Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(14)

Suddenly, a commotion behind them caused Gawyn to whirl. Five men dressed in animal furs were pushing their way to the front of the room, shoving peasants and nobles aside.

Gawyn recognized the Hungars immediately. He gently guided Justina and Adam to the side of the room without taking his eyes from the men. “Leave the room. Go out into the hall and wait for me there.”

Justina didn’t argue. She grabbed Adam’s arm and exited through the great double doors they had entered through at the back of the room.

Gawyn skirted the wall and moved toward the raised dais where Aurora sat. Damien had already stepped down a stair and stood before her protectively. The guards moved immediately to defensive stances. No one had drawn weapons. Not yet.

The Hungars stopped just before the stairs. They were all stocky and strong, wearing animal pelts for clothing. Swords and axes hung from their belts.

“There is a protocol here,” Aurora told them. “You must wait for your turn.”

“We don’t wait,” one of the men responded in a gruff tone. The pelt of a bear draped over his shoulders; a necklace of fangs hung about his neck. His brown hair was stringy and greasy and hung past his shoulders. A scar ran from just below his left eye down to his chin. “For anyone.”

“What do you want, Hogar?” Damien demanded.

“You put puny men on our lands.”

Damien cast a quick glance at Gawyn for acknowledgement.

Gawyn shook his head. The soldiers were not on Hungar lands.

Damien looked back at Hogar. “They are on Acquitaine lands. Maybe you’ve forgotten where your borders are.”

“We forget nothing. Least of all how weak you are.”

Aurora stood and walked up to Damien’s side. “We don’t want war, Hogar. But my people will be protected.”

“You’re a pretty girl,” Hogar grunted as the men around him laughed lustily. “We follow no woman’s orders. No matter how her tits jiggle.”

Damien jerked forward, but Aurora caught his arm to restrain him.

Hogar chuckled. “You should visit Hungar to see what real men do for their women.”

Damien’s jaw clenched, but other than that, he appeared relaxed.

Gawyn knew that was when Damien was most dangerous. Every muscle in his body tensed, ready.

The soldiers and guards around him all had their hands on the pommels of their swords, ready for battle.

Hogar’s gaze quickly moved over the armed soldiers which outnumbered his men three to one. His grin slipped. “I come to tell you to remove your men from our lands.”

“And I tell you that my men are not on your lands,” Damien snarled.

Gawyn saw the signal a second before Damien acted. Damien’s left hand fisted. It was a sign that all the soldiers knew. Close in.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement. Gawyn drew his weapon and all the Acquitaine soldiers rushed forward. Gawyn placed the tip of his weapon to the throat of the Hungar standing beside Hogar before he could even pull his axe free of his belt.

Damien had Hogar pinned to the ground, an arm around his neck, his face smashed into the stone floor. He leaned toward him, whispering in his ear. Only Hogar heard what he said.

Hogar struggled for a long moment but could not escape Damien’s hold.

Gawyn’s gaze slid over the rest of the Hungars. All had numerous weapons pointed at them. None of the Hungars moved.

“Get off me,” Hogar commanded.

Damien didn’t move. He looked up at one of the men. “Rupert.”

Rupert, the trusted commander of the guard, second only to Gawyn, a soldier with a streak of grey in his shaggy hair, nodded.

“See to it that Hogar and all of his men are escorted from Acquitaine lands.”

“Aye, m’lord,” Rupert answered.

Lithe and dangerous, Damien leapt from Hogar, moving quickly out of his reach.

Hogar climbed to his feet. His upper lip trembled with rage. “We go where we want. When we want.”

“You are going to leave Acquitaine,” Damien said. “And you are not going to return.”

Hogar’s eyes widened in outrage. His lips curled with hatred; his teeth ground. Around him and his men, soldiers from Acquitaine moved in, blocking all ways out except the large double doors at the back of the room. Hogar stood still for a tense moment. His gaze burned into Damien with a molten hatred. Finally, he whirled and led his men from the room. At least twenty Acquitaine soldiers followed them.

Aurora moved to Damien’s side. She stroked his shoulder and he turned to her, capturing her hand in his. They locked gazes for a long moment. Aurora caressed his cheek and took a deep breath.

Gawyn moved to Damien’s side. “If you feel like fighting, you should do it outside of the castle.”

“How the devil did they get in here?” Damien demanded, ignoring his quip.

“I’ll check on it,” Gawyn replied, but he looked toward the door for Justina.

“Go with them, Gawyn. Take two squadrons of soldiers and make sure they are off our lands. I’ll have Sir Robert talk to the outer wall guards.”

Gawyn turned to Damien, anxiety rippled through him. He didn’t want to leave Justina. “I have Justina and her brother at the castle.”

“Justina?” Damien echoed in confusion.

“The girl who lives on the outer lands. In Auch. The one Aurora said to take men and protect. I think Hogar has mistaken those lands for his.”