Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“You look just like your mother, and I will take great pleasure in seeing you suffer the punishment and death that was due her but that your birth robbed from me.”
She felt the sting of another loss and guilt that her mum had lost her life after giving birth to her.
“Chieftain Halfdan,” Borg said, nearly breathless as he and his men suddenly appeared.
“You let her get away,” Halfdan accused without looking at the man.
Sky saw then that Halfdan was not alone. There were at least a dozen warriors with him.
“We would have found her,” Borg said anxiously.
“You let a woman with a limp play you for a fool,” Halfdan said, his hand going to rest on the hilt of his dagger in the sheath that hung from the belt at his thick waist.
Sky pressed her arms at her sides to stop herself from shivering, Halfdan’s remark sounding as if he condemned Borg.
“We outwitted the Gallowglass and braved the wolves to get her here after Olin failed you,” Borg said with a tremor in his voice.
Halfdan drew his dagger from its sheath so fast that no one had a chance to move, and Borg paled and visibly shuddered with relief seeing the dagger land in the chest of the man she had poked in the eye.
“It will be you and your whole troop who die next if you fail me again, Borg,” Halfdan said.
“Aye, my chieftain. Aye,” Borg said, his face remaining pale.
“Get her tied to the post,” Halfdan ordered.
“Will you at least tell me why I am to suffer and die?” Sky asked, hoping to gain time.
“I will tell you the tale so that you know what a worthless woman your mother was and what a dishonorable man your father was and why they deserved their fate.”
Halfdan turned away from her and Borg rushed toward her.
“I hear one cry of pain from her, and you will cry out in pain as well. My hands will be the only hands that make her suffer.”
Fear churned Sky’s stomach. Fear of what she would suffer before her husband arrived and fear that she would lose the tiny bairn inside her that had barely begun to grow. She felt close to tears, but she refused to show him any fear.
She was shoved back against the post and her arms drawn back behind her to hug the post, then her wrists were tied. Another rope went around her waist and her ankles were tied to the post as well. Her body would remain erect no matter what punishment he inflicted on her.
Sky watched Halfdan fist his hands, a glee on his face that turned her stomach. He was going to enjoy this.
Borg made his way cautiously to Halfdan. “She is ready.”
Halfdan nodded and without warning threw a punch at Borg that launched the man up into the air, his body impacting the ground hard when he landed. Borg did not move, though blood ran from his mouth.
“A taste of what to expect, but then with you being tied to the post you will remain as you are making it easier for me to deliver blow after blow,” Halfdan said. “But first I will tell you about your mother and your father and why they deserved to die.”
Sky’s heart ached over more loss. Both her parents were gone along with her grandmother. She would never get to know them.
“There was a family in the Wolf clan much revered, the first-born daughters possessing the skill to understand the forest creatures. It was believed that the women possessed this strange skill because they were born with two different colored eyes. Such a skill could benefit a clan and so I arranged for my only son to wed your mother. Your mother, Fawn, refused the proposal, claiming she loved another man and had promised herself to him. Neither I, nor my son, Rainor, could allow such an insult to stand. My son did the honorable thing… he went after your father.” Halfdan’s face turned red with rage. “Your father killed him, and your mother called the forest animals to feast on my son. There was barely anything left of him by the time I got to him. I swore that day I would revenge my son’s death no matter how long it took. Your father and mother fled but I discovered that your mother was with child. I tracked her to Whitehall Abbey. It was Slayer’s mother, Lady Candra, who helped deliver the bairn, born dead. She was there when I arrived and showed me Fawn, the lifeless bairn cradled in her arm as they lay in repose. I was furious that your mother would not be made to suffer but glad they both were dead. I only wished it had been at my hands. It was not until years later that I discovered I had been lied to. I was too busy searching for the man your mother loved. Your grandmother died refusing to reveal his name, leaving me no choice but to hunt for him.” He shook his head. “She was the bravest and most foolish woman I had ever known.”