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“Did your mother educate you on the subject? I know it’s customary for them to do so, but since, um ... you mention the, uh, ‘circumstances’ that led to our marriage, and that, from what you’ve told me, you weren’t expected to marry, I think that, as your husband, it’s important to know now.”

I felt awkward, perhaps even terribly clumsy.

In my defense, I had only shared my bed with experienced women who were well versed in the ways of physical love.

Not that the subject or talking about it really bothered me, but strangely enough, discussing it with my wife made me feel as comfortable as a fish trying to swim out of the river.

“Not ... really.”

I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

“Have you been taught the ... uh ... basics?”

“You seem worried,” Ashana remarked.

Ten to one she was smiling! It was my turn to fidget in the saddle.

“Not at all.”

Which was entirely false. But it was all the more reason to be patient and delicate with my wife. I could already see myself trying to give her multiple orgasms before ...

“My lord!”

I jumped.

“Massim? What is it?”

“We found a place to rest the horses and eat.”

“Good,” I agreed.

I then ordered a few men to check the surrounding area for ambushes or ill-intentioned individuals.

Once this was done, we set up a basic camp.

I joined Ashana, sitting a little way from the soldiers.

When she spotted me, she handed me a bowl of boiled potatoes with some vegetables and dried meat, which I gladly accepted.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“If you want to relieve your natural needs, let me know.”

Her silence intrigued me, and I suspended my gesture of bringing my food-filled spoon to my mouth to look at her. Ashana was blushing, her head turned to the side.

“Is that the case?” I asked.

She seemed a thousand times more embarrassed to talk about this subject than to discuss sex education—or lack thereof—with me.

“Yes, Dovah. Thank you for your concern.”

Every time she said my name, an endless shiver ran up my spine. Each and every time. It was like magic.

“Please eat. I’ll accompany you afterwards.”

“No!” she cried out suddenly.

I gulped down my mouthful while looking at her, intrigued.

“Besides, it’s not a topic to discuss at the dinner table,” she persisted.

I smile, amused.

“Very well, my wife,” I choked out.

“We don’t talk with our mouths full,” she replied, her complexion growing redder and redder.

I laughed and almost choked on a piece of potato. I then gently patted my chest to push the stubborn food down.

“Very well, my wife,” I repeated, just for the pleasure of seeing her face turn as red as a poppy.

She gave me a dark look that I found adorable, almost as adorable as a puppy trying to growl at a bigger mutt.

“Propriety isn’t your thing, is it?” she reproached me.

A wide smile crossed my mouth as a preamble to my response.

“We agree on that. I promise I’ll make an effort, but not too much, because I find you particularly cute when you get angry like this.”

This time, the redness of her cheeks reached her hairline. The phenomenon was nothing short of fascinating.

“Rude!” she exclaimed, before focusing on her own bowl of food.

I continued to gaze at her.

“Certainly. I’m a boor who can be brutal with others. Very. Rather hot-tempered too, I must admit. I can even be obtuse and dishonest. I’m always right, even when I’m wrong.”

Ashana raised her nose just long enough to give me a curious look.

“However, you are now my wife, and you can count on my unfailing loyalty. You can ask me for anything, even the moon.”

She raised an eyebrow and half a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Even the moon?”

“Yes, for you, I might just have to unpluck it from its bed of stars.”

Ashana laughed. It was a pleasant, gentle sound.

“I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“This isn’t romance.”

I leaned forward so that I could delicately grasp her chin between my fingers and force her to look straight in my eyes:

“I am one of the sons of the dawn of time. The third. The fierce one. I can transform the moon into a shining pearl and set your engagement ring with it if it is my will.”

I knew what was happening. In my eyes now danced the flames of my power. The power of the ash dragon. Ashana opened her mouth, speechless.

“What the ...” she murmured, unable to finish her sentence.

I leaned in further. At that moment, I was tormented by the powerful desire to kiss her, to unite my mouth with hers and feel her tongue.

“Magic is everywhere,” I repeated before releasing her and straightening up.

“Are you a sorcerer? Like your friend Paivrin?”

How could I explain it to her? It was too soon, but I knew that delaying this conversation wasn’t helping.

“Yes and no. It’s a family physical peculiarity. I’ll tell you about it when we’re settled in at Tarnton Palace.”

