Page 29

My wife’s head peeked from the corner of the screen. She frowned, and when she realized I was shirtless, she immediately hid behind her cover.

“It’s ... It’s important in ... in a couple to maintain a certain form of intimacy.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll be married according to the rites of two religions and in the eyes of I don’t know how many deities. What kind of intimacy do we need? I want to see you naked, and I want you to look at me when I’m naked too,” I snapped.

I took off my shoes.

“There’s no question of you sleeping in a camisole or a dress for the night,” I warn her. “Every night, we’ll sleep naked against each other!”

“Dovah!” she cried, shocked.

“I’ve seen what this kind of habit has done to married couples, and it’s always ended the same way: separate beds and, in the end, separate bedrooms! I don’t want this for us.”

“Dovah!” she repeated, though in a softer tone.

“I want you; you want me. I can’t wait for our wedding night. I’m won’t jump on you every night—unless, of course, you want me to, in which case I’ll gladly oblige. Please note, however, nudity in bed is non-negotiable.”

With that, she stepped out in a long, virginal nightdress, the collar buttoned up to her chin. I watched her wordlessly, tormented by the desire to cut this sartorial horror into small squares of fabric before giving them to the servants to use for cleaning the windows.

“Enjoy it, tonight’s the last night of your nightgown,” I announced, with a dark look in my eyes.

“But!” Ashana protested, placing a hand to her heart.

I closed my eyes briefly and sighed.

“I swear on my blood that I’ll never force you to sleep with me if you don’t want to, but for the sake of our relationship, my mental stability, and the bond that unites us, grant my request. You can even cling to the other end of the mattress if you feel like it!”

I now knew that my wife tossed and turned a lot at night, so sooner or later, she’d end up in my arms. I was a very ancient being, and therefore, by definition, very patient by nature.

“From where I’m standing, Dovah, that doesn’t sound like a request, but an order.”

The tone of her voice was calm, but her pinched expression fooled no one.

“Alright, then. Let’s approach things differently. Let’s say it’s a concession on your part, and in return, I’ll make one to balance things out. What do you think?”

Ashana was standing two steps away from me, but I suddenly had the impression that the distance was much greater. She seemed to be thinking.

“I accept.”

My head jerked back. She accepts a little too quickly for my taste. What’s the catch?

“What do you want in return?”

Her gaze shifted from mine for a moment.

“It can wait. I’ll have to think about it.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied her through my lashes.

“I have the feeling that this is all thought through, and I expect the worst.”

She took one step back; I moved two steps forward.

“Ashana ...” I whispered. “Tell me everything. I’m listening.”

“Ah,” she exhaled, growing increasingly nervous. “Well, I thought, since we’ve had a ceremony according to your rite with your brother, and tomorrow we have that of the Dark Gods ...”

Yes, I’d forgotten that Elendur had chosen Jessop, the head of the temples, to officiate our wedding after his plan had fallen through.

“ ... we could, when we visit my home, marry according to the religion of the One God and in the presence of my family.”

I felt my blood boil with anger.

“Will we have to wait for this third ceremony to consummate our union?”

My speech was measured, but I could see that flames of rage were now flickering in my eyes. As Ashana avoided meeting my gaze at all costs, she failed to notice.

“N ... No, of course not.”

I relaxed instantly, in a better mood.

“I’m not against our, uh ... wedding night,” she continued.

She’s not what?!

“You’re not against it?” I repeated.

I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or groan in despair.

“I’m delighted to hear that,” I added, a touch sarcastically.

But how could I blame her for reacting this way? She had no idea what to expect, even though I knew for both of us.

The servants, sent by Massim to prepare my bath, arrived at just the right time. I needed to think about something else and Ashana was already slipping under the sheets.

“You don’t want to enjoy the bath?”

For once, I had no ulterior motive in proposing it. She shook her head in refusal.

“I’ve already washed myself with the basin on my vanity. I’d prefer to take my bath tomorrow morning, before putting on my wedding dress.”

I watched her for a moment, undecided. Should I respect her desire for privacy and change behind that damned screen?

“Put the tub over there,” I grumbled.

The servants exchanged glances, not quite sure they understood my order. I glared at them.

“Put the damned tub behind the damned screen before you fill it! Or you can move it after you’ve filled it, just for the fun of moving a tub the weight of a dead horse! What’s it to be? Which option do you prefer?”

The four servants quickly complied. As for Ashana, her smile was so big it almost split her face in two. I didn’t know whether I was happy to please her or displeased to give in to her obsession with privacy.

By the time I’d finished washing up, my wife was fast asleep.

From the end of our bed, I gazed at her, fascinated.

