Unsurprisingly, the problem they had been avoiding caught up to them. It did, when they were both in the living room. Mortred clearly sensed something, because she jumped up and had her weapons in her hands before Huskar realized she had moved. Still it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded. Seven assassins, Veiled Sisters from the look of it, and that were only the ones Huskar could see. He supposed there might be more of them, hidden the way Mortred could.
Since it seemed rather pointless, Huskar didn't even try to grab his weapons. He would never be fast enough against them, even if they were not as fast and deadly as the Phantom Assassin was. He stood up, though, very slowly and stepped closer to Mortred. She was already moving towards him while never taking her eyes off the Veiled Sister in front of her. She appeared to be relaxed but Huskar could see the tension in her body. She was ready to attack if anyone made the wrong move.
"Sister." One of the assassins spoke. "We are here to judge you. And eliminate what made you stray from your path."
Mortred tightened the grip on her weapons but her face remained expressionless. She didn't wear her complete set of armour nor her helmet. She had stopped coming fully armoured, which she probably regretted right now. It was clear what the Veiled Sisters wanted: to kill Huskar. He didn't know why they hadn't already done it.
This was what the Assassin had feared, right from the beginning. Because the Veiled Sisters were not allowed to have mates. Suddenly Huskar was very nervous. This was the moment Mortred had tried to avoid. They had never talked about it, not about the fact she wasn't allowed to have a mate but still spent as much time as possible with him, nor about what would happen should the veiled Sisters find out about him. Because one thing was clear: she'd have to choose. The assassins were here to kill him and take her with them. It was they or him.
They were her sisters, probably the closest thing she had to a family. And he was her mate. Huskar couldn't be sure she'd choose him over them and he'd never ask that from her. Though he'd really prefer to stay alive. When he thought about it, he wasn't sure he'd be alive no matter what Mortred would choose. If she wanted to stay with him, the Veiled Sisters would probably kill them both. He stopped moving towards her, not sure if it was the right thing to do. It had seemed natural, mates sticking together, but he didn't know if him being her mate made him more important than them being her sisters. He wasn't sure if it would make a difference, no matter what she thought.
"Do you want to say something in your defence? Not that there would be anything that could justify you spending time with someone not from us."
"He is my mate. If you try to harm him in any way, I'll kill you all." Mortred's voice was low and sharp and though devoid of emotion everyone could hear the determination and seriousness of the statement. Huskar almost didn't believe his ears. She hadn't even thought about it, as if she was completely and without any doubt sure about this. As if she had decided all along and just hadn't bothered to tell him. Well, her saying that she loved him might have been a clue, but it wasn't the logical consequence of it.
"Are you sure you can win that battle?" The Veiled Sister who had been speaking smiled a little, an arrogant smile.
The Phantom Assassin didn't change her expression. "Are you sure you can? It would be hard for you against only me, but against me and the Sacred Warrior? You do know how strong he is, don't you?"
The smiled wavered. Then: "You are weaker because of him. When we harm him, you'll lose your focus. Because you'll be afraid to lose him."
"Are you ready to try this theory? I know what he is capable of, that he becomes stronger with every injury he receives. I've seen him fighting and I'm not afraid for him. I warn you, because I don't want to hurt any of you. You are my sisters, not in blood but in heart. But I will kill you if you harm my mate. Not because he isn't able to take it, but because I won't tolerate it."
The two stared at each other while Huskar tried to process the words he'd heard. He wondered if she really saw him like that, as strong enough not to be a burden for her. He knew what she was capable of and he'd never even imagine defeating her. Either her sisters were much weaker or she was bluffing. Or she had an higher opinion of his skills than he himself had.
"It is against our law." To bring this argument was the sign for defeat. The Veiled Sister wouldn't attack them. Maybe it was because she was afraid, or it was because she saw how important Huskar was for her sister. The Phantom Assassin realized it, too, because the set of her shoulders changed slightly.
"I know. I am willing to leave the Veiled Sisters."
"That is even more against the law!" The sister sounded incredulous, as much as Huskar felt at the statement. This was her life she was offering to give up. For him! She was so much an assassin, a Veiled Sister, and she put him above it. The troll wondered if he had done or offered to do something similar for her, and he didn't think he had.
