The King & His Queen (Pict King Series Book 3) Page 23

  “My sleeping pallet is but a short distance away,” she murmured and tugged playfully at his ear with her teeth.

  He had not meant to speak aloud. “Ebit can wait.”

  Hemera stepped out of his arms so fast that Talon almost stumbled.

  “What is this about Ebit?” she asked, staring at him anxiously.

  “Later,” he said and went to take her hand, but she slipped from his grasp and he scowled.

  “Is there a problem? I warned him of the soil. If he is not careful, he will have a poor harvest.”

  That he needed to be reminded of his duties had his scowl deepening. “Ebit is the reason I came to find you.” He held his hand out to her and he closed it tightly around hers when she took hold so there would be no chance of her escaping him again. “I have learned that the planting fields are not producing the fine harvests that they once did and I want you to take a look at them, speak with Ebit, and suggest anything that would help.”

  “Of course I will,” she said and tugged at his hand to get going. Hemera cast questioning eyes at him when he did not move.

  “When we finish—”

  Hemera smiled and as if it was meant to be a secret, she whispered, “We will return here, for there is something in my dwelling I wish to give you.”

  “What is it?” he asked, a spark of passion flashing in his deep blue eyes.

  “Me,” she said softly and tugged at his hand once more.

  This time he went with her, eager to be done with Ebit and return to her dwelling.

  Ebit was not happy to see Hemera and even less pleased to learn the King was now aware that the fields were not producing well.

  “We had far too much rain one time and hardly any the other, and far too few seeds another time,” Ebit said, trying to offer reasons for the poor crops.

  “Excuses,” Hemera said. “You ask too much of your soil or you keep weak seeds when they should be discarded. She bent down and scooped up a handful of soil from one of the planting fields and held it out to Ebit. “Can you not feel that the soil struggles? You cannot keep taking from it and give nothing in return. It needs to be fed just like you and me.”

  “That is nonsense. Soil does not need food,” Ebit argued and looked to the King. “She makes no sense. I have tended soil and plants longer than she has. I know what I do.”

  “What you do is threaten the food supply of the stronghold, if you continue to treat the soil and plants as you do,” Hemera accused.

  Ebit went to protest again, but held his tongue when the King raised his hand and turned to Hemera. “What needs to be done to see that the harvest is an abundant one?”

  “My King,” Ebit said, attempting to protest again.

  “Hear what Hemera has to say or risk losing your seat on the High Council,” Talon warned.

  “You need to plow new fields, nourish others, and get rid of the weak seeds or they will only produce weaker seeds until there are none left,” Hemera explained with enthusiasm.

  “Again nonsense,” Ebit argued. “A seed will grow with sun and rain to nourish it. It needs no more.”

  Hemera shook her head. “A seed needs more. It needs to be planted with care and tended with just as much care as it grows so it will blossom strong. I would say let me plant half the fields and you the others, so that you may see the difference, but I fear there will not be sufficient food when the cold comes again.”

  Ebit drew his shoulders back and his chin went up. “I will take that challenge and win.”

  “You take such a challenge when your harvests have been less than abundant? It is not only the stronghold we feed but other tribes that are in need, and what of your lies?” Talon asked, attempting to keep hold of his anger. “You fail to report how poorly the harvests have been. I hear it from others. You have done well in destroying my trust in you.”

  “You have much to concern yourself with, I did not want to add to your worry,” Ebit said. “And poor harvests are to be expected now and again. This harvest will be an abundant one and will make up for the others.”

  Talon took a sudden step toward Ebit. “You do not decide what I concern myself with. Your task is to provide me with the truth so that I can make wise decisions in regards to the people. You have failed to do so.”

  “I meant no—”

  “I do not care what you meant,” Talon snapped harshly. “You will follow what Hemera tells you or vacate your High Council seat.”

  Ebit was quick to reply. “I will do as Hemera says, my King.” He turned to Hemera, his tongue curt. “Where do we start?”

  Talon reached out and jabbed Ebit in the chest so hard he stumbled back. “Keep that tongue sharp and you will lose it.”

  “Forgive me, my King,” Ebit said and turned anxious eyes on Hemera.

  Talon stood aside, watched, and listened. Hemera did not stare off in thought or hesitate to speak, she spoke with considerable knowledge and he wondered where she had learned so much. Ebit questioned her reasoning on several of her suggestions and Hemera was quick to explain. She talked on and on until Ebit began to show honest interest in her every word. The more Talon watched her the more he believed she would make a good queen.

  He remained watching them, signaling his warriors that patrolled the fields to follow the pair as they walked among the seeded rows. He would not follow them, he was King and followed no one, but he made sure Hemera was not too far from him, if he should need to protect her.

  Ebit was nodding his head as Hemera and he finished and approached Talon.

  “I will get started right away making the changes,” Ebit said and with a bow of his head to Talon, he hurried off.

  Talon took her hand, eager to return to her dwelling and as he walked with her through the stronghold he became aware of how the people stared and turned their heads to whisper, and he realized why. Holding Hemera’s hand as they walked among the people was a foreign sight to them. He had never walked with a woman through the stronghold, let alone holding her hand. It was good that he did now, for he wanted all to know that Hemera belonged to him.

