– Good morning. I don't think we've met before," I said in a calm tone, pretending not to notice her insolent stare.
– It's good of you to come down, Sylvia. Let me introduce you to my old friend Astrid. I sent her a letter asking for her help, but I didn't get a reply, so I wasn't sure if she would come. Astrid's mother is a demon and her father is a mage, so she is someone quite unusual. She's very good at magic and could be useful to us on our journey," Evans explained, placing his palms on his friend's shoulders.
– That's right. I'm a half-demon half-magician… Evans says I have more demon blood in me because sometimes I like to make him angry. And you must be the Sylvia Rossi? Flammehav's ill-fated Scarlet Flower, Derek Merkswerd's war trophy? The demoness who became queen of Kaldwind? You are much talked about, and I must admit, I'm terribly happy to meet you! – Astrid spoke quickly and knocked the ground out from under me with her questions.
– You might say so," I agreed quietly.
Why object to the truth? I could have refused Derek and been killed, along with my family and my people, but I was wise to agree. I'd heard worse things: some people believed Derek had made me his mistress in Røvann, some people believed I had bewitched him into marrying me.
– What was, is gone. Thankfully, we've put our mutual hatred behind us and our hearts belong together," I said softly.
– Oh, you're so sure of that? – Astrid asked with doubt in her voice. It was a question I was afraid to ask myself. – Maybe that drunkard is just pretending. He wants an heir from you, and he must be swearing his love for you, but then you belong in the royal palace, not out here in the middle of nowhere, alone with Evans.
I never thought of that. And now, at the thought that it might have been the awful truth, my heart skipped a beat.
Derek could have locked me in the palace and sent me off to find someone else, could have gone himself, could have sacrificed himself to keep me alive, but instead he'd accepted my decision almost without argument. And how many times had he said he wanted a son… So if a daughter was born, he wouldn't need her. My mind was filled with restless thoughts, swirling in my head like a swarm of poisonous wasps in a hornet's nest. Everything I tried not to think about or ignore was playing against us. We'd never existed, either: the last few days I'd spent in the castle and in my husband's bed now seemed crazy, wrong and unbelievable.