Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (2 page)

Will scoffed.

"You lied to me. You told me before that you weren't sleeping with the follower girls," Will said as his eyes darted to his hut. He saw no sign that Tamzin was awake or was going to exit through the flaps.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just love a single person. I like sex and I like to feel good. Marriage and children are all great for you, but not me." Garrett looked awkwardly to Seraphina, who continued to stare at the ground.

"You have a child now. I'm not going to tell you what to do because you won't listen to me, but please, please, don't let Tamzin know. Send the girl north with my aunt. Just please let Tamzin finish her pregnancy in peace. I'm fighting an uphill battle and I can't lose her."

"I can hide, Your Grace. I can blend in," Seraphina interrupted as she tightened her grip on Garrett's hand. "The Princess will not notice me."

"My wife is the cleverest person I know, but she is also frightened and nervous. She will notice you," Will said, though he didn't look at her face.

"Then you will have to keep Tamzin busy," Garrett said with a frown. "You want to see your child being born. I want to see my child be born. I won't parade Seraphina around like she was my wife to upset Tamzin, but I can't change my life to suit her."

Will felt his shoulders go rigid and he wanted to yell, to scream, at Garrett. Will knew Garrett was upset in general, and even possibly angry with Tamzin, but he was emotionally drained.

"Do what you want." Will ran a hand through his hair before he turned on his heel and walked away. As he walked towards his hut, he saw the men had finished packing the carts and wagons. He pushed through the men and finally into his hut.

Tamzin was awake, but alone in the hut. She was sitting up in the bed and had just slid her feet into her boots.

"Your aunt was needed for something. I told her not to worry about me." She smiled weakly at him as Will came to kneel in front of her.

"We will be leaving soon, sweetness," Will said before he took her chilled hands in his and pressed kisses to her knuckles. She giggled when his rough beard touched the inside of her fingers.

"You need a haircut and a sharp knife to your beard," Tamzin said as she traced his new scar through his beard. "How did you get this?" she asked.

"I have many tales to regale to you as we travel. Do you think they will make your father like me?" Will replied with a grin before he kissed the inside of her palm. "I know the tales will certainly warm you to me."

"I don't think I could be warmer to you, Will," Tamzin said with a genuine grin. "And I'm sure my father doesn't completely hate you now."

"Is this before or after he finds out I left you unprotected while with child?" Will asked as he fiddled with her fingers. "I've messed everything up, Tamzin. Between you and my territory, how can anyone look to me to lead anything anywhere?"

"Everyone is scrambling now, Will. But there is always something that weathers the storm. Right now, you have to be the thing that weathers the storm for them. If you lead them out of darkness, what has happened will only be a memory," Tamzin said as she delicately traced his facial features with her finger.

"And who will weather the storm for me?" Will asked as he looked up from her fingers to her brown eyes.

"Me," Tamzin said simply as she looked out the leather straps. "We will weather the storm together."

One thousand men traveled together and only one of them had a living wife. These one thousand men decided to escort Princess Tamzin back to her home territory because they had nothing to go home to and rebuild. It was the second day of travel when Will noticed it for the first time. These men were the toughest he had ever come across, but they barely contained themselves when they heard the details of what had happened to their families.

Tamzin volunteered to walk amongst the men, but she was tucked away in one of the fifty carts amongst the men. Will kept pace on Angus towards the front, while Garrett wasn't too far behind him. They hadn't spoken in the following days since Will discovered Seraphina's presence and her current condition. He wasn't sure where Garrett was hiding the girl but he was relieved that Tamzin had not spotted her yet. Will had no idea what he was going to say when Seraphina was discovered, but he knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

The sun was shining brightly and streamed down on the men through the broken branches on the tall trees. Will felt the sheen of sweat across his brow as he looked behind him at the men and the carts. No one smiled or spoke a word.

It had become harder to sleep and Will knew the bags under his eyes were showing more than before. He hadn't seen, but every night he imagined what Tamzin had seen, what their burned flesh smelt like, and what the screams of children had sounded like. Will may not have lit the huts on fire himself, but he was just as much to blame. It didn't help that Tamzin had woken up screaming every time she shut her eyes and had resorted to sleeping during the day because the light kept her from going into too deep of a sleep.

