Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (22 page)

Will did not view his mother in the same light as Tamzin.

He saw the wrinkles on her face, the way her ears jutted out from underneath her hair, and felt she was too tall for a woman. She approached him swiftly, her arms open and her eyes filled with tears, in an attempt to embrace him, but Will nearly fell backward in his attempt to escape her. His arm came out in front of Tamzin, like he were protecting her from Nicola.

"You've grown," Nicola cried softly, her fingers dabbing her eyes gently. "You were such a tiny baby. I can't believe you've grown to be this tall and strong."

"You haven't seen me in nineteen years. A lot can happen," Will said through grated teeth as he watched Nicola's eyes settle on Tamzin and her large bump.

"You're going to be a father as well? The rumors are true," Nicola cried again with happiness, but Tamzin felt the affection like sludge. Will lived his entire existence believing his mother was dead and Nicola clearly made no attempt to return to her son. The anger that rolled off Will, like the waves in the ocean, was completely justified in Tamzin's eyes. She wouldn't try to stop his hostility, unless he became violent. "You're Tamzin Roth?"

"Tamzin Thurston," Tamzin corrected with a slight bit of animosity in her voice. "And I know who you are."

Nicola felt the tension in the air as she took a step back from Will, Tamzin, and his men. The Thurston men all had looks of shock on their faces, while the Roth archers looked completely bewildered and looked anywhere but the sight in front of them.

"You look very good for a dead woman," Garrett spoke up from behind them as he came to stand on Will's other side.

"And who are you?" Nicola asked defensively as the tanned skinned man came to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulder, the same way Will placed his hands on Tamzin, and Will saw red. Tamzin felt him try to let go of her hand when Paul intervened.

"I think we should take this some place private, where everything can be explained," Paul said as he lowered Will's arm. "There is very much that needs to be explained."

Will tore his arm from Paul's grasp and felt Tamzin's soft hand touch him. He instantly calmed; his rage no longer dominated his thoughts. Will turned his head to gaze at her and found Tamzin staring daggers at his...well, he wasn't exactly sure what to call her. She did give birth to him, yes, but Will knew enough about women to know that it took much more than birthing a child to be considered a mother.

"If you will follow your...Nicola, I will see to your men," Paul said as he extended his arm in the direction to the door behind the thrones. Aidan and Aurelia stood pensively behind them, before Aurelia took the initiative and led them from the Throne Room. Behind the wooden door was a long hallway that was poorly lit. Will felt Tamzin's nails on his skin as she tightened her grip on his arm. The floors creaked as Will, Tamzin, and Garrett walked across, with the tanned man behind them. Nicola, Aidan, and Aurelia led the way to the end of the hallway, where there was a door. Aidan opened the door and inside was a cozy study.

Aidan didn't way as he walked around his desk to sit in the rickety chair. His desk was bare, except for a few books in the corner. The shelves behind him were filled with old and worn books, with a map of the territories in a glass display case above. There were only a few chairs and Will pulled one a good few feet away from the others for Tamzin to sit in.

She sat down with difficulty, her belly swollen so large that it was becoming difficult for her to maneuver. A moment after she sat, the three teenagers from earlier joined. The boy favored the tanned skinned man greatly, but he had Nicola's dark hair, as did the younger girl. Her hair was curly like Will's, but her curls were drier and less lovely. Tamzin was quite sure her hair would feel like straw.

Tamzin couldn't say for sure, but she was quite sure these two children were Nicola's. She couldn't tell if Will knew, but she imagined it felt like a punch in the stomach. She felt Will place his hands on her shoulders; the weight was a great comfort and it felt like he was holding her to the earth. Tamzin turned to see Garrett stand next to her, his sword slightly drawn from the sheath, as a warning.

"Apparently there is much that needs to be said," Will spoke first and Tamzin could feel the intensity of his glare from behind her. "What possible story could there be to why I thought you were dead?" He spoke directly to Nicola, who held his stare without missing a beat. Though they had different eye colors, Tamzin could make out the shape of Will's eyes in Nicola's, and they shared the same look when they were cross. A part of her wanted to chuckle at the irony of it.

