Kingmaker's Sword (Rune Blades of Celi) by Ann Marston

Author:Ann Marston [Marston, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Five Rivers Chapmanry
Published: 2012-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

XVIII

It took Kerri fifteen minutes to catch up to us. She drew up alongside Cullin and flung the leather bag at him. Cullin’s reflexes were excellent, too. He snatched the bag out of the air and laughed as Kerri sizzled in silence. She glanced across at me. I didn’t hide my smile quickly enough. A spark of pure fury kindled and blazed in her eyes. The skin around her mouth paled and tightened, but she said nothing.

We made camp shortly after dark. Kerri’s anger still flashed and flared around her, but she performed her share of the chores without protest. She did them in a cold uncommunicative silence, that I thought better than exercising the sharp side of her tongue. When the meal was ready, she took her portion and went to sit alone beyond the circle of firelight . Cullin said nothing, but I caught his eye across the flames, and I saw the distinct glitter of tolerant amusement.

We had finished our meal and cleaned up before Kerri came back to the fire. The food on her plate appeared untouched. She stood stiffly before Cullin, her mouth still pressed into a thin, bleak line. Cullin looked up at her but also remained silent. Finally, she let out a long breath and crouched down to sit on her heels before him.

“I apologize,” she said quietly. “You were right. I was wrong. My prince would not thank me if Isgard fell and there was a chance I might have helped to prevent it but did not take it out of petulance.”

Still, Cullin said nothing.

Kerri sighed again. “A stubborn race, the yrSkai of Celi,” she said. “And I am the prime example.”

Cullin laughed. “Near as stubborn as the Tyr,” he said. “And both of us stiff-necked in our pride. Dinna worrit yourself, lass. I believe you’ll always come about to do the right thing.”

“I hope so,” she said. She flashed a glance at me across the fire as if daring me to laugh or make a derisive comment. I raised both hands, palms out, in negation, and went back to the shirt I was mending.

***

Kerri took the first watch that night, claiming the need for quiet and time to think. Cullin told her to wake him at midnight, then wrapped himself into his plaid and curled down onto a pile of fresh bracken to sleep. I remained close to the fire with the shirt I was mending. It was nearly done, the rip under the arm almost closed. I am handy enough with a needle when the need arises, but the light was not good and the work went slowly.

Kerri paid scant attention to me as I sat cross-legged, hunched over my work. She stood with her back toward me, the firelight glinting on the tawny spill of her hair down her back. Normally bound back into a thick braid, it was loosened now and tumbled across her shoulders in a wild fall of rippling waves. Her tunic and breeks emphasized the narrowness of her waist, the full promise of her hips.

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