She had no way to restrain herself from speaking the truth. It was the curse of her gift.
“Did he force yer favors or did you give yerself to him freely?” His fingers bit into her skin as he ground out the question, his voice quiet with deadly intent.
“Freely.” It mattered not now. All her secrets were revealed. “I offered myself to him freely.”
He reached to her neck and fastened his fingers around the cord hanging there to rip the bag from her. The cord sliced into her skin before it gave way and he held it aloft, baring his teeth.
“And these paltry bits of wood? They’re to represent the two of you together, are they no?”
“One for each of us, yes.”
“Yer but a Tinkler whore.” He spat the epithet, and threw the bag to the floor before shoving her to her knees. “After all the years I’ve denied myself what I wanted, you tainted yer purity by giving yerself to that commoner. Yer no better than yer mother.”
She glared up at him, no longer making any attempt to disguise her hatred and loathing. “Given the choice, brother, I’d rather be a Tinkler whore than a wastrel who murdered his own father. I ken what you did to our father. I saw with my own eyes when I traveled the Visions of Urd’s world.”
She’d seen it all. Seen him prepare the potion and slip it into their father’s ale. Seen him wait, watching over Alfor’s final moments.
His expression changed as she spoke, as if calm determination had replaced whatever he’d felt before.
“Perhaps you’ll beg for Alfor’s fate before I’ve done with you, Christiana.” He dropped to his knees in front of her as he spoke, a vile grin curving hislips. “When Ulfr and Artur return with Noble’s severed head, I’ll present it to you as payment for the gift yer about to give to me.”
“What gift?”
“The only one that’s fair. The only one I want. The commoner sampled yer pleasures, and now so shall I.”
Surely he only sought to frighten her.
“But yer my brother,” she denied, attempting to scramble back from his grasp. “My own blood. Even you canna consider such an abomination.”
He laughed. “I am Torquil of Katanes, heir to Odin. I can do anything that pleases me. And right now...” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her face to within inches of his. “Right now nothing will please me so much as having you.”
She swung her cup at his head but he deflected her attack with his shoulder, shoving her to her back, banging her head to the floor and knocking the wind from her lungs before he crawled on top of her.
His knee pressed down, forcing her legs apart as she struggled to catch her breath.
She wasn’t strong enough to fight him like this. She needed a weapon.
The pot! It was small but heavy, and the iron would still hold the heat of the fire.
She stretched out her arm and her fingers closed around the handle, waiting for her chance.
When he lifted his hand from her shoulder, sheswung the iron pot up and around with all her strength.
The pot caught him in the center of his back and he yelled out in pain, arching away from her.
As his weight shifted she kicked for all she was worth, shoving him, the blankets, everything toward the fireplace as she scrambled to her feet and ran for the door.
He roared in anger, recovering much faster than she had hoped.
His hand tangled in her hair, jolting her to a stop and dragging her back to him, slamming her against his chest.
“Nothing worth having is worth having without a fight, is it, little sister?” he panted into her ear as he wrapped one arm around her midsection and slammed her face-first onto the table.
She lifted her arms just in time to shield her face but the table edge caught her across her stomach, forcing the wind from her lungs. Before she could move, Torquil’s weight was on top of her, his arms pinning hers above her head, his mouth hot next to her ear.
“You canna escape me, little sister. I’m as willing to take you from behind as from the front.” With his free hand, he lifted the skirt of her nightgown to trace his hand up her bare leg. “At least the first time.”
“No, no, no!” she screamed, bucking her head back toward his, rejoicing when she hit his face and he grunted in pain.
