“You need not sacrifice for me, Royden,” she said with a prideful tilt of her chin.
How could she think it was a sacrifice for him to wed her? It didn’t matter whether she wanted to or not, he would wed her.
I failed you once. I won’t fail you again.
Those words rang in his head but didn’t fall from his lips. Instead, he demanded, “You will wed me.”
“I’ve been ordered—”
“I don’t care who ordered it,” Royden spat, stopping Oria from arguing with him. He’d have his way. To hell with the power hungry fiend. He looked to Fergus. “You brought a cleric with you. Wed us now and be done with it.”
“No doubt the orders came from the King. He would just annul the marriage,” Oria argued, worried what the King would do to Royden for interfering in his plans.
Fergus burst out laughing and Royden and Oria stared at him in disbelief.
“You claim Oria is a friend, yet you find it humorous that she is being forced to wed once again?” Royden asked anger marking his every word.
“Aye, I do—since it’s you she’s being forced to wed.” Fergus laughed even louder.
Chapter 4
“Is this a game you play, Fergus?” Royden demanded, the news having shocked him. Or was it that he was relieved that he and Oria would finally be husband and wife as it had been planned? But it wasn’t by choice. Would she marry him otherwise?
“Not at all. I have the document to prove it, the royal seal affixed. While I don’t think either of you will object, since you were to wed at one time, I must tell you that it is a condition of your release. You must wed Oria or you will be returned to the mercenaries.”
Oria rushed to say, “I’ll wed Royden.”
Did Oria sacrifice to save him? This wasn’t the way they were to wed, forced to save either of themselves. If they loved each other, what did it matter? That was the question that gnawed at him. Much had changed in five years. He certainly had and Oria had had a husband, a good husband from what she had said. How would marriage be for both of them now?
“Good, then we’ll get it done,” Fergus said.
A thought occurred to Royden. “I was told someone made a deep sacrifice for my release. If that is so, why then would the King interfere?”
“I don’t know. I’m not privy to how your release came about. I follow the orders sent to me,” Fergus said.
“By the King or the one who commands you?” Royden demanded his temper flaring.
“I won’t stand here and argue with you about it. It’s your choice. Wed Oria or return to the mercenaries,” Fergus said with a touch of anger.
It wasn’t lost on Royden that Fergus didn’t protest that someone commanded him. There was more to what was going on with his release than he was being told. Had the leader of the mercenaries struck a bargain with the King, but if that was so there was no reason for anyone to sacrifice for his release. None of it made sense and that made him want to find out what was truly going on.
“Wed us now. I will not see Royden taken from his home again,” Oria commanded with such strength and determination that both men’s brows shot up.
“I don’t need you to defend me,” Royden snapped out of sheer pride that she would be saving him.
“Since you’ve gotten so stubborn and prideful, then wed me so I won’t be homeless,” she said.
That rankled him even more since she sacrificed her own pride for him. “Are you begging me to wed you?”
“Aye, if that is what it will take for you not to be foolhardy,” she said, her tongue as curt as his.
“I should—”
“Refuse me and leave me homeless?” she challenged, her green eyes blazing brightly.
Royden didn’t hide his anger and he spoke to her as he never thought he would. “Your tongue has grown sharp over the years, woman.”
“No, my tongue has grown wiser over the years. It’s a shame yours hasn’t.”
Fergus wisely moved out of the way of the two, stepping to the side and glad he was that he did, since Royden vaulted over the table with the agility and strength of a seasoned warrior. A surprising feat for a man with one hand.
Royden went to stand directly in front of Oria. “You’ve changed and not for the better.”
“And what of you, Royden. Who is it that I marry, since you certainly aren’t the kind and loving man I once knew and loved?”
He leaned down, his nose almost touching hers. “You’re about to find out.” He turned away from her. “Fetch the cleric, Fergus, and let’s get this done.”
Oria went and sat on the bench at the table, fearful her trembling legs wouldn’t hold her up much longer. She kept her head up and her shoulders erect, letting no one see the worry that had taken hold of her. Never had she imagined she’d be forced to wed Royden. Force would never be necessary, not to wed the man she loved. But was he still that man? Did she truly know who she wed?