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CHAPTER 18
Rune
The sound of laughter and festive music floated into the courtyard as I stood in front of one of the horses’ drinking wells, looking at my blood-covered hands. Inga was peacefully drinking water next to me as if nothing had happened. Which, to her and me, nothing had. Killing itself was nothing new to us. But the reason for this killing was.
“What a mess,” I said to Inga, who ignored me, lapping up the water with her wide lips.
It was a grave mistake to have come here. Not only was I skeptical that talking to the rebels could end the war in the North, but my mere presence was a betrayal to my father—not to mention the fact that I had intervened in his plot to kill the Rhine Queen. If I was to get on Inga right now and ride back to my army, with a short stop at the Dome to scare the shit out of those monks in order to demand their silence, there was a high chance he’d never find out about any of this. But as foolish as it was, deep down, I already knew that I wouldn’t do that.
“When in the name of all the damned did I become so simple-minded?” This time, Inga briefly stopped drinking, looking at me with droplets of water dripping from her snout.
My thoughts wandered again to the moment I first mistook the Rhine Queen for a noblewoman in her garden. That short boyish hair, those untamed eyes and fiery remarks. She fascinated me. In the Dome’s cellar, she had placed her hand on mine and had turned my body to rock. Before that moment, nothing had ever stopped me from killing when I needed to.First the sword, then the questionshad been a philosophy that had not only kept me alive but also made me one of the most feared knights in the world. Born as an unwanted bastard of a monster, I was destined to become one myself.
Not in my wildest dreams could I have pictured that a woman’s soft hand could hold such power over me.
But Mina wasn’t the only reason for my sudden irrational behaviors. The hopes of ending the war made me wonder if there was a chance that I could feel something again. Peace. Pleasure. Even love. I had been trapped in a state of exhaustion for so long, I’d become numb.
I dipped my hands into the water after Inga was done drinking and washed off the blood. After my hands were clean, I rinsed my face as well.
“Sir,” a young stable boy called out for me. I turned to look at the skinny man. “May I take your horse?” he asked, reaching for Inga’s reins.
This was my last chance to return to my old life. All I had to do was mount Inga and ride back home, return to my father’s war and wait for his orders on who or what to destroy next.
But I didn’t.
Without a word, I handed him the reins and watched as the boy walked Inga to the stables. A wave of laughter from the castle made me look up at the golden lights shimmering through its windows. Most would feel excitement at the thought of attending a queen’s feast.
Wine, women, food.
But most weren’t me. A cold shiver rushed over my spine. How I hated the nobles and their greed for gold and power. Maybe I should leave just to spare me having to listen to the shite that came out of their mouths.
“Rune!” a man’s voice hissed at me. No, not a man’s voice.My half-brother’s.
I turned to find Yutrik rushing toward me in the most ridiculous golden silk doublet I had ever seen. It reminded me of a woman’s dress, just without the slightest taste.
“When our spy in the castle told us you were here, I thought he was drunk,” Yutrik barked. He sounded like a small, yapping dog. “Are the gods playing tricks on me? Did I have too much drink already?”
“I am certain you have,” I said.
His face twisted in a combination of shock and disbelief. He reached out as if to grab me, but I only had to narrow my eyes at the little worm to stop him in his tracks. His arm dropped to his side as he nervously cleared his throat.
I sighed, annoyed. My chance to quietly return to the North had passed. And yet, it was surprising how little I cared about the consequences.
“What in the name of the fucking hellhounds are you doing here?” Yutrik said, his voice threatening. I ignored him and rinsed my face again. The little prick just stood there and watched, most likely trying to find the courage he didn’t possess.
“I demand you tell me right now—”
I turned to look down at the little shit. “Youdemand?” My voice was a low growl. Yutrik tumbled backward.
“N-not demand. We are brothers. Family, are we not? I would never demand anything of you.”
The urge to punch him right out of his fancy silk boots was almost too much to resist. He reeked of wine and, by the gods, his pants looked undone at the top. He’d probably just forced himself on some innocent maid—fathering another bastard he wouldn’t have the decency to support.
“Yutrik,” came a woman’s voice came from across the courtyard. “I’ve been looking for you.” She was pretty and, judging from the cut of her dress, was from the finest birth. Gabrielle, his fiancé, if I was not mistaken. I had seen her before when the marriage was first discussed with Louis the Great at my father’s castle. Why on this earth anybody would marry a creature as fine as her to a slimy cockroach like my brother was beyond me, but the political plays and motives of others didn’t interest me—until now.
Like the spoiled child he was, Yutrik crossed his arms as she approached, the hem of her dress gliding behind her as if it were floating.
“It’s My Lord to you, woman,” he said.
