Elyas realised he had no idea how to start a conversation with the woman he had married. He didn't know her or what she liked. Still, he knew he had to talk to her. Even though he hadn't truly wanted to marry her, he didn't want his marriage to be cold. He knew he couldn't expect friendship, but maybe understanding?

He knew he wouldn't have married her if he had a choice. But he didn't. Darin had taken that choice from him, and all Elyas could do was try to make things work somehow. She also didn't want to marry him. They had at least that in common.

" What do you think about Ashinora?"

Elyas' question made the former Queen turn her gaze on him. He waited for an answer, not wanting her to think he was putting pressure on her. After a few moments, her answer came:

" It's very different from home. The traditions, the language, everything."

Elyas nodded. " Do you miss Felloria?" He had noticed how she had called Felloria home.

" Yes. I miss my family mostly. Faris told me Keris was upset about my lack of letters."

" You should write to him as soon as we get to Brumstone. It would be easier to send the letter from there."

Elyas could see something in her eyes, although he couldn't read it. Did Sylas forbade her from writing letters? Surely not. He couldn't have been mad enough to deprive the Emperor of his sister's letters. Elyas stifled a sigh. Making a man with a large army angry wasn't smart, and he had no intention of doing that. Not only because he feared the Emperor, but because he also had a sister. He knew he couldn't even stand the thought of someone harming her.

As he turned his gaze on the forest surrounding them, Elyas suddenly wished he was home. Leaving so soon after a battle, not even knowing who had died and who had simply been injured... It hadn't been fair. Not for him and definitely not for his men.

The cold forest was not a place he wished to linger more than he had. He could smell the damp wood, and it worried him. Summer wasn't over yet, and it had been raining. His people would see that as a bad omen. It would seem there were only bad omens lately.

" The rain is a bad omen," Elyas whispered.

He had never been religious, but he had been raised with certain superstitions. He couldn't bring himself to let go of them.

" Only if you have something to hide. The rain cleanses, and it makes our secrets come to light. It is both a gift and a punishment."

He hadn't expected someone to hear him, especially not to give him an answer. It had been more surprising when he realised lady Sayra was the one to answer. As he looked once more at her, he realised the rain had wiped the symbols from the ceremony. It had stopped raining for some time, but he hadn't noticed they were gone.

He remembered the moment she came back with the priestess and talked with her cousin. She looked... Well, different. Elyas didn't know how to describe the change in her, but there had been something. He still couldn't quite put his finger on whatever it had been.

The rest of the day was spent in silence. Elyas knew he should be happy. At least they had talked to each other. He understood why she might not trust him. The former Queen knew nothing about him. To her, he was a stranger. Sylas had been a stranger, too. And, if Elyas' theory was right, then that marriage with a stranger hadn't gone well.

He knew Sylas to be cruel but wouldn't have imagined the dead King would have been cruel to his wife, especially as she was quite important. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Sylas hadn't cared who she was or how important she was. It wouldn't come as a surprise. He remembered the look in her eyes when he encouraged her to write to her brother.

Elyas was not Sylas. And he did not blame Sylas' widow for what the King had done. Even though Sylas had taken Elyas' father's life only two months after his marriage to the Emperor's sister, Elyas doubted it had been her idea or the consequence of something she had done. The same could be said about what had happened to the Yveriks and Leorrns. Sylas had executed the two Houses because he had been paranoic and cruel.

" I can't wait to get home," Kennon told him the next day as they kept riding.

" Me neither, my friend."

" We shouldn't have come. Us being there didn't make a difference. Darin took the throne, and he could have done it without our help."

" If he hadn't gone, then Darin would have a reason to suspect us of not being by his side. I have no wish for that to happen."

Darin might be even more dangerous than his father. Elyas had seen that during the funeral. The new King had seemed happy about his father's death. Elyas knew it was normal to be pleased about an enemy's death. Still, Darin looked as if his greatest wish came true. He was King, yes. But his father was dead. In that moment, Elyas remembered how his friend Kennon had been when his father died. Kennon had had a cold relationship with his father. The two never got along, but he had not been happy to see the man dead.

Maybe Darin's reaction had been normal. Sylas had been a prick, and his death had been a favour to the world. Still, there had been a look in Darin's eyes. A look when they had taken the city and when they had buried Sylas. Elyas hadn't been able to read that look, but it gave him a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

If one illegitimate son took the throne, what is to stop others from doing the same?

He remembered Lord Sevorln's words. Did he truly believe there might be someone else wanting to take the throne? That a new war could start? Elyas' family had always lived far away from Court politics, and he didn't know if Sylas had any other relatives. But if Sylas did, Elyas had to agree with Lord Sevorln. What was to stop others from wanting the throne?

Elyas sighed. He was tired of war. He had been fighting some barbarians for years now. They were nomadic tribes that either attacked near Brumstone or the northern coast of Felloria. Soon enough, they would attack again, as soon as they grew bored of attacking the Empire. And Elyas would have to deal with them, although he had no idea how many men he still had.

He wasn't sure he could survive another war. Summer would end soon enough, and no one would fight in the winter. That, at least, was a good thing. But winter was hard, especially in the North. People always died, and the war had almost emptied Brumstone's supplies. His neighbours weren't faring any better from what Elyas knew, and, even if they did, they wouldn't help. The reason was Elyas' refusal to marry a woman from House Jorlik. His marriage to the former Queen wouldn't help. Elyas knew he could marry his sister into the Jorlik family, but he didn't want to. If things went according to the plan, Liana would marry Kennon as soon as they wanted. After all, his friend had already asked for Elyas' sister's hand, and he had accepted. He didn't want to think what Liana would have done to him had he refused.

He could ask for help from the Emperor. They were family now. It felt wrong, though. Elyas hadn't wanted to marry Lady Sayra, and he knew she hadn't, too. Faris had told Elyas why he wanted him to marry his cousin. Because he trusted him. But Elyas had no idea if the Emperor had agreed to that plan.

No, he would have to manage. They always found a way to manage. Asking the Emperor for help only weeks after he married his sister... it felt wrong to him. Maybe if the situation worsened.

" So," Kennon started, " what do you plan to do with the Princess?"

Elyas sighed again. He hadn't wanted to, but he had to take into consideration the fact that she could do a lot of damage. If the Emperor ever decided his nephew should sit on Ashinora's throne, things would go bad. The first smart move would be to make sure nothing happened to his sister and, by doing so, he could take Brumstone, a stronghold for his attack. If the gates to the fortress were closed, then none could take it. It would prove a valuable stronghold if the Emperor decided to put his nephew on the throne. And the Princess could give him all the information needed.

Elyas could either trust her with Brumstone's secrets and hope she won't betray that trust, or he could lock her in a tower. He wasn't going to do that. The thought made him feel uncomfortable, locking his own wife in a tower... He couldn't do that. He also wasn't going to read her letters.

He wanted his marriage to work. He knew better than to expect love, but maybe friendship? Maybe an amicable relationship? He didn't want her to hate him, and if he wanted that marriage to work, he needed to trust her. His family could pay for that trust as well as his people.

" I have no idea." At least that wasn't a lie.