Page 33 of Oath of the Wolf
Ovrek tsked.“I meant no offense, son.”
Cenric chose not to answer.
“You are quite taken with her.”Ovrek made a dismissive gesture in the air.“Come.”He beckoned, continuing his walk down the beach.
Cenric shifted to follow the king.He’d moved his right foot back, braced in a battle stance without realizing it.
“Would you fight for Aelgar if he called on you?”Ovrek was finally getting to the point, it seemed.
“Depends,” Cenric admitted.
“On what?”Ovrek cast Cenric a sidelong glance.
“Why he wanted me to fight.”Cenric tilted his head toward the sky.“And if there might be more compelling reasons not to fight.”
Ovrek was quiet for a long moment, as if for effect.“I’m going to take Hylden.”
Even without his foretelling last night, the words would not have been surprising.Perhaps Cenric had spent too much time with the likes of Aelgar, but it was refreshing to have the truth out in the open.“You sound confident.”
“You doubt I could do it?”Ovrek gestured to the beach.“Five thousand men will sail before midsummer.And whoever joins us once we reach Hylden.”Ovrek gave Cenric a significant look.
War.
Cenric thought of his thanes back in Ombra.Many of them, like Edric, had once been thralls in Valdar, but they had fought in Ovrek’s war, and he had rewarded them with wealth and freedom.Offensive war was always preferable, when there was treasure, thralls, and land to be taken.Many of Cenric’s thanes would be happy for the chance at such wealth.
But Cenric also thought of his fields and flocks.Men fighting would mean fewer to plant, plough, and reap.Fewer to tend the animals.
Most of all, he thought of Brynn.Thought of how she described the war to establish Aelgar.This would break her heart.
But Morgi seemed to be warning Cenric that if he went against Ovrek, he would lose.
“I cut the throat of a young stallion on the first snows and released him,” Ovrek said.“When we tracked him down, he had bled out facing the southern sea.”
A stallion?Ovrek must be serious if he was willing to sacrifice such a valuable creature for his auguries.Since not everyone had Cenric’s foretellings, those who wished to know the future had to resort to other means.
Ovrek’s eyes glinted with excitement as he spoke.“I sacrificed bullocks and boars to the Grandfather Yew.The ground soaked up their blood, leaving nothing behind.”
That meant the offerings had been accepted.The Grandfather Yew was the most holy place in Valdar, deep in the forest and visited only for sacrifices.
“I struck a new sword against a Hyldish helm, and the helm split in two,” Ovrek continued.“A random sword that had never been tested.Can you believe it?”
Cenric remained silent.That was a strong sign indeed.
“The omens are good.”Ovrek punched a fist into his opposite hand.“The First of Fathers blesses me in this conquest.”
All of these signs combined would mean Ovrek was assured of success.Whether he had interpreted the signs correctly or not, it hardly mattered.Enough wars had been won on confidence.
“You’re quiet, son,” Ovrek chuckled.“The Cenric I knew would have been slavering for the chance at battle-glory.”
“The Cenric you knew did not have lands and their people to consider.”Cenric chose not to mention Brynn again.He would prefer Ovrek stop thinking about her.A part of him wished he hadn’t brought her here at all, though he couldn’t have said why.
“Your lands and people will be fine,” Ovrek assured him.“Ombra is in the perfect place to land an army.”He gestured to his ships.“You have hundreds of abandoned farms in need of farmers.I have hundreds of farmers in need of farms.”
Since the war to establish Aelgar as king of Hylden had emptied many of the shires and farms in the south, the northern lands had slowly lost their people to the warmer, gentler lands.Ombra had the land to support more.
“Troublemakers and criminals, I am sure,” Cenric clipped, trying to sound joking, but failing.
Ovrek chuckled at that, still not matching Cenric’s tone.“I am not satisfied with a kingdom, young wolf.I will create an empire.”
