Dark Paths by Markus Heitz

Author:Markus Heitz [Heitz, Markus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Epic, fantasy, Fiction
ISBN: 9781784299705
Google: WQooCgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2016-08-03T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter IV

A fire

I can extinguish

A heart

I can stop

But a feeling

can unsettle me

Who has the greater power here?

‘Aphorisms’ from the epic poem Young Gods

composed by Carmondai, master of word and image

Phondrasôn.

Tirîgon woke with a start, for the same reason as before: Esmonäe was not there. Again.

He sat up and looked around the room the groundling had assigned them. The Zhadar, as they called him, rather than using the hateful title of Master – was permitting them to refresh themselves before embarking on the first of the duties they were to carry out. The way Tungdil had explained it, it was going to be relatively easy. Too easy, perhaps. Suspiciously easy.

But that was not what was worrying Tirîgon.

Where has she gone? At the back of his mind the answer was clear, but he did not want to jump to conclusions. There was more than one reason why she might have left the room. Perhaps she’s exploring the fortress?

In spite of his determination not to act hastily, his jealous heart forced him out of the comfortable bed. Sensibility lost to emotion yet again.

Throwing on a robe, he left the room to look for her.

There was no guard on duty. The Zhadar had put no restrictions on their free movement within the fortress, making clear that he had other means to guarantee security and that he was not afraid of these älfar visitors.

Tirîgon stole along the corridor, past windows that showed how high above ground level they were; he could see slaves working the brightly lit fields, irrigating the crops, tending the fruit trees, or driving a herd of cattle across the meadows to the shade of a small wood.

Even if he did not want to find out that his fears might be true, he found himself standing in front of the accommodation that Sisaroth had been given.

He hesitated, and then placed his hand on the latch, his muscles tensing.

If I open the door and find her with him, my life will never be the same again. And the change won’t be for the better. I would have nothing but contempt for them both. I’d have to leave the palace, or send them away, and our new empire would fall apart. He stared at his hand. What’s more important?

He slowly drew his hand away. He did not enter to have his suspicions confirmed.

Mentally he went one step further still: he would ignore any hint of an illicit affair unless they made it obvious. Esmonäe had not officially thrown away their relationship and he would not give her up. His desire for her was too strong for that.

That will be best. The alternative means wrecking my dream. He turned on his heel, went back to his room and tried to sleep. It did not work. He stayed awake and troubled until Tungdil knocked.

‘Half the sand has gone through the time-glass. Get up, Black-Eyes! The others are up already.’

Tirîgon leaped out of bed, put on his armour and left the room. Theoretically that information was evidence she had spent the night with his brother.

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