Page 4 of Through Battle and Blades (The Wolf Queen 2)

“And what would you need me for, young wolf?”

We all turned to see the priestess had arrived, and she stood a short distance away, her hands resting on her cane, some of the Wolf Maidens clustered at her back.

“Darcy, my mate…” Dane paused to glance down at me and for a split second, his eyes softened. “She has challenged my mother, the queen, to a duel to the death this morning.”

“Has she indeed?”

There were a lot of things in Aeve’s expression, but surprise wasn’t one of them, which made me think of Pepin and her wolf headdress for some reason.

“Then we must be off to the castle,” the priestess continued, “before anything rash could take place. Hopefully, the queen will remember her lore. A duel to the death can only happen under the dark of the moon, because it is a rite sacred to the Morrigan. It also ties the lives of the two challengers together until such time as the goddess can make her ruling on who should survive. If one should die beforehand…?”

Aeve was an older woman, but she was well preserved, a strange kind of serene beauty shining through despite the effects of age. But right now, it was hard to see it. She smiled then, her teeth flashing in the morning light streaming in through the windows, her eyes glittering. She looked like a death’s head for a moment, the bones in her face almost pushing through the skin.

“If one dies before the challenge can take place, both die. One does not rob Lady Death of the opportunity to make her choice. Now, let us be off. The castle will just be beginning to rise after the night’s frivolities. A perfect time for the challenge to be officially witnessed.”

And at that, we were left to stare at her ramrod straight spine as she strode away.

2

“Ah, so that’s where the little outlander got to,” Aurora purred as we walked into an immense dining room. The distance between the doorway and the very long table seemed too far and not far enough as she smirked. “She snuck into my chamber, my king, and laid a blade against my throat. I have a cut right here.”

She pointed to the tiny wound, the trickle of blood having been left to dry there.

“I sent my men to bring the little wench to justice, but she scurried away like a rat to her hole.”

“And you didn’t see fit to deal with the threat yourself?” the king asked.

Aurora had been smiling like the cat that got the cream, so it was a lovely thing, to see that fail. Her smile sputtered out like a wick lazing on the surface of molten wax. She glanced across at the king from her seat at his right hand, and so did everyone else here. Not a full court, that was for certain, but enough people to serve as a witness. Cutlery was laid to one side, fingers wiped on napkins as they waited to see what was about to go down.

“Well, no, I wasn’t going to dignify—”

“Dignify what, Mother?” Dane had come to the training room looking like a wreck, but there was none of that now. He stepped forward, placing his hands on the back of the empty chair at the end of the table, the wood creaking as his grip tightened. “What did Darcy say that didn’t merit a response?”

“I—” Aurora said, her smile scrubbed so thoroughly from her face it was as if the king himself had slapped it off her.

“Be aware that this is a holy day, my queen,” Aeve said, moving to take her position by Dane. “We celebrate the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, for her gifts and to acknowledge her power.”

In other words, don’t lie.

The priestess nodded slowly then and Aurora, she did the same, though much more reluctantly.

“The outlander has challenged me—” the queen tried to say, but the twittering that went up around the table stopped her mid sentence. I took my place at Dane’s back and people noted the way my hands wrapped around the hilts of my swords. “She challenged me to a duel to the death,” Aurora finally ground out.

I’m not sure how I expected King Ulfric to respond. With anger perhaps, to be bristling with a need to protect his mate, as mine did right now. But Aurora wasn’t his mate, and he’d left his true mate back in Grania, so in the end, that was unlikely. Instead, I found a pair of steely blue eyes seeking and holding my gaze. I felt seen for the first time, and that wasn’t an entirely pleasant thing.

While Dane looked like Aurora, Weyland was the son that looked the most like his father. But with a crown perched on his carefully brushed golden hair, it was hard to see any of Weyland’s humour or sweetness in him. He seemed to evaluate me, having overlooked me before, searching for what it was that would make me think to challenge his queen and earn the loyalty of his sons.

But he’d never know that.

“Then you must meet this challenge,” Ulfric said, glancing at his wife long enough to see her go pale, then her jaw firmed. “At the next dark of the moon?”

“At the next dark of the moon,” Mother Aeve confirmed with a nod, before surveying the table. “It goes without saying, of course, that the life of the queen and the life of Darcy are now one until Lady Death has her time to make a ruling. Any harm that comes to Darcy will be visited threefold on the queen.” There was a low murmur of protest from the end of the table, but that was soon hushed. “And if Darcy is killed, then the queen will be executed on the duelling grounds.”

“And vice versa. Of course, Mother,” Ulfric said, inclining his head. “Everyone assembled here is familiar with the laws of duelling.”

“Though perhaps they need a reminder about the laws surrounding fated mates?” Dane snapped, instantly killing the fragile peace Ulfric might have established. “Mother Aeve, what is the punishment for trying to get between a pack and their true mate?”

The priestess shifted where she stood, seeming to understand that she was becoming a political bone for the wolves of court to tussle over. She let out a little sigh and then replied.

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