Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1)

Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1) by Jayne Castel

Book: Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1) by Jayne Castel Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jayne Castel
Ads: Link
“You have made your father a proud man this day.”
    A fire pit
roared inside her father’s tent and Raedwyn seated herself next to it. She
removed her wet cloak and hung it up to dry. Her gown was sodden, dirty, and
ripped about the hem from trudging through brambles and spiky undergrowth.
However, she had no other clothing to change into. She took off her boots and
put them to dry by the fire. Plump wood pigeons were roasting on a spit and
Raedwyn slowly felt days of accumulated tension fade from her as she sat
quietly sipping a clay mug of mead and listening to her father, brother, uncle
Eni and cousins Annan, Aethelhere and Aethelwold.
    They spoke
of the upcoming battle, of tactics and of Ceolwulf’s most likely method of
attack. Raedwyn realized, listening to the Wuffinga men, that Ceolwulf and his
rabble would be hard pushed to defeat her father and his fyrd . Raedwyn
focused on her father as he concluded their discussion.
    “I want
Raedwyn well away from here long before the battle begins,” Raedwald instructed
the others. “Let her rest a little here and then I want an escort of warriors
to take her back to Rendlaesham.”
    “What of
the reinforcements?” Annan spoke up. “Should they still await your orders?”
    “Now that
there is no risk to Raedwyn, send word they are to join us at the rear just
after sunrise,” Raedwald ordered.
    “You have
more warriors waiting father?” Raedwyn asked, remembering Ceolwulf’s demand
that Raedwald bring two-hundred spears and no more, otherwise her life would be
forfeit.
    “Ceolwulf
should know better than to dictate to me,” Raedwald replied, his blue eyes like
two chips of ice. “Another two hundred spears await two leagues north of here.
They have my order to attack after the battle is underway.”
    Raedwyn
was secretly aghast at this news. Her father had risked her life in defying
Ceolwulf. He had taken a dangerous gamble, for Ceolwulf would have scouts out
making sure Raedwald was sticking to the terms they had agreed upon. Raedwyn’s
escape would have distracted them but, had she not created a diversion, it was
likely they would have discovered the king’s deceit.
    Did
Raedwald not realize that Ceolwulf would have then slit her throat without
compunction? Raedwyn looked upon her own father with new eyes, aware for the
first time of what a formidable opponent he was. Ceolwulf was a man not easily
crossed but then neither was Raedwald. As all those bred to rule, he would
crush those who opposed him without hesitation or remorse. Raedwald was older
now and tired of war but life’s hardships had not worn him down as Ceolwulf
supposed. Raedwald had an inner core of iron and Ceolwulf had vastly underestimated
his ruthlessness.
    If the men
had noticed Raedwyn’s discomfort, they showed no sign, so absorbed were they in
talk of tomorrow’s battle. Raedwyn took a sip of mead and forced it down her
now constricted throat.
    Two
hundred outlaws would not withstand Raedwald’s fyrd of double that. Four
hundred men was only a small part of the fyrd of warriors Raedwald could
have called to fight for him. Raedwald’s kingdom was now vast and, knowing
this, Ceolwulf had been strict with his terms. So sure was he of Raedwald’s
word, he would not suspect a trick.
    Raedwyn
was not sorry for Ceolwulf. He was an arrogant, callous brute who had selfishly
involved others in his blood feud. However, Caelin – quiet, enigmatic Caelin
with dark eyes and the patrician features of a Roman centurion – whose whole
life had been dedicated to his father’s grudge, would die on Uffid Heath the
following morning.
    When the
wood pigeons were roasted, Eni plucked them from the spit and distributed them
with chunks of bread, and boiled wild onions. Raedwyn was faint from hunger but
her thoughts had given her a nervous stomach.
    She forced
herself to eat the meal placed before her. It was delicious food but it felt
dry and tasteless in Raedwyn’s mouth.
     
    ***
     
    Raedwyn
was in

Similar Books

Sadie's Mountain

Shelby Rebecca

Left for Undead

L. A. Banks

Zombie Kong

James Roy Daley

The Phoenix Rising

Richard L. Sanders

Out a Order

Evie Rhodes

Of Love

Sean Michael