The King & His Queen (Pict King Series Book 3) Read online

  There was a crowd of field servants blocking one of the fields as Talon approached. They scurried out of his way when he shouted, “Return to your chores now!”

  Talon halted abruptly when he saw what they had been staring at.

  Hemera was lying in the middle of the tilled field that was ready for planting, her untamable red hair fanning out around her head and her arms spread out from her sides, as if in sacrifice to some god. She wore no cloak, only a long, brown wool shift, gathered at her trim waist with a knotted, leather belt. Her leather foot coverings were worn to the point of providing little protection. Annoyance jabbed at him like a stick to his side and his hands fisted.

  Wrath went to step past the King.

  Talon’s strong command stopped him. “I will handle this.”

  Talon took quick strides to where Ebit stood beside Hemera.

  Relief flooded Ebit’s face and he spoke as soon as Talon came to a stop on the opposite side of Hemera. “Forgive me, my King, for disturbing you, but I did not know what to do. Hemera refuses to remove herself from the first of the fields ready for the seeds that must go in today.”

  Hemera glared at Ebit. “He will not listen to me. The seed will either die or not grow well if planted here.”

  Ebit shook his head at her. “I am Crop Master. I know what I am doing.”

  “Then you should know that the soil is too ill to accept the seeds.”

  “She speaks foolishly,” Ebit said.

  “The soil needs nourishment and time to grow strong again. You cannot plant here now,” Hemera insisted.

  “Please, my King, this field must be seeded now,” Ebit all but pleaded.

  “Get up, Hemera!” Talon ordered sharply and stretched his hand out to her.

  Hemera knew she could not defy the King, especially in front of others. She had learned all too well what happened when she defied authority. She reached out and took hold of his hand. He yanked her to her feet as easily as if he plucked a seedling from the ground.

  Talon released her once she was steady on her feet, though he did so reluctantly. Her hand was chilled and he wished he could warm it for her. “You will stay away from the planting fields,” he ordered with an abrupt snap of his finger near her face.

  Hemera squatted down and thinking she was going to stretch out on the soil again, Talon reached for her, grabbing hold of her arm and yanking her up once again. She winced when she turned to face him and he realized that he had grabbed her harder than he had intended. He dropped his hand off her.

  “What did I tell you?” he demanded, knowing every eye was on them, waiting to see what he would do for disobeying him.

  “I will follow your command, but first I beg of you to feel the soil. It cries in distress when it cannot nourish the seeds it is given. Listen to it...it will speak to you.”

  Talon caught Ebit shaking his head, a look of sorrow in his eyes for the poor foolish-speaking lass.

  Hemera stepped closer to Talon and reached out and took his hand to gently place the soil she held in it and close his fingers around it.

  Gasps were heard as she did, for she had not been given permission to touch the King and once again they all waited to see what he would do.

  “Feel it. Listen to it,” she urged with a whisper.

  Talon wanted to believe her, if not for anything but that others would not think less of her or think her foolish or mindless. He was aware that those around him waited to see what he would do and he wondered himself.

  “My sister speaks the truth.”

  Wrath turned and, seeing his wife approach, reached out to stop her from walking past him. He was not surprised when Verity pushed his arm aside. He was, however, surprised when she skirted his attempt to snatch her around the waist. His anger flared, more so when he caught the smile on Paine’s face and the way Anin stepped willingly into his outstretched arm.

  Anger rumbled in Wrath’s chest as he caught up with his wife when she came to a stop beside the King.

  “My sister knows the soil well. She coaxed many a seedling to grow when others could not.”

  “Forgive me, my King,” Ebit said, “but this is a vast growing field, not a woman’s plot of seedlings.”

  “A small plot or a whole field, my sister still knows the soil well,” Verity argued, ignoring the pokes to her side from her husband.

  Talon was about to silence the bickering pair when Hemera’s gentle whisper reached his ears.

  “She speaks to you.”

