Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2)

by Nina Monroe

  ~~~

  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.

  "You won't speak that way to me. You have no right to speak of what has happened to her," Will growled before he felt some of his men grip his shoulders and pull him away from Rolf.

  "The Prince has a temper," Rolf jeered as he stood away from the wall and fixed his tunic. "Perhaps you should back up your words. When it's time for the tournament, have your men compete against mine. Be sure to compete against me yourself," Rolf said as he looked to Garrett and then the other Northern men. "You may be skilled in hand to hand combat, but what use is it when our arrows shoot you before you get to us?"

  "That's what chainmail is for. Your little bow and arrow won't protect you when I ring your neck," the man behind Will said as he showed his teeth. The other Northerners began to laugh as the Roth men shifted uncomfortably.

  "I have taken an arrow, as have most of my men. An arrow piercing me doesn't stop me from killing my enemy. You may not be my enemy, but you are my opponent, and I do not take kindly to men who try to humiliate me in front of my woman," Will said before he felt Garrett touch his shoulder again.

  "Let the coward shake in his boots a bit longer, Will," Garrett said as he physically pulled Will away. "You and I need to have a discussion."

  "Have you take a male lover? Tamzin won't be happy to hear about that," Rolf sneered before Will reached out to grab him again, but Garrett had yanked him away. "Have fun, lovebirds!" Rolf called out as the Northern men began to disperse and continue training as Will and Garrett walked off.

  "Seraphina went to see Jacque. She is progressing normally," Garrett said as he scratched his head awkwardly. "He is going to keep our secret."

  "Where are you keeping her?" Will asked as he felt his irritation rise. He had forgotten about Seraphina.

  "She is staying in the same household as me. I told the woman and her family that she was a girl we came across on the road. She isn't noticeably swelling yet, but she will soon. She is nearing three moons." When Garrett said that, Will began to calculate in his mind.

  "Were you sleeping with her before we left for war?" Will asked as his eyes began to dart around to make sure that they were alone. "The timeline is close, but..."

  Garrett huffed for a moment.

  "No, I wasn't sleeping with her in Thurston," he said almost uncertainly. Will eyed him suspiciously and wanted to question him further, but he turned to see Tamzin walking towards them.

  "Garrett," Tamzin smiled as she approached them. "I haven't seen much of you. I hope you haven't thought I was ignoring you," she said as she came to stand with Will and wrapped her arm in his.

  "Not at all, Princess," Garrett said as his eyes darted from Tamzin to Will. "You do need to stop monopolizing my friend's time, however." Garrett's smile was slightly fake, as Will could tell. "I understand you are with child, but we all need him."

  Tamzin laughed.

  "You have my apologies. You can continue to spend time together. I was just on my way to sit on the beach," Tamzin said as she turned and kissed Will's bearded cheek. His fingers brushed the bare skin of her back from the dip in her dress. "Garrett," Tamzin said seriously as she turned back to look at him. "If you need to talk, about Kendall, I mean, please know that I am always here." Her words were genuine and full of concern, which made Garrett shift with an uncomfortable energy.

  "I will, thank you," Garrett replied politely, but Will noted that he lost all eye contact with her. Tamzin seemed to notice this as well, but she didn't say anything.

  "I will see you both at dinner, then," Tamzin said as she kissed Will again and began to waddle away. As Will watched her, he noticed Garrett shift in his peripheral vision. It was the first time in his life that he wondered whether or not his best friend was telling him the truth.

  Chapter Nine

  Will returned to his chambers after he and Garrett finished their discussion. His stomach felt tense and queasy, both from nervousness about his first dinner in Court and what was going on with Garrett. Ever since they went off to war, Garrett had been acting strange. War wasn't a time for fun and games, but Garrett had lost his sense of adventure and joy during this time. He could see Garrett try to fool people into thinking he was the same person, but Will could see the difference. Did he believe that Garrett was going to betray him? No, but after what happened with Lucy and finding out Rainer had helped destroy his home, Will couldn't say with assurance that Garrett wasn't capable of it. While Rainer was a scoundrel and a social climber, Will didn't peg the man to be a murderer as well.

  Though Will knew that Gregory sent Will and Tamzin to Roth and then Bradford Territory to protect Tamzin, Will couldn't help but wonder if he was being punished? Despite the fact that Gregory was the King, Will was the Commander of the Armed Forces, and it was Will that brought home victories with his strategies, but his decision to leave behind only injured soldiers left him without a home and many of his men without a family. The Johanssons had wiped out nearly half his territory population.