“What exactly will you be talking about?”

“In Tarnton,” I repeated.

The tone of my voice alone indicated that I didn’t wish to say more, and Ashana understood this.

As soon as she finished her meal, I got up with the idea of accompanying her away from the soldiers so she could do what she had to do.

Despite her rather vehement protests, she finally gave in: there was no way I was leaving her alone in this forest. Between the Abyss and its creatures, or the few nomads among the little people, there was plenty to frighten her.

I followed her. For a long time. Until she stopped and turned to me, red as a peony.

“You’re too close.”

Still, it took me a moment to understand.

“Ah.”

Then I drew my sword.

“Stay within earshot.”

Suddenly, I realized how helpless she was without someone capable of protecting her by her side.

It was something we would need to work on to find a solution.

I wanted my wife to be able to defend her own life if she ever faced danger.

Mastery of a close-combat weapon, perhaps?

For the bow was a noble art, certainly effective in a long distance attack, but insufficient in my eyes.

Magic? Of course. Magic. It was obvious.

Magic could be powerful, destructive, unstoppable.

If Ashana was indeed my flame, my stone, as Paivrin believed, magic flowed in her veins.

It just needed to be awakened. I wasn’t the most gifted among us, unfortunately.

Paivrin seemed the best person to mentor my wife.

Or Kynnen. Only, I hadn’t heard from him in ages . ..

“Dovah!”

That cry was Ashana. My blood rushed to my veins and, on instinct, I charged through the forest in the direction of her voice.

I was ready to rip to shreds anyone who dared harm her.

I burst ferociously towards her, my expression surely transformed.

But it was probably me who upset her more than the “things” that were attacking her.

Small creatures surrounded her. Little fairies and goblins amused themselves by tugging at her hair or dress. One cheeky fairy had even dared to stick its nose in her cleavage! I approached the rascal and gently grabbed him by his wings.

“If I don’t have the right, you certainly don’t!” I mumbled, before tossing him into the air.

The tiny man twirled in a mass of luminous dust and jingling bells before giving me an outraged look. Nevertheless, after locking eyes with me for a moment, he understood ‘who’ I was and hid behind the leaf of a nearby tree, where Ashana and I stood.

“If you don’t have the right to what?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her hands rested on her hips, while the little creatures continued to play around her as if my wife were the attraction of the day.

“To slip between your breasts.”

The words flew out of my mouth without me even giving it a moment’s thought. I bit my tongue in retaliation.

“Unlike them, you’re too big to manage that.”

I narrowly refrained from telling her that there was a part of me that could undoubtedly fit in there, with great enthusiasm, in fact.

This time, I had made the effort to think before I spoke. My wife’s innocence was damn dangerous for our conversations.

“Of course,” I merely replied, with a dreamy smile.

What my wife’s cleavage revealed left little room for speculation as to the size of her breasts.

Her chest was of a beautiful and most tempting generosity.

An image sprung up in my fertile mind—an image both wildly imaginative and downright realistic—and I had to chase it away quickly or I’d risk finding myself cramped in my pants.

“Dovah! Dovah, please!”

“Mmh?” I said, trying to bring myself back to the present moment.

Ah, yes. Fairies and goblins. I shooed them away, gently scolding them.

“Who are they? Why are they so small?” asked Ashana.

I did notice one thing, however. It was obviously the first time she’d seen magical beings, yet she didn’t seem frightened by them. The truth of blood cannot lie. Magic flows in her veins .

“They’re the little people, my lady. See the ones with wings? Those are little fairies. The others, the ones with the funny hats, they’re goblins. They’re playful and mischievous, but not really dangerous. Watch out for the elves, or the big fairies.”

“Elves? Big Fairies?” she repeated.

“They’re as tall as humans, distinguished by their ethereal beauty and long, pointed ears. They are ambivalent, hating and loving humans at the same time. Sometimes they kidnap them for love.”

“What?”

I nodded and held out a hand to help her over a dead tree trunk.

“They take them into their hidden world and ... well, fornicate. With them. Against their will, if their victim doesn’t succumb to their advances.”

A horrified expression immediately appeared on Ashana’s face.

“But that’s horrible!” she whispered, genuinely disgusted.

I looked her straight in the eyes.

“You didn’t know? They’re not demons, strictly speaking.”

She shook her head in the negative.