Page 39 of Vows of Sacrifice

I stopped my work for a brief moment, staring pensively at the back of his neck.

“Because of my father?”

Yes. He had killed him. It was true.

“War is war. I didn’t do it for pleasure, Ashana. I never feel pleasure when I kill, I just do it. It’s like breathing, eating, walking. No more, no less . . . I’m sorry.”

I looked down at the tub that separated me from Dovah.

“I know. I forgive you, Dovah, but I cannot forget. He was my father. He wasn’t a perfect man, he had his faults, certainly, but I loved him.”

“I understand.”

A heavy silence fell over us, and both he and I remained motionless for some time.

“I believe you have sisters.”

I smiled sadly. It was thoughtful of him to try and steer the conversation onto less steep terrain.

“Yes, twin sisters. Mérédicia and Bhilène. They look so much alike that very few people can boast of telling them apart at first glance.”

“Are they nice? Do you get on well with them?”

“They’re adorable, though as children, they were real little devils. I was often punished for their mischief. They turned fifteen this year.”

“I know what a burden it can be to be the eldest. Paivrin has to be the wisest of us all.”

Suddenly, he lowered himself into the tub, and I found myself with his head at my fingertips.

“Can you wash my hair?” he asked in a slow voice.

“Okay,” I hesitated, before getting on with the task.

When I began to rub his scalp with my fingers to lather the soap, Dovah made soft grunts of contentment. I smiled foolishly as I listened.

“It’s so good that I’m going to end up falling asleep. I didn’t realize it was so nice to have a wife.”

“Because, for you, a wife is just a way to rub your back and wash your hair?” I retorted, resisting the urge to pull a handful of brown locks in retaliation.

“No, of course not. There’s sex too.”

As if he had guessed my intention, Dovah deftly slipped out of my grasp, and his head disappeared under the water. When he emerged, it was to splash me. I shrieked in surprise. To get such a dress wet was a crime!

He burst out laughing while taking care not to reveal too much of his naked body. I was grateful.

“I was sure you were going to pull my hair!” he exclaimed cheerfully.

He looked, once again, like a mischievous boy, no longer a monster of war. How many sides did this man have? How much did I have left to discover?

I didn’t have time to reply when a servant knocked on the door.

“Sorry to disturb you, Lord Dovah, Lady Ashana, but King Elendur is waiting for you and Isamane Nadrisse in the dining hall.”

I would have preferred to stay in this room. Truly.

6

DOVAH

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