Noah sat in his chair, nails digging hard into the armrests, and his soul was in turmoil. Fear, anger, and guilt coiled and twisted in his chest, making every breath he took a chore. Yet his face remained frozen in an impenetrable mask. He couldn’t show weakness. He couldn’t show doubt, even though looking at the white-clad frail figure at the center of the summit hall made his heart bleed.

Lorelei’s demand for a soul-merge was the right decision. The ruler of Norden understood her actions and agreed with the clever solution. But the man… The man wanted to stop her. To bring her far away. He remembered the pain of merging with Gregor. The anguish, the torment, the hopelessness. He almost broke under the pressure of the hex. Then what about Lorelei? Her body was fragile, her mind - undoubtedly perturbed by all the recent ordeals. She was going to break! To die! He didn’t… he couldn’t allow that!

Noah’s lips trembled, ready to shout an order; to disband the Council. But then, at the very moment the words were about to leap from his tongue, he met her eyes. He had thought many a time that they looked like the ones of a frightened cornered doe - desperate, vulnerable, seeking help and protection. But the gaze his lady now lay upon him was different - strong, steady, demanding.

‘You owe me, Duke Norden. After everything, you owe me the truth.’

Her words, uttered through tears, came back to his mind, a scorching reminder of his failure. He had failed to protect her back then. He failed to protect her now. It seemed that whenever Lorelei was involved, he only made mistakes.

Clenching his teeth, Noah cursed himself. In his heart, there was no longer any doubt from the moment she had demanded the soul-merge. And yet, he could not stop her, nor proclaim her innocence without further proof. If he did, the council members would still doubt her, questioning the sincerity of her sacrifice, dubbing it an act by the Duke and the Duchess to escape punishment. At this very moment, Noah hated his position as the Lord of Norden and the responsibility that bound him. One sacrifice for the good of many. One life to stop civil unrest. But why did it have to be her?! Why was it so that he could not take the burden away from those frail shoulders? She was pure, noble, and a fool! And now she was going to break, to die, all by her own volition! That was why he didn’t demand a soul-merge from her in the first place!

‘Or is it? Be honest with yourself, you hypocrite!’ The dark voice of guilt sounded again in his mind.

Noah flinched, the small tick remaining unnoticed as all eyes were on Lorelei, who was boldly challenging the most powerful shamans in Norden. Why hadn’t he indeed proposed the soul-merge himself? Was it truly an earnest attempt to protect her… or was it out of fear of what the hex would reveal?

Before his eyes, a tuft of white hair and an elfin round face emerged, a tiny toothless mouth giving him a grin as he cradled a little warm bundle in his arms, the midwife adjusting his clumsy hold with a chuckle. Then, a moment later, a tear-smeared cheek was pressing against his shoulder, two frail fists grabbing at his shirt, and a sobbing “Mama! Dada!” bore in his heart as he trampled through bloody snow and smoking ruins. The next second, burning pain engulfed the left side of Noah's face, his skin still remembering the scorching heat of the fire, the roughness of bandages… and the small cold hand clasping his own as a desperate cry filled the night - “Don’t go, papa! Stay! Don’t die too!”

Noah’s eyes stung. It… couldn’t be Shana. By all Gods and Saints, it couldn’t be her! When he asked her, she denied everything. She looked him in the eye and denied…

“Lad,” Duncan’s whisper bore its way into his ear, “it might be time to say something.”

Still in a daze, Noah heard the mocking voice of kush-turgan Nekor.

“... the plan of our Limerian lords seems to have gone astray.”

The glee and venom dripping from every word woke Noah up. He set his jaw, a regal air engulfing him. He had been a coward long enough. He had let both the kush-turgans and the barons have their way under the excuse of wanting peace and harmony between their people. He had refrained from action out of fear of losing someone dear again, and in the process had lost his way. A trembling little bird had shown more courage than a beast.

‘Fool! Stop acting like a hunted hare and start behaving like a man!’ he chastised himself. He was the lord of Norden, the one who was supposed to uphold the law and be a beacon of hope and a shield to those who were wronged. This was his duty and his creed. Lorelei deserved the truth and he was going to help her… no matter what it would cost him. And he was not going to allow anybody to stand in her way, be it a Binshi, a Limerian, or even the Two Fathers themselves.

As his fist landed on the armrest, the Beast of Norden growled:

“Silence!” A unanimous gasp rose in the summit hall only to be drowned by Noah’s deathly glare. Wherever his eyes traveled, bodies trembled and heads bowed before his anger. His gaze finally reached Nekor. “One more attempt to twist the truth and sow discord, one word of baseless accusation, and you will be removed from this gathering. You have let your mouth run one too many times today.”

***

Lorelei’s heart raced in her chest, fear and elation mixing together. After the baron’s accusations and the kush-turgan’s outright rejection, she had thought of her chances as slim, the prospect of proving her innocence - fading away before her eyes. Kash-baba’s words were the thread upon which her fate hung. If the soul-merge succeeded, her name was going to be cleared. If not, she could only hope to be the one to perish, otherwise, the crime of murdering a Binshi leader was going to be placed on her.

She bit on her already chewed lips, tasting the slight saltiness of blood, and looked at Noah, who stood like an immovable statue in his seat. Was he going to stop her? He had the power and the legal, if not the moral, right to deny her request since Shana’s word was on the line. But the look she received back from him returned to her startled her. There was deep sorrow in them, mixed with an unbreakable will and… a sliver of tenderness.

