With a blissful sigh, Noah sank in the warm water of the mineral pool. His body felt clean and refreshed, but even more than that, after telling Neli about his ordeals, his mind also became more at ease. He half-closed his eyes, leaving the care of his injured shoulder to the old woman. Soon enough, her nimble fingers started to massage it gently, rubbing in a cooling ointment.

“You’ve gotten yourself involved in yet another mess, child,” sighed Neli. “Now I somewhat understand why your wife was behaving like a hunted rabbit earlier.”

“Don’t you think it’s about time to tell me what you did to scare her that much?” Noah twisted his neck a bit to look at the woman.

“Don’t glare at me like that. I did nothing. Really, I swear on your lady mother’s grave! I just made her a drink, that’s all.”

Noah’s brows twitched at her deliberately innocent face. A suspicion crept in his mind.

“You didn’t perchance give her khavvah?”

“Well, it is a good thing when you feel down and tired. And it’s healthy.”

“By the Gods, mother! That bitter, black goo can send even a wraith back to the underworld! From all that I know, you and Duncan are the only people that can stomach it!”

“Well, not everyone can have a sweet-tooth,” snorted Neli. “And especially not like a certain little prince I know, who couldn’t calm down and go to sleep without his cup of honey milk.”

Noah stood there, his mouth opening and closing without letting out a single sound. The grin on the old woman’s face only grew bigger. She started humming again, a tune Noah knew very well. It was a marzbani lullaby that his mother, Gulfidan, used to sing to him. The memory was bittersweet, one of the very few of her he still had.

She had been kind but sad and always smelling of roses. Her smile had been soft, her skin – the color of mahogany. Noah had never heard her laugh but remembered her crying a lot. Every time she hugged him, it felt like he was her one and only treasure. And that was it. He couldn’t remember her features. The sound of her voice was mixing up with the one of Neli’s more and more as the years passed. Soon, he feared, all that would remain from marzbane Gulfidan would be a blurred memory and half of the blood flowing in his veins. That is, depending on how long he would manage to survive.

Noah shook his head in an attempt to drive away the sad thoughts and tried to concentrate on the calming melody of the song. As the verses flowed, his mind sneakily trailed off yet again. He had never seen Lorelei laugh either. There had been a shy smile from time to time, mostly when she talked about her teacher or something related to medicine. But he had seen her cry way more often – hurt, terrified, betrayed. She too had been taken to a foreign land against her will, just like his mother. Well, unlike Gulfidan, Lorelei’s new home had been an improvement compared to count Orten’s trashy household, right? Noah had to strain himself not to laugh. By the Gods, in two months she had been drugged, kidnapped, beaten black and blue, and almost killed by an evil apparition! That was one hell of an improvement he had brought to her.

Lorelei’s image from just now flashed in his head. She had looked so frail and sick, a tiny fawn in a beast’s den. Noah cursed himself. He had been lusting after her body when she could barely stand on her feet! Like his father who had kept his mother in that cage called the Imperial Palace, forcing her to share his bed, letting her waste away in a court full of poison and schemes.

With his good hand, Noah scooped some water and splashed it on his face, vigorously trying to rub away the guilt and anger. He had sworn to be different from his father, yet his first impulses had been the same. No! He was going to honor his promise to Lorelei and give back her freedom after the year was over. But he couldn’t let her wander off like that. Her involvement with him and the Red Hands had put a target on her back. The farthest away from Norden and the Empire she could go, the safer she would be. Maybe he could pull some strings, have Neli’s informants look for master Levi. Not even the Emperor dared disrespect the royal court of Shareeba. If the old man was indeed who William thought he was, Lorelei would be safe by his side.

The last verses of the song melted into the air, followed by a quiet sigh. Silence rang under the low ceiling and for some time only the splattering of the lion-faucet on the wall could be heard.

Patting gently the old woman’s hand on his shoulder, Noah twisted his head to look at her.

“Mother, about Lorelei, I…”

“You love her, right?” Neli cut his words, her eyes – staring down at him.

“Yes… No! Wait, what? Where did that come from?” The man blinked at her as she caught him unprepared.

“So, do you love her?”

“Why does it even matter? Duncan has surely told you about the arrangement. She will be gone by next spring.”

“You are dodging the question.” The old woman was persistent. Noah turned his face away from her, his brows drawing together.

“No. I don’t love her. It is… a physical attraction that will pass in no time. I have more important things to do.”

Silence.

The man felt Neli’s fingers run through his hair as she started to rub in some scented oils. The words that reached his ears were soft and sad.

“You know that to me you are as precious as if you were my own. Every mother wants her child to find love and happiness. As a mother to her son, I want to see you happy, Noah. But as an advisor to the Duke of Norden I can only say this – that girl is not suitable for you. As of now, any feelings you might have for her would just be detrimental to our plans.”

“I told you, I have no…”

“Fool yourself as much as you want, child. But listen to me well. Whatever little connections that girl might have to the court of Shareeba, it won’t be of any use. She has no power, wealth, or influence; no one of greater significance to back her. As the duke of this land, as a supporter of the crown prince, you need a partner who can be an asset in the fight against Lionel and that bitch when the time comes. And on a personal level, you need someone disposable; a woman who can bear your children but whose death in the case of assassination won’t bring you out of balance. There is no room for feelings in the game we are playing if we want to survive.”

