Page 37

It was Tylbis. I was already uncomfortable with him, but now I was even less so. I glanced around to see if Dovah was around. Tylbis gave a cold smile, but what lit up his eyes looked like sadness.

“He’s with my brothers. Paivrin entrusted him with several books, plants, and potions to help you develop your magic. I’m sorry to be the cause of your departure,” he then added.

I remained as mute as a carp. I didn’t know him.

I didn’t remember him. And more than anything, the fact that one of Dovah’s brothers harboured ambiguous feelings towards me, especially knowing what had happened in the past, made me want to run like hell and far, far away.

Already, the thought of having betrayed my husband in this way made my stomach churn, so I sincerely preferred to avoid any compromising situation.

Tylbis seemed to read my mind, for he laughed softly.

It was a bitter sound devoid of any form of joy.

“You’re wondering if it’s true?” he asked, patting my horse’s neck.

I glanced at him warily, but still preferred to remain silent.

“I heard it, yes. It’s hard not to hear Dovah when he’s bellowing, especially in that way. His voice always carries.”

He was silent for a moment.

“Have a safe trip. Be careful,” he said in a neutral tone by way of goodbye.

With that, he simply turned away from me and walked back inside the house with a gait that was surprisingly graceful for a man of his size.

“What a handsome man,” sighed Luanda.

I pivoted towards her.

“I find Dovah much more attractive.”

My chambermaid winked at me.

“A soft spot for brooding brunettes? I understand, Lady Ashana.”

When Dovah returned, he had a slight wound on his temple that was bleeding a little. He kissed me abruptly and with unbridled passion for all to see, leaving me as panting as I was perplexed. Kynnen and Paivrin approached, but only after their brother had hoisted himself onto Vulcan’s back.

“What happened?” I asked, worried.

I found that Dovah was having increasing difficulty controlling his outbursts, and deep down, I thought this was a bad omen.

“He jumped at Tylbis’s throat. Who fought back,” Kynnen described flatly.

“Tylbis is also injured, which is even more bizarre,” added Paivrin.

He was obviously addressing his younger brother rather than me. Kynnen raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Did he let Dovah hit him?”

Paivrin shrugged as if to say “maybe.”

“Should I be worried?” I asked, looking at each of them in turn before letting my attention slide towards Dovah.

He was giving instructions to his men and Massim.

“He will always be jealous and suspicious. Betrayal undoubtedly still poisons his soul. I know that nothing will ever happen between you and our brother Tylbis. Never,” asserted Paivrin.

“Even if it turns out that Tylbis has feelings for you that he shouldn’t, he’d rather kill himself than try to seduce you,” said the youngest of the dragons. “It’s you that I’m concerned about.”

I held his gaze. It’s good that that’s clear, I mused bitterly.

Oddly, I found the return journey much longer, as the atmosphere was undeniably much more tense. My horse rode alongside my husband’s horse. His frustration was clearly visible on his face, and I didn’t know how to soothe him.

“Dovah,” I began, not really knowing what to say.

He froze for a moment, then let out a long, weary sigh.

“It’s nothing. These are my demons, not yours.”

“I am still at the origin of it.”

He gave me a sidelong glance.

“Yes, but you’re not quite the same person. You’ve grown up in a different environment. Lived a different life. Faced different trials. You won’t make the same mistakes again.”

It wasn’t untrue, and in a way, it made me want to cry that he could be so willing to trust me after all that he’d suffered because of me.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

When he heard the raspy, emotional timbre of my voice, he ordered Vulcan to come closer to my mare, who didn’t appreciate it very much and whinnied to let him know.

“You are my wife. You came back to me. That’s good enough for me.”

And he kissed me. This time, it wasn’t a passionate kiss, but a much more tender touch. My heart swelled with love, and at that very moment, I had no doubt: yes, I loved Dovah with all my being.

The remainder of the journey was much more relaxed.

Marione and Massim chatted excitedly, while Luanda threatened to doze off on her mount.

When we arrived, Tarnton Castle was strangely quiet.

Not a single member of the royal court was to be seen in the corridors, apart from a handful of servants.

Their eyes were shifty, and when they recognized us, they rushed into the servants’ wing.

I turned to Dovah, my eyebrows furrowed.

“I find their attitude curious, don’t you?”