“Lady Lorelei,” his words were calm, “if you insist on a soul-merge, I have no intention to stop you. But are you aware of the dangers that the hex carries?”

“I am, my lord.”

“Then, Kash-baba, I am leaving my Duchess’ life in your hands.” Noah turned to one of the Shadows. “Summon turgan Gerashgor of Wolf Mountain.”

With a silent bow, the Shadow left. Just then, the trembling voice of kush-turgan Bayan echoed in the hall.

“Your Highness, I beg to be excused. As much as I would like to witness kush-turgan Akasha’s legendary hexing, I am afraid that my health wouldn’t allow it.” He threw a glance at the Limerian side of the summit and pressed his broad sleeve against his mouth, coughing several times. “After experiencing the Church's… hospitality for some time, I developed a certain condition that prevents me from staying in places where powerful hexes are being cast. And with guardian charms all around the castle’s premise, my condition is already worse than usual.”

“You may retreat, Lord Bayan.” Noah gave him a nod, some concern sneaking in his tone. “I will send baba Marishka to tend to you in a bit.”

“I am much obliged, my lord.” The Binshi bent with a hand over his heart and then turned to Lorelei. “Lady Norden, I hope… we’ll have a chance to meet again.”

“We will, Lord Bayan,” she stated with newfound confidence, and her lips curved up. “We still haven’t had a chance to talk to you about our master. I’ll see you when all misunderstandings are cleared up.”

Bayan’s pale face twitched and a mix of worry and hope traveled across before a benign smile finally settled in.

“May it be as you say, Duchess. Zeze, stay here in my place and assist the Duke and kush-turgan Akasha in any way they deem fit.”

“I hear and obey, kush-turgan!”

With these last words, Bayan left the hall, leaning heavily on a summoned servant. At the door, the two almost bumped into Gregor, who was just about to enter. Exchanging a short greeting, the young shaman stepped into the hall.

As Noah briefed him shortly on the situation, the creases on the Binshi’s brow grew deeper. with a wave of his hand, the shaman called for one of the Shadows and ordered him to bring the materials necessary for the hex.

“It would be best to perform the soul-merge somewhere quieter.” The young shaman turned to kush-turgan Akasha. “There is a small adjacent room. The three of us and one more anchor should be-”

“No,” Lorelei interrupted him, “the soul-merge will be performed here before the Duke and all delegates. I don’t want there to be any suspicion left. As for the second anchor, Lady Akasha, please choose them as you see fit.”

“My granddaughter would do.” The old woman beckoned for her escort to step fort. “Also, I see no issue to perform the merge here.”

Gregor flinched and sought Noah’s support but his friend only silently dipped his head. Resigning to his fate, the young shaman began assisting kush-turgan Akasha in drawing the sigils needed for the hex. Soon, a big eye made of sparkling grayish powder covered the center of the summit hall. Lorelei carefully gathered her skirts and lifted them up, making sure not to sweep away the moon-stone dust as she entered the iris of the eye. Kash-baba followed her with nimbleness unexpected for her age. The two carefully sat down facing each other, Gregor took his place behind Lorelei and the second anchor sat in the eye’s corner behind the old Binshi.

Poking his finger with the tip of a silver knife, Gregor drew a complicated symbol on the nape of Lorelei’s neck, the warm touch of his fresh blood making her tremble. She felt a prickling, akin to ants crawling all over her skin, which intensified as Gregor muttered a short chant. There was a burst of warmth where the blood symbol lay, but it subsided in a moment so that Lorelei couldn’t even feel the pain.

“The Lady’s protections are disabled for now.” Gregor stared at the old Binshi over his mistress’ shoulder. “You may begin the hex. But beware, I am able to sense if anyone attempts to harm the Duchess.”

“Good, I like your spirit, little Wolf!” Kash-baba gave him a toothless grin. “But beware, if I wanted to harm your lady, I doubt you could do much to stop me or I wouldn’t be the Grand Elder even amongst the kush-turgans.”

There was no malice in the voice and her blue eyes were two tranquil seas without a ripple of hate or bloodthirst. She stretched out her hands towards Lorelei, palms up.

“Come, Moon-kissed Child. Don’t take this old woman’s blabbering to heart. I won’t harm you.”

For a moment, Lorelei’s confidence shook. The old Binshi might have said the truth. But… What if the soul-merge revealed her identity as nesvet? This was a double-edged sword but there was no other way out for her. And if she was going to suffer anyway, she preferred to do it at the very least with a clean name.

As if reading her thoughts, the old Binshi’s smile became even brighter.

“Don’t worry, child, I won't pry into any of your other secrets. When we merge, concentrate on what you saw yesterday. Mir-mama, I swear upon every part of my soul, may the Star-hounds chew it for eternity, and may it never reach the Spirit Plane if I stray and disturb the privacy of this child’s mind.”

In front of Lorelei’s eyes, a bluish-silver shimmer engulfed the old woman at the very moment the last word rolled out of her lips. Behind her back, Gregor gasped and the other anchor gave out a low shout:

“Baba, you can't do that!”

“It’s my soul. I can do whatever I want with it. Forgive the commotion, Moon-kissed Child, it seems that my oath has made them a bit peevish. Now, there is no way for me to harm you. Let’s stop losing time. Give me your hands.”

Lorelei blinked, trying to feign ignorance and bewilderment. There was undoubtedly no Limerian present who had seen the glow. She slowly closed her eyelids and placed her palms atop Kash-baba’s. There was no turning back.