A God to Wed Her Read online

  ***

  Candy was thrilled I’d returned. She spent the evening doting over me. I became so comfortable with her that we stayed up late together talking. She spoke about her mundane life in the fortress and in the process I learned that she didn’t eat or sleep.

  “Why did Exinious make you out of wood?”

  “It’s so funny you asked that, mistress. I just asked the cook yesterday why he thought the master made the villagers out of flesh. If his people didn’t need to eat and were as strong as wood then his first village would never have died.”

  I blinked a few times. I’d presumed myself a superior breed to Candy’s kind, and yet what she said was true.

  “If we were made of flesh the master might fall in love with one of us.”

  I gasped, and then laughed. Candy joined in with her tinkling giggle. I felt a new solidarity with her as fellow creations of Exinious.

  The following morning she dressed me in the lavish finery I’d come to expect. I stared at myself in the mirror. It was the second time I’d ventured into this world so far above the village. The first time it had been stunning and novel. This time it seemed to suit me.

  I felt it was easier to be this elegant person I saw in the mirror. I could indulge in my femininity without the fear of appearing weak. Part of me was weak, or at least part of me didn’t wish to always have to appear strong. There was less stress here.

  I wished I could pass my gift on to Ramy and abandon the village.

  I flinched at the selfish thought because I couldn’t transfer my gift but I could abandon the village.

  No. I would leave never the village without a healer. They needed me. Even if some were unkind or ungrateful, they didn’t deserve the strife that had preceded me. Part of that strife had led to my mother’s death.

  Yet some of my duties were truly loathsome. I was so above messy childbirth and maggoty sheep wounds in this place. I knew it wasn’t forever—but surely there was no harm in enjoying these respites?

  Exinious stood in the doorway staring at me. I smiled at his reflection in the mirror.

  He came beside me and caressed my hair.

  “What a beauty you are.”

  I saw myself blush. “Thank you.”

  Exinious took my hand and had me face him.

  “Ashla, say you’ll become my wife.”

  I let myself be swept into the vortex that was his gray eyes.

  “But first tell me how you obtained the magic.”

  My heart felt like it dropped from my chest to my stomach. I forced my expression to remain placid.

  “You promised to show me the wonders of your fortress. Let me see what a day would be like here before I consent to marry you.”

  His eyes narrowed so slightly it would have been imperceptible had I not been fixed on them. “In your village marriage contracts are made between people living on distant farms who meet each other for the first time on their wedding day. They have long, often happy marriages despite having been strangers. You’ve come to know me far better than that, and you still don’t consent.”

  I avoided his eyes. “I come from the heart of the marketplace, not the primitive farmlands.”

  He made an annoyed smile. “Why do you play games with me, Ashla? I know you want to be mine. Is this what our marriage shall be? A constant battle of wits?”

  His candor broke through my façade. I wasn’t trying to be difficult. My goal was to divert him from his question.

  I took a long, shuddering breath. “I don’t want to talk about my gift. I want you to forget about it.”

  His annoyance dissipated. He caressed my hair. “That’s the only thing I don’t know about you. The only wall that separates us.”

  Pain built in my chest. There was nothing I could say. My lower lip quivered and tears fell. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d wept, but it came to me so easily now.

  What was worse? Losing my gift, or losing Exinious?

  “It must be a terrible secret.”

  My tears came with more fervor. I placed my face in my hand.

  “There’s nothing you can’t tell me, Ashla.” He threaded his fingers through my hair. “Wouldn’t you feel better if it didn’t burden you like this?”

  “Of course I would.” I struggled to speak through my quiet sobs. “You don’t understand.”

  “I think I do.”

  I darted a wide-eyed look toward him.

  “Was it Thina?”

  My heart began to throb. I stayed frozen lest I reveal the secret through his process of elimination.

  “No. This isn’t like her. One of my enemies, then? Helder? Has he made a slave of you, my dear?”

  I could scarcely breathe.

  “They won’t let you tell me, will they?”

  I finally broke my gaze from his. Oh, how I wished this conversation would end.

  He placed his thumb on my chin and made me look at him once again. “You must answer one question, Ashla. If you refuse I’ll send you away. It will rend my insides to do it…but I will.”

  I wept with horror.

  “Are you here to hurt me?”

  “No!” I cried this out with all my soul behind it. It was the truth. Even Arma had confirmed this.

  He wiped my tears with the pads of his fingers and kissed me gently. I gave him a plaintive look as our lips parted.

  “I won’t let them take you from me. Whatever the trouble is, we’ll solve it. Don’t concern yourself with this any longer.”

  I lunged for him and threw my arms around his shoulders. Though I was happy, I continued to weep in his arms. He held me tight while shushing me. I felt he loved me at this moment. Exinious would protect me, and finally being able to yield to someone else’s strength was a glorious thing.

  We breakfasted on a sumptuous meal together, and then he gave me a proper tour of the fortress, including the highest spires. I was able to look over the clouds and see the village as a tiny clump of dots before the beach. I felt as though that life were so far from me. Once again I thought I would have no trouble living in this new world.

  We returned to the great hall where his band was set up to play. He taught me a more sophisticated dance than I’d ever known. I was clumsy, but persevered because I loved the melody. Several times he caught me as I tripped. Sometimes I was so awkward we both had to laugh. Other times he sensed my frustration and drew me into his arms to kiss me. I adored these moments of sweet tenderness.

  During the evening meal (in a proper dining room this time) his mannequins put on a play for us. Their costumes were stunning creations turning them into animals or people bearing grotesquely exaggerated expressions. The stage was made to represent a forest in fantastic cut out layers. I forgot where I was and who I was with and became lost in the elaborate tale. When it was finished I cheered and clapped with so much gusto that Exinious laughed at me.

  “How does the fortress suit you?”

  We walked down the upstairs corridor with our elbows interlocked.

  “Perfectly,” I said with a soft smile.

  “You won’t always find it so entertaining. I fear you’ll grow bored at times, but then, you’ve your work in the village to occupy you.”

  Yes, I suppose so. That would be a good life, wouldn’t? With days spent toiling in my practice and evenings spent in luxury with my husband.

  Perhaps I could work just a few days each week. Exinious was spoiling me.

  He stopped me in front of an ornate door and placed his hands on my shoulders. We stood facing each other.

  “Now, my dear…”

  The somber tenor of his voice caused a flutter in my breast. I gazed deeply into his eyes.

  “This dark chapel is where I perform my marriage rites. We’ll kneel on pillows facing each other, join our hands, and recite the vows my ceremonial servant tells us. Then we’ll drink from the same cup. We’
ll kiss. And when our lips part, by my laws, we’ll be wed.”

  I lowered my eyes and nodded.

  He opened his door, but stood in place to address me. “You’ve a choice. To come into this chapel with me, or to go back to—“

  I didn’t let him finish. I just went in.