Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (10 page)

"Are they severe? Would you like me to inspect them?" Jacque asked with concern in his oversized eyes. "If you're not careful, they can become infected."

"I know. I just want to return to him so I can make him feel better," Tamzin said as she entered Jacque's study and went to his desk and pulled out a sterilized needle and bandages. "If I need any help, I will be sure to ask, Jacque. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm as healthy as a horse, Your Grace," Jacque smiled before he peered behind her. "With all due respect, Tamzin, but I have work to do. If you need help with William, please let me know."

"Yes, of course! Thank you again, Jacque," Tamzin smiled as she shuffled her supplies in her hand and turned around to leave him alone. Jacque watched Tamzin go down the stairs before he shut his door.

"She's gone," he said softly and watched as Seraphina came out from the shadows. "What you're doing is potentially treasonous and just plain stupid."

"I don't have a choice!" Seraphina exclaimed as she touched her stomach. "Why can't you tell Tamzin? She would make Will understand!"

Jacque looked to Seraphina.

"If you betray them and harm comes to that girl, her child, or her husband, I will let your secret out. That I can promise."

Will knew Tamzin well enough to know when she was hiding her true feelings. He could see it when she first came to Thurston Territory and it became more obvious as she gradually opened herself up to him. In front of Court, her family, and her people, Tamzin seemed completely untouched by what had happened to her and what she had seen in Thurston. However, at night, when she thought Will was asleep, her shoulders would shake with quiet sobs and Will would wake to see her pillow stained with her tears.

It had been a few days since Will was burned by the sun and Tamzin busied herself with healing him. Three times a day, she rubbed his skin down with the lavender extract, which soothed his skin. In the morning and evening, she placed him in a cool bath, and moved his limbs consistently so his healing skin would not be too tight. Will watched her intensely during these moments, and studied her face. Her skin glowed from the sunlight, though she had dark circles under her eyes. He didn't speak with her much during this time, as Tamzin was always fixated on healing him. After the third day, she removed the bandage from his torso and Will saw the dead skin from his blister.

"You will start feeling better tomorrow," Tamzin smiled as she touched the dead skin. "I think it may still be too early to peel."

"Peel?" Will asked with alarm as he sat up abruptly. The movement made him wince. "My skin is to peel off?"

"It's dead skin. There is healthy skin underneath. It's like a snake. Your skin was start to itch and that means the healthy skin underneath is healed enough. If you peel too early, it will hurt," Tamzin said as she held out her hand. "You haven't left this bed in a few days. Do you feel well enough to stand?"

"Only if you tell me why you are so sad," Will asked as he touched her hand, but did not take it. "Your nightmares are still powerful?"

"I thought they would dull, especially since I have returned home, but they haven't. Do your nightmares still feel so vivid?" Tamzin asked as she lied down in the space next to him.

"Sometimes, it's like I'm still on the battlefield. I have been victorious in every battle I have led, but that does not mean I haven't felt the sting of loss. Every battle I have won is still a loss to me," Will said as he gently lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. "But I remember what good these battles have brought. If I had not won these battles, men like Douglas Johansson would rule the majority of the land. Men, women, and children would be slaughtered at much higher rates. The world would be a worst place."

"And what good is there with Thurston gone?" Tamzin asked as she felt Will touch her belly.

"It is pushing me to something I know I have had to do since the minute I took part in my first battle," Will said cryptically as he lifted up her dress to touch her skin. "I would not be blessed with skill, a wife like you, and a strong child, boy or girl, if I wasn't meant to do something great. When our child is born, I will ride into battle and destroy our enemies."

"You're eighteen years old, Will. You are not a King. You cannot move an army against Johansson without your father's permission," Tamzin said as she lifted her head and rested it on her hand. "You will be great one day, but that day is not today. They say greatness is born, but truth is that it is made."

"You would not support me if I invaded on my own?" Will asked.