  Talon was well aware that if one watched closely the trees, plants, animals, and clouds offered help. The signs were there and it was not wise to ignore them. Ebit knew the planting signs well and had produced more abundant crops but also scarce ones. His choice who to trust was obvious...until he felt a sadness rush through his hand that held the soil. He looked at the dark soil and it almost felt as if it sighed. He looked to Hemera.

  “The soil tells you that it is not well enough for planting. Once it heals, the soil will welcome the seeds again,” she whispered.

  Did she know of what she spoke or were her words nonsense?

  “Please, my King, the field must be planted now if the people are to be fed,” Ebit pleaded.

  “What happens if what my sister says proves true? Then there will be no food for the people when the lands turns dormant and the cold descends on us once again,” Verity said.

  Talon had a duty to see his people fed. He had always trusted Ebit’s knowledge, but what if Hemera actually knew something that Ebit did not? He dropped the soil from his hand and brushed both hands together to rid himself of what had remained and a sudden chill ran through him. He caught the shiver and stopped it before it could surface. The strange occurrence had helped him make his decision.

  “Plant half this field, Ebit,” Talon ordered.

  Ebit unwisely protested. “You cannot mean to listen to a slow—”

  “You defy your King?” Talon said with such a forceful anger it sent a shiver through the crowd.

  Ebit shook his head. “Nay. Nay. Forgive me, my King. I will see it done immediately.”

  Talon turned his attention on Verity. “Speak when not given permission again and you will spend time in a prison chamber.”

  Wrath stepped forward.

  “You will join her if I hear a protest from your mouth,” Talon warned.

  Verity hurried to take hold of her husband’s arm and even more hastily offered an apology. “Please forgive my foolishness, my King. I meant no disrespect. I wished only to protect my sister.”

  “From what?” Talon snapped. “Her own foolishness?”

  Verity wisely held her tongue.

  “Teach your wife the wisdom of knowing when to keep silent,” Talon ordered, “or the next time she will suffer for it.”

  Wrath nodded, his anger too close to the surface to trust himself to speak.

  “I will hear it from your lips,” Talon demanded in a near roar.

  “Aye, my King,” Wrath said with a shout that was laced with anger.

  Talon took a step toward Wrath, his anger as palpable as Wrath’s.

  Hemera saw fear catch in her sister’s eyes and she hastily stepped between the two men and raised her voice to drift over the crowd that had grown larger. “What is my punishment, my King, for doing far worse than what my sister did?”

  Talon glared at her. “Three days in a prisoner chamber might serve you well or perhaps the sting of a switch would serve you better.” When she stared at him speechless, her eyes wide, he waited. He would not be tricked again into believing that his threat had actually frightened her into possibly obeying his rules when she was thinking something entirely different.

  Gasps filled the air when Hemera’s hand reached out and rested against the King’s chest.

  Fury rose up in Talon not only that Hemera had disobeyed him again, but that he would have no choice but to see that her punishment reflect it.

  He was about to push her arm off him when he saw her face tur
n as pale as freshly fallen snow.

  “Please no,” she begged in a soft whisper before her body went limp and she fell forward into his arms.

  Chapter 9

  Talon caught Hemera’s limp body, his arms closing protectively around her. Without thought or consequence, he scooped her up and rested her tightly against him.

  “Hemera!” Verity cried out.

  Anin stepped forward and placed a hand on Verity’s arm, stopping her from going to her sister while looking to the King. “Please, my King, bring Hemera to my dwelling so Verity and I may tend her.”

  Talon nodded and keeping Hemera tucked firmly against him, he called out to the servants and those who had gathered out of curiosity, “Return to your chores or I will see more punishments enforced.”

  Everyone scurried away and whispers drifted overhead as thoughts were exchanged over Hemera’s fate.

