ADA
âHe will be fine. It is not our place to hinder the course of fate,â Caxton reassured me. I looked back, making eye contact with Weylin, which seemed to spark something inside of him.
He called over to his father, who charged at Cayden, giving Weylin the opportunity to grab me from the circle. Neither I nor Caxton had foreseen this spineless move.
He put his knife against my neck, and I watched Cayden scramble to rise to his feet.
âNo matter the outcome of this fight, you will have lost,â he said to Cayden, and pressed the knife harder against my neck. I closed my eyes, ready for death, but it never came.
I could hear Weylin beginning to gasp for air behind me; his hands fell to his sides. I turned around and watched as he dropped to his knees, showing Caxton standing there.
âIf he could interfere with fate, I thought I might as well too.â He shrugged, yanking me out of the circle. Rankin shouted for his son as we all watched Weylin take his last breath.
He turned to Cayden, who braced himself for his uncleâs wrath. Instead, Rankin just took a few steps toward him, holding his dagger inwards toward his stomach.
Cayden knew exactly what he wanted. He took his uncleâs dagger and pushed it into his abdomen slowly, letting him down.
Rankin crawled toward his son, clutching his chest in the hope that the two of them would soon be together in Valhalla, Odinâs hall for those who die in battle.
The battle was over, and vengeance had won. Cayden walked over to me, calling for one of the men to bring over a horse. Even as bloody and dirty as we were, he did not waste any time kissing me.
His hand wiped away the blood and sweat on my face, and for a second, as we stared at each other, I forgot where we were until the man returned with the horse.
Cayden mounted it and began to address his fatherâs Viking army.
âThe battle is over. Do you hear me? It is over! Clear our dead and return to camp. You will return to Dundalk at first light.â
The men agreed and began to separate their dead from Oranmore. Cayden held out his arm to help me onto the horse.
We rode over to the men of Oranmore and Cayden whispered in my ear that it was time for me to give my commands.
I ordered a few to stay to help with the dead and for the others to return to the town, telling them I would depart for Oranmore the next day.
We rode hard toward the camp, where I wished to be with our son and check on Sayerâs condition.
When we arrived, we were relieved to find that Sayer was okay. Kyra had pulled out the arrow, cleaned the wound, and stopped the bleeding.
While she tended to her brother, she had left Padriac in charge of the baby for most of the afternoon.
Kyra said that taking care of a baby seemed more stressful for him than tending to Sayer, which seemed to lighten the mood and made what Cayden was about to say easier.
He had the difficult task of telling his siblings that Barra had been killed by Rankin. He recounted the story, assuring them Barraâs death was not in vain.
This left Sayer in charge of Dundalk, in charge of the army. As the men returned from the battleground, the reality of Sayerâs new position set in.
Men were already coming to him for direction in preparing for the trip home. Sayer assumed his role gracefully, delegating the way he had watched his father do throughout the years.
As for Cayden and me, we prepared ourselves to travel to Oranmore the next day. Sayer understood, giving us his blessing to leave along with many of our friends.
Only Egil would return to Dundalk, for the sole purpose of gathering his family. They desired to explore a new world with us, especially at the expense of Oranmoreâs newest queen.
Sayer looked at his little sister, who also wished for an adventure. If it had not been for Padriac, Sayer would never have parted with Kyra so easily.
OisÃn was happy to hear Silas had been defeated. He led us back to the kingdom the next day, acting as a buffer between us and any antagonist we met along the way.
His humbleness and loyalty proved a great comfort to me. Myrna took to making us all comfortable in the castle; Gosta especially appreciated the attention.
He spent most of his days eating, drinking, and getting to know the women of Oranmore.
I assumed my crown long enough for Cayden and me to decide whether this life was the one we wanted. After a few weeks, we both agreed it was not.
We spent our nights remembering how much joy we had found in the simplicity of life at Dundalk. We enjoyed the labors of our farm and being able to spend as much time together as we wanted.
I had no hesitations or regrets in appointing OisÃn and Myrna to the throne as proxies.
Even though they were an older couple, I knew Oranmore would be kept safe under their rule until our son was old enough to decide for himself if this was the life he wanted.