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Chapter Two
    Harlan awoke with a groan and licked his dry lips. What had happened to him, and more importantly, what had happened to the king? He was aware of a dul , throbbing ache in his head, but he ignored it and tried to sit up. It took him a few panicked moments to realize that he couldn’t move at al . Had he broken his neck in the fal ? Did he lie paralyzed on the forest floor, hidden from sight, alone in this threatening wilderness?
    He fought to keep his breathing even and tried to think.
    He lay on his back, but it didn’t feel as if he lay amongst the green mossy vegetation of the forest. In truth, it felt more like he lay in a bed. Was he at the summer palace?
    Something about the quality of the silence around him and the unfamiliar smel s didn’t seem to fit that scenario either.
    He tried to open his eyes, but found himself unable to see.
    He was either blindfolded or in complete darkness. Neither option made him feel any better.
    He remembered the ambush and the way he’d been forced off his wulfran . Had he and the rest of the king’s party been captured, and if so, where was the king? It was his primary duty to find him. He ignored the pain in his head and tried to sit up again, found he was held down by ropes and started to struggle.
    A light flared and he caught a glimpse of an unknown elderly woman staring down at him.
    “Be stil , male. You cannot escape your bonds.”
    Harlan licked his dry lips. “Where am I? Where is my king?”
    “That is no longer any of your concern.”
    “You don’t understand, I must…”
    She put her hand over his mouth. “I am Frytha. You must obey me. That is al you must do or you wil be punished.”
    She withdrew her hand and he felt the lip of a bowl against his mouth. “Now drink and go back to sleep.”
    He wanted to avoid the foul-smel ing brew, but he was too thirsty to stop himself swal owing it down. Before he could do much more than shudder at the taste, his dreams overwhelmed him again and he plunged into the welcoming blackness.
    A pattern emerged. He would awaken and the woman, Frytha, would feed him her noxious potions, ignoring his increasingly anxious questions. Harlan stil had no idea where he was or what had happened to the other members of the hunting party. Were they searching for him or had they al died? While he was awake, instead of just worrying, he tried to loosen his bonds, but mainly succeeded in cutting and bruising his skin.
    He tried to count the days, but he had no real sense of time, trapped as he was in the darkness. He only had hope to sustain him and the belief that he was getting better as the pain in his head lessened.
    “By the goddess, it stinks in here!”
    A new female voice.
    Harlan opened his eyes and winced as lights blazed around him and quickly closed them again. He fought to calm his breathing as he sensed more than one person enter his prison.
    “He is a big strong male, my lady. I couldn’t lift him to wash him. I had to keep him tied down.”
    Harlan remained stil as he felt a hand travel down over his naked body and pause at his groin.
    “He is big.” She giggled and cupped his bal s. “I wonder how big?”
    “Astrid, let us clean him properly before we get to that.”
    Another more practical voice and the sweet scent of steaming hot water. Harlan cautiously opened his eyes a crack and realized there were three women surrounding him. Astrid, the one stil groping his bal s, seemed the youngest. The dark-haired one holding the washing cloth was more his own age.
    “Be careful, Agnes. He’s not asleep.”
    “As long as he is tied down, I don’t think I need to fear him.”
    Harlan sighed as she washed his chest with the soapy water and wondered how long it was since he’d last been able to get clean. She continued washing him and he watched her through lowered eyes. The lady Agnes wasn’t beautiful, but she had a quiet serenity about her that appealed to him. If anyone would answer his questions, he