A Battle Lord’s Heart (10 page)

           
Atty stared at her weapon, then
glanced up at him. She dropped her coat on the ground and took a stance. “What
if I still manage to kick your butt?” she mocked him, laughing.

           
“Are you still willing to make that
wager, my love?”

           
“Damn right, I am.”

           
Yulen chuckled. “What could I
possibly have that I wouldn’t already give you willingly?”

           
“Our son’s name.”

           
The announcement caught everyone
off-guard. Lifting an eyebrow, Yulen asked for clarification. “You want to give
our son his name, without me saying yea or nay on the matter?”

           
Atty nodded. “Yeah.”

           
“And if I win, the same condition
applies? I get to name him, without you being able to agree or disagree on my
choice?”

           
“Fair enough.”

           
“Okay. I accept your terms.
En
guarde
, my love.”

           
They crossed tips, and Yulen backed
off slightly to give her a little more room. From the first thrust, he realized
she was better than he’d expected, and he chided himself for once again
underestimating his wife’s abilities.

           
Although the added weight in her
belly made her slower than she normally would be, she still managed to keep him
on his toes. Several times she almost managed to peg him, but Yulen danced out
of her range at the last second. The group of bystanders cheered and jeered and
kept their bets going as to who would win. In the meantime, Yulen kept his eyes
drilled on her to make sure she didn’t over-extend herself. This was meant to
be all in fun, and nothing more.

           
Despite her handicap, it didn’t
affect Atty’s arm or her aim.
 
She knew
most of her husband’s weaknesses. She just never expected to have to apply them
to actual one-on-one combat. However, he did have one major, crucial advantage,
not counting the pregnancy. He was left-handed. That in itself was enough to
tilt the balance in his favor whenever he faced a right-handed opponent. And
although Atty could fire her bow with equal dexterity with either hand, she was
definitely right-handed when it came to everything else.

           
She batted away a half-dozen partial
lunges aimed at her chest with sweeping downstrokes. Earlier she’d tried to
lunge, but her awkwardness prevented her from completing the movement. Instead,
she twirled around on the tips of her toes and tried to mow him down at the
waist. It wasn’t until Yulen pivoted that she saw the wide, almost bloody red
mark above the waistband of his pants where Mastin’s broad sword had gotten
him. Stunned, she missed seeing the tip of his foil coming toward her, and a
heartbeat later the capped end was pressed against upper edge of her collarbone.

           
“
Touché
, Atty,” he
whispered.
 
Around them, the crowd
erupted in applause.

           
She glanced up into his eyes.
“You’re hurt.”

           
“Comes with the territory,” he
acknowledged above the din of the spectators. “Admit defeat?”

           
“You fought me when you were hurt?”

           
“Not fought. Practiced. Admit
defeat?”

           
“On one condition.”

           
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Now
what?”

           
“That after I have this baby, you
and I have a rematch. I feel like I’m moving through mud when I’m like this.”

           
Smiling, Yulen relented, taking her foil
from her. “And I get to name our son, no argument on your part?”

           
“That was the deal,” she
relented.
 
Yulen caught the twinkle in
her eye, and realized she had something up her sleeve. Atty never relented so
easily unless she had other intentions. He chuckled as he retrieved her coat
and handed it to her.

           
Walking back to the circle from
where he’d been watching from the stands, Baylynn called out another pairs of
names. The couple proceeded through the crowd and began to head back toward the
compound. Presently, Tory caught up with them.

           
“Hope you don’t mind me accompanying
you. Do you know where Fortune is?”

           
Yulen motioned with a nod of his
head as he pulled his tunic back on. “He went out to the archery field to watch
the men practice. Doesn’t he shoot a bow as well?”

           
“Yeah,” Tory admitted. “He’s
probably getting in a little practice, too. You know, Yulen, you had me worried
there for a moment when you challenged Atty.”

           
“I knew what I was doing,” he
answered her. “Atty was never in any danger. I was watching her every moment to
make certain she wasn’t over-exerting herself.”

           
Atty piped up, “And I would have
won, too, until I saw that ugly mark on your back. Bet it stings like the
dickens.”

           
“I’ll be okay. I’ll get Liam to look
at it.”

           
They were interrupted by one of the
young solders-in-training, who came running up to the Battle Lord with an
urgent message. “It’s from Paxton,” the lad said, handing Yulen a folded piece
of paper. “A messenger accompanied by two of our men just arrived. They’re in the
main lodge now.”

           
Pulling back his arm from where he’d
had it around Atty’s shoulders, Yulen opened the paper and read it aloud.
“‘Bearinger under siege. Being overrun with Bloods. Need help, supplies now.’
It’s signed ‘Paxton’.” He only took a second to make his decision. “Tory, take
Atty and go to the lodge and wait for me there. What is your name?” he asked
the young man.

           
“Pike, sir.”

           
“Pike, go get Del Ray and Sorcher,
and have them meet me at the main lodge,” he ordered. The boy ran off.

           
“Yulen, what are you going to do?”
Atty called out to him as he turned and headed back the way they’d come. If he
heard her, he didn’t answer. Tory grabbed her arm and tried to lead her back to
the lodge.

           
“Come on, Atty. It’s too cold to be
standing out here.”

           
It was as if Atty had already made
up her mind. Relenting to Tory’s insistent tugging on her arm, she followed
along until they reached the cut-off leading to either the main lodge or her
new home. Without a word, Atty suddenly turned toward the main lodge with Tory
in tow.

           
“Atty, what do you think you’re
doing?”

