Page 31 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

Chapter 14

I was about to find out just how much restraint that promise would require of Weyland.

When we rode back into the keep, he wisely stayed in human form, not willing to give my father’s knights a pretext to kill him. There were few people manning the gate and those guards that were on duty marked our passing with heated eyes, but that was all. Most of the keep’s inhabitants seemed to be gathered around the courtyard. Nordred was waiting in the adjacent stable yards to grab the bridle when we slid off Poll’s back, and he fussed over the horse for a moment before turning to me.

“You need to be on your guard, milady.” The older man cast a suspicious eye over the crowd. “The men have got their blood up and I think His Grace mistook their mood in agreeing to their deal. Know your own heart, lass, because events are shifting. You want to make sure you know where you want to land.”

“You said that Weyland was my future,” I said in a sharp whisper.

“Everything I know says he is.” The horse master glanced down at me. “But that means nothing beside the murmurings of your own heart. What does it want? That’s what you need to work out. I can tell you this or that, but if what I say goes against what your heart knows to be true, it won't matter a damn. Now, let’s see these young bucks clash.”

“No armour, warg?”Kris sneered, himself kitted out in full regalia, slicing his sword through the air. “I guess we couldn’t expect something that civilised from you.”

“I guess you could call it civilised, sitting inside a glorified cooking pot because you’re too scared to fight me without it. Plenty of you town dwellers feel the same fear.” Weyland scanned the crowd with a slow smile.

The mob responded with a loud clamour of cheers and swords thumped down on metal shields, each one painted with their heraldic markings. Gradually the hubbub fell to quiet and I turned around to see my father and the three other princes walking into the courtyard.

“Brother,” Dane said, strolling closer, “you’ve been busy.”

“I caught this one trying to steal our mate,” Weyland said, jerking his thumb in Kris’ direction.

“And his head is still on his body?” Dane said mildly. “How?”

“I assumed that bathing our mate in the blood of the usurper wouldn’t have the same effect on a human woman as it would one of ours.” He spared me a sidelong look, then winked. “She says she has feelings for him.”

“Then you’ll need to reveal him for the pitiful excuse of a man that he is,” Axe growled, throwing Weyland a massive battle axe. “Wet her blade, let her drink his blood.”

“But don’t kill him.” The other three stared at Gael who glanced at them briefly before turning back to me. “If he’s perfected by death, he’ll live long in her heart. All flaws will be forgotten, all strengths magnified beyond recognition. Darcy needs to see what kind of man he is before she can truly make her choice.”

My eyes narrowed down to slits, my teeth gritting hard, because right now, I was sure I had made my choice. All the doubts I felt before were blasted away by their heavy-handed assumptions. These princes thought they just had to beat their chests and I’d come running. They couldn’t have been more wrong. But as my father joined us, I swallowed down all show of reaction.

“I’ll strip him of his rank, no matter how this goes, Your Highnesses.” I shivered at my father’s words then, my eyes searching the crowd for Kris. He glowed in the midday sunlight, the light reflecting off his armour that was soon to be taken from him in one way or another. “The lad comes from good stock, and he looked promising. My commander was discussing the possibility of elevating the jumped-up little bastard, but”—Father’s focus shifted to me—“he’s obviously already got ideas above his station.”

My heart sank like a stone, falling, falling.

“No matter how skilled he might be with the sword, he was never going to be good enough to marry my daughter. Some of these boys, they read the old epics like they were historical texts, thinking that they are heirs to some long-lost code of chivalry.” Father snorted out his laughter at that. “If he’d just served his king and his liege lord, he would’ve been fine but…”

“We’ll punish the boy for his transgressions against our mate, Your Grace, and then you can deal with him as you wish,” Dane said.

“Thank you for your understanding in this,” Father replied with a nod of his head. “I’ll be having a long, hard conversation with my daughter about such a lapse in judgement.”

“We sign the agreement tonight,” Weyland said, dragging me closer and tucking me into his side. “You get your ore; we claim the girl.”

Father’s eyes lit up at that, then he strove to quickly smother it.

“Of course, Your Highnesses. Current events must have put immense pressure on you,” he said with an oily smile before stepping forward.

“Sir Kristoff has been challenged to a duel for the offence of tarrying with another man’s betrothed,” Father announced.

“They’re not exactly men though, are they?” someone said, the crowd erupting until Father held up a hand.

“I won’t argue semantics in my own bloody courtyard! Darcy is promised to the Strelan princes and everyone knows this. Sir Kristoff is accused of seeking to undermine an offer I personally endorsed, and he will answer those charges today. The gods themselves will decide in trial by combat whether or not he is innocent, whether or not he will retain his title and position as a knight of the realm.”

I watched Kris pale then, his grip loosening on his sword before he forced himself to grab it tighter.

“This will not be a battle to the death but to…?”

He looked at Weyland, who just smirked. “Third blood.”

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