She was in a position of total abandon and her nightdress, the one she was so keen to wear every night, was pulled up over her thighs, revealing milky skin that I was dying to caress.

Curiously, I found this more erotic than a racy outfit.

I ran a hand over my face, resisting the urge to wake her up and beg her to let me make love to her like I’d been dreaming of for days.

The Temple of the Dark Gods was colossal.

It had required centuries of construction and many costly materials such as marble, gold, jade, obsidian, and so many others that to enumerate them would have taken me an inordinate amount of time.

Jessop stood before me, on the highest step leading to the altar dedicated to Wulous, the eagle-headed god of Osacan.

He was wearing the traditional garb of the priests of the Cult of the Dark Gods: a white linen loincloth encircling his waist and reaching down to his ankles, and a golden breastplate, a massive, extremely heavy piece of jewellery, which covered almost the entirety of his torso.

Like all the priests of the cult, Jessop had a shaven head and was tattooed with an eagle whose wings spread behind his ears. He stared at me smiling; two black orbs sunken deep their socket, from which nothing could escape.

At his side stood the brother and sister, the royal twins dressed in their finest attire.

Elendur played the benevolent king with his paternalistic smile, a role he was very fond of, while Nadrisse made no secret of her irritation.

Today, she wasn’t the centre of attention, and I assumed she hated it.

She should have been wearing red, just like her king, yet she was dressed in a dazzling white gown, and I didn’t have to wonder long about the reason for this choice.

At the sound of the salpinx , long trumpets whose round ends touched the ground, Ashana arrived, escorted by a dozen priestesses.

She wore a white dress with a less daring neckline than the Isamane. The veil covering her face prevented me from discerning her expression. I refrained from turning towards my former mistress to give her an annoyed look. Very, very annoyed.

Then, my eyes could no longer tear themselves away from Ashana, whose long train followed her like a pearly shadow. Once she was close to me, I offered her a hand, which she accepted.

Jessop immediately began the ceremony, raising his arms to the sky in prayer to the deity Wulous.

The priestesses who had accompanied Ashana lit the incense to the right and left of the golden altar, whose feet were shaped like eagles’ talons.

Jessop began to chant the prayer to the Dark God, invoking his presence among us and blessing my union with Ashana.

One of the priestesses wrapped a silk ribbon she’d woven around our hands. Inscribed on it were a series of Osacanian hieroglyphs which meant “Love—Joy—Longevity.”

The ceremony itself was very short. It was the whole ritual before and after that took up an excessive amount of time. There was the songs. There was the music. The prayers to the Dark Gods. The gongs. The offerings. Lots of offerings. More songs.

I couldn’t help casting a few glances in my wife’s direction to see if she could bear all this while she herself worshipped the direct competitor of the Patriarchs: the One God.

She seemed to remain stoic and her hand didn’t tremble in mine.

I admired her. Sincerely. This woman had been forced to marry her father’s murderer, sent to an unknown country with different customs. To top it all off, they’d tried to poison her, and a monster she’d never even known existed had nearly torn her to pieces the night before her wedding . ..

Yet she kept her head on her shoulders and faced these trials with valour. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. If only we could get that damned veil off her so I could see her eyes!

“Hand of justice from the Kingdom of Osacan!”

It was Jessop, and from the tone of his voice, he’d already tried calling out to me before that. I raised a provocative eyebrow. King Elendur leaned forward:

“I know you like your wife very much, but could you please say your vows so that Lady Ashana does the same and this ceremony ends on time?”

Elendur was openly making fun of me. I cleared my throat while giving him a look that warned him not to push me too far. If it allowed me to take my anger out on someone, decapitating his head of cults and temples posed no problem for my conscience.

“Ashana Carlion of Muvaria, I take you as my wife, before the Dark Gods of Osacan, the Ancient and the Glorious,” I recited in a loud voice.

At this, my wife turned her head towards me, and a priestess finally removed her opaque veil. When I discovered her features, enhanced by typical Osacanian make-up, my jaw dropped in amazement. Her almond-shaped eyes, outlined with kohl, were hypnotic. A true goddess.

“Dovah, hand of justice of Osacan the Ancient and the Glorious, hand of justice of King Elendur Silh, son of Yblis, I take you to be my husband.”

“May the god Wulous grant you his favour,” proclaimed Jessop, immediately echoed by the others present in the temple.

I then leaned towards Ashana and kissed her. It wasn’t part of the rite, but I didn’t care. Her mouth was calling to mine to seal our fates, until death do us part.

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1 “Monster, I am your death! No one has the right to touch my Ashana. No one but me.”