“Sometimes it feels like we’ve been married an eternity. I realize you’re not familiar with this form of intimacy, however . . .”
I briefly ran a hand over my face, as if this gesture had the power to enlighten me or chase away my confusion.
“ . . . I’m the first to be surprised by my reactions to you, in truth.”
I paused before continuing:
“I’m not sure you understand what I’m trying to explain.”
Ashana didn’t answer immediately, taking time to think.
“Yes. I think, well, I think I know what you mean. I understand, in a way, even if I don’t have that kind of reflex with you.”
If she’d added “because you’re still my father’s murderer,” I’d have left without looking back. To some countryside, spending days killing the enemy as an outlet. But she hadn’t. I thanked our Father for this encouraging sign.
“Go home before the heat makes you suffer,” I suggested. “And if ever I have that kind of ‘reflex’ again and you don’t like it, just turn away. I’ll know, then,” I assured her, praying it would never happen.
Ashana took a deep breath, then confronted me openly:
“I will not turn away from you.”
I thanked our Father again for his generosity towards me.
“No?” I prompted with a smile.
Her cheeks coloured slightly.
“No,” she confirmed firmly.
“May I ask why?”
The young woman raised an eyebrow.
“Simply curious,” I clarified.
Which was true. Here again, she took her time to answer me.
“Because you’re my husband and, uh, your kisses are . . . nice,” she hesitated.
That’s all it took to ignite my senses. Although the word was mild, the glint in her eyes and the flush in her cheeks were unmistakable.
Okay, stay calm, Dovah, I told myself.
“Do I have your permission?”
I had difficulty restraining myself from revealing my impatience.
“Yes. You have it,” Ashana said, just before turning around and heading for the two laundresses I’d recruited the day before.
They had stayed a little further away and were content to observe us. I stood there, my hand resting on the pommel of Flame, my sword, my mind drifting because my wife had just authorized me to kiss her.
I was going mad. Probably. How could I deny it? Wasn’t that a form of madness? An intoxicating madness, yes, but madness all the same.
* * *
Elendur was waiting for me in his office. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the men present froze, as they always did whenever I entered a room without their having mentally prepared for it. It was involuntary and, fortunately for them, they possessed an efficient survival instinct.
There was Helyes, the Secretary of Finance and the Royal Treasury. A lanky, beady-eyed man whose physique was a perfect match for the position he held. Garit, the kingdom’s Chancellor of Secrets and Investigations, the high-ranking individual in charge of spies. Small in stature, but with broad shoulders and a rather impressive muscular frame. It was said that his father was a dwarf from the Firelands, those of the volcanoes of the Underworld. I wanted to believe it.