of the gashes she saw would require stitching.
She was used to treating injuries and illnesses in her father’s household and used to treating those of headstrong, belligerent men, so she did not ask his permission to do what she did—she simply went ahead and cleaned and bandaged him. She heard his indrawn breath a few times, once as she wrapped some lengths of cloth around his chest to support his bruised ribs, and once when she leaned over and her breasts rubbed against his back.
He was too proud to mention the reason for his injuries, but Haakon had come and reported back to the Truthsayer when he’d sent his servant to follow Harald. Katla had dressed and left the Truthsayer’s chambers, but could not catch up with Harald. She watched from a hidden corner as he walked onto the training field and taunted those there into fighting him. Her stomach clenched and tears burned her throat and eyes as he was pummeled into the ground.
Because of her.
Katla returned to his chambers to wait for him, knowing the worst was yet to come. For unlike the dozens or hundreds of other women before her, the Truthsayer had not tired of her. He’d told her that there was something different about her and that he needed her to come back to Durness with him until the next full moon. And he’d promised to hear her brother’s truth at the next ritual.
Harald would never understand or forgive her now. Chances were that once the Truthsayer tired of her, Harald would not take her back.
She would never forget the expression in his eyes when their gazes met. Shock and hurt showed clearly there, as well as anger and jealousy. But the worst was the disappointment she read in his eyes. When her father gave her the same look, it was a more effective punishment than any beatings or deprivations, for she’d always wanted to prove herself to him and never had.
After Katla finished seeing to Harald’s injuries, she handed him a cup of beer and waited for him to drink it down. The healer had sent over some herbs that would help the pain he was surely feeling. She cleaned up the basin and waited, trying to think of a way to tell him Gavin’s new request.
“My thanks for your care,” Harald said in his gruff voice. He stood, but he wobbled on his feet. “With the earl gone, I have not trained in a long time.” His excuse went unchallenged, for she knew him to be a proud man.
“Harald,” she said as she sat on a stool near him, “there is more you must know.”
The Truthsayer had said that no one would know until she’d told Harald, and he had offered to tell him for her but she needed to do this. She clasped her hands in her lap and met Harald’s gaze. He’d emptied it of any indication of what he felt, so she could not tell what his reaction would be.
“He has asked me to go to Durness with him until the next full moon in exchange for helping Kali. I agreed.”
His response was…nothing. Other than a quick inhalation, Harald did nothing and said nothing for a full minute. Then he stood, walked to the trunk that held his clothing, and finished dressing before facing her.
“And this is your decision? Not his will imposed on you?” he asked, staring at her.
“Aye. I am not under his power now, Harald. For Kali, I must—” He interrupted before she could finish.
“Play his whore for a month, Katla? How does this honor your father or your brother when their reputation must be bought by your dishonor?” He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Your father would have had you whipped to within an inch of your life and thrown you out. Your brother, if he is proven innocent of your father’s machinations, will be humiliated at the price.”
A man speaking of the way men looked at honor. She let out a breath. “But he will be alive, will he not? And he can learn to accept the price I paid.”
“You stand to lose much more doing this than you have lost already. Do you understand that?” he asked.
She stood,
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