Page 30 of Bought to Break
Sorin kept his face carefully blank and hoped Viktor was doing the same. ‘Who?’
‘Uth.’
Sorin couldn’t help it as his lips curled into a snarl. ‘It wasn’t Uth’s place. We were coming –’
‘Silence!’ Greygor boomed. ‘You were not coming to tell me yourself. I summoned you on another matter. But this we will talk about first. Have you or have you not got a girl travelling with you?’
Viktor cleared his throat. ‘We do, sir.’
‘Where did she come from? What does she know?’
‘She’s but a slave. Nothing.’
‘Nothing,’ Greygor mimicked. ‘Nothing?’ He slammed his fist down, causing his wine goblet to overturn and spill its contents over the parchments that littered his desk. He paid it no mind. ‘You are part of my best unit and we are days away from an invasion that has taken years to plan and will make you wealthy beyond your dreams. She could have been sent by the Island Citadels to spy; they’re certainly powerful enough these days. Did you think of that? No, you were too busy thinking with your pricks. Where is she now?’
‘She–’ Viktor began.
Sorin interrupted Viktor with a meaningful look at his Brother. ‘She is with Kane and our men. We travelled light to reach the Army sooner.’
The general’s eyes lit with a feral gleam that made Sorin’s stomach churn with the suspicion that Greygor was playing a game with them and had yet to tell them the rules. ‘No matter. I will have Kane bring her to me when he arrives and we will see if she is what you say.’
‘If you believe she could be a threat, then so be it.’ Sorin feigned indifference, but inwardly his mind was racing. The last thing they needed was for her to be brought here to where the Brothers were amassing. Being an unclaimed woman in their midst wasn’t safe at the best of times, but if anyone even suspected what she was, they’d kill her at once. Sorin shuddered. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Regardless, as soon as Greygor saw their unusually beautiful slave, she would be taken from them and used, if not by their Commander, then by other Brothers he wished to gain favour with. Now Greygor’s years were waning, he needed all the support he could get, and he would use her as a pawn in his power games. Greygor would have summoned Lana no matter what they had said and was probably disappointed that she hadn’t travelled with them. Uth’s despatch must have been very detailed in its description of her.
‘Fuck off, the both of you. I have no wish to include you in my other plans now.’
They both bowed their heads and left their Commander’s tent.
As soon as they were out of Greygor’s earshot, Sorin turned on Viktor angrily. ‘You were going to tell him about the gold,’ he accused. ‘You would have made her a fugitive of the Dark Brothers, a target for any Brother who found her.’
‘Yes.’ Viktor’s eyes held no remorse.
‘She fled in fear and only took what she needed to survive.’ Sorin turned away from his Brother with a growl. ‘She isn’t Greta, you fucking prick,’ he muttered.
Sorin fell as Viktor tackled him from behind with a roar. He fought his way back to his feet, catching Viktor in the head hard enough for the bigger man to pause and shake it to clear the stars from his vision.
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Viktor snarled at him.
‘Your wife’s decisions cost her life and those of your children,’ Sorin shot back.
In that moment, his Brother looked so lost that Sorin softened. He put a hand on Viktor’s shoulder and spoke quietly. ‘Lana is not her, and you must stop these bitter thoughts before they put her in more danger. Do you not see, Brother?’
Viktor looked at him blankly and Sorin sighed. Viktor was so focused on Lana’s thievery that he hadn’t even thought.
‘Look around.’ Sorin gestured to the tents that surrounded them, the camp of three thousand Brothers and sell-swords. ‘Greygor’s command is that Kane bring her here.’
Viktor shrugged. ‘So?’
Sorin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and spoke slowly. ‘We haven’t claimed her. She’s no different from a woman taken in a raid.’
Viktor suddenly swore and looked around as if only just realising they were standing in the middle of the Camp of the Dark Army. ‘Kane can’t bring her here. Fuck. Greygor will give her to one of the other units or let her be used in the pleasure tents.’
‘I think she’s our Fourth and it’s worse than that. I believe she’s a –’ Sorin’s eyes darted around, making sure there was no one near.
‘A what?’
‘A witch as well,’ he whispered.