"I would support you, but that wouldn't stop me from calling you an idiot. If you wait for the opportune moment, victory will be yours. Besides, who knows what you will be thinking by the time our child is born. We haven't made it to Bradford Territory yet," Tamzin said as she brushed her fingers through his curls. "I know what you want more than anything. You want to be greater than your father. It is quite something to surpass him."

"Your confidence in me is astounding," Will replied sarcastically as he laid back into the pillows. "I do want to surpass my father, but that's not what I want most."

"What do you want, then?" Tamzin asked as she felt his beard scratch against her forehead.

"My men do respect me, but I have more to prove to them. I want them to have a belief that is infallible. I want to have to stand on my own two feet. For them to follow me because I am the best and not for whom my father is. Do you understand what I mean?" Will asked. "My words were a stream of consciousness," he laughed.

"When they say your name, you want them to say 'William the First' or 'William, the Great', not William Thurston, son of Gregory Thurston," Tamzin said as she stared up at the ceiling.

"Exactly," Will said as he kissed her forehead. "If I can survive a burning from the sun, I can survive anything," Will laughed again as he rolled, gingerly, to his side. "Do you want to be a wife to a 'William the Great?'"

"Please," Tamzin rolled her eyes. "I will be known as 'Tamzin the Great', as well. Behind every great man is a woman."

Will smiled before he pressed his lips against hers. Her lips against his were the greatest comfort that he had never known. He felt more like a King with a loyal wife by his side.

"When I kill the Johanssons, the nightmares will stop," Will whispered against her lips. "Both of our nightmares."

"I'm afraid the fighting will never stop. You have said it before. You dismantle one enemy, for another to rise..."

"That won't happen. When I take Johansson, I am purging the household. There won't be a house left," Will as he tightened his grip on her.

"You're making a mistake with that thought," Tamzin responded as she rested her hand on his stomach. "Douglas Johansson is hated by his family. You kill him, but if you spare his family, especially his long battered wife and mistresses, they will be loyal to you. Assure them that you will spare them if they don't allow their children to rise and lay claim to the Throne. If you do that, you earn the loyalty of the people and leave behind trust soldiers, you will rule without having to rule."

"You can't save everyone."

"That is true, but the more you do save, the better. All I am telling you is that you need to remember who the real enemy is. Douglas Johansson's wife and mistresses are not your enemy. They have no power in their territory; they didn't sign the decree to burn your home to the ground or kill your people. They haven’t declared that I am carrying a Johansson child so they can have a reason to go to war. They are as much victims as the dead Thurston people," Tamzin said as she kissed a scar on his arm.

"I respect your opinion, wife, but you do not know everything," Will said as he sat up from their bed as Tamzin slid off him. "You can't speak to me how you did in front of my men. In our chambers or in private, you may speak however you want, but my men do not respect a woman interfering with business of soldiers."

"Well, then why didn't you put me in my place?" Tamzin challenged as she sat up, her hand supporting her belly.

"You are in your place, which is by my side," Will said as he walked to the balcony, where he watched the men on the sea. "I literally had to grovel to your father to let my men stay and be fed. As of right now, I look like a beggar Prince. I have to let my men think I still have some control and not that I'm ruled so completely by my woman," Will said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He still felt some pain from his burn but he wasn't about to wince in front of Tamzin after what he just said.

"Why is it bad for you to be open about taking advice from me? I understand that I don't have tactical experience, but I know people. I am just as useful as they are," Tamzin said, in reference to his men. "I respect them, so they should respect me."

"In a perfect world, they would respect me no matter what you said. They would see your value as clearly as I do. But after what happened with Lucy, they are wary of you. All I ask is that you stay out of war business. In these chambers, I will pick your mind for ideas, but out there, I am the leader. Can you understand that?"

"Do you know why they don't hold the highest respect for you? Because you care what they think. When you move, you move with worry about what they think. When you act like a King, you will be treated like a King. You know how war works, you know how battles work, so use that knowledge and don't worry. I watch you when you strategize. You put together brilliant plans, but shove the pieces off because they aren't traditional moves. Sometimes, it is better to be untraditional," Tamzin said as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You win the battles and I keep the kingdoms together."

