Page 41 of Oath of the Wolf
But Ovrek must have been joking, because he dropped the matter.“Will your sorceress kill you in your sleep when she realizes you’re siding with Valdar?”
Cenric didn’t appreciate that Ovrek assumed he would have Cenric’s loyalty, but he tried to hide it.“Brynn could kill me just as easily while I’m awake.”
Ovrek laughed at that.Did he think it was a joke?The king gestured for Cenric to follow him back out of the storehouse and into the bustling activity of the shipyards.“The rest of my jarls should arrive by tonight, which means nothing but meetings tomorrow.”
Cenric offered a half-smile.“That’s the business of being king.”
“Bah!”Ovrek spat.“I am not suited to managing the land like a farmwife counting bowls of butter.I have Sifma for that.I am meant for conquest, Cenric.Warring and looting.”
That was Ovrek’s way of saying he needed more treasure.The coffers he’d taken from his enemies in his rise to power must be running low.This meant he needed to seek wealth across the sea once again.
Come to think of it, Cenric had not seen any gold since arriving in Istra.Had Ovrek run out of it?Perhaps traded it away for the vast amount of iron even now being hammered into spearheads?
This did answer Cenric’s question of how long Ovrek could keep giving out as much wealth as he had.Valdari wanted their leaders to be generous, but Ovrek’s level of generosity had become unsustainable.To keep giving out lands and wealth, he’d need to keep taking lands and wealth.
Would Ombra be one of those lands taken?Cenric thought of his foretelling last night—an arrow through his own neck as Snapper died and Ovrek’s banner waved over their corpses.
And what would become of Brynn if he died fighting his former friends?Would she flee back to Ungamot?Would she be taken by Ovrek as a prize and given to some Valdari jarl?She would be a great prize—a woman with king’s blood who had proven she could bear sons.Or, more likely, would she die in battle with Cenric?
It would be far safer to pledge allegiance to Ovrek.At least if they did that, Cenric and his people might be able to keep the fighting out of their lands.They might do the raiding instead of being raided.
Cenric didn’t for a moment think that Aelgar would send men to help protect Ombra in a war.The kings of Hylden had always treated Ombra as a shield against the Valdari.A warrior didn’t waste time protecting his shield, he cowered behind it, letting it take the brunt of his enemy’s assault until he was ready to attack.
Even if Cenric hadn’t liked Ovrek as a person, even if he didn’t want to swear to this man, did he have a choice?Ombra could put up a strong fight.Brynn could put up a strong fight, but they would eventually be overrun.
Ombra’s thanes were used to repelling raids of fewer than twenty men at a time.They would be no match for a fleet of hundreds or perhaps even thousands.
If he swore to Ovrek once again, that would make him Ovrek’s man.That would make him the recipient of the king’s generosity, one of those gifted treasure and land instead of the opposite.
But Brynn.Would she see it the same way?
“Come.”Ovrek beckoned to him.“I want to show you the workhouses.Sifma has over a hundred women weaving the sails for these ships.”
Ovrek was intending to impress Cenric, and he succeeded.The king had shown him the shipyards, the storehouses, and the outside of the massive weaving houses where at least a hundred women worked to weave the sails for the many ships.
No men were permitted inside the weaving houses, but Ovrek showed him the sails ready for fitting outside.They were heavy and sturdy, dyed in bright yellows and pale blues.A single sail might take a woman a year or more to weave, but with dozens working together, the work went faster.
Snapper trotted around them in lazy circles, smelling everything and trying to meet new friends.Part of Cenric wished his life was as simple as his dog’s.
By the time Cenric headed back to the tents where his thanes and Hróarr’s people were camped, it was late in the afternoon.The feasting would begin at Ovrek’s great hall soon.
Cenric reached his tent, finding Kalen slumped against the entrance with his spear at his side.They’d left Kalen with Hróarr’s men to guard their camp while the other men were trading.
“Lord!”Kalen leapt up, scrambling.“Sorry, lord.”
“My wife?”
“Inside, lord.”
“Cenric?”Brynn called at the sound of his voice.
Cenric entered the tent to Guin’s excited yipping.The puppy leapt straight for Snapper, the two dogs greeting each other eagerly.
Puppy!Snapper dropped low, slobbering Guin with kisses.
Esa sat mending something in the corner, but it was Brynn who caught his attention.
“Cenric.”Brynn went straight to him.She usually greeted him happily, but there was almost desperation in the way she leapt for him.
