Page 55 of Beholden
Chapter
19
Vilmar
My insides quavereduncontrollably, though I attempted to remain outwardly composed. As several guards brought ashore the iron cage I’d asked to have on hand, I kept one eye on Gabriella, now freed from her chains and standing beside Curly. Her interaction with the berserker had been too risky. And I hadn’t yet recovered from helplessly watching her kneel before the madman.
Of course, I couldn’t deny her plan to calm the berserker had worked better than anything I’d construed. In fact, she was brilliant to sing and lull him into a state of trust. What I didn’t understand was why she hadn’t slit his throat the way I’d taught her. Instead, she’d reached out and touched the madman, almost as if she felt compassion instead of fear.
She was fortunate Grendel hadn’t reached out in return and sliced her open. I had expected it at any moment, was ready to throw my seax at the first sight of his. I held back only because I knew the best way to defeat him was to capture him beneath the net of chain mail and hinder his movements. Even then, our fight would have been brutal and deadly, if not for Gabriella’s beautiful voice soothing him again.
An ache pulsed through my chest at how close I’d come to losing her. I wanted to race over, scold her for taking such a risk, then crush her in an embrace and never let her go. But I held myself back. For now, I had to make sure Grendel was secured, caged, and on his way back to Scania.
I’d previously sent word to Lord Kennard to secure means of transportation. I didn’t want to leave any details to the queen for fear she’d purposefully set the berserker free to serve her own purposes again. In fact, I planned to accompany the berserker back to Scania, and I wouldn’t rest until Grendel was locked away in the dungeons.
“Use the extra chains to bind him to the cage,” I called to the soldiers now hefting him behind the metal bars. Faces pale with fear, they worked quickly, rushing to finish their contact with the berserker before he roused and roared out again, more furious than before.
Though my father’s capture of the other berserkers had been long ago, I still recalled how one had torn himself free from a rope of hemp and a cage of wood. Iron was the only material strong enough to contain berserkers when they were raging.
The soldiers closed the cage and secured it with several more chains. With the madman finally locked away, the thick iron gate at the side of the arena began to clank as it rose. It protected a stone stairway that led to the cliffs above, the only way in and out of the arena except for the lake.
I attempted to breathe out the tension still holding me in its vise. We were safe. Neither Gabriella nor any other maiden need fear the yearly sacrifice ever again.
“Congratulations, Your Highness.” Lord Kennard ducked under the still-rising gate and onto the grassy field. He and another nobleman skirted the dead sheep and veered toward me. “The people above are awaiting a word from you.”
The cheering, whistling, and clapping had subsided. But from what I could see, the crowds on the cliffs had grown in size, not diminished.
“News of Grendel’s demise is being shouted from the rooftops,” Lord Kennard said, as though reading my question. “And the townspeople have come out of hiding to witness the glorious occasion. Hundreds are gathering above to see their heroes.”
Upon reaching me, he knelt, as did his companion. I dipped my head in acknowledgment of their respect. I could no longer conceal my identity as a Prince of Scania. From the moment I’d revealed myself at the ball, apparently the word had spread even to Curly and the other men from the mine, who’d bowed before me when I’d met with them to make our plans.
Of the men, only Curly had spoken to me in the same manner he always had, as if my royalty was of no consequence. I realized then that I would not miss the kingship, that I could grow accustomed to remaining a simple prince. Mikkel would make a worthy king in my stead. I need not worry about the country’s welfare under his rule.
My experience in the mines had stripped away everything and shown me just how conceited I truly was. My whole life, I’d placed too much pride in myself and my connections with important nobility and the Lagting. I’d striven to please people and gain their acceptance for my own betterment rather than for what I could do for them.
And now, I knew that even if being the slave of all was difficult, serving others brought more contentment than being served. Was it possible that in sacrificing, one gained more than one gave? That only in laying down one’s life could one truly learn to live?
My attention strayed to Gabriella, still at Curly’s side. Her life was proof of that. She gave of herself day after day in countless ways to others, and she never ran out of herself. In fact, she seemed to have a boundless supply of kindness that had somehow spilled over to Grendel.
Lord Kennard rose, and though a smile graced his face, his eyes were much too solemn. “I suggest that you address the people, Your Highness. If the queen hears their praise, she may delay your arrest.”
“Arrest?” My gaze darted to the throne, but the queen was no longer in her spot. “On what charges?”
Even as the question left my lips, I knew the answer. Word of the slave revolt had reached her. Maybe she’d even known of it before I made my way into the pit to fight Grendel but hadn’t expected me to live. Now that I had, she planned to use the revolt against me.
“She is telling her loyal guards you must be arrested because you set the worst criminals in the kingdom free from slavery.” Lord Kennard lowered his voice to a whisper. “Her guards are even now waiting in the stairwell for you to pass through so they might secretly take you away.”
I glanced through the open gate. A torch in the wall glowed brightly, revealing the tunnel that led to the stairwell. “If I rally the people to my side, then you think she will have no choice but to let me leave this place as a free man?”
“We can only pray so. At least for the time being, until she has time to sway their opinion against you.” He lowered his voice. “If she lays hold of you, Your Highness, I fear you will never leave Warwick alive.”
I feared the same. Not only for myself but also for Gabriella. The queen would find a way to silence us both.
“After you speak to the people and while everyone is celebrating, you must sneak away across the lake and find your way out of Warwick secretly.”
I nodded my assent. Perhaps I would suggest feasting and celebrating all night long right here in the field. And when the rejoicing was at its height, I could slip away unnoticed with Gabriella.
But with so dangerous a madman still alive, how could I run away? “I must ensure Grendel’s safe removal from this country. I cannot rest until I know he’s returned to my homeland.”
