Page 100 of Ironling
Don’t let it come to that.
No, there were still things to be done. No force had been gathered. She still had time.
To Sorcha she said, “We’ll each write to our fathers and have the courier make all haste for the south. With them returned, Dundúran’s full company will outnumber and outmatch any mercenary force.”
Her father had left her with half of their company of knights, as well as the full castle garrison, and while capable, she didn’t know if those left behind would be enough.
She’d always feared that her brother would only be stopped by violence and blood, but it hadn’t come to that yet.I still have time.
Rising from the table, Aislinn looked out over the dining hall, stomach clenched with nerves. None seemed to notice the dramatic shift in tenor of the high table—except Hakon. He stood from his place, Wülf at his side, his gaze focused on her.
All she could do was shake her head.
Later, much later, when the letters were all written and sealed and the castle itself slumbered through the wee hours, Aislinn stole down to Hakon’s bedchamber.
A faint line of light glowed beneath the door, confirmationthat he was yet awake and awaiting her. Heart in her throat, Aislinn quietly opened the door and closed and locked it behind her.
Hakon sat in a chair near the hearth, whittling. He looked up immediately at the sound of her entrance, and quickly stood, casting away his knife and block.
“Aislinn—”
She walked straight into his open arms, burying herself against his chest. She banded her arms around his thick waist and held on tight, needing the comfort of his warm body. Those big arms came around her, holding her together when she otherwise might break apart.
“Lay with me?” she whispered.
Without a word, Hakon pulled her to his bed. He drew his leathers off and untied her dressing gown. Turning down the blankets and furs, he laid out on his back and held his arms open for her. She slipped in behind him, crawling over him until she could lay across him like a blanket.
He covered their legs with a fur before wrapping her up in his arms again. His chin rasped against the crown of her head as he tucked her tight to him. Aislinn nuzzled the divot between his pectorals, drawing in a long pull of his scent, and sighed with relief when a little of the terror fisting her heart loosened.
He rumbled that purr for her, not a frenetic vibration like during their lovemaking but instead a soothing cadence, one meant to lull and calm her. Aislinn’s eyes grew heavy, and she sank into him and his comfort.
“Will you tell me what’s happened?” he said softly.
Drawing a long breath, Aislinn did. She told him everything without exaggeration or embellishment. He listened in silence, the only sign of his growing anger the kneading press of his fingers along her back.
“I’ll kill him myself if it comes to it,vinya,and any brigand hedares bring with him.”
“I know,” she whispered. That’s exactly what she feared.
They lapsed into an unsteady silence. She could tell there were many questions and thoughts on his tongue, but he held them back. Perhaps he sensed just how tired she already was over this, how she only needed his comfort, not his battle plans. Perhaps he guessed that she had questions for him, too.
She didn’t ask him what she’d come to ask, though.
Tonight, she didn’t think she could bear his answer, whatever it was.
So, she lay with him through the night, sometimes sleeping, sometimes listening to the steady beat of his heart. She focused on that rhythm, forbidding herself from any more thoughts until the sun came up.
Like that, she was finally able to steal a few hours’ rest.
23
Aislinn bit at a cuticle until Sorcha drew her hand away, before it could bleed. Her friend squeezed her hand sympathetically as they stood in the small posterior foyer to the great hall, where they could wait for everyone to gather before entering.
Orek had left earlier in the morning to take the children back to the Brádaigh estate, promising to return by the afternoon. Aislinn was grateful for her friend’s continued presence; if she couldn’t hold Hakon’s hand and seek his comfort in the daylight, at least she could hold Sorcha’s.
Leaning around the corner, Sorcha peeked out into the hall. “It looks like everyone’s ready for you,” she reported.
Drawing in a long breath to settle her nerves, Aislinn nodded and preceded Sorcha out into the hall. The eyes of all her staff found and followed her as she made the dais.
