Page 24

“Who are you and what do you want from me?”

He’d dropped me at the oasis. Here I was, now soaked to the skin and furious. I didn’t know how my captor had done it, or why, or who he was, but for some reason, the man standing before me looked strangely familiar. Especially his scar.

A broad smile split his lips as he happily bit into a strange fruit. It wasn’t an apple, but it looked like one.

“Pretty. I’ve seen worse, but I’ve seen better,” he commented as he eyed me.

I was dumbfounded. Had he just said I was ordinary? Did he think I wasn’t aware of this “detail” about my appearance and that I was going to get offended? For my part, it was something else entirely that stunned me at that moment ...

“Ho ... How did you do it? By what miracle? Magic? Is that right, you’re a sorcerer?”

The moment before, I was with Dovah, and the next, in the water of the oasis near the castle. The man burst out laughing, his head thrown back.

“So, you don’t know anything?”

I crossed my arms and pursed my lips. I hoped my glare would be enough to dissuade him from attacking me if that was his plan. My attitude only accentuated his mocking smile.

“I have no intention of hurting you. My name is Kynnen. I’m Dovah’s brother. I’ve come to see you to be sure.”

“Sure?”

His smile faded instantly.

“That you are who Paivrin says you are. The flame of the lord of the ashes.”

We didn’t have time to pursue the conversation further; Dovah appeared out of nowhere—was this an ability common to members of this family?—and he seemed beside himself.

“She. Is. My. Wife.”

To which Kynnen raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, and?”

“Who authorized you to lay your hands on her?” my husband continued coldly.

Dovah stepped into the water to grab me in his arms. I let out a little cry of surprise as he lifted me up, dripping. Instinctively, I clung to his neck.

“I just wanted to get your attention and find out what she looked like.”

Dovah gave him an inky-black look, then drew his sword from its sheath.

“You have my undivided attention now.”

The smile on his face was downright frightening. After depositing me on the shore, he waved his hand at his brother, inviting him to confront him physically. Again, Kynnen raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t come here to fight.”

With a slow movement of his index finger, he then traced the long scar that crossed his face.

“The last time I confronted you in anger, it left me with a very ... vivid memory.”

If using this wound was a ruse on the part of Dovah’s younger brother, it worked wonders, because Dovah immediately lowered his weapon, looking affected.

“Now that was a low blow,” muttered my husband before heaving a long sigh. “You know I wasn’t myself that day. I blame myself enough.”

Kynnen jumped down from the tree on which he was perched.

“Paivrin tells me you’re going to Gulan tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? I thought, tuning out the rest of the conversation—and perhaps I shouldn’t have, in hindsight.

This news could only mean one thing: we were to be married in the Osacan temple in a few hours.

Just a few hours. Suddenly, I felt scared and dizzy.

It was one thing to bond with Dovah and his brother as priest in the garden of Muvaria Castle, but quite another to unite with great pomp and ceremony before King Elendur.

“I will accompany you to Tarnton,” announced Kynnen. “I really want to be present at your union.”

“What plan are you cooking up this time?”

Dovah gave him a suspicious look, to which his little brother responded with a facetious smile.

“I’m not cooking anything, I’m not a pot.”

I laughed. It was spontaneous and both men turned to me simultaneously. When their attention became insistent and curious, I cautiously turned my head away, then cleared my throat to regain composure.

“I would really like to change if you don’t mind. My clothes and the water don’t mix well.”

I had just gotten a glimpse of an interesting side of Dovah: his possessiveness towards me.

I didn’t know how to take it. Flattered?

Worried? Or disgusted that he considered me his?

I looked at them for a moment without seeing them, and for their part, they seemed to realize the state I was in. Dovah hastened to offer me a hand.

“Let’s go, Ashana.”

I accepted it, feeling strangely reassured. In the end, I found it pleasant that he decided to rescue me. I had to mean something to him, otherwise, why take this trouble?

The return journey was rather eventful, as the two brothers argued about everything and anything.

Even the colour of the sky seemed to be a bone of contention between them.

Still, it was exciting to discover more about Dovah.

Depending on the circumstances, he could be cruel and ruthless, or funny and caring, but he could also bicker with a certain affection with his brothers.

