Page 48 of Oaths & Vengeance
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him, but I tried.”
The remorse I’d witnessed in her eyes had told me as much, but I couldn’t forgive her role entirely. Aella would pay a price for it. “When the time comes, you’ll have to open a portal into Therress for me to exact my revenge.”
She pulled away from my chest and averted her gaze. “Of course.”
If I’d had a heart, the resignation in her voice would have bothered me. Good thing I didn’t. “Glad you understand.”
I took Aella to the village and forced her to witness the death and destruction her uncle had wrought. Smoke and the cries of the dying filled the air. Her eyes grew watery at seeing the bodies of slain men, women, and children. Many of them were maimed in inconceivable ways. I made her look at all of them because she needed to see the reason I had to exact retribution and why she must assist me with it.
My wife didn’t say a word and kept her back straight, as far from me as feasible while riding astride together. I drew my arm from her waist and avoided touching her as much as possible, too. She’d never be a real spouse to me, but I had a feeling I’d eventually lose my internal struggle to avoid bedding her once my anger over this battle abated.
I might be heartless, but I wasn’t blind to the pull between us, and by law, she belonged to me. Eventually, we would consummate our marriage. Her response each time I kissed her told me she wouldn’t refuse if I put my full effort into convincing her. Every time I saw her, the urge to claim her grew stronger.
My forces spent two hours gathering and transporting the dead Therressians to the portal. We’d lost more than seventy innocents and thirty soldiers. Sixty-two troops died on my wife’s side. My fury grew by the moment. As we surveyed the destruction, I barely spoke to her.
I would have preferred not to have her warm, beautiful body close to mine for so long, but it couldn’t be helped. Some of my people would kill her, given the chance. They certainly gave her enough scathing looks after the word spread about who rode with me. As we returned to the portal, she kept opening her mouth as if to say something and then closing it.
Finally, I had enough. “What?”
She startled and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Say it.” I was rapidly losing patience.
Aella sighed. “As soon as I heard their screams, I tried running to the village to do something. I’m sorry they wouldn’t let me.”
“How did they stop you?” I asked, thinking if she could shove me into a wall and hold me there, nothing should have held her back.
She clenched her hands. “My uncle had two guards stay with me to keep me safe, but I usually only have one. I should have known something was wrong, and he also left my cousin to watch me. They held me down and cuffed me in iron.”
I cursed. She would have been powerless, but it made no sense. “Why would they be prepared for you to cause trouble?”
“Because the last time I discovered my uncle was ravaging this village, I used my wind power to stop as many of his soldiers as I could,” she said, staring out into the darkness of the passing woods. “Afterward, I told him if he did it again, I would refuse to open any more portals to Veronna for him.”
That explained why it had stopped for years, though not long enough. “So, will you cease aiding him now?”
“I’ll try, but he has ways of forcing me.”
I grunted. Aella’s response seemed rather hollow if she wouldn’t commit fully. The victims of tonight’s tragedy wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer, nor would I.
“Trying isn’t good enough,” I said, beginning the next stage of my plan for her.
“But I…” she began.
“Don’t,” I interrupted. “Perhaps the best place for you is confined here in Veronna, where your uncle cannot use you anymore.”
I stopped the horse just before the ring and pile of bodies. A dozen of my soldiers waited to begin pushing them through, and most had pointed glares for Aella. She held her chin high, which surprised me under the circumstances. I dismounted my horse and pulled her to the ground.
“Open the portal,” I ordered.
She took a few steps forward, drew her bag of holmium dust from her trouser pocket, and began spinning her magic toward the ring. In seconds, she had it open. The male and female soldiers immediately started work, moving the bodies into the soft glow. They had to toss them hard to ensure they’d not pile in front of the other end and block the way. We had no way of knowing if anyone was on the other end to receive them.
Once they were through, Aella stepped forward as if she thought to escape.
I grabbed her arms. “No, you’re not going back.”
“The curse,” she said, touching the back of her neck with her free hand. “If it perceives that I can’t or won’t return, I’ll be unconscious until my uncle retrieves me.”
I smiled. “That’s what I’m counting on happening.”
