Page 89 of Vows of Sacrifice

I took a closer look at the newcomer. If I’m not mistaken, this is the famous Tylbis. He approached, taking care to ignore the dark look my dear husband was giving him.

“My name is Tylbis,” he announced, planting himself in front of me.

I fought hard against the urge to back away. Up close, he was even more impressive and . . . immense! I had to crane my neck to adjust my gaze to meet his. Incidentally, his eyes were a stunning blue. Very intense. I was speechless. My reaction made him smile full of smugness.

“So, it’s you,” he declared.

“Me?”

“The first wife.”

Just as he grabbed my chin between his thumb and forefinger to examine my face, Dovah sent a burst of flames at him. Tylbis barely had time to extinguish them with his own power.

“Do. Not. Touch. My. Wife,” scolded my husband, joining us in long strides. “Never. Understand?”

“If that’s all it takes to send you into a state of rage, I’ll oppose your union and postpone it for a decade,” the man I assumed to be the sapphire dragon coldly replied.

Dovah’s eyes had become reptilian, and in their fascinating colour, flames burned.

“You don’t touch her. It’s a simple concept, isn’t it?” retorted Dovah, placing me behind him.

“I wasn’t touching her, I was examining her.”

“Yeah, right.”

“From my point of view, it looked more like provocation,” interjected Kynnen.

When all eyes converged on him, he raised his hands in surrender.

“It was only my humble opinion,” he then muttered.

Morgana was at his side, wagging her tail weakly, probably just as puzzled as I was about the content of this conversation between Patriarchs.

“I need to read her soul,” Tylbis insisted, crossing his muscular arms against his equally athletic chest.

Dovah imitated his gesture, baring his teeth.

“Well, do it from a safe distance.”

Tylbis raised a mocking eyebrow.

“I may be the most powerful of us all, but I also have my limits.”

Paivrin, who had remained silent until then, took a step forward and struck the ground with his staff. Immediately, a tree sprang up from the ground, as if it were growing at an accelerated rate, to encase Dovah entirely within its bark. An expression of surprise flashed across his face before he disappeared. He was both a prisoner of the tree and completely concealed by it. I was frightened.

“Thank you,” said Tylbis, before stepping forward again to grasp my chin. “Look me in the eyes, first wife.”

Although their colour was unsettling—I’d never seen such a blue!—I tried to hold his gaze.

“Is Dovah alright?” I asked, directing the question to Paivrin.

“Yes. He’s just . . . not happy.”

I could hear his smile clearly even if I couldn’t see it. Tylbis bowed further and something happened in his eyes. The blue of his eyes seemed to move, like the waves of an ocean suddenly stirred by a storm.

“This is her. This is the first wife.”

The way he said it, you’d have thought he wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out. He took his time walking away from me and sighed as he did.

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