Page 53 of Mastering their Maiden

Hoval stabbed Frayne. He stabbed him.

The older man stumbled, leaning into the wall of his hut. There was a table to his left, and he twisted to grab a mallet that lay on its surface. Two more Elders rushed forward, their backs to the forest, holding Frayne still while Hoval advanced. They stole the mallet out of his hand, and I strained while holding Aria against my chest, trying to turn her away from the scene.

I didn’t want her to see this. She shouldn’t have to see this.

But she refused to move, soft sobs breaking against my palm, her body fighting to break free so she could run in to save her friend. To save our friend.

I exchanged a quick look with Zander, confirming he echoed my thoughts. Frayne’s death wasn’t the end goal here. That wasn’t why Hoval and the others had trudged this far out into the woods. Something more sinister was happening, and Frayne was a pest in the way. If I let Aria rush forward to avenge him now, I’d be letting her rush to her death.

I couldn’t do that. Frayne wouldn’t want that.

The Elders still held Frayne, but he’d managed to lift his head and turn to look into the forest. His eyes narrowed slightly when Zander stood, then his expression relaxed when he saw Aria in my arms. Back where she belonged. Where she’d be safe.

Where she could avenge him and all the other wrongs done to her. With us at her side.

CHAPTER 19

Aria

Dex’s arms were so tight around me, and despite the conflicting emotions swirling through my chest where he was concerned, in this moment I was grateful for it. I was grateful that he was bigger than I was, that his arms were corded with muscle and his chest was solid. I was grateful that the hand he had clapped over my mouth was big enough to practically cover my whole face. It kept my voice quiet. Kept my scream contained.

Frayne.

Hoval pulled his arm back, and I saw the silver blade of the knife covered in dark red blood. And Frayne, my friend, the man who taught me to keep my shoulders back when I held a bow, who taught me how to use a dagger, who’d kept me sane in those months after Esme left… his face paled and his eyes squeezed shut.

He grunted in pain, so loud I could hear it from where we were hidden in the bushes. I knew the spot the knife had pierced, knew how deadly it could be. I’d stabbed Skepna like that to kill them. He would bleed out fast. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“Those women come out of those rituals filled with life,” Hoval hissed, the volume of his voice confirming his belief that they were alone. That this was a private kill no one would see or hold him or any of the men watching accountable for. So few people in our village knew of Frayne, and even less cared.

“They were born to serve us. Born to bear our sons and daughters, not become the playthings of those vile brutes from the mountain above,” Micah put in, taking the bloody knife from Hoval’s hand and wiping it on a cloth. “Though it doesn’t matter anymore. Soon any woman that has shared the bed of those monsters or borne them a child will be dead. The gods didn’t finish the job when they set out to wipe them from this planet, but we will. Our new alliance will see to that.”

Dex’s hold on me strengthened, and it was as though I could hear the unspoken question in his head. It rattled around in mine too.

Alliance?

The word ran circles in my head, and the reality of what Hoval said sank in when a few Skepna approached from the south, grunting as they wandered around the cabin.

He and the other Elders couldn’t be that foolish to try to align themselves with these beasts. They just couldn’t. And to what end? What did it accomplish?

Frayne gave voice to my questions almost as if he’d pulled them out of my head. His voice was weak and pained, and the Elders laughed before moving back and gesturing to the Skepna.

“I know life is leaving you, but don’t tell me your intelligence is fading so fast,” Micah sneered. “It’s retribution.”

“You remember what the king promised when he first came to our village,” Hoval explained. “Once he was finished with the women his men took, if he could not breed them, they would be returned. In poor shape, perhaps, but they would still have their wombs. Would be more compliant to our demands.”

Behind me Dex let out a low growl, and I watched Zander’s shoulders tighten as Hoval went on. “We’ve been denied what he promised. For years he’s given us nothing, even after we’ve aided him in eliminating Kavari who were undermining his plans. We’ve killed our own in the process and gotten nothing. Nothing but more Kavari undermining our rule, stealing our supplies, defiling our women. But it all ends tonight, as do you, because I will not risk you running off to warn those bastards of what’s to come.”

Dex squeezed me tighter, and I heard Zander whispering something in their harsh dialect as he moved back. They both tried to pull me with them, but I was frozen on the spot. My body was simultaneously stiff and limp. Ready to fight and ready to collapse out of grief. One Skepna moved over Frayne while the whole pack of them closed in on the cabin, and Dex managed to turn me away before the growling and snarling started. He whispered consoling phrases against my cheek, offering promises of vengeance and retribution.

But it all fell on ears that couldn’t process the words. All I could hear was my pounding heart, all I could think about was Frayne on the ground, Frayne’s soul ascending to the sky, and Hoval’s words. The confession he gave to a man about to die, assuring his secret would stay safe.

For years he’s given us nothing, even after we’ve aided him in eliminating Kavari who were undermining his plans. We’ve killed our own in the process and gotten nothing.

We’ve killed our own in the process…

Dex slung me over his shoulder, and we were running. The branches seemed to part for him and Zander, whether by magic or the sheer size and speed of them racing back to the village. I clung to Dex’s tunic, breathing hard while images of the gruesome killing of my friend mingled with Hoval’s confession.

Killed our own in the process. Killed our own…

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