Page 5 of The Barbarian's Claim
Orn’s face flashed with annoyance. “To care for him, he would need to be an actual person. He’s not. He won’t speak, he won’t interact. He refuses to learn the language. He is a shell with no personality. Forgive me for not thinking of him first, after I was injured in battle.” He pointed to his arm, which was bandaged. I lunged for him, ripping the bandage away. The injury was inconsequential. I’d survived alone in the forest with much worse. Disgust filled me, and I shoved him away.
“You have no honor. You are a disgrace to your people.”
His mouth fell open, indignant. “You said he was with you! He is obviously fine!”
I didn’t care to think what would have happened to the tribute had he not come to me. If I’d figured things out without his warning and gone to do my job, I might have missed him. I hadn’t realized they were taking so many male tributes. I knew of Simon and of Finn the year prior, but no others. I wouldn’t have thought to ask, and the Fer’na could have dragged him away. The things they did to their tributes were abhorrent. I’dmade the request to Orthorr to put an end to them before. He refused. Our clan had fighters, but not enough to battle the Fer’na. He wouldn’t take the risk.
Fury scorched through me like a forest fire, and I found myself reaching for the sword at my belt. I wanted to gut Orn for being so careless with another’s life. I did not wish to call him brother any longer.
A hand rested on my forearm, stalling me, and I whipped around with a snarl. Rath, ever patient, didn’t flinch away from me. He spoke low, and the only sign of his anger was the tightness in his voice.
“We will bring him to Uttin. He will decide the punishment. You cannot dispense judgment without trial first.”
“Trial?” Orn squawked. “I did my duty! I protected him when the Fer’na arrived and told him to run and hide! He did so! He is unharmed! Why would I need to face trial?”
Rath turned his dark gaze toward Orn. “Had you done your duty, you would have searched for him when you realized he was missing. An entire night passed with no one knowing he was gone. Anything could have happened to him. All because you do not enjoy his company?”
Orn grimaced, then his face twisted into a scowl. “Einar said nothing, either. He could have told me sooner that my tribute was with him.”
I scoffed at his pathetic attempt to shift blame. “I did not know who he belonged to.”
That only seemed to incense him more. “Because he wouldn’t tell you, correct? He is just as much to blame as I am. Had he spoken up for once?—”
“Enough,” Rath said with a scowl. “You will not place blame on a frightened tribute. You will come with me now to see Uttin, or you will be dragged there. Choose.”
For a moment, it looked as though Orn would continue to argue. But he must have decided it wasn’t worth going up against me and Rath both. Rath could not beat me in skill, but he was formidable, and none who wished to survive dared challenge him. Orn shoved to his feet, muttering under his breath about how males should not be tributes and how cowardly the one he was given was. Rath had to restrain me from reaching for him again. Only once he was out of sight, led away by a few warriors, did he release me.
“Be at ease, brother. I will make sure he is truthful with Uttin. Can you bring the tribute to the discussion, or would you prefer I ask another?”
It didn’t matter if someone else fetched the tribute or not; I was going to be part of that discussion. Orn’s dishonor would not stand.
“I will fetch him,” I growled. “If Orn runs, you tell Uttin I will track him myself, but I will not bring him back alive.”
Rath nodded once before walking away to deliver my warning. I turned my attention to the others who had sat with Orn and joked as though nothing was wrong. “You are as much to blame as he is. You knew he was a protector. Had the tribute turned up dead, his blood would be on your hands as well.”
I walked away without a word, leaving them spluttering behind me. I did not wish to hear their excuses, and the next person who pissed me off might not be so lucky as to have someone step in to stop me. I stopped outside my tent, taking a few deep breaths. It would not do to scare the tribute. I didn’t wish to hear him crying. After the discussion with Uttin, he would be given to another, and I could start packing. I was reluctant to leave my clan unprotected so soon after an attack, but I needed space from them. The disgust I felt for Orn tainted the entire village.
Ducking into my tent, I found the tribute where I’d left him. He looked as though he were lost in thought, a forlorn look on his face. I wasn’t sure why he had that look, but it didn’t matter.
“We will go now to talk to Uttin. You need a new protector.”
Four
MATTHEW
My stomach dropped at his words. I knew Orn had gotten injured in the attack, but I didn’t think he’d have lost the fight. He was a strong warrior. I’d seen him spar with others. I couldn't imagine someone getting the best of him.
I thought about asking what had happened, but from the annoyance on the barbarian’s face, he didn’t want to explain it to me. I doubted he wanted me here at all. He seemed disgruntled that I was still here come morning. I’d thought that was what he wished when he told me to stay out of sight, but apparently, I was more stupid than I thought. I should have gone back to Orn’s tent when the sounds of battle stopped.
My chest ached, both from Orn’s death and this barbarian’s determination to get rid of me. Was there ever going to be a time when someone wished for me to be there?
Shakily, I stood, carefully moving his bag aside to step around it. His brows furrowed a little, but I dropped my gaze to avoid his irritated glare, watching my feet as I followed himout of his tent. I felt eyes on me as I walked through the village, and I wrapped my arms around my middle to give myself some comfort.
We walked in silence to the village center and into the tent where I’d been brought when I first arrived. Lots of important things happened either here or just outside in the village center. I’d learned a little about the clan, mostly by watching and seeing how people interacted. I wished I’d been confident enough to tell Orn that before he died. He was trying to protect me, he obviously cared enough to do that, and?—
I came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the tent. Orn was kneeling next to a barbarian I recognized, the one who had picked me up from my village, with two more holding his shoulders to keep him there. Shock and elation that he hadn’t died quickly morphed into confusion. What was happening?
The one who’d protected me the night before didn’t even look at me. He crossed his arms, glowered at Orn, and stayed silent, ignoring my questioning gaze. When I glanced at my protector, he didn’t look pleased to see me, and his sneer made the one next to me growl. Orn seemed afraid of the one next to me, because he dropped his gaze like I often did, scowling at the floor instead.
