Page 47 of Oath of the Wolf
Cenric almost felt embarrassed.Almost.“He threatened my wife.”
“This woman killed Gistrid.”Tolvir thrust a finger at Brynn.
Cenric really should have stabbed him when he had the chance.
“Gistrid is dead,” Sifma told Ovrek, mouth tight and face hard.The queen seemed genuinely distraught over the girl’s death.
Ovrek took in the scene.He entered the longhouse and crouched beside the corpse, examining her gently.He pinched the bridge of his nose and let off a hard exhale.“Explain,” the king ordered, looking to Sifma, Tolvir, and Cenric.“All of you.”He continued speaking in Valdari, not even acknowledging Brynn.
Sifma spoke first, her voice cracking.“She had been ill for a few days.”
“Why was I not told?”Ovrek demanded.
“I didn’t wish to add to your worries.”Sifma refused to meet his face.“She recovered partly today.”
“Because of Brynn,” Cenric interjected.“Brynn healed her.”
“Do not interrupt my wife,” Ovrek growled, rising to his full height.“Sifma.”
“She began convulsing an hour ago and her handmaids sent for me.”Sifma turned her face away, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“The sorceress?”Ovrek looked past Cenric to Brynn.
Brynn shifted at Cenric’s back, but didn’t speak.She was letting him handle his own friends.
Cenric spoke.“The concubine was poisoned.Brynn tried to warn her through an interpreter.Whoever did it must have struck again.”Here wasn’t the place to accuse Tullia with so many people watching.
“Where is this interpreter now?Why didn’t your wife warn anyone else of this?”Ovrek demanded.
“She told me,” Cenric answered, realizing how it sounded.“We were on our way to tell you.”
“After my concubine and child were dead?”Ovrek’s tone had gone quiet, dangerous.
Cenric wasn’t sure what to expect.To this man, Brynn was the enemy.
“Nothing I did would have hurt her, lord.”Brynn’s voice remained soft.She must have guessed what they were saying.“I swear.”
Ovrek took in the scene.“I can’t deal with this right now.”He stepped away from the body of his concubine and weeping queen.He addressed the two warriors who had followed him, stopping over the threshold.“Confine the Lady Brynn to her tent until I decide what to do with her.”
Cenric bristled.
“Careful, son,” Ovrek growled.
“Cenric?”Brynn’s voice was quiet, meek.
“He wants to confine you to our tent until he figures out what to do with you.”Cenric ground out the words, each one painful.
“Alright,” Brynn said.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Cenric protested.
“No,” Brynn agreed, “but…” She swallowed.“We are in their lands.”She squeezed his arm tight.“Remember what we discussed.”
That Ovrek was probably going to be their king soon.That they needed to be in his favor for the coming invasion.That Ombra wouldn’t survive Ovrek’s wrath.
Cenric grimaced at the reminder.“I’ll go with you.”
“Put the sword away,” Ovrek ordered.“And clean this up,” he gestured to the corpse.“I want all of you in the hall within the hour, do you understand?My dear queen, my dear son, and my dear friend.”Ovrek singled out Sifma, Tolvir, and Cenric in turn.“Am I understood?”