  Will had been tugging on his tunic in deep concentration when he felt Tamzin's hands sweep across his shoulders in a comforting manner. He reached over his shoulder and took her hand in his before he looked up at her. She had changed her dress into a strapless red dress with a feathered gown that framed her pregnant belly perfectly. Around her neck was a necklace with obsidian jewels, no doubt a nod to his family. He smiled as she touched the feathers and watched as he reached across to touch her dress as well.

  "You look beautiful," Will said genuinely as his eyes dragged over her body appreciatively. "I look severely underdressed in comparison."

  "Nonsense," Tamzin said as she draped herself across his lap. Will cradled her in his arms as he stared down her dress before he pressed a kiss to her collarbone. His hand came to rest on her belly as Tamzin perched her head on his sh
oulder. "You and Garrett seem a bit distant."

  "War does that to men. It either distances them or brings them very close together," Will said as he remembered the first time he realized some of his men turned to each other for comfort and lied with each other the same way he lied with Tamzin.

  "Does that bother you?" Tamzin asked as she reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair.

  "Being with you comforts me, so I think it's wrong for me to tell a man he can't find comfort in another man willingly. It doesn't hurt anyone, so why should it matter?" Will asked as he pressed a kiss to the inside of her neck. "Are there men like that here?"

  "They are everywhere, Will," Tamzin laughed at his naïveté, but didn't taunt him. "Men and women can be like that. I'm surprised you haven't see outright affection. It is perfectly acceptable for two men or two women who love each other to be open about their relationship."

  "Everyone needs someone," Will said as he looked out the open wall and at the sun setting. "I was thankful as many comfort girls came as they did. That helped the men a bit," Will said before he bit his tongue.

  "Comfort girls? Are they what I think they are?" Tamzin asked as she pulled her head from his shoulder. "Have you been with one of these girls? I thought adultery was frowned upon up North?"

  "I haven't been with anyone but you since we have married. And yes, adultery is frowned upon but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. War is a very trying time for men..."

  "It is just as trying for women. Would you make excuses for a woman who slept with someone else when her husband was away at war?" Tamzin asked with a slightly offended tone.

  "It is different for women," Will responded, though he could see the steam from his beloved's ears already. "You are swollen with our child now. I would never, ever question if I was the father, but if you had laid with someone else..."

  "Any woman would drink the tea. And it is not any better for you to father another child that did not grow in my womb. Sometimes, I do not think women are equal at all in our societies. I am grateful that I and other women are not treated as callously as they are in the Southern territories, but I am not on equal footing with you."

  "I would never tell you that you couldn't do something because you are a woman. I would never presume to tell you what to do concerning your own body. I don't even understand how your body works, but I do know that I am physically stronger than you. My strongest instinct is to protect you and our child and it overrules all else," Will said as he continued to support her body with one arm to show his strength. "Our strengths and weaknesses as men and women balance our society."

  "You think because I am a woman that I am only meant to be loving and nurturing. I was merciless to Junior Johansson, just as I will be when you face them again," Tamzin said as she slid out of his lap, though he had to push her torso up to help her stand. Her belly was getting in the way of her making a dramatic point.

  "You were the one who advised me not to purge the entire family," Will pointed out as he stood up from the bed and approached her to place his hands on her hips. "It is a good political move on your part, but I also think you empathize with them. I don't believe you are weak and I don't think you are stupid. But like you, there are some things I understand with more clarity, just as I do not understand some things like you. Together, you and I are a perfect pair."

  "Do you really think so?" Tamzin asked as she felt his beard touch the sensitive skin of her neck.

  "Yes, and I think if, God forbids, you have to rule without me, you will be a fantastic leader. I am well aware that you are perfectly capable of standing on your own two feet," Will said as he trailed his hands from her hips to her belly. "Right now, I feel the strongest urge imaginable to protect you. Sometimes, I wish my father was here so I could ask him if this is all normal." His laugh was music to her ears and her baby kicked earnestly when they heard it. Will looked down at his hand on her belly, where he felt the kick. "He likes my laugh."

  "Of course he does," Tamzin said as she placed her hand over his. "He knows you're his father."