"I will let that go, because I know I can't possibly fathom the anger you're feeling," Nicola began as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I should probably get the introductions out of the way. This," Nicola said as she opened her arms to the teenaged boy, "is my son, Ethan."

Tamzin felt Will flinch but he returned to his normal stone stature as he stared the boy down. Ethan couldn't have been too much younger than Will, but he was much softer looking. Ethan didn't have a thick beard like Will, nor the sharp features that came after Will's boyhood youth melted away. Tamzin looked to the girl next to Ethan, who shuffled her feet awkwardly.

"And my daughter and my youngest. Her name is Katya," Nicola said as Katya stood next to her as Nicola gently rubbed her hair. Sadly, Katya was not as beautiful as her mother, with her straw hair and dull eyes, but she seemed sweet as she tried to smile at Will, who did not return the gesture. "Then there is Ethan's wife, Hanna." Hanna was the third teen. She was alluring in her youth, but not particularly beautiful. She was tan like the others with mahogany colored hair and deep brown eyes. Her lips were thin and her nose small; she had a small beauty mark just below her left eye. Tamzin watched as Hanna didn't cling to Ethan like she did to Will. She kept a bit of a distance between them. "And then, there is my husband, Willem."

Garrett nearly dropped his sword as he turned so quickly to look at Will for his reaction. Tamzin nearly ripped her head clear from her neck as she thrust back so quickly to peer at Will, who continued to stand stoically. Willem, the tanned man who had stood near Aidan in the Throne Room, stepped forward and took Nicola's hand in his.

"Is this the part where you tell me I am secretly his son?" Will asked sardonically, the bitterness seeping into the air and the smell was something similar to vinegar.

"No," Nicola replied simply. "You are indeed Gregory Thurston's son. You're quite near a mirror image of him," Nicola frowned as she held Katya closer to her. "Your father was so angry when I left, I thought for sure he would tell you I left. But he says I am dead?"

"So does Aunt Isabelle," Will sneered as his hands slid from Tamzin's shoulders and he gripped the chair tightly. "So you birthed me, rolled out of bed, and ran home?"

"That wasn't what happened," Nicola said with her voice rising. Tamzin was unsure if it was the sound of pleading or anger that made her voice rise so high. "I had to leave. I know that you know what your father is like."

"I didn't have the option to leave, so instead of being a mother to me, you left and made another brood?" Will barked as he looked to Ethan and Katya. "I wasn't worth a single letter? From any of you?"

"Your mother wrote you constantly," Willem intervened. His voice was deep and melodic and a part of Tamzin respected him for defending Nicola without any fear of Will. Tamzin knew how imposing her husband was and why he frightened so many people. Willem didn't seem to be frightened of the Northern ice man. "As did your grandparents and your uncle. Hell, I wrote you a letter, as did my children."

"I don't believe I asked your opinion," Will said as he walked around the side of Tamzin's chair in an attempt to attack Willem.

"Will, stop!" Tamzin screamed before she winced. Will stopped his movements and immediately dropped to his knees next to her and placed his hand on her belly. "They can throw us out, and I have no desire to have a baby in the forest."

"We're not going to throw you out," Aidan said from his desk. "You haven't received any of the letters, I gathered."

"If you have even written them," Will growled as he directed his icy stare to his grandfather. "No one thought to come down from this mighty false mountain to find me?"

"When you never returned a single letter, what was I supposed to think?" Nicola asked. "Isabelle wouldn't return my letters, either. When I told her what had happened between Gregory and I, she never forgave me. She said I was too young to be a mother, but didn't know I had a husband that didn't feel an ounce of love or affection for me. Your father certainly never dropped to his knees when I experienced an early contraction with you." Nicola turned her attention to Tamzin, with slightly fond eyes. "Growing up with your father couldn't have been so bad if you can love her so much."

"Don't speak of my relationship with her. If you didn't love me enough to stay, then you can't possibly understand how I love her," Will said as he stood to his feet, wrapped his arm under Tamzin and lifted her from the seat. "If you're letting us stay, then please show my wife and I to our chambers. It's been a long journey for her."

Tamzin pondered her response, but said nothing as Katya separated herself from her mother.

