Page 96 of Warrior Mine
He and Ortzi dismounted and stood withtheir heads high, waiting for their deaths.
As Talon drew back his sword, Laralaid her hand on his forearm.
“No more.”She met hisgaze.“No more killing, no more death, please, Talon.Let these twomen live.Let them go home to their families.”
“They would have sold youinto slavery or worse,” he ground out, the scar across his cheekgone white.
“But they didn’t.”Laralaid her open palm over the scar on his cheek.“They protected meand Issy from the others.”
“They did a piss-poor jobof it,” he growled, touching the raw weal on her neck fromLothair’s rope.
“Please.Let them go.Letthem return to their home, to their families in Pamplona, and us toOloron with ours.”
“They are fromPamplona?”
Lara nodded.“Let this be the end tothe bloodshed.”
The muscle on the side of his jawtwitched, then Talon motioned for his men to lower their arrows.“Go,” he told Inigo.“Take your dead and don’t ever cross this passagain.”He looked to Nithard, who still sat astride his horse,staring at his dead son’s body, mumbling about being cursed bySophie the Sixth.
“You.Nithard,” Talon said, louder,sharper.Nithard looked at him with the hollow eyes of a man notall there.“You will be given the same mercy you gave my daughter’snamesake, left to wander the wilderness unarmed and alone.”Helooked to Inigo.“You are not to aid him.”
“I rather kill himmyself,” Inigo swore.He dipped his head to Lara.“Countess, for mylife, my family, I thank you.”
“You should have listenedto me,” she said.“I warned you.”
Inigo dipped his head to her.“Youdid.”Ortzi said something to Inigo that made him smile.“He say Ishould have listen to him, let witch go first night.He want youknow it was him who only wound you wolf.”
Lara grinned.“Tell him that’s why hestill lives.”
Inigo crossed himself before he toldOrtzi and Ortzi crossed himself after.
Lara set Isabeau down as Wilric camerunning over toward them and turned into her husband’s shoulder.“Let’s go home.”
“No.”Nithard kicked his horse forward, clutching the reins withone hand and his dagger in the other.“Isabeau is mine.”He rodestraight for her and Wilric.“She ismine.”
Talon pushed Lara behind him andleapt, grabbing Nithard by the tunic and yanking him off his horse.Nithard landed on his knees with a shriek and then screamed, highand thin, as Talon thrust his sword up Nithard’s throat and out hismouth, the silver blade dripping red.
***
Talon mounted the Black and pressedhis lips into the tangle of Lara’s curls as she settled back intohis chest, holding their daughter in her lap.They’d met back upwith Willem and the farmers masquerading as soldiers after sortingout the dead and sending the Basques on their way, and though theyhad enough horses for Lara to ride her own, it would be a while, along while, before Talon let her out of his reach again.
Willem was astride Shadow with Wilricin front of him after helping Patience and Enid mount their newhorses, courtesy of the Basques, and Anglbert was helping Bertamount hers.Phillipe stood kissing Doralice next to their mountswith the miller grinning nearby, and his comrades cheeringloudly.
“There will be anotherwedding at the keep before the summer is out,” Talon toldLara.
“Aye, and another quiltmaking come spring.”
“You know,” he whisperedin ear.“We could veer off on our way back and stay a while at theHollow, just you, me, and Issy.”
“We could.Or we could gohome, tend to Wolf and Tree and Marta until her baby comes, maybespend my birthday at the Hollow this fall.”
“Maybe make a baby there.”He nuzzled her neck.“We made such a wonderous child there thefirst time, I think we should make all our babiesthere.”
Lara craned her neck to face him.“What happened to Captain Talon Guiscard, the fierce warrior whoswore he’d never marry, never sire children?”
“He became enthralled withan auburn-haired, hazel-eyed witch when he tried to pluck a redrose from her curls,” he confessed.“I am ever cursed to want you,to bleed for you, my thorny beauty.”
Lara gave his arm a playful pinch.“You didn’t bleed so much as a drop this time.”
“Nay,” he whisperedhoarsely.“My heart bled out a thousand times a day these past fourdays, knowing I let Sophie down, failing my oath to protect you,thinking I might never hold you or Issy again.”
“You never once letSophie, me, Issy, or anyone in Oloron down,” she told him.“You area good and honorable man and I love you.”
He kissed her, sweet and tender.“God’s blood, I love you, Lara.I have since you first smiled at meas a girl in side braids.I’ll never stop until the breath leavesmy body.”
Lara smiled.“That, my love, is howyou tame a wildcat.”