  Will wanted to reply, but a brisk knock at her door halted his response. Tamzin turned and beckoned the person inside, who turned out to be Thom. It was the first time Will had seen him since the bathing incident and he turned away the boy, his cheeks flaming slightly from embarrassment.

  "It's time for dinner," Thom said glumly as he looked down at his feet. "And Father says I must apologize."

  "By all means then," Tamzin said as she motioned with her arms to Will, who looked up abruptly. "It's the very least you can do after burning my husband further. Do you know how severe his blisters were?"

  "Tam, he doesn't have to apologize..." Will interrupted and noted the look of relief on Thom's face.

  "No!" Tamzin yelled and leaned forward to grab Thom by his tunic. "A King must learn to admit when he was wrong and apologize for them. You two are brothers, for all intensive purposes. You have to know that you won't betray each other. Do this, Thom," Tamzin said as she turned to look at Will, who had a frown on his face.

  "I'm sorry," Thom grumbled as he dug his shoe into the floor.

  "For what, specifically?" Tamzin asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

  "For tricking you into taking a hot bath when you were burned," Thom said as he lifted his head to look at the ceiling. "Are you happy now?"

  "Yes," Tamzin smirked. "I will see you at dinner." She watched as Thom huffed and left their chambers quickly.

  "You didn't need to do that," Will said as he approached Tamzin and touched her hip lightly. "I'm a guest here, despite our relationship," he said as he nodded to her belly. "A King should know when he is wrong, but do you know a King without an ego? They would never apologize, especially to someone they perceive as an enemy."

  "You're not an enemy," Tamzin said gently as she reached out and cupped his cheek. "I know my family hasn't been particularly warm, but I don't think they truly know of my feelings for you. I know it is hard for my father to forget how you were when we first met, but he will see that our relationship is different now." With her thumb, she touched the scar on his cheek from his last battle and frowned. "Are you sure that we must leave for Bradford? I cannot have our child here?"

  "The Johanssons know that you are most likely to have our child here. Whatever information Duke gave Douglas, he will be able to speculate around the time you will give birth. There are spies everywhere, sweetness," Will said as he offered her his arm. It was time for them to leave for dinner. "I promised you a month here, which I will give you, but we will leave abruptly. Then we will disappear. If we want to disappear, we go to the place people think we would never go. My father hasn't kept any type of contact with Aidan Bradford."

  "He is your grandfather?" Tamzin asked as she picked up the gown of her dress in her hand to make it easier to walk.

  "Yes, my mother's father. The little I know about them is from lessons about other territories. He has three children: my aunt Isabelle, my mother, and their brother named Paul. He is supposed to be the heir, but his tastes lie elsewhere..." Will trailed off as they walked into the corridor.

  "Meaning?" Tamzin pressed as they walked towards the staircase. She could smell the dinner through the doorway already.

  "He openly admits to lying only with men. Because he refuses to get married and have children, the kingdom will belong to the next oldest male heir," Will said with a slight eye roll.

  "You will inherit Bradford?"

  "Yes, I will inherit a territory I have never set foot in. My grandfather doesn't have the highest respect of the territories. He isn't battle minded like my father and doesn't carry our Northern ideals. He is Southern leaning, but keeps to himself. His walls are higher than the sky, they say. If it wasn't for his ports, I think he would have been utterly useless."

  "We have ports," Tamzin said as they stopped outside the Throne Room. "Why didn't your father marry a girl from my territory if he wanted ports?"

  "My father wanted
ports that could be used to launch attacks simultaneously. Until now, the Roths and the Johanssons were his two greatest foes. Attack both from the water when they don't see it coming. Strategically, it could be brilliant," Will said as he felt her nails touch the inside of his elbow. "I would rather face that than face a dinner with your Court."

  "Don't worry about them," Tamzin said as she offered him a sweet smile. "They will gossip no matter what happens. My father probably won't say a word to you, so you needn't worry about that. If we have a nice quiet dinner, then there will be nothing to gossip about. Don't worry, I will protect you, my love," Tamzin smirked as she watched Will's cheeks flush. "The Court is just interested to see what you look like. They haven't gotten too good of a look."

  "What do they care about what I look like?" Will asked as they stood in line and waited to be announced. "And this is tedious. You're a Princess and I'm a Prince. Why do we need to wait to be introduced?" The look on Tamzin's face told Will of his ineptitude to handle their present situation. He knew nothing of Southern customs.