"Your Grace," a voice said behind Will. He turned to see a fellow soldier behind him, who gripped a skin of wine in his hand. "The men are hungry. May we stop?"

Will nodded and let his eyes drift first to Garrett, and then to the wagon where he knew Tamzin was. It was covered with a high arch and it was packed mostly with fabric and some of the items in the men's tents. Will personally set up a small makeshift bed for Tamzin, which was made of sheets, furs, and pillows. It was poorly made, but it was better than having her sit on the uncomfortable wooden floor. She only murmured a 'thank you' and gave him a soft kiss before he helped her into the wagon. She hadn't slept the night before and it showed.

The men stopped where they were and began to unpack what they carried. They had mostly smoked meats and cheese for lunch, as they wanted to carry very little to make the journey to Roth quicker. The men sat on stumps or the ground and paid Will no mind as he pushed through them to make it to the wagon. As he came to the front of the wagon, next to where the horse stood, Will saw her.

Tamzin was curled up underneath the furs, with her head resting on a nearly flat pillow. She laid on her side with her arm wrapped around her belly and her eyes were shut, but didn't flutter like it did when she dreamt in their bed back in Thurston. A part of Will ached because he knew Tamzin would never be completely the same; he could see it already. She had lost a small part of her girlhood and it wasn't because of their child growing in her belly.

He stepped on a twig and the crack beneath his boot jolted her awake. Tamzin screamed and threw back the furs over her chest. Her brown eyes were bleary and red before the tears came.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Tamzin cried out before she looked down at her body and immediately grabbed her thighs.

"It's just a dream," Will soothed as he reached out and touched her hair. Tamzin flinched initially, still stuck in her dream world, before she looked at him and then the sky. "We're about a day away from your home. We've stopped for lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I suppose," Tamzin said as she wiped her cheeks. She didn't say anything as Will picked her up like a child and placed her on her feet, with the furs pooled on the ground. She attempted to lean down and grab the fur, but her belly got in the way, something that made Will smile.

"I'm happy to see you still need me, after what you've done," Will said as he collected the furs off the ground.

"You're not funny," Tamzin glared at him, without a hint of happiness in her voice. "Don't make me talk about it."

"I won't," Will responded as he reached for her hand. "I know you well enough to know that when you are ready, you will."

"We haven't been married for a year. We don't know each other that well," Tamzin said solemnly as he led her towards the food. "I haven't slept well. I'm sorry."

"I know that," Will said as he stood in front of the mock food station, where he gathered pieces of meat and cheese in both hands. His men forgot they traveled with a lady, so plates and utensils were not packed. Tamzin began to nibble on the cheese Will handed her before she sat down on a tree stump. "Tell me about your home," he asked.

"My home is gone," Tamzin said as she stared down at the dead leaves. "We will make it back to Roth in time for my brother's thirteenth birthday. I guess I'm excited about that," Tamzin responded as she finished her cheese. "I want some meat."

"I will let that one go without a comment," Will laughed as he handed her some more meat and cheese. Tamzin smiled lightly at his comment as she continued to eat. "Roth Territory isn't your home anymore?"

"I was the Thurston Prince's wife. They cared about my father, sure, but they were obsessed with hurting you by hurting me. I don't feel like anyone," Tamzin said as she looked up into his eyes. "I am whoever I am married to, so my home is gone because your home is gone."

"You are someone, Tam. You're the most important person to me," Will said as he grasped her hand in his. "You will never not be anyone."

"I couldn't defend myself. They wanted to hurt me because I'm your wife, because I carry your child, and I couldn't defend myself. I live when you protect me and I die when you don't. My life is defined by you," Tamzin said with anger in her voice and eyes. This was resentment building and it was building quickly. "Leave me alone. I can make my own lunch and my own bed in a cart. Believe it or not, I existed before you."

"You're angry..." Will began.