"I can come with you, stay at yours, wherever you are all living, and never leave." Before she'd be without her sisters, he'd be without his family. He hadn't seen them in forever anyway, was probably not a big loss. He hadn't thought it through, but it sounded like a reasonable thing to offer.
"You can't!" The Veiled Sister was clearly out of her depth with this whole situation. But now it was Mortred's turn to be perplexed. So much so, that she couldn't even hide it. She looked at Huskar, ignoring all the assassins around them, her eyes wide. She didn't say anything, just stared, so the troll winked at her with a smile. As if he wasn't willing to do everything for her. He could understand her shock, though, considering he had been shocked only moments before by her willingness.
But they were at an impasse here. Neither Huskar nor Mortred would back down, they wouldn't give up their mate. And the Veiled Sisters seemed to be unsure if they could take them down, so they stood there, staring at each other, neither of them moving. Huskar was unbelievably happy that Mortred chose him, over everything. He grinned like a fool, but the benefit of it was that he looked even scarier that way. Mortred seemed to be pleased as well, not that the troll could make out any emotions on her features, but he was sure about it.
With a sight, the Veiled Sister took a step back. "Don't move." Then she ported away.
The other assassins held their positions but Huskar decided it was relatively safe now to change his focus to Mortred. She must've thought the same, because she was already looking at him. For a moment, nothing changed, then she smiled. It was only a little bit, but it made Huskar grin even more. It was ridiculous and his face was starting to hurt from it. But though this situation was what he had feared most, he felt good. He had been afraid that Mortred would leave him, but this was fine. He didn't care if he had to forever live with the Veiled Sisters as long as he had his mate. As long as he had his Phantom Assassin. And if the stupid assassins really tried to kill him or them both, he was astonishingly confident that they stood a chance. Mortred seemed to be confident about it and he trusted her.
They didn't talk, just smiled, respectively grinned, at each other. Until a few minutes later the Veiled Sister who had been talking all the time appeared again. The Phantom Assassin was expressionless and alert even before Huskar realized the Veiled Sister was back.
Something passed between the assassins, some communication the troll didn't understand. Then they all disappeared. Only the one stayed. She ignored Huskar. "If he is used against you by anyone, we won't help you. He is your weak spot and you know it. He won't be allowed to live with us so it is up to you how you'll keep him safe. You are allowed to do as you please as long as you do your job. If you don't, this decision will be revised." She seemed to want to leave, but hesitated. "I hope you'll be happy. And I hope you won't forget us."
Finally Mortred relaxed. She put her weapons away and approached the Veiled Sister. "I already am happy. And even if I won't be home as often as before, you and every other of our sisters is welcome to visit me." She looked at Huskar, then added: "To visit us."
That the Assassin assumed this was a place she could invite someone to was awesome, because it meant she saw it as her home. At least partially. And that she invited her sisters to visit not only her, but him too, it was perfect. Because it meant they belonged together. Huskar's grin got even wider than before and he thought he'd explode with all the happiness bubbling inside him. Him! That he was even thinking about bubbling happiness was strange enough. But then this was his soulmate and ones mate should be the most important creature in ones life. Happiness about her choosing him over everything else was probably justified.
As soon as the last Veiled Sister had left, he couldn't contain himself any longer. The troll rushed towards the Assassin, hugged her and buried his face in her hair. "I love you, I love you so fucking much! Thank you, for being with me and for standing beside me and for everything."
He could feel Mortred smiling against his neck. "I didn't think it would be this easy. Or I would've confronted them a long time ago. I'm really glad it went this well. I didn't want to choose between you and them, but as soon as they stood here, I knew what I wanted." She pushed him away, but only enough to be able to look at him. "I never thought I'd find my mate and I never ever thought, even if, that I could be happy with my mate. But I did and I am. Thank you for being this persistent and not giving up right at the beginning." Her smile grew wider, a real smile, not only a hint of one. "I love you too."
And this, this was by far the happiest day in Huskar's live. Up to now. There would come more, one day better than the other. Not all of them, of course not, that was illogical, but it was still amazing how perfect a day with ones mate could be.
Every fear he'd had about Mortred leaving him, it was gone. Maybe he dumped all his emotional stuff on her from that day on, but to his astonishment, she didn't mind. She was by far not as emotional as him, and that said much for a troll and warrior, but she smiled whenever he told her how much she meant to him. She smiled and sighed and pressed close to him and he knew by now that it was her way of showing him how much he meant to her.