"You know my father’s ambitions.A Djinn daughter is valuable, so he made sure she learnt Shamanism."
She paused, swallowing against the ache in her throat.
The child haunted her dreams and memories incessantly.Azul did not know why; but she needed to see her, at least to clear her mind and allow her body to rest.
"I think Father's plans for her—" Azul's voice cracked.She couldn't finish.The words wouldn't come.She suspected her father planned to make her crown Somadina King.Obiageli had already picked her Divine King; whether it was the current Igwe or another person entirely, she didn’t know.They sat for a moment in silence, and she found herself losing the will to speak.Slowly, her eyes dimmed.
Ragnar seemed to notice her body curled as she looked anywhere but at him."I should go," he said quietly.He began to rise.
A hand shot out and grabbed his robes.
Ragnar stopped and looked at her.
She didn't say anything.So he knelt again.
The space between them shrank.His knee pressed against the edge of her bed.His shadow fell across her.
"I don’t mind," she whispered.
"I know."
"I don't want you to think I have any interest in him,” she said.“I don't.I would rather die than let him touch me again."
Ragnar's jaw tightened.Something dangerous moved behind his eyes.
The air between them thickened.Azul became acutely aware of where her hand still gripped his robes, of the heat of his body so close to hers, and of the way his gaze had dropped to her lips for the barest fraction of a second before returning to her eyes.
Ragnar inhaled."Khatun," he said slowly, "is this your attempt to act on my heart?"
She didn't reply, and he didn’t pull away.
So he asked instead."Is this for yourself or for your father?"
She hesitated but eventually answered in a small voice."For myself."
He settled more comfortably beside her bed, making no move to leave.
"Then I allow it."
Azul blinked."You…allow it?"
"I allow you to act on my heart."His tone was mildly teasing."I allow you to seduce me, if that's what you're doing.”
A snicker escaped her, startling his heart out of his chest."Who said I want to seduce you?Your ego is large."
"Then I should ask you to seduce me anyway, even if you weren't considering it."
Her laughter broke the stifling atmosphere, letting the light in the room finally do its job and brighten his world.
“You idiot, if I seduce you, won’t you be in trouble if I’m asked to kill you?"
He sighed.“With how many times you threaten to kill me, I have long since prepared a will."
When Nkiru returned some time later, a steaming bowl of broth in her hands, Ragnar rose silently and met her at the door.
"She's sleeping," he instructed."Leave her."
Nkiru peered past him at Azul's still form, her face pinched with worry."But the broth—"
