Page 10 of Sword of Rage
Rayne joined them, carrying two skinned rabbits. “We can’t stay here,” he whispered. “Two miles to the east, Russek troops are moving south.” Rayne skewered the rabbits on a stick, putting them over the fire to cook.
Rubbing her face, she wondered if her parents were alive. If Russek was pushing south toward Landania, her town had probably been overrun. Did her parents manage to make it out safely? Or had she lost everyone she loved?
Harley inched closer to the fire, wanting to warm her freezing hands. When she reached forward, she noticed the bruises on her wrists again. She shivered, remembering her first time with Lyle. After their wedding ceremony, he’d taken her to his house. Instead of entering through the front door, he’d led her in the back, which went to the kitchen. There, he explained that he expected her to prepare three hot meals a day for him. Then he shoved her onto the table where he pinned her wrists behind her back. He said he didn’t want to see her ugly face as he rammed himself inside of her. She remembered telling herself it was better to be on her stomach where she couldn’t see him, either. Once he’d finished, he’d ordered her to cook supper. Given her station in life, she’d never cooked anything before and had no idea what to do. She remembered sitting on the floor, crying, nasty bruises forming on her wrists.
“Are you okay?” Ledger asked, startling Harley.
Shoving the memories aside, she forced a smile on her face. “I want to thank you for killing that Russek soldier earlier today.” She’d been through enough with Lyle and didn’t need to be abused by another man.
He nodded. “We were running by. I heard you scream. I shot him before I even realized what he was doing.”
“He didn’t.” Not that she needed to explain anything to him; however, she wanted him to know that he’d not only saved her life, but he’d prevented her from being violated. “You stopped him in time,” she clarified.
The three men all focused on the fire, each probably lost in memories of what they saw and experienced at the castle.
“I wish we could have helped others,” Ledger muttered.
Milard peered over at Harley. “I’m sorry for your loss. My father was killed at the castle. It was a quick death. Nothing like what you witnessed with your brother and the royal family.”
She couldn’t think about them being tortured and executed. There were only so many horrific things she could handle. And the last twenty-four hours had provided her with more than enough to last a lifetime.
“Let’s just get to Kreng quickly,” she said. Having something to focus on gave her purpose and kept her mind from dwelling on the evilness she’d encountered. In order to make Hollis’s death, along with the deaths of her aunt, uncle, and cousins, mean something, she had to rid the kingdom of Russek. And she needed to find Owen so he could retake the throne.
Ledger withdrew his sword, placing it over the fire. Milard and Rayne did the same, looking at her, expectation written across their faces.
Harley raised her eyebrows in question. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I don’t know what this means.”
“We’re making a vow,” Ledger explained. “Do you have a weapon?”
When she shook her head, Rayne reached into his boot, withdrawing a dagger and handing it to her.
She took the weapon, sticking it over the fire as the others had done. Hers wasn’t long enough to reach the tips of their swords, so she placed her tip against Rayne’s blade.
“We vow here and now,” Ledger said, “to seek vengeance for the murders and destruction committed by the hands of Russek soldiers. We will not rest until King Owen is on the throne and Melenia is once again under our control.”
Everyone grunted in agreement, then removed their swords from the licking flames. Harley went to give the weapon back to Rayne.
“Keep it,” he said, waving his hand at her. “You need something to defend yourself with.”
“Speaking of defending myself,” she said, “can you teach me how to use this thing?” She didn’t even know how to hold it properly. Whenever she’d asked Lyle, he’d insisted a woman had no business touching a weapon.
The three men sitting alongside her all smiled. But it was Ledger who said, “We’ll protect you. I promise.”
That was when Harley realized her old life was truly gone, and nothing would be like it was before.
Ackley
Ackley leaned over the railing of the ship. The ocean water slammed against the side of it as they sailed closer to Melenia. It had been almost two weeks and his stomach still felt like a raging storm. The first day aboard, he’d understood it. Expected it. But the entire miserable trip?
“Your sister asked me to come and check on you,” Gytha said from behind him.
He peered over his shoulder, glaring at the warrior woman. From the moment she climbed on board, she’d had her sea legs, not sick at all. He resented her for it. As usual, Gytha’s thick black hair had been pulled back into her signature braid, accentuating the angles of her high cheekbones and tanned skin. The muscles in her arms were well defined—especially for a woman. If he had to choose one word to describe her, it would be formidable.
“Just so you know, we’re almost there.” She stood alongside him. There had always been an easy companionship between them. “Then you can stop heaving up your insides. Maybe regain your weight.” She chuckled. “This must kill you—being the weakest one on the ship.”
Ackley took a deep breath, trying not to let her comment sting. She was right, though. Being sick the entire two weeks across the Wendan Ocean proved him incompatible with the sea. And here he’d always thought he could overcome anything. The realization that there were some things he could not master only infuriated him all the more.
Maybe if the water didn’t move so much, he wouldn’t feel so awful. At least they were supposed to reach landfall tomorrow. He’d been diligently counting down the days until his head would stop being a bowl of mushed oatmeal and his stomach wouldn’t expel the food he attempted to consume.
