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“Have you bedded him?”
“I have come close to it. I have kissed him. I have touched him. I have wanted him. I want him still.”
“I see.” The Immurite sounds cool. She does not judge. “Where is he now?”
“In my home. I have him as a slave in my kitchens.”
“You have kept him? Is that wise? Surely you know he could destroy you. You must send him away.”
Damon shakes his head. “I cannot. I cannot risk his safety.”
“And because you wish to lie with him?”
“Yes,” Damon says, the word like an iron weight. But what else is the reason he has kept Lyr in his manor?
“You think you can resist this desire?”
“I do not know.”
“Then what would you have me do for you, Damon Darekul? Do you wish me to wash you of a sin you have not yet committed?”
“Sins of the body cannot be washed away.”
“They cannot. And if you have no concerns for your soul, consider this, Damon Darekul. If you weaken and bed him, if you are discovered, Zai will punish you. You will lose everything. Everything you have earned. Every land you have taken for Azuria, every man you have killed for Azuria, it will all count for nothing if you bed this slave who has bewitched you so.”
“I know,” Damon whispers. “Please, why would Zai torment me this way? Why would he give me such desires?”
“To test your strength. To give you more chance to honour him,” the Immurite says placidly.
“And if I am not strong enough?” Damon takes a breath. “I wish only to know how to protect my wife from my shame.”
“You know the answer to that, Damon Darekul. Your wife will be safe when she is mother to your sons. Until then your marriage could be dissolved if you are discovered. Lie with her and put your seed in her belly. Let her body protect you both.”
“My heart will not allow it.”
The Immurite’s voice is hard as she says, “Have you still not covered your wife?”
“Once. On the night of our wedding. My father gave me a love draught. I remember little about it.”
“I see,” the Immurite pauses, considering. “Then, if you must keep this slave, here is my advice to you. You must silence the whispers about you and make a show of covering your wife. One that cannot be denied. In less than half a turn of the moon, the sun will move from the House of Gi to the House of Surrus. Surrus is the great Mother Sidu. The blessed prophet of fertility. Ask your wife to celebrate the Feast of Surrus with you. Surrus will soothe your heart so you may find the will and cover your wife in the Coupling Grove. Zai will be honoured and give you the strength. And it is not unusual for a husband to save his seed for such an event.”
Damon nods. The Feast of Surrus. Perhaps that would work. If he covered Inez at the Feast of Surrus it would quell the rumours about Lyr. If the Immurite is correct and Zai will give him the will to do it. “If Zai will bless me so, then I will do this. And what of the slave?”
“If you love your wife, you must resist him. You must stay away from him and the temptation to sin. At least until you find a way to honour your wife in the eyes of Zai. You are a great warrior, Damon Darekul. Surely you can win this battle.”
Damon doesn’t feel like a warrior when he looks at Lyr. He feels weak as a boy. But the only way to protect Inez from his shame is to resist Lyr. “I understand. Zai grant me the strength to resist him.”
“Zai grant you that strength,” the Immurite echoes back.
“Thank you holy Immurite of Zai,” Damon says, “Zai, hold your heart.”
“Zai, hold your heart. Please, Damon, be careful. You have many enemies in Attar.”
“Yes,” Damon says wearily. “Yes, I know.”
The Immurite’s voice drops so low, Damon can barely hear her. She says, “Powerful men plot against you, dark is coming for you, and when that darkness swallows you come back to me. There will be a great trial you must face. When it comes, petition me so I can save your life and with it the lives of all Azuria.”
Back in Sanglora, Damon speaks to Inez again, alone in her solar. He tells her they will be celebrating the Feast of Surrus.
