The jarl claims his Saxon bride every time the lands are threatened.
Everett needs the rite to hold the coastal holding after his brother's exile. Jane stays despite the danger to her kin and the risk of discovery by both sides.
Every dispute over supplies or rivals ends with her bent across the map table. He pins her wrists and claims her to bind their alliance as the equinox approaches. The rite grows more demanding with each passing day. His dread of clan betrayal deepens each time she remains. She could end the arrangement but never does. The alliance could collapse if either admits what the rite has become.
Her sleeve catches on his belt in the narrow space by the hearth.