  He slowed his steps, kept hold of her hand dusted with dirt, and decided to satisfy his curiosity. “How do you know so much about the soil, seeds, and plants?”

  She cast a strange glance at him and he thought she might not answer, but when she spoke, he was even more curious.

  “You will not believe me.”

  “Of course I will, I trust you,” he said, realizing the truth of his words. He did trust Hemera, more than he ever thought he would trust any woman. “Tell me.”

  That he had not hesitated to tell her that he trusted her gave her the courage to say, “The forest taught me.”

  “You have me even more curious now. How did the forest teach you?”

  Hemera had never spoken to anyone about it and she hesitated to do so now.

  Her silence had him asking, “Do you trust me, Hemera?”

  “Aye, I do,” she said with certainty.

  “Then share your secrets with me, for I believe you have a few. Besides, secrets become burdensome after a while.”

  Hemera could certainly attest to that and she did something she had not done for what seemed like forever. She opened her bag of secrets and began to let them spill out.

  “I was assigned to serve Haggard’s family.”

  Talon was surprised to learn that she served the Northmen Chieftain of the Southern Region, but said nothing.

  “Not long after my arrival there, Ulric took me into the forest, ordering me to forage for a plant he favored added to his food. He left me there, telling me he would return for me. He did not return. When it grew dark, I grew frightened, then I began to hear whispers and after a fleeting moment of fear, I realized that the forest was speaking to me, offering its help. When dawn broke, the whispers guided me home.” She shook her head. “Not home. It was never truly my home.”

  They had reached her dwelling and Talon stopped in front of the door, anger marking his words as he
said, “You were a small bairn and Ulric left you in the woods alone and unprotected.”

  That he cared more about her safety than the woods speaking to her warmed her heart. “It was not the only time.”

  Talon’s eyes darkened as he pushed the door open and eased her inside with his hand to her back. “Tell me more.”

  They sat on the benches near the fire pit and Hemera continued her tale. “The next time Ulric took me into the woods I knew what he intended. Only that time, I decided to remain in the woods for a couple of days and see what else the forest had to say to me. That is how I gained my knowledge, though I never let Ulric know. As young as I was, I realized the more fear I showed him each time he took me there and left me, the more he would take me to the woods. He enjoyed seeing me fearful.”

  “You tricked him.” Talon smiled, proud of the courage she showed when so young and pleased that she had shared her secret with him. “Did he ever discover your secret?”

  “He did,” she said and her eyes filled with sadness.

  “Is that why he took the switch to your back?”

  She shook her head. “No, by the time it was discovered, Haggard had so enjoyed the foods made from the plants I collected that he ordered me to continue forging.”

  Talon leaned closer and laid a gentle hand on her back. “What caused Ulric to beat you?”

  She rested her hand on his knee and whispered, “Promise me Verity will never know what I tell you.”

  “I told you that what you share with me is for my ears alone. I will reveal it to no one. You have my word.” He sealed his promise with a tender kiss.

  Hemera briefly rested her brow to his. “I am grateful.” She continued, glad Talon kept his hand gently upon her back. She needed to feel his comforting touch. “Verity was moved around to serve various families. One family treated her poorly, barely giving her food to eat. I was allowed to visit her only so often, which was something I could not tolerate. I would sneak a visit to her and when I saw how she was suffering, I began to bring her food I had foraged in the woods. Ulric found out what I was doing and with Haggard away at the time, he took the switch to me as punishment.”

  The anger that had been churning in Talon was about ready to erupt. He wanted to roar with rage for how badly she had been abused. He silently promised himself that he would make Ulric suffer unspeakable pain for what he had done to her.

  “What did Haggard do when he returned and learned what Ulric had done to you?” Talon asked.

  “He never knew. No one but Ulric’s men knew.”

  Talon’s brow drew tight. “How could that be?”

  “Ulric took me into the woods to deliver my punishment and left me there with a warning when he was done.” She shivered, recalling the beating. Talon’s arms slipped under and around her and she found herself sitting on his lap.

  He tucked her close against him. “He threatened harm to your sister?”

  “He did. He told me he would see that she took a far worse beating than I did. I went to Haggard when he returned and begged him to move my sister and he did. The family she went to treated her much better.”

  “How long were you in the forest alone?” he asked an image of her suffering there alone with no one to help her, twisting at his heart.

  “I do not recall. The only thing I do remember was my dreams. My grandmother came to me in them and seemed to help me. After the beating and with Verity’s visions increasing, I knew it was only a matter of time before something dreadful happened to one or both of us. That is when I started planning our escape.”

  Talon rested his brow on hers. “I will keep you safe. Never will you suffer such horrendous harm again.” He kissed her gently. “You are a courageous woman, Hemera, and I am proud that you are mine.” He stood with her in his arms.

  “Make me forget,” she whispered the memories much too vivid in her mind.

  “You have my word on that.”

  Talon laid her on the sleeping pallet and kept his word.

