Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (19 page)

"Do you think it would have been a sin for us to lie together before we were married?" Tamzin asked abruptly as her fingers played with the opening of Will's tunic.

"Why do you ask?" Will asked with a grin. "I doubt I had a chance with you before we were wed."

"You didn't," Tamzin giggled. "But my father said that I need to be as ladylike as possible. He says it is much stricter, where we are going."

"I would assume he is right, but no one knows for sure," Will said as he stroked her belly softly.

"Father said they may not allow us to share a chamber, because we have obviously already procreated," Tamzin said as she looked down to his hand on her belly. "I don't want to be kept from you."

"We won't be," Will said as he kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, sweetness. By the time you wake up, we will be close or in Bradford."

"I can't sleep," Tamzin groaned softly.

"Why? Are you anxious?" Will asked.

"No, my stomach has been bothering me," Tamzin said as she winced lightly and rubbed the skin under her stomach. "I've been feeling like this for a few days."

"Are you well?" Will asked as he turned his attention to her. "Do you think it's the baby?"

"Mother told me I would be well aware if I were going into labor. This is just cramps," Tamzin smiled through a wince. "Jacque offered me some medicine to help before I got on the wagon, but I don't want to hurt the baby."

"Jacque is coming with us, right?" Will asked as he continued to massage her stomach. "In case something happens on the road."

"Yes, he has joined us, but you have nothing to worry about," Tamzin said with a smile. "I can't say I'm not enjoying your concern."

"I'm happy my anxiety is leaving you with such a warm feeling," Will replied sarcastically, though he returned her grin. "Seraphina is joining us."

"I figured as much," Tamzin responded as Will continued to massage her stomach. "I cannot be her friend, Will. I won't be rude to her, but I will not go out of my way to be kind either."

"All I ask is that you stay courteous to Garrett. He is my second-in-command and though we are going through a rough patch, he is still my best friend," Will said as he looked out ahead to where Garrett was leading the men. "I know it is hard, and I wouldn't ask if I didn't need it to be so."

"When Seraphina has her baby, what will happen? Can the child be legitimized?" Tamzin asked as she played with the strings of Will's tunic. Will could feel her warm breath on his chest.

"Yes, Garrett can accept the child and have me legitimize it. I can grant the permission, but my father or Aidan Bradford, the King, will have to sign the paperwork," Will said. "Do you want the child legitimized?"

"It isn't the baby's fault how he or she was conceived," Tamzin responded as her hand rested on her belly. "The baby should be born without anything hanging over its head."

"I cannot wait for him," Will said and gestured to her stomach, "to be born."

"If I didn't have to go through a world of pain to have him, I would agree wholeheartedly," Tamzin laughed as she pressed her head into his shoulder. "My cramping has slowed. I think it is time for us to take a nap. We need to be in tip-top shape for when we see your family."

Will didn't reply as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed. Gently, he laid his head back against the wall of the enclosed wagon and closed his eyes. The soft jumbles of the wagon wheels on the dirt road lulled him into a fitful sleep.

When Will awoke, it was to the smell of smoke. He awoke abruptly and though he could see where he was easily, he knew the fire was nearby.

"Is something burning?" Tamzin asked in a groggy voice as she sat up against his chest. "Will?"

"Stay here," Will ordered as he pulled away from her and grabbed the chest that rested inside the wagon. His men, who still sat on the wagon, pulled out their weapons as Will pulled his chain mail over his head and some light armor over his torso. He adjusted the sword at his hip as the wagon came to a halt. The motion slammed Tamzin into the wall behind her and she groaned from the pain as she massaged her neck. "Are you okay?" Will asked as he crawled to Tamzin and touched her knee.

"I'm fine..." Tamzin began before the men from their wagon jumped to their feet. As they moved away from the wagon entrance, Tamzin could see the smoke. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Will said as he unsheathed his sword and followed his men. He was half off the wagon when he saw what made the men stop in their tracks.

An entire town, small as it was, was burned to the ground. The ash and cinder moved gently through the air and the fire pits that still burned illuminated the dark sky. Will smelt the unmistakable smell of burned flesh and the stench of rotting bodies.

