached down to pat Ralph, who was dining on leftovers she'd
accidentally
dropped.

"Let's walk around the castle to the main square," I suggested.

In the square, the men filed out the main gates to the fields beyond. There was great excitement everywhere. Groups of all sizes gathered, examining each other's weapons.

In the distance, I saw the jousters practicing.

"Where's Logan?" I asked.

"On the field practicing."

Sargon saw me from the castle steps. Approaching in his ceremonial black, he greeted Kendra and me with a smile. I had to continually remember to wipe the fear off my face when he was near.

"You look pretty today," he said with satisfaction.

I felt like a butterfly pinned to a board. "Thank you."

"Thane is practicing his longbow with the others. We'll go watch him together. Wait for me here. I'll not be long."

Richard materialized at Kendra's side. And I felt Cedric behind me. How was it I could feel his presence before I saw him?

I felt for the chain around my neck. The Roman coin was fastened though the pin on the back of the Tintegal broach.

"You shouldn't be standing with me," I whispered to Cedric.

We watched Sargon stride away from us.

"Watch this," Cedric said, all keyed up. "It happens now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Stay here." He sauntered into the center of the yard. "Sargon, I hear your wife is with child. Have you taken precautions to ensure it is your own?" His voice rang clear across the yard.

Beside me, Richard and Kendra gasped in unison.

Sargon stood stone still, his back to us.

"Cedric, no!" I cried.

Sargon turned slowly and faced Cedric. His face was cold with fury. His hand went to his sword. He unsheathed it.

I ran across the dirt and grabbed his arm. "No! He'll kill you."

Sargon backhanded me across the face and I fell to the ground, stunned.

The whole courtyard was hushed.

"You strike your pregnant wife?" Cedric sneered. He spat on the ground. "I will not treat her so when she is mine."

He could not have said anything more incendiary.

Richard rushed forward and tried to haul me away, while a crowd of infuriated men gathered in the square. More spilled out of the castle.

Sargon's face was black with rage now. There was nothing human left in him. His teeth were bared. His eyes gleamed like hot coal, seeing nothing but his opponent. They became two beasts circling in the sun, the golden lion and the black wolf.

I wanted to look away, but couldn't. Cedric wordlessly willed me to watch. His power circled over me. Then it funneled up into the sky.

Sargon swung first.

The clang of swords echoed in the air. Overhead, dark clouds gathered, creating shadows on the ground. The swords hit again, and thunder cracked, clouds crashed against each other. Another clang. Then a yell, a blur of motion and the roar of thunder.

Sargon's sword arm hit the ground. Then his head sailed past me.

I screamed.

The courtyard exploded with shocked voices.

The earth raced up to meet me as I crashed to the ground, fighting the hideous vision burned in my retina.

"The king is dead!" someone screamed.

Then all around me, I heard, "The king is dead!"

Someone picked me up as easily as if I were a rag doll. He smelled of sweat and animal blood.

"Put your arms around my neck," Cedric said.

Obeying him, I buried my eyes in his shoulder. Silent sobs wracked my body.

"Stay back, Norland," Cedric commanded. "Rowena is my kin, not yours. You have no rights and you cannot win today."

Cedric turned to Richard. "Bring Kendra
. Jon, get the men to pack up and follow. Be swift."

I was lifted on a horse―not Lightning. Cedric mounted in a sweep behind me and kicked us forward. He held me with one great arm. My head flung back against his chest as we set off.

I heard screams behind
us, but could not utter a sound.

We galloped out the gates and to the east. The sky was growing blacker by the minute.

Ahead, I saw a mighty line of men on horseback. A thousand or more, all dark and featureless in the mist. We raced toward them and I thought for sure we would be slaughtered.

Cedric muttered something in a language I did not recognize.

The men on horseback parted in the middle so we could pass. Then they closed rank behind us.

"My men," he said. "From the south."

Or straight from hell, I thought.

We rode as though the hounds of Hades were after us. I swear the stallion never touched the ground.

Thunder chased us until we reached the river. There, we stopped and dismounted to water the horses. Richard and Kendra rode up beside us, while the others followed at a distance.

Richard leapt off his horse. "Cedric, you risk us all."

"You prefer to stay behind? They might decide to kill all from Huel. I would. I got us out of there. The defense will hold 'til tomorrow."

"But to kill the king―"

"'Twas the only way."

"But why?"

"That demented fiend nearly killed her."

One more time, he yanked the dress off my shoulder.

Jon caught up and gasped when he saw the wound.

"Next time it could have been her throat," Cedric said. "I
sought to bring her home. The child is mine."

Richard went white. Jon cursed.

"The wolf would never let her go," Cedric said. "I
had
to kill him."

"This is evil that you do," Richard said. He had never seemed more like a man, the golden boy gone forever.

Cedric's eyes narrowed. "You will swear allegiance to
me.
Or die with them, cousin."

There was a nasty silence.

"I stand with Huel and always will. But don't make me do your evil."

Cedric stared at him a moment, then nodded.

Castle Huel was bustling. In the courtyard, a hundred hardened men stood by. I knew not one. More men from the south, no doubt. After Kendra dismounted, I took her hand. Eyes followed us all the way up the stone stairs.