  Chapter 26

  Hemera stood, rubbing the soil she had scooped up in her hand between her fingers. Her garden was doing well and soon sprouts would burst through the soil and raise their tiny heads to the sun and begin to grow, similar to the seed that had sprung to life inside her.

  She pressed her hand against her middle. Time verified what she had known, sensed, from the day she had planted the seeds in the garden nearly a moon cycle ago. Somehow the earth had let her know that she too would blossom and bear a bairn when the ground went dormant and slept.

  A smile erupted across her face, turning her eyes wide with joy. She was happy. She would give birth to Talon’s bairn. A shadow suddenly dashed across the sun and Hemera shivered. It was not only Talon’s bairn she would give birth to, it was the King’s bairn as well.

  Thoughts of what that would mean had haunted her and she had good reason to wonder. Since the day of the attempted poisoning, Gelhard seemed to have made it a daily task to speak with her. Their discussions would vary, but inevitably they would somehow entail her past, whether about her tribe, her parents, or her time with the Northmen. She had kept her answers vague, which had not pleased him. She wondered if he spoke with her of his own accord to learn if she was fit to be queen or if Talon had ordered him to do so.

  She had no desire to be queen, but she did desire Talon with all her heart. Anger jabbed annoyingly at her at the thought of Talon with another woman. More importantly, there was the bairn to consider. What would be best for him? She smiled and stroked her stomach. She had no doubt that she would give Talon a son.

  It was time to tell him. She could keep it to herself no longer.

  She washed her hands in the bucket near the door and scooped up the wool cloak Talon had given her. He had also seen that new garments were made for her, two shifts and a fine tunic, a lovely green color that reminded her of the color of the forest.

  “Stop dallying,” Hemera scolded herself. It was not that she worried over telling Talon, for he waited with hope for the news she carried his child, not that he had ever voiced it. It was the many times his hand would rest protectively against her middle that she knew he was thinking about the possibility of his bairn growing there. He would be more than pleased.

  What troubled her was how things would change once it was learned she carried the King’s bairn. She shook the troublesome thought away and smiled. The only thing that mattered now was sharing the exciting news with Talon.

  She turned, ready to hurry off, and stopped, Bog standing nearly on top of her with something in his mouth.

  She bent down and held her hand out to him. “What have you there, Bog?”

  The wolf dropped what he was holding in her hand.

  Hemera let out a soft gasp. “A wolf pup recently born.” She caressed the tiny pup and he barely moved. “He is ill.” She rested a hand to Bog’s head. “The pup is yours and you want me to heal him.”

  Bog gave a soft whine.

  “I will do my best to save him, but he is very ill,” Hemera said softly.

  Bog rubbed his face against her leg, his whine increasing.

  “I will do all I can to save your pup,” she said and stood, keeping the tiny pup cradled in her hand.

  Bog suddenly turned and took a protective stance in front of her, growling, and showing his fangs as if he were ready to attack.

  Hemera watched as Talon and Paine approached.

  “Bog!” Paine’s strong command did little to change Bog’s protective stance or stop his vicious snarling.

  “Get that wolf away from her,” Talon ordered the look in the animal’s eyes all too familiar. Warriors wore it when they went into battle ready to kill.

  “No! You will leave Bog be,” Hemera commanded. “He has come to me for help.”

  “I do not care what he has come to you for. He intends harm and that I will not tolerate it.” Talon turned to Paine. “Control him or I will see him killed.”

  Hemera stepped in front of Bog and with
a quick, sharp tongue ordered the wolf to stay, and he did. “You will not harm him. He does what any father would do when his child is ill. He seeks help.” She settled her eyes directly on Talon’s angry ones. “Would you not do the same if your bairn was newborn and ill?” She lowered her free hand and placed it against her stomach.

  Talon stared at her and when she gave a brief nod, he felt a punch to his gut and a squeeze to his heart. She was letting him know she carried his bairn.

  Hemera held her hand out so Talon and Paine could see the pup. “I fear he will not make it, but I must try. Paine, please get my sister and see that she brings reeds with her and what milk she can find.”

  Paine stared at the lifeless pup for a moment, then took off.

  “You are sure?” Talon asked.

  “There is no doubt,” Hemera said.

  Talon wanted to go to her and take her in his arms and never let her go. Instead, he said, “I will wait here while you see to the pup.”

  Hemera nodded and hurried into the dwelling, Bog following close behind her. She sat by the fire pit and held the tiny pup close to her chest. She recalled all the forest had taught her about newborn animals needing to be close enough to the mum to hear the steady beat of her heart. Warmth was also important and food. The poor pup was too weak to suckle, which was why she needed her sister to bring what reeds she had. Hemera could feed the pup with one of the hollow ones.

  She held the pup close, speaking softly to him as she caressed him ever so gently with one finger while Bog rested his head on her knee, watching...until voices sounded outside the door. He rushed over to it barking, snarling, threatening anyone who tried to enter.

  “You are not going in there,” Wrath ordered, now understanding why Paine had advised him against walking his wife to the door.

  “Do not be foolish,” Verity said. “My sister needs my help.”

  “He is an angry, snarling wolf,” Wrath said as though it would make her see reason.