           
“It’s not what I think I’m doing,”
she responded tightly. “It’s what I know Yulen is going to do.”

           
“What do you mean?”

           
Fighting back tears, Atty gritted
her teeth. “He’s going to leave me,” she told her.

Chapter
Seven

Rescue
Mission

           
Within a quarter hour every officer
in Yulen’s army had gathered in the main lodge as news swept the compound about
Bearinger. When the Battle Lord strode into the hall to give them their orders,
he was aware of the figure standing before the fireplace with a devastated look
on her face. He took a deep breath and turned to face his men.

           
“Bearinger is under siege from the
Bloods. They need reinforcements, and they need them now. I’m taking a hundred
men in full battle armor. Mastin, you’re staying here.”

           
“Sir?” The Second was stunned to
hear his orders.

           
“I need someone I can trust to guard
Alta Novis. With my forces depleted, it’ll leave this compound a ripe target
for takeover if the Bloods decide to redirect their attack.” Inadvertently his
eyes swept back to the figure by the fireplace, and Mastin followed his glance.
Immediately the Second realized the Battle Lord wasn’t just trusting him with
the safety of the home compound. He was trusting him with his most cherished
possession—Atty and their unborn son. The Second grimly nodded.

           
Gripping the pommel of his sword,
Yulen added in a harsher tone, “This is a rescue mission. It will also be an
extremely dangerous one. Let the men know first consideration will go to those
who volunteer. The rest will be chosen by my lieutenants. Get your gear ready
and be ready to leave before the hour. Dismissed.”

           
That gave everyone a little more
than half an hour to prepare and be saddled. Yulen watched his men hurry out,
leaving him alone with a small handful of people scattered about the huge hall.
Slowly, he turned to face his wife. The caustic retribution he expected from
her was swift and heated.

           
“You promised me you would never
leave me,” she spat through gritted teeth. Her face was pale, her eyes
glittering with anger and unshed tears.

           
“And I told you my first duty would
always be to this compound,” he calmly responded. The bile in his stomach could
not compare with the venom she was unleashing at him. Atty wasn’t as furious as
she was terrified. They both knew it. From the corner of his eye he caught the
figures of Fortune and Tory standing back in the shadows, waiting and watching.
Fearful for the both of them.

           
“And you expect me to just sit here,
with the agony of not knowing what’s happening to you eating at my heart, while
you’re out there facing God knows what?” Atty cried softly. She was clutching
the edges of her coat, as if she were freezing.

           
Yulen started to walk toward her
when the import of what she’d said slammed into his brain, and he gasped. In a
dark voice, he ordered, “You’re staying here, Atty. You’re not coming after
us.”

           
Her reply was a stony stare. Yulen
could feel the heat of his anger flooding his face and neck. “I forbid you.”

           
Still she remained silent, except
for the slight upward tilt of her chin. She was daring him, and her audacity,
for the first time in their marriage, grated on him.

           
“Promise me you will not follow us
once we leave.”

           
Blue-gray eyes challenged blue-gray
eyes. The air between them sizzled with tension. Behind her, the fireplace
crackled and hissed, throwing sparks into the air, giving Atty’s figure an
almost ethereal halo of fire.

           
Realizing that force would not
persuade her, Yulen tried a different tactic. “Atty, why would you even
consider coming along? Why would you even risk our son?”

           
“You need me,” she whispered.

           
“I need you
safe!
” he
immediately argued back. “I need to know you’re here, alive and safe and waiting
for me. I need my mind clear of any worry about you so I can concentrate on
what I need to do to save my compound and my people.”

           
“And who’ll watch your back?” she
demanded tearfully.

           
“Who watched my back before I found
you?” he challenged in return. “My men are very capable of backing me up. It’s
what they’ve been trained to do. You, on the other hand—”

           
“Do you honestly think I can sit
here day after day and do
nothing?
” she cried out to him.

           
“I want your word, Atty. Give me
your word you’ll remain in Alta Novis.”

           
“I...can’t.”

           
“
Damn it
, Atty!” He slammed
his fist on the edge of the table, splintering the wood plank. “Don’t do this
to me! Don’t force me to do something I’ll forever regret.”

           
Her eyes widened as she took in his
threat. “Do what?” she ask loudly, haughtily.

           
“If I have to, I’ll have you
imprisoned in our home and keep you guarded ‘round the clock.”

           
She took a step sideways, away from
him. “You’d keep me a prisoner?”

           
“If it’s the only way I can be
certain you won’t hurt yourself, yes, I will,” he replied bitterly.

           
Tory started to take a step forward
to intervene, when her husband grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He nodded
violently to her. This was something Atty and Yulen had to work out on their
own, without any interference. But in the meantime their argument had caught
the ears of several more people, and the number of onlookers around the
perimeter of the room had doubled.

           
Yulen appeared ready to boil at
Atty’s disobedience. On the other hand, Atty seemed ready to cave, despite her
show of backbone.

           
A long moment of silence passed
between them, yet neither showed signs of yielding. The tension grew and became
strained, threatening to snap and recoil like a thin, deadly filament of wire,
until Atty dropped her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

           
“We’re connected, Yul,” she spoke
softly. Hesitantly. “You and me...if something happens to you, I’ll know. I’ll
know, and then I won’t be able to live with myself, knowing I might have been
able to save you. Knowing I might have made a difference.” She lifted large
eyes swimming in tears. “We’ve had such a short time together. It’s not enough.
I’m jealous, and I’m selfish. I want more, Yul. I want more time with you.”