“I haven’t forgotten my duties, mother.” Noah abruptly turned around to face the old woman. His gray eyes were cold and his lips – a resolute line. “I have neither illusions nor desire for love, even less when it is one-sided. I have a contract with lady Lorelei that I intend to keep. She will serve me for a year and I will protect her as her lord. We are husband and wife in no other way but name. We have no further relations than what our positions as Lord and Lady Norden require. After a year without an heir to inherit me, I can legally break the marriage. I believe these are sufficient arrangements.”

Neli scoped his face in her hands peering deep into his eyes.

“Am I to conclude then that it was not you who arranged for her father to be promoted to the capital and for her sister to become the crown princess’ lady-in-waiting?”

“What?!” Noah spat out, his eyes turning huge. “Why the hell would I ever assist that shrieking banshee and her moron of a father, let alone put them so close to Llewellyn?”

“Prince Llewellyn asked me the same thing.” Neli stood up and went to the table where she poured a cup of wine. She then came back and handed it to Noah, who downed it in one gulp. “The girl is laying low for now, which can’t be said for the father. For the past month or so, wherever he goes he screams how all he’s got is thanks to his precious eldest daughter, the Duchess of Norden. The whole court is buzzing with rumors about how smitten the Beast of the North is with his new bride.”

“Dam it!” Noah cursed rubbing his temples. The situation looked bad. Rumors had the nasty ability to propagate and spread faster than a wildfire. If a whiff of this came to the marzban of Pandad’s attention all the meticulous work from the past two years would be ruined.

“I know what you are thinking.” With a sour look on her face, Neli refilled his cup. “I have sent a messenger to Pandad with a lengthy letter and a crate of gifts. As of now, your engagement to marzbane Ilmaz still stands. Let’s pray nothing else comes in the way.”

“First the skirmish with the northern marzbanats and now this,” growled Noah as he rolled the cup between his fingers. “Lionel’s fraction has quite the cunning snakes, may the Father of Darkness drag them to the deepest tar-pit in the Nether Realms."

“We are lucky that the marzban of Pandad is not on friendly terms with his western neighbors otherwise we couldn’t even dream to ask for the hand of his daughter after what went on. But the story of your marriage might be a different thing. You swore to make marzbane Ilmaz the duchess of Norden and instead wed another. Unfortunately, even if my informants start spreading different rumors about you and that girl now it might not improve the situation much.”

At her words, Noah froze for a second. He lowered his head, paying the utmost attention to the cup in his hand.

“Leave Lorelei out of this, mother,” he sighed. “This is my only request. I have wronged the girl enough as it is. Next spring, when I divorce her on grounds of being infertile, it would bring her even more shame. Just tell the marzban that I’ll marry his daughter as promised. If necessary, send him more gifts and some of elder Marishka’s healing salves. That should be enough for now.”

“I told you that feelings are not something you can indulge in right now.”

“Darn it, mother!” shouted Noah with such vigor that the old woman flinched. “It isn’t about feelings! It is about right and wrong! A rumor here, a sneaky machination there and we’ll become like the people we are fighting against. I ask you again, leave Lorelei alone. She has suffered enough. May the Gods bear witness, I disdain all such charades and political butt-kissing, especially at the expense of an innocent life.”

“I know, child, I know.” Neli gently stroke his head in an attempt to calm him down. “You are a noble soul. But nobility would do you little good in the grave. Sometimes I wish you had a tenth of the poison of that foot-licking son of a bitch Lionel.”

“What? Be a whiny, lecherous half-wit that sows bastards all around and can’t find his sword even if it sticks out of his own ass? Who is so incompetent that he lets his men being slaughtered in a border-skirmish against an opponent half his strength?”

“Stop underestimating your brother!" Now it was Neli’s turn to raise her voice. "Do you think that his snake of a mother has thought her misshapen offspring nothing? Did you forget who you are up against?”

She took Noah’s face between her palms again, forcing him to look into her eyes. The young man realized how old and frail she looked all of a sudden. He remembered all the sacrifices she had made for him, all the hardships she had conquered so that he could survive so long, and his heart was stabbed with guilt. But his mother wasn’t finished yet.

“Lionel is the son of Empress Sophia. The bitch who poisoned the previous empress; who poisoned your mother and killed your sisters while still in her womb; who tried to kill you time and time again. After all that, she is still the Empress only because of her connections. Because she comes from the house of the Last Saint; because the current pope is her uncle; because she is more cunning and vicious than anyone else. Understand, Noah, you need to survive, even if it means trampling over innocents. And in order to survive you need marzbane Ilmaz, you need Pandad – the biggest trading-post with Shareeba and the Eastern Lands! Do you understand that?”

Chills ran down Noah’s spine despite the warm water. He understood very well. And he had never forgotten, no matter how much he wished he could. This had been his reoccurring nightmare ever since he was five years old; the only memory of his mother he wished would disappear. He remembered the ear-piercing screams; the two tiny bodies, no bigger than kittens; the red blood flowing and flowing, coloring the sheets bright scarlet; his mother’s cold fingers on his cheek and her last words – Live!

His stomach turned. Noah had to fight hard to swallow back the bitter bile burning his throat. His body trembled as he coughed and cursed. A gentle hand rubbed his back. Neli’s worried voice reached his ears as if through layers of cloth.

“Oh, my boy, I am so sorry! I am sorry, Noah!”

“You are not, mother,” he replied hoarsely and grabbed her hand, giving it a rough kiss. A dangerous flame flashed in his eyes. “You are not, and I am grateful for it. Don’t worry, I will clean up that snake-den and make them pay for their crimes. But while doing so, I refuse to become a snake like Lionel. Heed my words, mother. Lorelei will stay out of this matter, now and in the future. Am I clear?”