Though the fires were still fresh, it was possible that the town was attacked hours before and the heat and possibly sunlight could have made the bodies rot faster. Will hopped off the wagon and approached the entrance to the village slowly, and with his sword drawn. His men began to follow him, though a few stayed behind to protect Tamzin's wagon.

The town was completely destroyed. Every structure was burned to the ground or mostly destroyed by fire. Bodies of men, women, and children littered the ground and their blood seeped into the nearby river. Will nearly choked when he came across a dead woman strewn across her child; someone had run a spear through them, and it killed them both. The men, especially, died violent deaths, with slashed throats, bloody torsos, and some had missing limbs. Though Will had been in countless battles, nothing prepared him for seeing dead women and children.

A hand reached out and grabbed Will's ankle. In a fright, Will turned around and thought he would see an enemy, but all he saw was a small boy on the ground. The boy had dark hair and his eyes weren't open enough to see what color they were. The boy let out a croak as Will dropped to his knees. He immediately took the boy in his arms and cradled him as he called out for Jacque. For what felt like hours, Will waited for Jacque to come, but all he found was Tamzin, who knelt beside him.

"I told you to wait in the wagon," Will scolded as he watched Tamzin take the boy from his arms and place the boy back on the ground. She ignored him as she placed her hands on her dress, where she tore a large part of her skirt. With that fabric, she pressed down on the boy's gaping wound in his stomach. Her gentle voice sounded like music to Will as he listened to her comfort the boy. She told him everything would be fine and asked if he had any extreme pain?

"I don't feel anything," the boy slurred out as he looked up to the sky. With his eyes open, Will could see the boy's blue eyes. The resemblance between them was too much to handle as Will felt his eyes well up.

"I can't stop the bleeding," Tamzin whispered softly to Will as the boy continued to hold his hand. "The wound is too big to cauterize, and even if I did, I think he lost too much blood."

"Where is Jacque?" Will asked angrily as he felt the boy's grip loosen from his, before it slid to the ground. "Hey! Hey!" Will yelled as he grabbed the boy's shoulders and shook him. "Wake up!"

"He's gone, Will," Tamzin said sadly as she touched his arm, her hand still covered in blood. "His wound was too great."

"Why didn't you save him?" Will asked as he felt the tears in his eyes begin to slip down his cheeks. He wiped them away hastily, as to not let his men see him show this much emotion.

"I couldn't," Tamzin soothed as she placed her hand on his neck. "Will, I'm sorry, but some people can't be saved." It was words he had said countless times to her, but when he was actually confronted with the idea that innocent people were being killed, he felt the same as Tamzin. Watching a child die over a grown man was a very different experience. Will stood abruptly and turned away from the boy's dead body. Garrett stood behind him.

"Should we bury them?" Garrett asked as he watched the other men inspect the bodies for signs of life. No man openly wept, but they were disturbed by the amount of children they found.

"It would take too long to bury them and if we start a fire to burn them, someone could be alerted to our presence. These fire pits are almost out," Will said solemnly, emotionlessly. "We didn't notice them until we were close enough. How far are we from Bradford?"

"Not far," Garrett answered as he placed his hand on his neck. "You would want someone to bury you."

"I do, but I didn't kill these people and if I didn't have a pregnant wife in my care, I would bury them," Will responded as he turned back around and found Tamzin wiping the dead boy's face clean of dirt.

"Strengthen the dying fires and burn the bodies that way," Tamzin suggested as she bit her lip while staring at the boy's corpse. "If that is what you think is best," Tamzin added. The men looked to Will to make a decision, but no one said anything or offered their own suggestions.

"We have to move," Will said. "We don't know if the people who did this are still nearby."

"Okay," Tamzin agreed, though she looked back to the boy's corpse and then the bodies of the others. Will didn't remark on her agreement, though he could see she did not wholly agree with him. She took his hand in hers and together, they returned to the wagon. Will helped Tamzin onto the wagon, and they sat towards the edge of the wagon. The men that sat by them ignored them as Tamzin laced her arm through Will's.

"There isn't going to be some public argument about how I'm not making a good decision?" Will asked bitterly as he hunched forward to hide his face from her.

