Page 74 of Vows of Sacrifice

Marione nodded in agreement.

“Back home in Muvaria, summers are harsh, but winters are even more difficult,” Massim intervened. “Gulan winters are much milder than our summer season.”

I noticed that the page was devouring Marione with his eyes. She was three years older than him, but that clearly didn’t bother him too much.

“Everything going well?”

It was Dovah. I gave him a shy smile. Ever since we’d been married at the Temple of the Dark Gods, one thought had haunted my mind: our upcoming wedding night. This was going to be “the” night for us. It was more than obvious that Dovah was looking forward to it, while I wasn’t sure whether the prospect excited or terrified me. These two emotions invaded me alternately, so much so that I felt a knot in my stomach.

“Yes,” I assured him with a smile.

My eyelids fluttered. Holding his gaze was difficult because he seemed to read me like an open book. Right down to my apprehensions about this stage in our relationship.

“Are you sure?” he insisted, moving his horse closer to mine.

I didn’t feel like talking about it, so I chose to steer the conversation in another direction:

“You told me that Gulan was a bit of a home for the creatures of the little people and fairies. Do you think we’ll have the opportunity to see any?”

Strangely enough, my husband’s expression remained serious.

“Yes, Gulan is home to many elves, fairies, and mermaids. It is designated as a welcoming land for all races, not just men. In fact, Paivrin is a sort of spokesman and mediator between the various clans.”

“His magic, which interacts with nature, makes him the ideal representative,” Kynnen chimed in.

He placed his stallion to my right and smiled at me. Despite the long scar that crossed part of his face, he remained strikingly handsome. I wondered if Dovah’s other brother, the one named Tylbis, was also blessed with good looks.

I must have been staring a little too hard at Kynnen, for he tilted his head to one side, as if wondering about my thoughts. Dovah cleared his throat loudly.

“Is there a problem?”

I immediately turned to him and smiled.

“No, I was just thinking your brother was very handsome.”

If I’d thought, naively, that my husband was upset a moment before, the expression that now altered his features confirmed to me that it was only a mild preview. Kynnen let out a loud laugh, then slapped his hand on his thigh.

“I’m sorry?” whispered Dovah in a honeyed tone that boded ill for the future. “I must have misunderstood. You like my brother, is that it?”

I blushed to the roots of my hair.

“No, it’s not what you think. Not at all. I was just thinking that you were all very attractive, that it was probably a peculiarity among your siblings, and I was just wondering if your other brother, Tylbis, was also . . . well, anyway. No importance.”

“Tylbis is also very handsome, Ashana,” Kynnen replied to me under the wrathful eye of his elder brother. “In a different genre, of course, but it’s safe to say that he’s indeed handsome. However, everyone agrees that, of the four of us, the one who is the unanimous favourite of the ladies—and a few gentlemen too, from what I’ve heard—is your husband.”

Dovah gave an unconvinced grunt. This reaction triggered a new bout of hilarity in Kynnen.

“And humble too!” he laughed again.

The man many called the Black Demon, who was now my husband in the eyes of two religions, rolled his eyes, as if exasperated by the turn this conversation was taking.

“My brother told me you were an excellent archer, is this true?” continued Kynnen, flashing a friendly smile, while Dovah opted for a sullen silence.

“I wouldn’t go that far . . .” I hesitated.

It wasn’t false modesty on my part; I just didn’t like drawing attention to myself. It wasn’t something I was used to. I had been the one hidden for the benefit of her sisters. I may have been the wife of Dovah, the hand of justice of King Elendur of Osacan, but I was still a victim of my old reflexes.

Kynnen leaned toward me and whispered:

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