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I kicked my heels into the horse’s sides, leading us into the crowd near the wagon. Raum and Tor pulled the back open and hopped inside the cart. Tova hurried up to inspect any who might’ve been injured or fallen ill in the days locked in the goat pen. At her signal, Sol Ferus climbed inside. The Sun Prince strode to Oskar Vill with a confidence only a man who understood how to terrify an enemy could do.
When Sol gripped under Oskar’s arm, the skyd’s wife screamed and grappled for her husband.
“No. No, leave him! Please, leave him.”
Sol ignored her and dragged Oskar out of the cart.
“Ada,” Oskar said. “I’ll return. Keep the children safe; I swear I’ll return.”
On his feet, the skydguard looked defeated. I noted how he glanced at his sister. Not with the same malice as Edvard held for Inge, but there was betrayal there.
A touch of her fear for her brother’s life struck me in the chest. Hells, Inge was too forgiving. After everything, she still did not wish Oskar dead.
In truth, I could see why. If I tried hard. He was not anything more than a man born to his circumstances. Perhaps if he hadn’t been shoved into the guard at twelve turns old, he would be a simple man with a simple homestead and a simple life.
The same as I once dreamed of a monotonous, happy existence in a cottage with a red-haired girl. Who knew what Oskar Vill could’ve been.
I swung a leg over the horse, then helped Malin to the ground.
Halvar and a few Northern warriors set to work taking the rest of the folk in the wagon down the slope to the caves.
Oskar found me in the crowd. “Don’t harm my family. I will not lie to you, but you must not harm my wife or children. They are innocent.”
I closed my eyes in an extended blink, knowing when they opened, glossy pitch would shade the color.
Oskar flinched when I butted my chest against his. “You keep your bargain, and you have nothing to fear. If you do not, well, your boy will join your brother. Then your lovely wife. You will die only after you watch life leave their eyes. Then, the littlest we’ll sell for a price.”
Oskar’s jaw pulsed. “I am not an enemy to the kingdom.”
“You are my enemy, skyd.”
“No, hear me.” The man tugged against Sol’s hold.
The Sun Prince had a firm grip on Oskar, but others began to move in. Valen watched us with a touch of caution, and Gunnar opened and closed one fist, always ready to command Oskar Vill to slit his own throat should he need to.
Oskar schooled his scrutiny to me alone. “I am loyal to the kingdom and its people. All I have ever wanted was to help create a land where my family could live in peace.”
“You scrounge the underbelly for profit, then toss those same crooks into the prisons to rot.”
Oskar swallowed and looked away. “I have done what was needed to survive. Can you say that is not what you do? That is not what you’re doing?”
I couldn’t refute the truth. There was no limit to what I would do for the guilds and Malin. No grimy pit I would not enter.
In my silence, Oskar lowered his voice. He stepped closer. “I say again, I am loyal to the East, so if she is truly the fated heir, I will be loyal to the queen.”
Malin limped with rigid steps to my side, but even still, she held herself like a bleeding warrior. “But until you have proof, you serve Ivar, isn’t that right? A man who sells Alver folk at his masquerade. A man who murders those who might come close to claiming a power that is not his to own.”
Oskar shook his head. “I am not blind to what is going on in the kingdom. The Black Palace is threatened. That leads me to think you might be telling the truth.”
“We don’t need him to believe us.” Luca shoved through the crowd. Oskar paled at the sight of Ivar’s son.
“Gods, Lord Grym. Where . . . where did you come from?”
“I have always been here; I merely had no desire to show my face to scum like you.” Luca wrinkled his nose in a bit of disgust. “Myloyalty has never been with the Black Palace.” Luca spared me a look. “We don’t need his damn belief, nor his laments to his honor. We need to get going and destroy this stronghold. It is too close for comfort.”
He meant this camp was too close to Felstad. To his family. Days away added strain to his nerves when it came to leaving Dagny and Von. I could understand it. He’d only gotten his family back after so many turns. Tempers would soon be short if we did not take the next move.
With a rough hand, I gripped Oskar’s collar and dragged him forward. “Enough talk. Time to prove your worth.”
