Page 10 of The Last of the Dark Lords

“There is…some precedent. Marriage has been used to cement relations between Greatfalls and Ashfuror in the past, although not for two hundred years.”

Athard tittered from the corner. “Maybe he heard about your famously uncorrupted virtue.” His words dripped with sarcasm.

I was too overwhelmed to retaliate. I fought for control of my body, taking several deep breaths.

“But the marriage bond.” I clenched my fists as I clawed my way back to equilibrium. “I know that they don’t revere family as we do. Do they bind their souls together as they wed?”

“By all reports, they do.” Grandmother’s eyes softened. “I do not know if the tie is as strong. They worship a different god than we do. But it is part of the nuptial ritual, yes.”

My mind worked hard to organize the information I was receiving. My words were fully disconnected from any conscious thought. “I will bind myself. To the Dark Lord. For a peace treaty.”

“It’s not about the treaty, not fully.”

“What do you mean?” I kept blinking my eyes, trying to cut through my confusion and clear my head so that I could understand.

“It’s about the opportunity.”

“What opportunity?!?” I had never raised my voice to my grandmother, but I couldn’t control myself. My words burst out of me. “He can’t be trusted!”

Grandmother didn’t get angry. Instead, she flashed me a small, sad smile. “No, love. But with you there, you can take away his greatest power.”

I shook my head. That didn’t make any sense. Once I was in Ashfuror, I would be under his thumb, and bound to him through marriage. Any injury to him would be an injury to me.

“Don’t you know anything?” Athard crossed his arms as he spoke. “It’s his crown. It’s an artifact of Stahkla.”

“I’m supposed to destroy it?”

Athard barked out a laugh. The sound was harsh and cold. “You can’t destroy an artifact of the gods.”

“How would I know that? I don’t have access to the Archive like you do.” I glared at him.

Grandmother held up her hand to stop us. She was right. There were far more important things to do than arguing with my brother.

“The crown of Ashfuror gives the Dark Lord the advantage of sight and knowledge of all of Fyr, including Greatfalls. Without it, his ability to govern and to attack is crippled.”

“So, if I can’t destroy it, what am I being sent to do?” My voice sounded distant to me even as I spoke the words.

“We have an artifact here in Greatfalls, a gift from Vazzart. A dagger with a sapphire handle. With it you can sever the Dark Lord’s link to the crown. But it cannot be done while it is on his head. He must take it off, willingly, which Cyrus has never been seen to do.”

My eyes went wide as it dawned on me what she was suggesting.

“You want me to marry him. You want me to wait until he takes the crown off in his bedchambers, where I will be in my place as his husband, and cut the link to his power.”

“Yes.”

My knees went weak. I walked to the large table nearby, pressing my hands down on the sturdy wood as I lowered myself into a small chair.

“You wish me to bind myself to the Dark Lord. To take vows I never planned to take with anyone, and then break them.”

“I don’t take it lightly, the breaking of a marriage oath,” she said, her tone solid and sure. “I would only ever ask such a thing to keep our home safe.”

I gripped the wood of the table with my fingertips. I’d made the defense of Greatfalls my life’s work, but wasn’t this too much? The soul bond would make me vulnerable in a way I’d never allowed myself to be. I would be bound to the son of the man who murdered my parents.

Grandmother must have seen the turmoil on my face. She walked to me, resting her hand gently on the back of my neck. Her touch was soothing.

“It is too much to ask. But I must ask it anyway. Take time. Speak to your friends. Pray to Vazzart. You have some days before the Dark Lord's ambassador arrives. Consider the price of what I am asking you, and the benefit to our people and to our city.”

I nodded silently, unable to speak. This was an impossible choice. My duty to Greatfalls or my own integrity. I was too overwhelmed to decide if the price was too high.

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