𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 | 𝐨𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Since they hadn't planned on Uhtred joining them at the inn, the bed the children leased for the night was exceptionally crowded. Fortunately for a very exhausted Bryn, a crowded bed wasn't something she was unaccustomed to. Since she had spent most of her life sleeping beside someone—a precaution initially implemented by her mother, in case she were to have a vision during the night—the prospect of an overcrowded bed meant little to her and worried her even less. So, she merely laid down and allowed sleep to take her, leaving the boys to fight over who would sleep where since she had claimed the side of the bed that was furthest from the door.

The next morning, Bryn awoke surprisingly well rested and without a sore head, something she thanked the gods for when she saw how poorly Orri was fairing. He had apparently been throwing up for hours and with no end in sight, despite his empty belly. Uhtred, lacking the necessary tact for Orri's plight, sought Mildrith out for help and she came without question, albeit a little reluctantly. While she and Vikar tended to Orri, Uhtred pulled Bryn outside.

"Orri is in no condition to ride, he'll have to come back with Mildrith and I."

"Which means Vikar will want to go with you as well," Bryn sighed, finishing his thought. Their original plan had been for the kids to stay behind, pick out some Danish shields with Leofric's assistance, and then have the kids cart them back home. Bryn rubbed her eyes, dragging her hands down her cheeks. "What do we do now?"

"I could make Vikar stay," Uhtred suggested, but he instantly regretted it. The words left a sour aftertaste on his tongue.

Bryn shook her head vehemently. "We're not separating them again, not after what happened last time."

"You can't do it alone, Brynhild. And Leofric belongs to Odda the Younger now, we don't know if he will even allow him to return home."

Bryn excitedly smacked at Uhtred's arm as a thought came to mind. "No, but he will if I give him a reason to!" She pointed at her brother as she backpedaled towards the road. "Take the others and head home, Uhtred! Don't worry about me, I have a plan to get Leofric!"

✭

"Just to be clear, we're not telling Uhtred, correct?" Bryn gingerly asked, gaze focused on the white-knuckled grip Leofric had on the reins.

"We're not telling Uhtred," Leofric confirmed from behind her. It was the first thing he'd said since they had left Winchester, and although there was enough venom in his voice to kill their horse ten times over, she was still relieved to hear it. Besides, she knew his anger wasn't aimed at her, but rather himself. He'd said as much when they were stealing the shields.

The remainder of their journey was spent in silence, something that Bryn didn't really care for. It was clear to her, however, that Leofric needed a little bit more time to come to terms with what exactly had transpired before they left Winchester. His anger—his frustration with himself for putting Bryn in danger—was rolling off of him in droves, and since he rarely talked about his feelings, Bryn decided that it was best to leave him to his thoughts.

Bryn only broke the silence when they had finally reached Liscumb and she caught sight of a grave near the stables. "Leofric..." She trailed off, eye locked on the freshly disturbed soil.

"If it was Orri, they would have sent word," he quickly reassured her.

"And if they didn't have time?"

"If they had enough time to dig a grave and bury him, then they had enough time to send Oswald to meet us on the road." It was only after he mentioned the steward's name that Leofric noticed the man in question, who was usually outside doing one thing or another, was nowhere to be seen. "It might even be Oswald."

Even without the steward to announce their arrival, Uhtred, Vikar, and Orri still met them at the stables to greet them. As Bryn and Leofric tended to their horse, making sure he was fed and watered for the evening, Uhtred confirmed that the grave was, in fact, Oswald's. Apparently, the steward had been chopping down trees on Uhtred's land, selling them, and then pocketing the money for himself.

Bryn couldn't say she was entirely surprised. Uhtred had told her and the boys what he discovered during his brief trip home after escaping from Werham—Oswald bedding a whore in Uhtred and Mildrith's bed. Oswald had grown entirely too comfortable in their absence. If Uhtred thought death was a suitable punishment for everything the man had done, then so be it.

"Are these the shields?" Orri asked, yanking the canvas tarp off of the cart Leofric and Bryn had towed home. He looked himself again, as if his sickness from this morning had never even happened.

"No, they're dinner plates," Bryn said, earning a scowl from Orri.

"Are you certain you want to do this, arseling?" Leofric asked, watching as Bryn, Vikar, and Orri emptied the cart. There were twenty shields in total, as well as fourteen axes, and varying amounts of other miscellaneous weapons such as long swords, daggers, and short swords.

"Is there a law against it?"

"Dressing up as Danes? No. Plundering Cornwalum? Yes," Leofric deadpanned. "We're supposed to be at peace."

"If I'm to reclaim Bebbanburg, I'll need an army. If I'm ever to raise an army, I'll need silver. We go," Uhtred concluded.

"I have no quarrel," Leofric said.

"Will Odda not miss you?" Uhtred asked, eyes shifting between Bryn and Leofric. "How did you two convince him to let you come, Leofric?"

Bryn and Leofric shared a look, their earlier conversation about not telling Uhtred what had happened coming to the forefront of their minds. The former spoke on their behalf, "By leading him to believe it was his idea all along."

"I told him that you trust me, which you do, and that you'd trust me enough to let me in on any assassination attempts you might be planning. He told me to come back and watch you."

Uhtred stared at them for a moment, eyes narrowing the longer he looked at them. They were hiding something. "What else?"

"There is nothing else," Bryn all but blurted. If Uhtred wasn't suspicious before, he definitely was now.

"Bryn."

"Uhtred."

"Brynhild."

"She was captured by Odda because of me," Leofric finally admitted. "Odda heard she was still in the city and sent Steapa to find her. When he found us together, I panicked, told him I'd been the one to find her. We brought her to Odda and he demanded to know if you had sent her to kill him. She refused to answer."

"If you refused to answer, why did he let you go?" Vikar asked Bryn.

"He gave me an ultimatum—fealty or death," she informed. "Steapa already had a knife at my throat, so..."

"And what does this fealty entail?" Orri asked. When she refused to look at him, or anyone for that matter, he leaned down in an attempt to catch her eye. "Bryn?"

"Marriage."

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