Page 362 of Arousing Family

Kaer turned his head, but not before Eirik saw the grief that cut his face open. "The verdict was written," the boy said hoarsely. "She was a traitor. There was nothing I could do. She—" his voice broke. "She should have been Queen."

Eirik took two short steps and dragged Kaer into his arms. He pulled him close, pressing his lips into his wet hair and ignoring Alfdis's shocked expression. Kaer buried his face in Eirik's chest and shook.

Alfdis's voice was just barely audible. "War comes."

Eirik shook his head. "The war is here. They tried to kill him, too," he told Alfdis. "I found him right after I left you, lying unconscious in the snow. I fought a pair of child beasties for him, and carried him here to warm him." He paused, cheeks burning, and went on. "Then you found us."

Alfdis's golden brow rose, but she didn't comment on the obvious gap in his timeline. "You defeated a pair of shape wreakers by yourself?" she asked instead.

Eirik scowled at her and she raised her hands in defensive apology. She eyed Kaer with a resigned laugh. "You always did have a weakness for the things you had to save." She tapped a finger against her chin. "And for beauty," she added innocently. "So what now?"

Eirik squeezed Kaer and released him. "Now, we go home," he said firmly. He caught Kaer's gaze to confirm this was still agreed. The young man's eyes were full of sorrow, but he nodded slightly.

With some reluctance, the boys left their steaming sanctuary and moved swiftly to pull on their clothing. "Later," Eirik continued as they dressed, "we can worry about kings and wars and why Alfdis the Half Hidden will be staying far away from both." He glared meaningfully at his sister.

"Save your decrees, priest's son, for when you are Lawspeaker," Alfdis shot back. "Or did you want to talk about kings and wars, and which one of those is okay to bed with?" She dodged his lobbed handful of snow adroitly.

"This is not over," she informed him solemnly, crossing her arms across her chest. "You keep your king, but I will not run away from the loyalty owed to my huldufolk kin. They might be hidden, but they're as much my family as you are, Eirik." Her gazed flicked to Kaer. "Your Highness understands," she prompted.

Kaer looked at her sadly. "Better than you, Alfdis Halkellsdottir." He spoke for the first time since hearing confirmation of his sister's death. "Tell me, did you understand my sister's crime?"

"She—she betrayed your family," Alfdis faltered. "She plotted with your enemies to defeat your own father's plans."

"She was used, and cleverly, by those enemies," Kaer corrected her grimly. "She was raised as heir to the Hidden Throne, and taught to think of what was best for all huldufolk."

Alfdis hesitated. "Halkell says that as your father aged, he used the throne more and more to the advantage of your family, at the expense of others."

Kaer nodded. "My older sister was idealistic, and impulsive, and too fearless by half. She trusted wrongly, and was betrayed."

Comprehension darkened Alfdis's face. "It was a brilliant blow against your family, wasn't it? Her betrayers brought proof."

Kaer nodded again. "Proof," he said mildly, "that the heir had broken the highest law."

"Loyalty to the family."

Kaer's expression was bleak. "Our father could either deny the truth of their claims, an impossible flouting of our oldest laws that would certainly have turned most families against him, or he could follow our ways and execute his heir."

"You think he chose wrongly." It wasn't quite a question.

"That would be treason, wouldn't it?" Kaer's smile was sharp and self-mocking. "You think you understand, but consider this—it was the law of family loyalty that gave our father the right to kill his daughter. You are young, Alfdis."

Alfdis reddened, not in a graceful blush but with her characteristic temper. Eirik, tugging on his boots, almost lost his balance when she didn't snap a sharp retort at the huldu prince. Somehow, the boy's ability to silence Alfdis was far more intimidating than his royalty.

Kaer considered her as he tucked his billowy white undershirt into his trousers. "I can understand why you would think avoiding this war would mean running away from my family."

Eirik's heart soared, even as Alfdis's jaw unhinged in astonishment. "You're not going back?" She sucked in her breath. "But you—you're the heir now."

Kaer flinched. He fumbled with the laces of his overshirt. "I can ignore the call, with some effort," he said tersely. He didn't look at Eirik. "But not forever. Eventually, like any huldufolk, only my death would keep me from the paths."

Alfdis shifted uncomfortably. "The families are naming you dead, or turned traitor yourself."

"They would know if I were dead, and there will be no treachery." Kaer shook his head. "I won't make my father kill me, too." Anger and anguish warred briefly on his face; anger won. "But I have no wish to fight anyone's war. Least of all that of a King who would sacrifice his own daughter and the huldufolk's best hope for a future ruler, all for the empty promise of a few more years peace."

Eirik wanted to take Kaer into his arms again, but while grief could be lessened by such remedies, bitterness could not. Instead, he bowed his head and fell to one knee, shoving his axes out of the way.

"Prince," he tested the new appellation. "I am your man." He tilted his head back and caught Kaer's searching silver gaze. "In this world or the other, in peace or at war, I am with you, always."

The silence stretched. Eirik couldn't interpret the look on Kaer's handsome face. Was that fear flickering in his eyes? Was it of him, or for him?

Source: www.allfreenovel.com