We’d barely crossed the threshold into the castle when Nadrisse appeared as if by magic. She sized us up with a look, well, mostly at me and my soaked dress.

“I was worried. Your guards returned alone, saying that Lady Ashana had been captured by your brother.”

Nadrisse smiled. A smile intended to be affectionate but belied by the icy gleam in her eyes.

“I should have known it was Kynnen.”

At the mention of Dovah’s brother’s first name, the Isamane opened her arms as if meeting up with an old acquaintance.

Kynnen wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic, and his embrace was as brief as it was distant.

This detail brought a smile to my face. It seems that Kynnen is not too sensitive to the young woman’s charm .

She then turned her shadowy, kohl-rimmed gaze on me, and I underwent her critical examination with stoicism.

“My dear, you seem to need a bit of cleaning.”

Her whispering voice made me want to pull my dagger from its sheath, but instead I responded with a deferential smile, as polished as a precious stone.

“A little incident during my meeting with Lord Kynnen. Three times nothing.”

He laughed outright, earning a dark look from his elder brother. A slightly awkward moment of silence stretched between us, during which I made a point of keeping my fake smile in place.

“Seitha! Nirgide! Come, let’s help Lady Ashana change. The king’s waiting for her.”

With an icy expression on his face, Dovah took a step forward.

“Why does the king want to see my wife?”

On hearing the last word, Nadrisse’s eyes darkened instantly.

“To show her the great eagles. One of your men has asked to prepare one of the royal messengers, and the king wishes to take this opportunity to introduce them to her and speak with her one-on-one.”

Neither Dovah nor I could refuse this. Nadrisse was perfectly aware of this, and her smile widened.

“Especially as your wedding is tomorrow. The king wants to be sure that everything runs smoothly between you.”

Then, the Isamane pretended to realize a blunder and pressed a hand over her mouth to feign contrition.

“Oh. Perhaps you weren’t aware of the date?”

It was my turn to reveal a certain talent for the lying game, even if I was certainly less gifted than the sister of the King of Osacan.

“Yes, my husband took advantage of our outing in town to raise the subject, since we have to leave for Gulan quickly afterwards.”

In reality, I had figured it out by following Dovah’s exchange with Kynnen at the oasis, but she didn’t need to know that. Nadrisse made a slightly irritated grimace, before composing herself:

“Ah! I would have been very sad to unintentionally create a tense situation.”

Oh, yes, I’m sure, I thought immediately. She took me by the arm as if we were old, close friends. I turned my head towards Dovah, who was staring at me silently. I must admit that an intervention on his part would have seemed strange: I was not, strictly speaking, in danger. However ...

Once we were out of sight of my husband and his brother, Nadrisse promptly released me. I wasn’t surprised and almost smiled when I saw her, out of the corner of my eye, rubbing her hands together, as if she’d touched something dirtier than my arm.

“I’ve chosen an outfit for you,” she announced.

I felt her gaze piercing me like two deadly daggers stuck in my throat—that was the effect she had on me.

“You shouldn’t have taken the trouble,” I thanked her politely.

“I know.”

Ah. No more hypocrisy? Was she laying her cards on the table?

I was more or less expecting this, but she didn’t continue until we entered the room I shared with Dovah.

“Don’t think that he loves you because you’ve become his wife,” she attacked.

I looked down at my hands, which were beginning to tremble, then clenched my fists.

“With all due respect, Isamane, I don’t think it’s any of your concern whether my husband loves me or not,” I replied with a smile.

Her smile became even crueler and colder.

“Of course, it’s my concern. Dovah and I have been together for years now.

I should have been his wife, but my brother refused for obvious political reasons, given our rank.

As much as I hate the idea, he’ll unite me with a decrepit old king of a country that will probably serve Osacan’s future interests.

A duty I accept. This is why, Ashana, this is why Dovah has mourned the loss of me, no matter what he may have said to you on this subject to spare your feelings.

However, we’ve decided to remain lovers, for it is love that binds us.

I wanted you to know this to avoid any misunderstanding on the subject. Have I made myself clear?”

What could I say? The Isamane was still the king’s sister. Deny? Did I really know Dovah’s heart? No. Of course I didn’t. So, I simply clenched my fists again, much tighter this time, without letting any of the anger that was agitating me from within show.

“You had prepared an outfit, I believe?”