Page 24 of Oath of the Wolf
5
Brynn
Brynnfellasleepthinkingshe couldn’t possibly be happier than she already was.
Cenric was a good man.He was often complicated, but good nonetheless.
It filled her with a sense of dread.She’d been happy other times in her life, just before tragedy had struck.What misfortunes might be ahead?
Snapper tried to wedge himself between Brynn and Cenric in the middle of the night.Before Brynn could realize what was happening, Cenric dragged him out of the way.
Brynn relaxed into her husband, melting into the safety of his arms.Guin lay close on Brynn’s other side, curled into a little grey ball.
Esa and Kalen slept quietly on their separate pallets.Outside the tent, Istra was mostly silent, save for the waves crashing on the shore.Brynn drifted back off to sleep with Cenric’s arms coiled around her.
The next morning, Cenric rose early to meet with Ovrek.He kissed her, his hand lingering on her shoulder.Glancing to Kalen and Esa still on their pallets, he said, “I need to speak to you.”
Those words never signaled anything good.“What is it?”
“A foretelling,” Cenric exhaled.At her tensing shoulders, he added, “We have time, but…”
Kalen stirred.The boy didn’t rise, but he was close to waking.
Cenric gave her a reassuring smile that did nothing to quell the uneasiness deep in her gut.“I will tell you more tonight.”
When they could talk away from listening ears, he meant.
The comfort Brynn had taken in her husband last night was snuffed out in a moment.Dread coiled through her, but she tried to push it down.
Things would work out.They had to.
She helped Cenric don his tunic and pin his mantle in place so Kalen could go on sleeping.He reached for his sword belt and Brynn stiffened.
“I don’t plan to need it.”He buckled it around his waist calmly, casting her a smile that was almost forlorn.“But I’d rather have it today.”
Brynn smoothed his mantle over the sword, partially covering it.“Does it have anything to do with your foretelling?”
“Yes and no.There is time, love,” he promised her.“I will tell you more tonight.”Cenric pressed a kiss to her forehead before striding from their tent.
Brynn watched him walk out of sight from the entry way, Snapper trotting happily at his heels.
If Cenric chose to side with Ovrek instead of Aelgar, Brynn wasn’t sure what she would do.Last autumn, she would have sided with her uncle, but now…
No one had loved Brynn before, not like this.No one had cared for her this much since her sister’s death.
Brynn would try to persuade Cenric to remain loyal to Aelgar, but if he didn’t?Would she leave him?Could she bring herself to do it?Just the thought sent a pang through her chest.
It turned out Daven and several of Cenric’s thanes all spoke Valdari as well.Were Brynn and Esa the only ones in their party who didn’t?
Laden with pots of honey, casks of wine, peppercorns, and iron, Brynn sent Daven and a few others into the gathering on a large field where the thick of the trading seemed to be taking place.There would be silks, precious metals, rare stones, and even some foreign spices, but all of that could be acquired farther south.
Brynn wanted cloth.While no one would be naked anytime soon, much of their household needed new clothes.Many of the youths who worked in the longhouse wore clothes that had been patched, repaired, and handed down since the days when Cenric’s mother had been lady of Ombra.Brynn didn’t blame Rowan for the oversight.Rowan had never run a great household before and had done an excellent job all things considered, but it was something that may take time to fix.
Brynn had considered seeking girls across the shire to work for her in weaving and spinning, but that might have to wait for another year.If they could acquire the cloth they needed here in Valdar, that would save Brynn, Esa, and the other women of the household months of work.
If possible, she wanted the men to acquire walrus ivory, too.That would be rare back in Hylden and there was an almost endless number of things that could be made from the large tusks.
Brynn and Esa took Guin for a walk in the crisp seaside air.They walked along a rocky stretch of beach, watching as Guin leapt at the waves and chased gulls.A few of the town dogs padded up to Guin and she dropped onto her belly in a play stance.
