“Is this in regard to the children you talked with Rhonwyn about?”
“Yes. But I think we need to talk tonight about what you have to do, Ashe.” He stared at her, and Rhapsody dropped her eyes, trying to phrase her words so they didn’t hurt him. “The summer is gone, autumn is here now. You have your soul back; you’re whole again. It’s time you left to prepare for taking the Lordship.”
“You want me to leave?”
Rhapsody sighed. “Gods, no. But we both know you have to.”
Ashe stood and came over to her. He crouched down in front of her, and Rhapsody felt her heart beat faster as it always did when he came near. “I can’t,” he said softly. “Not yet.”
She gave him another direct look. “Well, you’re welcome to stay here in Elysian if you’d like, but I’m afraid I will be leaving soon. The Rakshas is dead, and it’s time Achmed, Grunthor, and I got on with finding and killing the F’dor.
“What I have to do, among other things, is get a tool that will help Achmed locate it. There is some danger that it may switch hosts if it has a chance, especially without the Rakshas to do its repulsive bidding. Things will begin happening rapidly now; I expect to call the Cymrian Council soon after the demon is dead, assuming we can find the damned thing, and that will affect you greatly, you know.
“I think you should take this time to prepare yourself; perhaps you even want to seek out and talk with the woman you mentioned, so that you can see if she’s agreeable to being your Lady.” Her voice caught a little, and Ashe felt his heart twist in sorrow for her. “That way you can both be confirmed by the Council, and it won’t have to be called a second time. Who knows, if you don’t put forward your own nomination they may choose someone awful like they did the last time.” Her words ground to a halt when she realized she had just roundly insulted his grandparents.
Ashe saw her embarrassment and smiled. “You’re right. They did make a pretty poor pairing, didn’t they?”
Rhapsody took his hand. “No,” she said, looking into his eyes. “If the two of them hadn’t paired off, you wouldn’t be here, so I guess wonderful things can come from even the worst of matches. But it is critical for the entire continent, not just the Cymrians, that it’s right this time. You need to take the time to make sure you’re ready, and that your choice of the Lady is wise. You had best go and meet her, and see if she is someone who can lead, as well as make you happy. I won’t be responsible for delaying you any longer, no matter how selfishly I might like to.”
Ashe leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Not yet,” he repeated. “This can’t end yet. We have both suffered too much to lose the one time of solace and peace we’ve found.” He pushed his father’s nattering voice out of his mind.
“Achmed and I are leaving for Yarim the day after tomorrow,” Rhapsody said gently but firmly. “After that I expect to be gone for the foreseeable future.” She winced as her words stripped the smile from his face and he stood, turning from her and walking over to the fireplace. With a sigh she rose and followed him, touching his arm. “I wish I could avoid the pain this is causing you, causing both of us, but we knew it was coming. I’m sorry.”
Ashe nodded silently, lost in the shadows of the fire. When he finally looked down at her, his face was calm and his expression relaxed.
“Very well, then, if we need to move on from here, we will. I have some issues to wrestle with, foremost of which being this lovely fellow you returned to me last night.” Ashe tapped his chest; the scar he had carried in various stages of healing had vanished with the return of the soul fragment. He had examined a single memory of the Rakshas in the morning while Rhapsody was dressing in the next room. She had returned to find him shuddering in horror, curled up in the corner of the room as his mind witnessed the unspeakable acts his soul had participated in unwillingly, acts so repulsive their memory was burned into his soul.
Rhapsody shook her head. “You shouldn’t do that alone, Ashe,” she said sensibly. “Let’s deal with that before I go. I can be here to hold you and help you through it in any way I can.”
“Not much of a way to end such a beautiful summer,” he said regretfully. “I want the memories of this time to be happy ones for you, Aria, not ones of me screaming and exorcising my demons.”
“They will be; they are,” she assured him. “Nothing will take that away from either of us. But I have a suggestion.”
“So do I.”
“All right; tell me.”
“I’m going with you to Yarim, not Achmed,” Ashe said firmly. “I have been there repeatedly, and I doubt he has. I don’t trust him alone with you.”
Rhapsody looked puzzled. “Why not? We have traveled alone together through much worse places. He won’t let me come to any harm.”
Ashe thought about clarifying what he meant, then decided against it. She didn’t understand; she would never understand. “Nevertheless, I’m going. That’s final.”
Rhapsody’s eyebrows arched at the imperious tone. “Yes, m’lord,” she said with a touch of displeasure, but she did not pursue the point. She had avoided explaining to him about the children, knowing it would upset him. If he came to the prophetess with her, Manwyn might tell him, but Rhapsody was not prepared to deceive him if it happened. Instead she changed the subject. “Now, would you like to hear my idea?”
“Yes,” Ashe said, sitting back down as she did. “I’m sorry; what is it?”
“The Lord Roland is getting married in the spring, and, if you can believe this, I’ve been invited.”
“Tristan? No kidding. Well, I’m somewhat surprised they invited you.”
She giggled. “Me, too. He must hate me after our various run-ins. This is why I am glad to be a peasant; you never have to invite people you hate to your wedding for reasons of state, only because they’re your relatives.”
“He can’t possibly hate you, that’s not why I’m surprised. I would think they’d know you will outshine the bride.”
Rhapsody smiled. “You’re sweet.” Ashe sighed; he hadn’t been joking. “Anyway, perhaps we could meet up there, you know, get to see each other, if only for a little while, in the midst of a big party. It would be fan to watch the wedding. I told you a long time ago that if he invited me you could be my escort.”
He nodded. “That you did. Perhaps being aboveboard is unwise, given that the F’dor might show up at such an important event. Its host is probably invited. It would probably be the perfect opportunity to capture it, but you’re not ready.” He watched her face dim a little, her excitement wane, and he hastened to cheer her up. “But we can still meet at the wedding if we are clandestine about it; we can be like secret lovers. I would love to go with you, Aria.”
Rhapsody looked at the fire. “After you leave here, I think it’s best if we put an end to our relationship as lovers, Ashe.” She could feel him pale in the chair across from her. “It’s going to be extraordinarily hard for me to give you up as it is, so I think it would be advisable not to confuse things. If you’re off to pursue this ancient Cymrian woman whom the Council likes, I think you owe it to her to begin thinking about her in a pure way, unhindered by past—attachments.”
Ashe waited until she looked back at him. “All right, Rhapsody,” he said casually. “You’re right. She has the right to know I’m unencumbered when I propose. If she agrees to be the Lady Cymrian, and my wife, she deserves my total fidelity and devotion, unhindered by thoughts of anyone else.” His stomach twisted when his dragon sense felt her reaction to his words; though her face was serene and betrayed no emotion, he could feel the nausea wash over her, the flush of blood circulating in the thousands of tiny veins, each counted and obsessed over by the dragon. “You do still intend to be my ally, yes?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And my friend?”