Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Aye, I do,” Varrick said. “Fia is no witch. She is a good woman and I want her as my wife.”
“You couple with her, don’t you?”
If anyone other than Argus had dared to ask him that, the man would be lying on the ground right now, his face a bloody mess. But Argus was like a brother to him and so he answered. “Aye, I do, and no doubt everyone knows it since my roars of pleasure have probably echoed through the keep.”
Argus took a swig of ale, then another before saying, “There are those in the clan who believe it a good union and then there are those who remain skeptical.”
“And you, my brother?”
“I will admit that she seems like a good woman. She is pleasant to everyone, even those who might condemn her. She is a good healer and tends to the ill with patience and kindness. And all say that her love for you shines in her eyes every time she looks upon you.”
“And yet I hear doubt in you,” Varrick said, not surprised since they had always looked out for each other.
“Do you not wonder how she knows so much about the forest or how well she heals people? Do you not question where she gets her skills?”
“At first I did,” Varrick admitted. “But then I came to know her, learned about her past and all she had been taught and continues to teach herself.”
“By cutting open a heart?”
“That would seem strange, even evil to some, though at least she did not kill the man to take his heart.”
“She could have taken an animal’s heart,” Argus argued.
“True and I would not be surprised if she had.”
“Then why take a human heart?” Argus continued to argue.
“To learn would be my guess.”
“It does not sit right with me,” Argus said. “And it worries me. I do not want to see what she may do to you if she truly is a witch. Or what she may do to the clan. Already she is directing suspicion away from the God of Death and to some unidentified, evil person. Do you not think that strange? Do you not question that the God of Death commands her?”
“I believe Fia would battle the God of Death to save those she heals just as her grandmother once did. And I believe it is worth considering that someone may be responsible for some of what has gone on here and in the woods. Now what of the men who were sent out to learn if anyone plots against me?”
“The two warriors who had to go to the distant clans have yet to return. The third warrior, George, who visited the two closest clans, has returned already. He says both clans were surprised by his arrival but pleased that you had sent him to see if they were in need of anything before the deep winter set in.” Argus stopped to take a generous swallow of ale.
“Something you hesitate to tell me?” Varrick asked, his friend always in the habit of pausing before delivering unpleasant news.
“Both chieftains spoke with George privately, asking if it was true that Lord Varrick had trouble protecting his clan from some strange happenings and if he wed a witch to help him. They worry you are no longer the heroic warrior that everyone once admired, and if so, they dread what their own fate may be.” Argus spotted the anger in Varrick’s blue eyes, and he spoke to him like family. “You had to expect the news to spread and tongues to wag when you sent me to secure the witch for you. You would do well to rid yourself of her when this is done, so no one can doubt your skills. But if you keep her…” He left it unsaid, knowing Varrick understood the consequences.
Until Varrick could admit to his wife that he loved her, he would not tell anyone else. Or was it that he still questioned it himself? There was also something else to consider now.
“And if she carries my child, heir to the clan, what then?” Varrick asked, the thought more pleasing than he cared to admit.
“Do you truly want to take a chance that the heir to the clan be born of a witch?”
“Many already believe I command an army of the dead or that I sprang from the dead myself, so why should it matter if I wed a witch? Everyone will just fear me more.”
“Those are tales concocted by wagging tongues to hear and enjoy like any tale, not so your marriage to a witch. That is truth and that causes fear, and fear can have people doing foolish things, like clans faithful to you pledging their fealty to another clan. Then before you know it, we are surrounded by clans who not only owe us no loyalty but fear us as well. That leaves the clan ripe for attack and warriors wondering if they fight for the right leader.”