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Tamzin asked with irritation. "Nine moons married and you can tell when I'm angry."

"Are you looking for an intense reaction? I apologize, sweetness, but you won't get it from me," Will responded with a raised eyebrow. "You've loved me when I've been awful. Now it is time for me to return the favor."

"I'm not your 'sweetness,'" Tamzin said as she crossed her arms over her belly. "Why aren't you yelling at me? I killed your people; I destroyed your home. Your people have no place and you're no longer the heir to anything."

"Before, I was all about you taking responsibility for what you've done wrong, but I can actually say that this isn't your fault. You're with child, you're exhausted, and what you've been through would have killed anyone else. You can say whatever you want and I will let it go." Will continued to hold her hand before he brought her knuckles up to his lips. She tried to hide her smile when she felt his beard tickle her fingers. "Do you need me to ask Jacque to administer something to help you sleep?"

"I just need something to smell of lavender and I will be fine," Tamzin replied but didn't meet his eyes. "I'm full; I'm going to go back to bed." She wrapped an arm under her belly as she stood up with a bit of difficulty. Will watched as she waddled back to her wagon, with her other arm behind her back for support. He should have helped her, but Tamzin was angry enough.

He knew that she was right. She did exist long before he came into her life, but couldn't she see that he just wanted to help? It wasn't like he ever had a pregnant wife before (or a pregnant anyone, for that matter).

Will finished his lunch before he stood and went in search of Angus, when he came across Garrett again. The two men regarded each other but said nothing as they walked past each other. The tenseness of their past conversation still weighed heavily in the air between the two.

Will found Angus being petted by Jacque. Will hadn't had many conversations with Jacque since he was returned with the others from Thurston. Jacque's face was blackened and he had a bandaged arm from a burn sustained from the fire at the territory. Jacque seemed to be in a daze as he touched Angus' mane gently. Angus didn't seem to mind before Will approached them.

"How have you been faring, Jacque?" Will asked as he took Angus' reins in his hand. Angus regarded him with a nay before Will touched his muzzle.

"I have seen worst and I will probably still see worst before all this is over," Jacque said with a weak smile. "I will be feeling a bit sad for a little while, but I am happy to be returning to Roth."

"Tamzin doesn't act like it, but I know she is as well," Will remarked before Jacque looked up at him.

"I think she is just unsure about her father," Jacque said as he dropped his hand from Angus and placed them on the pockets in his cloak. "King Turner will hang you out to dry."

"Let him. It's no skin off my back. I know my mistakes," Will said as he tightened his grip on the reins. "I don't live to impress King Turner. I need to be able to look myself in the mirror."

"You put up a good front, Prince William. Have you been practicing in the same mirror?" Jacque asked before he turned to look Will square in the face. “I find it peculiar that Thurston is the most military-oriented territory in the Realm, yet not a soldier could be found during the invasion.”

Will bit his tongue.

“The invaders were let in by your father’s main council, and it seemed obvious that they were interested in Tamzin. Tell me, William, who hates the Roths above all else?” Jacque asked.

“Many territories hate the Roths, but Jacque, you do not need to fear…” Will began before Jacque interrupted him.

“Your father hates the Roths more than anyone. Turner Roth is the only person who never feared your father or your name. As I said before, I find it peculiar that a Princess would be so unguarded after everything that had happened. Why, Princess Tamzin dies and it’s all out war again…”

“She is safe with me,” Will growled, annoyed by the old man’s tone. “I would never, ever hurt her.”

“Aye, I see the way you look at the girl. But I see the way your father looks at her, too, and I hear his phony remarks and how he speaks to you…” Jacque continued before Will put his hand up to silence the healer.

“Do not speak ill of my father with your conspiracy theories. You have a very uninterested audience in your presence,” Will defended, but all Jacque did was raise an eyebrow.

“Very peculiar,” Jacque responded before he bowed and left Will in peace.

Undeterred, Will put his foot in the stirrup and pulled himself onto Angus' back. He watched as his men finished their meals and packed up quickly before they began to travel again.