"I was wrong," Tamzin said simply as she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "I feel like everyone dismisses me because I'm a woman. I know you don't, but I just want your men to trust my judgment just like they do yours. I shouldn't have questioned you in front of your men. It was wrong of me," Tamzin said as she offered him a small smile. "Can you forgive me?"

"I think I can do that," Will smiled back, though it wasn't a true smile. As Will leaned forward, he buried his fingers in his hair. "Have you seen a child die before?"

"I saw a lot of people die in Thurston," Tamzin frowned as she remembered. "But this was worst. Duke and his men didn't kill the whole population..."

"But they tried. And they did it the same way. By fire," Will said gravely as he took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. "The Johanssons did this."

"Why, though? This is a Southern town. They wouldn't help Northerners," Tamzin said as she felt the wagon buck before it began moving again.

"It is a Southern town, but it's closer to Bradford than Johansson. It's safe to determine that the town is loyal to Bradford, which means the town would be loyal to me," Will explained as he looked forward through the opening of the wagon. The sky was still dark, but there was enough light from the fading moon to see that the sun would rise shortly. "But something is bothering me me."

"What?" Tamzin asked.

"Spears. It's not something used in wars much. At least, not anymore," Will said before he ran his hand through his hair. "My father won his battles by using spears, but now that crossbows are so popular, we don't use spears anymore."

Tamzin didn't respond, though she laid her head against his shoulder.

"My father went North..." Will reasoned.

"You don't know that," Tamzin said sadly as she kissed his shoulder again. "You haven't heard from your father or aunt in ages..."

"Stop," Will nearly growled and pulled away from her embrace. "It may be too dangerous to send word. Isabelle doesn't know where we are. She could be waiting for me to send the first word."

"Yes, that is possible, but you also need to prepare for the worst. And you know what the worst is," Tamzin frowned before she felt Will reach for her again. "I could be wrong about this. I could be wrong about your father as well," she said as she cupped his cheek, his rough beard scratching at her soft palm. "But I don't think I am."

"You understand I cannot breathe a word of this to any of my men without proof? It would be treason to accuse my father of these crimes. Oh, the irony," Will said as he leaned back and smacked his head against the wall of the wagon. "Why attack an irrelevant Southern town?"

"An irrelevant Southern town that wouldn't bend their knee to him? Perhaps your father wanted their help in planning a trap for us? Similar to the attack in the forest when we were returning from your aunt's territory?" Tamzin offered. "This is purely hypothetical, but I think your father heavily planned the attack on us in the forest. The men we met the night before we left, at the inn where Kendall and Garrett were married. I think Duke and his men followed us and waited in the forest. If Duke's arrogance hadn't gotten in the way, you and I would be dead right now and then your father could declare war easily on Johansson. He did it, even after we lived. No matter what the ending is, your father can claim the North for himself and invade Johansson. Gregory probably promised Johansson something for his cooperation. Bradford would side with him and my father would have joined him in battle. If my father had been killed by friendly fire..."

"My father wants me dead," Will half whispered and whimpered. "And I can't tell anyone until something terrible happens."

"We are close to safety, Will," Tamzin said as she dropped her hand into his, where she laced them together and squeezed. "When we are in Bradford, your father won't touch you."

"I'm worried about you and our baby. My father knows that if he wants to kill me, he will kill you," Will leaned forward and took her face in his hands. "If you or our baby die, I will follow..."

"No, you won't!" Tamzin gritted her teeth. "If something happens to me or our child, you become angry. You go after the man who did this to us. What you do is destroy your enemies and take no prisoners. Your bloodline is full of Kings and conquerors. You will live up to your name as a Thurston," Tamzin whispered before the jolt of the wagon as it came to a halt. "What's happening?"

"Your Grace," a Roth archer said from the opening of the wagon. "We are near the gate."

"What do you mean 'near?'" Will asked as he crawled towards the opening and peered out. "Dear God," he said as he stared up. They were near Bradford; in fact, they could see the outer walls of the palace up in the distance. When people said the walls were as high as the sky, it wasn't a lie. Bradford Territory lied atop of a long and treacherous mountain, with a rickety road that wound around the mountain.