“I will not,” Sedrak said quietly.
Grudin stopped and turned. “Heh?” he said. He held a hand to his ear.
“I will not,” Sedrak said, straightening up, his voice loud.
Grudin looked at him, then venomously at Leola.
“You break your oath, dishonor yourself?” Grudin spat. “For a pillaged whore?”
“Sedrak, please,” Leola begged, putting a hand on his arm. He shook it away. “Please, do not… this is not…” She did not know what was happening between the two men, but she did know she didn’t want to be at the center of it.
Sedrak was silent. The two men looked at each other icily for several minutes.
“Nephew,” Grudin said in a condescending tone. “I understand the appeal of a woman.” He looked at Leola. “She is a lovely prize.” He looked back at Sedrak, his eyes narrowing. “But enjoying the sweet cunny and ass of a plaything is one matter, while I speak of the welfare of the kingdom. My legacy. Yours. The welfare of all the people whose fate is linked to your choices.”
Sedrak glared at Grudin. “Leola,” he said quietly, without taking his eyes off his uncle. “Please excuse my uncle, as he has forgotten that he is in the presence of a lady—”
“I have forgotten no such thing,” Grudin interrupted fiercely. “I see before me no lady. I see a pillaged plaything, flesh to enjoy as payment for your victory and for the ignoble actions of her uncle, the Southern devil!” He slammed his fist on the table.
Sedrak smoothed something on his lap and inhaled deeply. While Leola did not know him well enough to know what his relationship or oaths to this man were, she could see that he was trying to maintain his calm.
Grudin sighed. “The rider you sent, at Barval’s advice, mentioned you were getting… close with the girl,” Grudin continued. “This is what I feared, and you have confirmed my fears.”
“She is a prize. I’m enjoying myself,” Sedrak growled.
The change in Sedrak’s tone, from defending her to calling her a ‘prize,’ cut Leola to the bone. No, no, no, she thought. How could I have been so foolish?
A faint smile appeared on Grudin’s lips. “Naturally you are.” The smile faded. “Barval fears a bit too much.”
“You take Barval’s word over mine?” Sedrak growled.
Grudin leaned back in his chair. “Nephew. I admire men who are unafraid to speak truth. I admire men who put the welfare of this kingdom above themselves. Barval has the best interests of the kingdom at heart. Now, I wonder: do you?”
Sedrak’s gaze hardened even further but he seemed at a loss as to what to say. He placed his hands on the table and stared straight at his uncle. “Would you have me return her home?” he asked.
Leola was nearly torn in two. Sedrak’s tone was laced with spite and a quiet fury simmered beneath his stoic exterior, which only dared her to hope that he might feel for her a fraction of what she did for him.
“Don’t ask me childish questions,” Grudin snapped, his irritation finally bubbling over. “You are a man, so act like one. You have had your fun, but know the duty that awaits.”
The reminder of who she was to Sedrak crushed Leola. Just a bit of fun. A plaything.
Sedrak’s hands clenched to fists and for a moment Leola thought he might upend the table. Then his shoulders slumped and a dreadful sinking feeling filled her gut.
“Of course,” Sedrak said quietly, lowering his eyes to the table.
Those two words made something snap within her. The whole humiliating meal nearly came back up. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. She saw Sedrak and Grudin both turn and look at her. She couldn’t stand another minute in their presence. Pushing her chair back from the table she leaped to her feet and started running from the room.
To where she didn’t know. Anywhere but there. Anywhere but with that horrible old Grudin and the man who had just agreed to break her heart.
No one impeded her as she stormed out the large oak doors then across the drawbridge. Through the blurry haze of tears she saw guardsmen casting puzzled glances in her direction. She didn’t care.
She’d never felt a hurt like the one dealt to her by Sedrak. Had no idea how to ease it. Her only thought was to get as far away from its source as she could.
After crossing the drawbridge, she turned away from the road that led back to Sedrak’s men. Instead she ran through the gently rolling meadow toward the river and the woods beyond. And though in her heart she still harbored the hope that Sedrak would come and find her, after hearing his reply to Grudin she was sure he would let her go.
As she descended to the water’s edge she saw the current was turbulent and quick. Kicking off her boots she poked a toe in and found the water freezing.
The bolt of pain that shot through her made her gasp. She felt as if her soul were leaving her body as she crumpled to a heap on the shore of the river. Memories of the last few days tumbled through her mind. The fear she’d felt when she’d first laid eyes on Sedrak. The embarrassment at being made to stand naked in front of his army.
What finally overwhelmed her was the realization that the man she’d thought to be a beast at first had turned out to be anything but. He was a good man. A kind and thoughtful leader who of course would put the well-being of his people and kingdom over the feelings of a naive girl he barely knew.
And finally she realized that she no longer loathed him. The opposite was true. And the fact that she could now name the feeling that had been growing inside her over the last few days, that she had fallen in love with Sedrak,