“Curious is an understatement,” he muttered, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword. “Luanda and Marione, accompany your mistress to our apartments and do not open the door to anyone but me. No one, do you hear me? I’m going to see the king to get to the bottom of this.”

At that, he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead and, with a clatter of armour, moved quickly away in the direction of the staircase. Olba and Cyrian remained with us, and it was the five of us who took the path that led to the marital chambers. When we reached the corridor, I paused.

“What is it, Lady Ashana?” inquired Olba, drawing his sword.

Cyrian followed suit.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said, pointing to the royal guards stationed on either side of the door to the apartments Dovah and I were occupying.

My husband’s soldiers evidently felt this way too, for they didn’t put away their weapons. I hesitated. I had no desire to enter this room any longer. Instead, I wanted to join my dragon husband, wherever he was.

“Lady Ashana, perhaps this is just a precaution taken by the king,” Luanda suggested in my ear.

I met her confident gaze. She was probably right. I was probably too defensive.

“And we have Sir Cyrian and Sir Olba. I am of the mind to obey the order given by your husband, Lady Ashana.”

Marione’s intervention convinced me. My suspicion was certainly due to fatigue and all I’d just discovered about myself and the husband in question. I pinched the bridge of my nose, then smiled at them:

“You are right. Let’s go.”

As we approached, I was surprised to discover that the guards had no intention of preventing us from entering.

“Why are you here?” asked Olba, the oldest and certainly the most senior.

“It is by order of His Majesty.”

“Why?” insisted Cyrian this time.

But the two guards just stared straight ahead. Dovah’s two men got nothing out of them. Luanda opened the door for us, but once inside, I quickly realized that I was the only one who had entered.

I spun around and drummed my fists against the wooden frame.

“What’s going on?! Let them in!” I cried.

I was afraid. Not for myself, but for them.

We’d been deliberately separated. I heard agonizing screams from the hall.

I recognized Luanda’s voice, but also Marione’s.

My eyes widened in terror and, with one hand over my heart, I slowly moved away from the door.

This time, it was Olba’s screams of pain, closely followed by Cyrian’s, that pierced the walls and reached me.

When two hands came to rest on my shoulders, I froze. First, I felt a warm breath near my ear, and then, when that breath came closer to me, right there on my neck, I recognized the identity of its owner:

“Welcome back to the castle, Lady Ashana. I found the time terribly long without you.”

It was King Elendur. When he sensed that I wanted to run away from him, he tightened his grip so much that I winced in pain.

“My ... Majesty? What is going on?”

I tried to play dumb to buy time. Meanwhile, my mind was searching for a way to escape. Elendur laughed softly, with a sort of sensuality that made me nauseous.

“I think you understand that the situation is dire for you. It was hard, you know. Waiting. Waiting for you . Waiting for you to marry your lawful husband.”

He knows. He knows everything. This certainty was like an icy poison in my veins.

“Oh?” I asked, scanning the room for a potential weapon.

Then I remembered I was carrying Dovah’s dagger. I had Cinder! I immediately drew it from its sheath, but Elendur struck me hard on the wrist. In pain, I released the weapon, and he kicked it away from me.

“I was wondering when you would try to stab me.”

He spun me around roughly so that I could face his golden gaze, strangely glowing in the dim light.

“Mind you, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve tried to kill me,” he added with a charming smile.

What is he talking about? Is he losing his mind? I wasn’t sure how to deal with a man who was no longer in his right mind. He must have read my thoughts because, as he gripped my wrists tightly, he let out a hearty laugh and then said:

“No, Ashana, I’m not crazy. I just have an excellent memory. I’m your Betrayal, my tender love. I am the one who led you into sin.”

Here, his smile became a grimace.

“Or rather, I tried to. If it will ease a burden on your conscience, you should know that you did not betray Dovah. I just made sure that he and his brothers were convinced of it. It worked very well. So well, in fact, that I’d like to repeat the experience. What do you say?”

He leaned towards me, so close that his face was almost glued to mine. I held my breath as I realized what he’d just told me. All that suffering ... All that the wives and dragons had endured because of the scheming of this scum, probably in the service of the Abyss.

“How is it possible?” I asked. “How is it possible to be my Betrayal and to be here, to be King of Osacan?”

“I reincarnated. Isn’t that wonderful? I’ll still be able to break your union with that idiot Patriarch who’s so quick to piss off,” he gloated, apparently delighted by this prospect.