Kahtar's Shieldmaiden—A Vignette by S.R. Karfelt

www.TheGlitterGlobe.com/S.R. Karfelt

"Listen, I love you. Joy is coming." Kahtar waited.

Carole didn't answer. She sat cross-legged on the cot and didn't move, didn't flinch. If not for cold fury emanating from every cell he might have thought she'd gone deaf as well as mute.

"It's my fault," he said.

Nothing.

"Beth thinks so too."

Carole slanted her eyes in his direction. Muscles in Kahtar's shoulders tensed. He hadn't forgotten their last fight. She'd nearly kicked his nuts into his stomach. He hadn't approached his wife for sex for nearly two weeks after.

"Beth. Forgave. You," Carole said, and closed her eyes, shutting him out.

"I'm not asking your forgiveness."

Eyelids opened. "Good."

"I'm saying I want you here with us. This is your home now, and in time—" Carole moved with the suddenness of a stone ball shot from a catapult. One sensible loafer caught him square in the chest. Kahtar tripped over his piles of hunting boots and fell against the wall of the closet-like room.

Carole shot out of the doorway and slammed the door shut. The sound echoed into the rafters of the cabin.

Pressing fingers against his ribs to check for a fracture, Kahtar finally understood. Carole wanted joy on her terms, not what they offered.

It wasn't going to be easy living with his mother-in-law.

This scene takes place after the third book of the Covenant Keeper Novels. Just a little glimpse of how life carries on between behind the scenes. Currently I'm working on the fourth book in the series. If you read the third book, you might have an idea that the next book will pick up somewhere other than Willowyth. 

The next book will be released later next year, with another stand alone novel released in May 2017. That book has been in the writing pile for years. Obviously I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I love writing. There's always another scene/book/story anxiously awaiting. This vignette is proof of that, and how sometimes stories just can't wait.

Or maybe that's me. I'm sure you have all the patience in the world. I can tell that by the fact that I get emails and messages on book release day asking for the next book. Allow me to assure you, the muse is on your side.