“I’ll gladly do that, lass, rather than bow to the likes of him.” He spat at Lucius.
Owein tugged at her arm. “Rhiannon, get back. I’ll nay have your blood spilled.” He urged her out of the path of the combatants. She let him pull her to safety, watching in horror as Edmyg and Brennus fought for the right to her body and through it the throne. The warriors circled the post where Lucius hung. Dear Briga! If a sword went astray, Lucius could do naught but watch it come.
Brennus attacked with a wide slice inward. Edmyg caught the blade with the edge of his sword and threw it over. The opponents clashed with violent fury, grunting curses, blades clanging. Brennus gave a thrust, missing Edmyg by a mere breath. Edmyg lost his balance and fell on Lucius’s outstretched leg. Rhiannon lurched forward, but Owein held her fast. Lucius’s face turned gray behind his bruises as his jaw clenched against a cry.
Edmyg scrambled to his feet, narrowly avoiding a killing blow. Brennus’s blade thudded into the earth near Lucius’s hip. Rhiannon slumped against Owein, shaken.
The deadly battle continued. Edmyg managed to nick the Gaul’s arm with a swipe that seemed more luck than skill. Brennus swore an oath and doubled his efforts, slashing with deadly urgency, forcing Edmyg back. When Edmyg lifted his arm to make his next thrust, his enemy’s blade plunged into his gut.
Rhiannon cried out. Edmyg looked down at the hilt protruding from his stomach with an expression of disbelief. Brennus twisted his sword once and withdrew. A shout rose from the crowd. Edmyg staggered and fell, his hands clutching the wound until his strength deserted him. A tremor shook his body and then he lay still, staring at the sky.
“ ’Tis done, then.” Cormac sounded suddenly weary. Brennus thrust his bloody sword into its sheath. When his head rose, his gaze fixed on Rhiannon.
“Nay,” she whispered.
“Who will challenge my right to be called king?” Brennus shouted.
Bryan stepped forward from a knot of Edmyg’s best warriors and for one wild moment, Rhiannon thought her cousin would challenge Brennus. Her hope was dashed when the warrior placed his fist over his heart.
“I promise you my allegiance, king.”
One by one the other clan chieftains came forward and pledged their fealty. Rhiannon gripped Owein’s arm. “I canna go with him.”
“Ye must. The hand of Kernunnos directed this contest. Refuse the god’s will, and we will all fall.” He gave a grim smile. “The Gaul canna be worse than Edmyg.”
“I would rather die than bed him.”
Owein opened his mouth to answer, then fell silent upon Brennus’s approach.
The Gaul dropped on one knee before Rhiannon. “My queen. I offer you the protection of my body and my sword.” He bowed his head, but the steely glint in his eye told Rhiannon his words were spoken solely to appease her kinsmen.
She looked away. It was a mistake, for she found Lucius’s dark eyes upon her, filled with loathing. She held his gaze until tears blurred his image.
Brennus rose and caught her upper arm. “Come.” He guided her toward the portal leading to the street. His grip was like iron, but even if she could wrench out of his grasp, where would she run? Her kinsmen had accepted this man as their king. Her only hope to avoid her fate was to contrive Lucius’s escape and flee south with him.
She bit back a hysterical laugh. Even if she somehow managed to free Lucius, she could hardly expect he would risk his life to save hers. Not after she’d kept the truth of his brother’s fate from him. Most likely he would tie her to a tree and leave her for the carrion eaters.
Brennus propelled her through the door of the fort commander’s residence and into a small room off the foyer. How could she delay his advances? When the door thudded shut, she stiffened her spine and summoned her most regal tone.
“Unhand me.”
To her surprise, Brennus complied.
“I’m in sore need of rest,” she said, picking her words carefully. “You may leave me.”
Brennus’s mouth curved. “I’ve no complaint if ye take to your bed. But if ye think to delay my presence there, you’re wasting precious time. I’m most eager to be wiping the memory of Aquila’s cock from your body.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Did … did he hurt you?”
The painful throb in Owein’s head quickened as he waited for Rhiannon’s reply. He’d gained entrance to the chamber scant moments after Brennus’s departure by threatening the Gaulish guard with a Druid curse. The man had not been able to unbolt the door fast enough.
“Nay,” Rhiannon said at last. “He was called away as soon as he brought me here.” She paced the room. It was crowded with dark shadows, the only illumination a shaft of dim light from the single high window. “When he returns, I’ll tell him the moon flux is upon me.”