  Talon felt a powerful dread gnaw at his insides as Hemera’s head lolled against his chest and her body remained lifeless. He had learned to rein in his fear, to never let it take control, but it had gripped him so fast when Hemera collapsed against him that he had no time to fight it off. Now it squeezed him unmercifully like a giant hand that refused to let go. He fought it, struggling mightily to free himself. He was King. He ruled. Nothing ruled him. He would not permit fear to take root in him.

  He felt Hemera begin to stir in his arms, her face turning slightly to press against his chest and her body regaining strength. She struggled to wake while the fear he had resisted began to dissipate.

  She turned her head away from his chest with some effort and tilted it back slowly, her eyes fluttering as they fought to open.

  “You are safe. I have you, Hemera,” he whispered.

  Her words came slow to her lips. “Do...not let...me...go...Talon”

  His response rushed from his mouth in a firm whisper, “Never!”

  Her head dropped against his chest, her face turning to rest there once again.

  “This way, my King,” Anin said.

  It was good that she did, since Talon was about to bring his lips to kiss the top of Hemera’s head. He shook his head as he entered the dwelling, not understanding how he seemed to be unable to stop himself from reacting without reasonable thought to this woman.

  Anin and Paine’s dwelling was larger than most since Paine now held the council’s seat of Master Builder. It was two rooms instead of one and Talon recalled how he had designed it along with the previous Master Builder, Bodu, who had betrayed him and suffered the ultimate punishment—death.

  Talon walked over to the long cloth, hanging from above the door to the sleeping chamber and pushed it aside with his shoulder and entered. He was reluctant to place Hemera on the sizeable, raised sleeping pallet and leave her to the care of the women. But he had no choice.

  She was not his and the thought irritated him.

  He laid her gently on the raised pallet and as he stepped back, her eyes opened and her hand instinctively reached out to him. He went to grasp hold of it, once more without thought, but Verity hurried around him, taking hold of her sister’s hand.

  “I am here, Hemera. I am here with you,” Verity said, a tremor of fear in her soft voice.

  He thought he saw disappointment in Hemera’s eyes or was it because he felt it himself? He stepped to the side, near to where Wrath and Paine waited. He did not intend to leave. He had questions for Hemera.

  “You should be wearing your cloak,” Verity scolded, pulling the blanket at the bottom of the pallet up and tucking it around her sister. “The air is chilly today.”

  “And the soil has grown ill,” Hemera said.

  Verity ran a gentle hand over her sister’s brow. “Worry not about that now.”

  Hemera’s head finally cleared of the fog that had taken hold of it and she looked around. “This is not my home.”

  Anin stepped forward. “Mine was closer so the King brought you here.”

  Hemera tried craning her neck to look past the two women and when she failed to spot the King, she called out, “You need not have Anin touch me to tell you what you wish to know. All you have to do is ask me.” She dropped her head back on the soft pallet with a sigh.

  Talon stepped in from the other room. “Leave us and wait outside.”

  Verity looked to her sister, reluctant to leave her.

  “I will be fine,” Hemera assured her.

  Anin tugged at Verity’s arm and she grudgingly turned. Both women went to their husbands and shortly after the front door could be heard closing.

  Talon walked over to the sleeping pallet and looked down at Hemera. Color had returned to her face, a slight heat rising high on her cheeks. She did not look ill. She looked as beautiful as ever.

  Annoyed at his thought, he demanded, “Are you feeling ill?”

  “No, I am not feeling ill.”

  “Then why did you faint?”

  She gazed off a moment, lost in a memory, then shivered. “Fright of severe punishment.”

  “Punishment of your own making. You persistently disobey and disrespect me—”

  “Only when necessary.”

  “You do it again,” he said, shaking a finger at her. “You interrupt the King.”

  Hemera struggled to get up.

  Talon leaned down, shaking his finger close to her face. “You will stay put until you are well enough to get up.”

  “I want to sit up,” she said and once again struggled to do so.