Will turned to look at Tamzin, where he took her face in his hands.

"Do not believe that I do not value you. You are the single most important person to me, and I cherish you above all else. I need you to realize that I am the man and I will be King," Will said before he kissed her to silence her.

"I may be silent on war matters, but I will be as loud as I want when it comes to defending myself and you," Tamzin said as she kissed his cheek. "I need to order you a cool bath."

"Stop," Will said as he held her arm to stop her movements. "I am fine. I just want to spend time with you, now that I'm not in a terrible amount of pain."

"Now that you are mostly well again, you should find Garrett and your men. You probably can't spar yet, but you should bond more. Especially after my womanly guiles have made them question you so," Tamzin teased. "Find them, and tonight, we will spend time together."

"Are you sure? We can begin your teachings on bows and arrows?" Will said as he watched Tamzin turn to look out at the sea.

"I am tired, my love. Go with your men. You will never fear for my loyalty, but go show them why you are a King," Tamzin encouraged before she ushered him towards the door. "Wait!" She called as she went to the bed and grabbed the old tunic. "Don't take this off again!" She laughed, her smile lighting up her face. That smile gently reminded Will why he wanted to be a King. Tamzin was meant to be a Queen, and he would be beneath her until he became a King and conquered lands in her name and honor. He wanted to conquer the world for their child and future children. Will would prove to himself, his father, Turner Roth, and every Southern territory that he would be a King in his own right. No one would define him.

"Tonight, I will dine with you in Court," Will said as he leaned in and kissed her gently. "Enjoy your rest, my love."

Tamzin smiled again as she let go of him and watched him walk out the door. She walked to the nearby column and leaned against it, where she watched the men from the corner of the courtyard. She couldn't see them, as she was at an angle, but she could see enough. The Roth and Thurston men needed to bond and learn each other's battle styles. It was the only way they could join together, when the time came.

~~~

Will listened to his sandals slap against the floor as he jogged lightly to make it outside to his men. The sun was still blazing in the sky, but it wasn't as hot as it had been over the last few days. He was relieved when he didn't feel the burn of the sun on his skin, but he tied the laces of his tunic across his chest, just in case. As he walked to the courtyard, he could see two defined groups: the archers of Roth watching Rolf shoot arrows into the target, and Garrett showing various weapons. Garrett was the first to notice him, where he bowed to Will, and as the other men turned, they joined in his stance.

"Are you well again?" Garrett asked. "You are pasty again," he laughed.

"I am mostly healed, but I will not be able to join in hand to hand combat yet," Will answered before he heard a chuckle behind him.

"You spent three days in bed over a sunburn?" Rolf laughed again as his men joined in. "You don't have much of a pain tolerance, do you?"

"The next time you spend time up North, I will be sure to laugh at your misfortune when you receive a snow burn," Will said as he eyed Rolf up and down. "It's when your bare skin touches the snow. It is beyond freezing up where I live. I may have been burned by the sun, but men like you die where I come from. Tell me again that I don't have a tolerance," Will said as he approached Rolf and used his height to intimidate him.

"You Northern men think you're so much better than us. You're not, obviously since you have married our Princess," Rolf said, the words rolling off his tongue with an air of disgust. "We will see who is best at the Tournament."

"Tournament for what?" Garrett asked suspiciously. It was too cold in the North to have tournaments, so they were never held. Queen Isabelle held them, but Will always missed them when he came to visit during the summers.

"For Prince Thom's thirteenth birthday. There are tournaments for the birthdays of both the Prince and Princess. Tell me, William, what did you do for Tamzin's birthday? Oh, that's right. Wasn't she being attacked because of your stupidity?" Rolf asked before Will lunged for him, picked him up by his tunic, and shoved him against the wall. Will winced lightly from the stretching of his still healing skin, but his blue eyes felt red with rage as he stared at Rolf.