Page 13 of Vows of Sacrifice

Hands on her hips, she gave me a murderous look.

“I don’t take orders from you! Even more so if it concerns the way I dress!”

I ignored her words superbly.

“I like your hair.”

The two girls I assumed to be her sisters gasped in unison. What had I said that was so shocking? I rolled my eyes in exasperation before continuing.

“From now on, I forbid you to wear those things. Be proud of who you are.”

“Who I am?” she repeated, dumbfounded.

I nodded.

“Yes, who you are. You are my wife. That’s glory enough for you.”

With that, I dropped the bonnet, which fell to the ground, before guiding my horse’s hooves over it. Vulcan trampled over it without a shadow of remorse. Well done. Good boy. When Ashana tried to pick it up in spite of its condition, I stopped her in her tracks with a low voice:

“Don’t even try it, or I’ll get off my horse and burn every cursed bonnet in this castle myself before I go. Provoke me a little and see.”

Ashana’s mouth gaped in amazement and, to my astonishment, the woman who must have been the queen, her mother, hid a smile behind her hand. When our eyes met, all signs of friendship instantly disappeared. She finally approached me. I immediately placed Vulcan to one side so as not to splatter her with mud as he stamped in place.

“I am Queen Lyra, mother of Ashana, and I do not like you, Lord Dovah. You killed my husband, who was a good man. You have Muvaria in the palm of your hand for a king who sees only war. However, I hope you’ll be a good husband to her.”

I studied her for a moment.

“My respects, Queen Lyra. As for me, I hope you realize that I owe you nothing.”

I turned my head towards Ashana.

“Can you ride?” I asked her abruptly.

Without even waiting for her reply, I grabbed her by the waist and set her down in front of me, on Vulcan’s back. Then I looked down at the queen.

“She is no longer your princess. She’s my wife. I don’t have to answer to you.”

I bowed slightly in greeting as Ashana’s stiff body tried not to touch my own, just behind her. And so, we finally left the palace, with half the men. The other half remained in the castle with several officers whose orders were to keep things in place until the relief.

“You are nothing but a boor without manners!” my wife spat through her teeth.

I put my mouth to her ear:

“It was nothing more than the truth. In fact, I did a service to you and your family. The sooner your sisters and your mother get used to the idea, the less painful it will be for them.”

Ashana remained mute for a short moment before saying in a harsh voice, “You’re a murderer!”

With an imperceptible shift of my hips, I closed the meagre distance between us. She immediately stiffened, which made me smile.

“Hard to deny. It’s in my nature.”

My eyes were fixed on her red braids, both held in place by an army of pins.

“Who taught you to shoot a bow?” I asked to change the subject.

But also, because I was curious.

“My cousin. He’s a most remarkable archer.”

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