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"There are other human settlements here, right?"
I nodded. "Yes, I grew up in one, but it's a few days from here. Brogan's warriors will catch you if you don't freeze to death first."
"Then I will kill all of you in your sleep," she threatened.
"You may try," I smiled at her, hoping to if not make friends, to at least make it clear we weren't her enemies, yet.
"So you married this warlord?" Christina nodded at Brogan. "And now you're some kind of hotshot? Commanding all the other humans?"
Her hostility was beginning to wear on me. Thankfully, Brogan demanded my attention just then, and I turned away from her, letting her take in her new surroundings.
"Grian will have a room ready for her, and she will be guarded day and night. Tell her if she tries to flee or does anything stupid, we will put her in the dungeon."
Nodding, I did as requested while Christina stared at me, not impressed whatsoever. When I finished, she shrugged as if she hadn't expected anything less.
"And make sure to find some appropriate clothing for her," Uthar snarled, giving Christina's tight uniform a once-over. "It's inappropriate."
I would have teased any other man who made a statement like this, but Uthar looked serious and despite him being our guest for the time being, I would have rather teased a brazen than him.
I did, however, take the opportunity to fully assess him. His matted long hair was braided in places, as was his long beard. Face tattoos wound their way into his beard as well as some coming up the sides of his neck. His body was covered with long-sleeved clothing, but I suspected more tattoos decorated his body.
Both his clothing and beard were filthy, in stark contrast to Christina's unblemished silvery-white uniform, even though her hair too looked like it could use a good wash and combing.
"Ammalia, take her tray, and then we will show Christina her room," I said in English for Christina's sake, giving Brogan a warm smile and Uthar a tight nod.
Iorderedwarriorstowatch Uthar and his males as well, albeit they would do so more surreptitiously than the guards assigned to the kallini prisoner. I trusted neither and hated the idea of not being safe within the walls of my own stronghold.
The beaches were also guarded in case Uthar's warriors decided to land their ships and attack after all, which would have been stupid since Uthar would then turn from guest to hostage, but Vandalls weren't exactly known for their docile temperament or good judgment.
For the time being, the denizens of Grymburg town returned to their homes, but I doubted they would find much sleep this night either. The circumstances were just too strange.
Uthar's wounded were brought inside the stronghold, and Aine was looking after them.
After watching them being brought in, my unease intensified. I had never seen wounds like theirs before, and I was no stranger to the horrors of the battlefield. Some of the wounds were blistering burns, others tiny holes, from which Aine picked out small, round metal objects.
According to Uthar, the humans who attacked his villages were equipped with long and short weapons that made loud banging sounds and shot these small round objects that would then become deeply embedded into a warrior's flesh, wounding him gravely, if they didn't kill him straight away.
"They die instantly or for some it takes days, depending on which part of the body was hit," Uthar informed me.
"Do you have any idea of their numbers?" I inquired.
"Too many to count. They came on flying ships that spit out more of these shots and fire that burned our villages," he recounted, and the haunted look in his eyes left no doubt that he was telling the truth.
"Why would the humans attack us?" I asked Alahna later when we were finally alone.
"From what Christina told me, they are here torescueus humans from you," she said, creating more questions in my mind than answers.
"Why would they attack the Vandalls first? They don't even have any humans on their land," Alahna added.
I had asked myself the same question, but it took her voicing it for me to see the truth with frightening clarity. "They're building a stronghold."
"What?" She looked confused.
"I need to send more messengers. We need to hurry," I called for my guards to relay my orders. Our khazar and the other warlords needed to be warned, and they needed to hurry.
Alahna stopped my pacing. "What do you mean?"
"If they think we're holding the humans against their will and want to free them, they need a base of operation, a stronghold, far from them so the humans won't get harmed," I explained.
