Ragnar slowly lowered the cord, placing it carefully on the floor beside him.He did not stand, but his spine straightened, the ruler reasserting itself over the penitent."My decision to come here was my own, Thane.My will."
"Your will?"Thane took a step into the room, his hands clenched into fists."To tie yourself to this contract with a woman who speaks of burning her own house to the ground?Have you finally gone mad?I did not question you all this time, but surely you must see reason.We have annoyed the very same people we wished to ally with, all because of her!A woman this vile cannot possibly be Khatun of the Valthorne tribe!"
"It is necessary," Ragnar said, but the words felt hollow even to him.
Necessary for what?The border?Trade?Those reasons were shallow, a murky pool he was wading through with no goal or purpose, but with a pull he couldn’t explain.Sinking until the current took him, until he was dead.
"Necessary?"Thane’s laugh was short and bitter.He paced a few steps, the weight of years and loyalty making his frustration immense."You bind yourself to a woman who will leave.You drag us into a war of succession that is not ours.What do we gain?"
Ragnar rose to his feet, turning to face his oldest friend and most loyal general.The movement pulled at the fresh welts, grounding him in his pain.Pain that had done nothing to fix his situation."You question my judgement?"
"I question what has clouded it!"Thane shot back, finally voicing the fear that had been festering since the alcove.It did not matter so much at first, but now seeing how much her actions could push the Great Khan, sudden terror had seized him, forcing the general to the edge of hysteria."The moment you forget yourself, Ragnar Valthorne, you will be the ruin of everything we’ve worked to build.Should you fall, the Valthorne tribe will fall.Jedar will win this fight!"
"You have forgotten your own vow," Thane said, his voice dropping, heavy with loathing.
The morning light seemed to grow colder.
Thane pressed on, the words he had held back for years now spilling out."Do you think I’m stupid?That I don’t remember?"
Ragnar remained silent.
A complete binding, or none at all.
"They said it was your weakness," Thane continued, his eyes boring into Ragnar’s."That you denied your tribe a dynasty.But I stood by your decision, and you held to it.Until now.You tie yourself to this Borjigin viper with a contract that lets her walk away, while you will be left bound by your own word.A vow to a woman who is not your wife for a marriage that will not exist.This is the ‘alliance’ you chose?"
Thane did not bother suggesting his Khan take on other wives, because he knew the Khan would never go back on his vow.That was the kind of person Ragnar was.Azul was someone who could lie with such a beautiful smile; she was not a woman deserving of him.
Ragnar turned away, looking out the window at the mist-shrouded palace grounds.The marks on his back throbbed; it was meaningless after all.Ukhel had declined his prayers once more.
"My vow is my own," he said finally."As is my choice.The fight is here now, whether we have gained or not.We are in it.Has Nyraxa returned our request?"
Thane felt his body shake with fury, but since Ragnar had dismissed his words, he had no choice but to continue with his report."I have informed her of the situation; she will send for Varok."
"Send in the servants; I will go and see the Khatun."
With a stiff, shallow bow, Thane turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.
Ragnar stood still.The world moved around him—servants walked the corridors, the distant clang of the smithy, and the life of a foreign palace humming on—but he was a statue in its current.The echo of Thane’s words, the memory of gold-flecked eyes, the feel of warm hands against his throat… they coalesced into a single answer in the labyrinth of his mind.
Slowly, he brought his hands to his face, his palms rough against the scars at his jawline.And a sound escaped him—a deep, incredulous laugh, bleak amusement at his own predicament.
…Too sweet.
Ragnar had always hated sweet things.Honeyed words, syrupy wines, the cloying perfumes of decadent courts—he had always declined them, his nature craving the tang of salt, the bitterness of steel, and the clarity of the wind.
He wasn’t sure when it had changed.
Even if it meant Ukhel would smite him for the distraction, he wished to drink the wine of futility.
Chapter 21
Azulfeltabeadof sweat drip down her brow as the sun blinded her; the hand clasped around Kamsi's wrist cried out for air.
Kamsi chewed her lip, her young mind churning."We must ask the chi of our house.If the spirit is touching our family’s fate, the chi will know its name and its purpose."She frowned, thinking."But to invoke the chi properly, to get a true answer, we need a big sacrifice.Something with a strong life force.A bull, or… or a leopard.Something that fights back.The struggle and violence please our chi."
Azul listened to her chatter away; her eyes flickered to her shaved-down horns.Her youngest sister was one of a kind, and like Borji, she was a Djinn.One who had a niche interest in shamanism.
"You think the spirit is truly haunting our family?"Azul asked, watching her steps on the dirt path.There were no houses for a mile or so, and all around them was the Igbele.
