\u201cSo you\u2019re just going to make a deal with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to set the terms and if he doesn\u2019t abide by them, he\u2019s getting Thordin\u2019s axe between his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve chewed on the inside of her lower lip, hunched over slightly, her chin resting on the knee of her good leg.\u00a0 Her ribs hurt, ached, but somehow this position was more comfortable than sitting up straight\u2014probably because it let her stretch out her back muscles, which were growing uncomfortably tight and stiff from laying on her back most of the time and hobbling around with the crutches the rest of the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like it, Marin,\u201d she said after a moment, lifting her gaze to regard the other woman seriously.<\/p>\n
Marin looked up from the pile of fleece scraps in her lap, her nose wrinkling slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure that I do, either, but we took a vote and that\u2019s how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if Thordin\u2019s not here?\u201d\u00a0 Neve asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happens then?\u00a0 Who deals with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThordin promised that he\u2019s not going anywhere until Matt can safely plant a war-axe between Cariocecus\u2019s eyes.\u201d\u00a0 Marin shot her a smile before she laid a couple of the pieces of the fleece together and started to stitch them together with small, even stitches.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t really foresee him going anywhere anytime soon, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cIf Cameron\u2019s going anywhere, I\u2019m sending Thordin with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I don\u2019t see Cameron going anywhere anytime soon, either, so I think we\u2019re safe on that front.\u201d\u00a0 Marin smiled and reached over to squeeze her shoulder gently.\u00a0 \u201cNeither of those boys are going anywhere until they\u2019re confident that you\u2019re going to be fine if they go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll go if they feel like they have to,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cCameron\u2019s got a pretty impressive sense of duty.\u00a0 He might decide that he needs to go well before I\u2019m healed up.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019ll definitely make at least one trip away from here before I have this baby.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got no doubt of that.\u00a0 It\u2019s where, when, and who goes with him that\u2019s in question.\u00a0 I\u2019d want it to be Thordin, I think, and maybe Thom.<\/i>\u00a0 Her gaze slid back toward Marin.\u00a0 The other woman probably didn\u2019t want her husband going anywhere anytime soon.<\/p>\n
Marin met her gaze, brows knitting.\u00a0 \u201cWould you want him to?\u00a0 Would you let him go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Neve said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve thought about it.\u00a0 I think I\u2019d have to, but\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Her voice trailed away and she sighed softly.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019d have to whether I\u2019d like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are other people who would go\u2014volunteer to do it, even.\u201d\u00a0 Marin set aside the sewing and leaned forward.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever burdens they think they have to shoulder\u2014Cameron especially\u2014they have to realize that they\u2019re not burdens they shoulder alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damn, but isn\u2019t that a familiar speech?<\/i>\u00a0 Neve squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled quietly.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, my brother said that to me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTeague?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cSeamus.\u00a0 Our older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Marin leaned back a little.\u00a0 \u201cPhelan\u2019s talked about him, but in passing.\u00a0 His death hurt you guys a lot, didn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a miracle that we didn\u2019t all spiral out of control,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 She sighed and eased back down to her pillows, slowly and carefully stretching out on her side to face her new friend.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a bad time for us.\u00a0 In a lot of ways, he was our anchor.\u00a0 My father couldn\u2019t take it.\u00a0 He abdicated, went away.\u00a0 None of us will ever see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Neve said softly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I never will.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want that kind of mystery for my children.\u00a0 I want them to know where their father is, whether he\u2019s breathing or not.<\/i><\/p>\n
Bloody <\/i>hell.\u00a0 Why did he have to be the one to claim the sword?<\/i><\/p>\n
And why did I have to fall in love with him?<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cSo you\u2019re just going to make a deal with him?\u201d \u201cYeah.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to set the terms and if he doesn\u2019t abide by them, he\u2019s getting Thordin\u2019s axe between his eyes.\u201d Neve chewed on the inside of her lower lip, … Continue reading