Dream of Me/Believe in Me

expression, but Cymbra was not misled. The pain he fought to conceal washed through her, pain not merely of the body but of the spirit. Pain so great it struck her like a mighty wave, leaving her dazed and confused.
    Yet still did she understand what he had asked of her. Because of that higher duty, he had accepted her disobedience when she went to help Brita. Another man would nothave. Another man would not have held her so tenderly in his arms, brought her to such pleasure, talked and laughed with her, given her so very much while asking … what? Only for her trust despite all that stood between them, Saxon and Norse, seemingly destined enemies seeking however fragile a path to peace.
    She straightened her shoulders and looked at him squarely. “I remember.”
    “When we married,” he went on, “I made promises before my gods and yours to protect you as my wife. But I am not just your husband. I am also jarl and I am responsible for the protection of all my people.”
    She knew too well that he had set aside those responsibilities on her behalf when he granted a swift death to the attackers of Vykoff, and that he was given ample reason to regret such leniency.
    In the hush of the vast hall, Cymbra said, “I would never wish you to forget your duty to your people.”
    “Then you will answer what I ask of you.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. For just a moment, his guard dropped enough to reveal the bleakness behind the mask of his imperturbable control. She had to press her lips firmly together to keep from crying out against it, knowing how very much he would want no one to know of his anguish. A moment later it was gone, concealed in an act of relentless will.
    “Did you want your brother to take you from here?”
    Cymbra hesitated. If she told him the truth—that Hawk had come back without her knowledge and had refused to leave until she accompanied him to his vessel— she had no doubt of the outcome. Her brother would be judged to have violated the alliance he had given every evidence of accepting. Wolf would have every right to claim his life for such an act of treachery and betrayal. His people would demand it.
    But if she took the blame upon herself instead, shewould also take the punishment. At least then there was a chance that Hawk's life would be spared. Clinging to that thought, she gathered her courage and gazed into the eyes of her husband.
    Wolf had asked for her trust and in that moment she gave it fully. She trusted him with her love, her loyalty— and her life.
    “I went with him willingly.”
    Savage pain rippled between them as Wolf absorbed the impact of her words. He flinched like a man struck and his face tightened further. She felt his last, faint hope die and the steel-cold resolve of the warrior take its place.
    “A woman who seeks to leave her husband violates our laws.” He stared at her. “This is also the way of the Saxon, is it not?”
    She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Desperately, she fought back tears. She could not make this harder for him by revealing her own terror and anguish, yet neither could she let him believe the worst. “I never meant to stab you. It was an accident.”
    He said nothing for a moment, then merely shrugged, as though a wound that could have killed him was of no consequence. “You are not accused of that.”
    She knew he was sparing her a charge that would surely have meant a death sentence. Knew, too, that there must be many among the crowd who disagreed with his decision even if they would not dare to challenge it.
    Slowly, Wolf rose. For just a moment, he pressed his hands on the edge of the table to steady himself, then stood unaided.
    His voice was low and hard, filling the hushed great hall where it seemed nary a person so much as breathed.
    “You sought to leave your husband without his knowledge or permission. That is a violation of our laws. So, too, you sought to leave here without the knowledge orpermission of your lord. That also is a violation. For both those offenses, you will be punished.”
    Fear filled her. She fought to conceal it, clinging to trust, remembering love. No one moved for a long moment. Then Dragon stepped forward again and took her arm. He said nothing, only led her from the hall. Outside, they turned not back toward the cells but in the opposite direction—toward the punishment post.
    C YMBRA STOOD, HER CHEEK RESTING AGAINST THE rough wood. Leather ropes bound her wrists. A slight breeze warmed by