Righteous Anger (Okal Rel Saga #2)

5.7: The Swearing

Horth finished dressing for the Swearing, and thought of Alice as he noticed a pulled thread in the patterns on his vest. He fingered it slowly, remembering he had not seen her since their return, nor any other servants, either. He frowned. It was an unimportant detail at the moment.

Beryl appeared at the door of his bedroom holding her latest baby, born just weeks before they traveled. Her haunted look had grown worse since they had moved back to Black Hearth. She kept four-year-old Beryllan and eight-year-old Eler close to her all the time. She tried to do the same with Sanal, but the one-and-half-year-old girl was too Vrellish and agile. Beryl was frequently forced to send Eler after Sanal to collect her.

"It will be over soon, won't it?" Beryl asked Horth, or perhaps she meant to ask the Watching Dead. Horth could not tell.

He saw her draw Beryllan closer against her skirt, and wanted to assure her that whatever happened on the Octagon, the children were safe. Nersallians did not kill children.

But he could not believe that there was going to be a duel. Bryllit shared a fundamental solidarity with Hangst that had survived watching their son, Vrenn, challenge him and lose.

Horth closed his eyes to see if he could grasp why he was thinking about things that seemed irrelevant. Alice was a commoner. She used to live in Black Hearth. She'd been sent away. Vrenn was Bryllit's son by Hangst. He had been Bryllit's heir, as well. He'd challenged Hangst about his Nesak marriage and failed.

Horth gave up and dispelled the fragmentary ideas. When he opened his eyes, his mother had gone away.

He wished his brothers were there. Branst was supposed to be. Someone said they'd seen him at Green Hearth. It seemed impossible he wouldn't stand on Black Hearth with them when Hangst called for challengers. Horth knew why Zrenyl wasn't present. He was with the Nesak fleet, waiting for them.

He missed Bryllit, as well. But he knew that she had spoken with Hangst the day before, when they arrived. She would be waiting with the other kinf'stan down on Black Wedge.

Horth checked his sword belt to be sure it felt right and could be unclasped easily in case he was called upon to fight, although he could not imagine the Swearing turning into a melee. Nersallians took protocol seriously. Hangst would declare himself for Unification as a means to strike the Reetions. If any member of the kinf'stan wished to challenge, they would fight immediately. If Hangst lost, it would be Bryllit, as his named heir, who was entitled to challenge the victor immediately to retain Hangst's title for him if he survived, or claim it for herself if he did not. If there were multiple challengers, they could sometimes fight each other for the privilege of taking on Liege Nersal. But in none of those scenarios should Horth be called upon to act for his father, liege, and admiral.

Shaking his apprehensive feeling off, Horth went to join his family at the spiral stairs. Hangst looked hale and well. He smiled at each of them. Then he took Beryl in his arms, held her firmly for a moment, and relinquished her into Zer Sarn's care.

Eler said, "Father, I'm scared."

Hangst went down on one knee, took his eight-year-old son by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Ack rel, my mischief," he said and smiled. "The kinf'stan are family, as well. They must have their chance to object by the sword. That is Okal Rel."

He said it much too lightly. He was not afraid.

He has worked it out with Bryllit, Horth decided, trying to feel relieved. They have reached some acceptable compromise.

Suddenly, it was time.

Hangst led the way down the spiral stairs. Horth followed. Next came the family errants. Lywulf stayed to guard the entrance to the Throat that led to Family Hall, where Beryl would be waiting in the master bedroom with the children and Zer Sarn. Falk would bring her the news when it was over. He came down with Hangst and Horth onto the Octagon.