We gathered in the great hall. Bone weary, I slumped into a chair. Kendra sat across from me with Richard. Cedric paced the floor.

Grandfather entered with Jon.

"Cedric, they tell me the child is yours," Grandfather said.

"It is."

"How do you know?"

"I know. I knew the second life took hold."

"Your dark arts…"

"He drugged her," Kendra blurted.

"For the pain," Cedric said.

"Pain doesn't explain why you came to the door naked," Kendra said.

Grandfather could not have been more appalled. "And Rowena?"

Kendra glanced at me. "She was in bed."

I hid my face in my hands. Could this day get any worse?

"First Ivan ties her like an animal," Grandfather said, shaking his head. "And now you drug her, Cedric. The very men sworn to protect her. Is there no honor in this house? Jon, do
you
have anything to confess?"

Jon went white.

"No," I called out before he could answer. "He stopped himself."

There was more stilted silence.

"By the river that first day, before he knew who I was. He was...a gentleman." Kind of. Eventually.

"Ivan tied her up," Cedric snapped.

"You're no better using drugs
," Grandfather said. "There is evil in you. If you harm her―"

"I would never harm her! Never. How could you think it? I faced that band of brigands to keep her safe. I risked my life today. It drove me mad to see him strike her. I could not lose after that
."

We would never be free of that memory.

"Think, Sire, a child," Cedric said seductively. "What you've always wanted. A true child of Huel, sired by me, and out of Rowena. Our very future. Is that not worth the risk?"

"You'll marry her."

"In a church?" Cedric laughed and crossed his arms. "Why not? That will be…interesting. But I have another ceremony in mind as well."

I felt cold through and through.

Grandfather gathered my hair in his hands. "My poor Rowena. This world of ours is hard on women. You alone give me hope, dear one. May this child you carry be our salvation." He kissed my forehead, then turned to Cedric. "We need to make plans. Take the women upstairs and return to the hall."

Cedric nodded. "Kendra, go to Richard and obey him. He will be your protector."

We all knew what that meant. He was giving her to Richard.

"I need her claimed," he told me before I could protest. "I can't have the men fighting."

Richard's face was fused with red. He nodded once.

"She can have the room next to Rowena's old one," Cedric said. "I'm taking Rowena to the tower."

He waited for someone to dare fight him on this.

"You're mad." Grandfather face was aghast, the deep lines clearly showing. "She lost her husband today. Have you forgotten?"

"I'm not letting her out of my sight. I can protect her there." Cedric's mouth hardened. "Come, cousins."

Grandfather took a step forward, but Jon caught his arm. From the stairs, I saw the two of them in a heated argument. Of all the men, Jon alone seemed to grasp the rising danger in Cedric.

We left Kendra with Richard on the second floor. At the end of the corridor, we climbed a circular stone staircase to the light at the top. Cedric took my hand and led me into the tower suites, which resembled something from a fairy tale.

The first room was square, with wardrobes, a table and tapestries lining every wall. It led to a second circular room with windows on three sides. A lone bed stood in the middle.

"These are my rooms," he said proudly. "As eldest, I got my pick. I love the view from here."

We stood at the northernmost window, looking out. You could see all the way to the river. I saw the forest in the distance, my path to the real world. One where flying severed heads wasn't the norm.

I found the courage to speak my mind. "Cedric, tell me…am I anything more to you than breeding stock? Do you like me or even my looks at all? You never say a word."

"I haven't?"

I shook my head. "Not once."

God, I sounded pathetic. But it had been a horrible day and I needed to know where I stood with
this violent man, who now controlled my future. My safety rested in knowing my power over him―if I had any.

"Your hair is like a waterfall of autumn leaves. Your eyes are lovely, so like mine, but softer." His finger traced my mouth. "These lips call me cl
oser. And your shape, good lady, your shape drives me mad. These beautiful breasts…" He cupped them.

I thought about Thane, wishing these were his hands on me.

"I nearly grabbed you right in the church that first time I gazed upon you," he continued. "This tiny waist, these ample hips that are made for childbirth." His hands traced down my hips. "I even love this brand upon your shoulder. It reminds me how you stood in the clearing like a goddess, with your head held high, defying them, even as they stripped you."

He grabbed my hands. "There is not one thing I do not love about you, Lady. And love you I surely must or I wouldn't be playing with hellfire like I am."

"What do you mean?"

He put his mouth on mine and kissed me gently, then more deeply. The ache in me was agonizing. I leaned into him.

He laughed and held me off. "Always,
always,
you surprise me. Keep your need warm. I'll be back before long."

When he left, I felt a void. It was like the room had emptied of life itself. For a long while, I sat on the bed.

Sargon was dead. I was safe from him.

Though it was a relief, the horrible way in which it had happened would always haunt me. But I couldn't be sorry. I had been an abused wife in a world where women had no rights.

Was there anything worse?

But life with Cedric wouldn't be much better. This strange link between us disturbed me. I knew it had to be magic in origin, and it seemed to be getting stronger.

I brooded until men arrived, carrying our belongings. I busied myself by hanging the clothing away
in wardrobes. It looked as if all of my stuff had been collected―except for one thing.