  Talon slipped his hands under her arms and with a gentle yet strong heave brought her to a sitting position. His hands slipped loose as soon as he saw she could sit on her own and as he pulled them away, his fingers accidently stroked the sides of her full breasts. Their soft fullness flared his desire and he stepped away, silently berating himself for not having satisfied himself with a woman for a while now.

  “I do not always think of you as King,” she admitted softly, as if revealing a secret.

  “If not King, then what?” He shook his head. “Hold your tongue. I do not want to—”

  “Friend,” she said with haste.

  Talon clenched his hand, shaking it in front of her. “Again you disobey me, and we are not friends. I am your King.”

  “Talon is my friend.”

  “We are one and the same.”

  “No, you are not. There is Talon and then there is the King”

  Talon let his hand drop to his side, though it remained clenched, but not tightly.

  “The King can be friends with no one,” Hemera said. “He has a duty to fulfill.”

  “True,” he said pleased she finally grasped what he was saying, though made sure to clarify it, “which means we can never be friends.”

  “Too late, we already are friends.” She continued on so fast he had no chance to correct her. “I almost forgot. There is more to tell you about the traitor we hope to find. I continue to keep watch on your personal guards’ cloaks when I can and the other day I took note of one. When I returned to the spot later, the cloak was gone—”

  “The owner returned for it,” Talon said as if the explanation was simple.

  “Not so,” Hemera corrected. “The owner had returned as well to find it gone. He asked me if I had seen it. I informed him that I saw it there earlier. He told me that this was not the first time this had happened. It had happened twice before, which means the culprit continues to use the cloak of your personal guards to meet with your enemy. You should order Wrath to see that your guards keep better watch over their cloaks. The culprit would be left to find another way to sneak out of the stronghold and it might just be enough for him to make a mistake and reveal himself.”

  Talon wondered how her mind seemed to grasp some things quickly and others things not at all. But she was right, he would need to speak with Wrath. “With being so busy searching out the traitor, how did you wind up lying in the planting field?”

  “Bower mentioned it when—”

  “Bower spoke with you?” Talon a
sked his tongue sharp and his annoyance obvious. He had only given permission at the High Council meeting a short time ago for him to do so. Then he recalled how Paine had already told Bower to speak with Hemera. The man certainly had not wasted time.

  “Is there reason Bower should not speak with me?” she asked. “He is a kind man and a skilled bow maker. His features are plain, but pleasant and though his body is thick, it is hard with muscle, which tells me how hard he works at his craft. He offered to fashion me a bow and I offered to tell him what wood to look for to create a stronger bow. I thought you would be pleased since I would not be going into the woods alone...Bower would be with me.”

  Talon’s shaking finger shot out at her again along with his temper. “You are not going anywhere. You have a punishment to face.”

  Hemera stared at him and her face began to pale.

  “Do not think fainting again will stop your punishment,” he warned.

  “Will you let me serve my punishment in a prison chamber?” She lowered her head. “I am not very good with pain.”

  She had survived a slave to the Northmen. How could she not deal with pain? “Then grow strong and bear it, for life does not come without pain.” He turned to go, saying as he did,” You will have my decision by dusk and your punishment will be served in the morn.”

  Hemera threw the blanket off her and swung her legs off the pallet once she heard the door close. She did not want to think about her fate. She wanted to go and seek solace in the woods.

  She was on her feet when Verity entered with tears in her eyes. Anin followed close behind her.

  “I cannot believe he will punish you,” Verity said, hugging her sister, then with her hands on Hemera’s shoulders, eased her down to sit on the pallet. “You need to rest.”

  “I need to go home,” Hemera said and stood, placing a gentle hand on her sister’s arm. “Do not worry so. We have faced far worse. I will be fine. And it is not right for me to impose on Anin any longer.”

  “You do not impose, though I think home would bring you what you need right now,” Anin said and her hand rushed to her rounded middle. “My daughter grows in strength like you have, Hemera. You are a strong woman and fate will not fail you.”