"I will show you to your chambers," she said in a soft and unassuming voice. She didn't look Will in the eye, but thought nothing of taking Tamzin's arm and wrapping it in her own to help her waddle. "You look quite ready to burst, Your Grace."

"I am very near that point," Tamzin laughed and felt Will bristle next to her, but said nothing. She felt him drift slowly away from her as he walked with Garrett. "How old are you?"

"I am fifteen, Your Grace. Ethan is seventeen and Hanna is nearly seventeen," Katya smiled at the mention of her sister in law. "It will be quite nice to have another girl to talk to. Especially a Northern girl."

"I'm not quite Northern. I'm a Roth, meaning I'm from the furthest south of the North. Will is about as North as they can come," Tamzin smiled again, though Katya seemed nervous about the mention of Will.

"He is called 'Will' where is you are from?" Katya asked.

"Yes, of course. Does no one refer to him as that here?" Tamzin asked as she looked briefly over her shoulder to peer at Will and Garrett. They were making notes of where they were staying and the various exits.

Katya shook her head.

“He’s the Black Bear of the North to us,” she whispered.

Katya led them to the end of the hallway, where she opened the door. The chambers were simple, with a large bed, a vanity, and armoire. Tamzin longed for the two chairs by the fire up North.

"These chambers are closest to the healer. I know it is not grand enough for a Northerner..." Katya began before Tamzin placed a gentle hand on her arm.

"These are quite all right," Tamzin smiled as Will and Garrett stepped into the chambers. Will whispered something to Garrett before he disappeared. Katya seemed very nervous amongst them.

"If it is fine with you, Your Grace, but my mother instructed me in the Throne Room to be your handmaiden. Hanna, as well," Katya said before she dipped into a curtsy. "If it would please you?"

"You don't need to curtsy. I am not as formal as I appear," Tamzin grinned as Will huffed as he crossed the room and sat down on the bed. "My husband is one for tradition, but I am not."

"Lies," Will responded as he laid down. Katya seemed shocked by Will's blatant disregard for proper decorum in Southern territories.

"But I would love for you and Hanna to be my handmaidens," Tamzin said before she felt the sadness at the reminder of Kendall. Though she felt her eyes water, Tamzin smiled at Katya before she excused herself.

"I will retrieve you both for dinner," Katya said before she curtsied to Tamzin and bowed to Will, who continued to lie on the bed. When they were alone, Will sat up on the bed, a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"I suppose you think I overreacted," Will asked as he raked his fingers through his hair.

"No, not at all," Tamzin said as she crossed the room and sat on the bed next to him. "What she did hurt you in the worst way possible. How you reacted was all normal to me and nothing to be sorry for."

"I used to wish when I was a boy that she would be alive and just show up one day," Will said as his voice cracked. "It sounds stupid, but it was like I wanted her to be my white knight. Is that odd?"

"You wanted her to protect you from your father when you couldn't defend yourself," Tamzin said as she ran her hand up his arm in a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry we have to stay here on my account."

"I may be angry with her, but I don't believe they will hurt us or our child," Will said as his fingers tapped on her stomach. He smiled bitterly when he felt the baby kick at his fingers. "I love him without ever meeting him. I would cease to exist if anything happened to him. Why doesn't my mother feel the same way? What was so awful about me that she left and never came back?"

"There is nothing awful about you, Will," Tamzin soothed as she wrapped her fingers around his arm and pressed a kiss to an old scar. "It isn't as cut and dry as your mother hates you, so she left. We don't know the whole story, but it sounds as if your father hurt her. Maybe she had no choice?"

"There is always a choice," Will spat as he grit his teeth together so tightly that pain shot through his jaw from the pressure. "She should have taken me with her."

"And risk a war?" Tamzin asked with a sad smile. "You and I are very lucky. Many couples cannot turn an arranged marriage into one filled with love and happiness."

"But not every marriage is violent. My father was awful to me, but maybe it was because I reminded him of her?" Will pondered as Tamzin laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm through his, where she joined their hands. "Or maybe she's lying about everything."

"I don't think she lied about that. But we don't know the whole story," Tamzin said as she squeezed his hand. "I understand your anger with her and your grandparents completely, but I think you should try to get to know your siblings. Katya seems sweet."