Lorelei snuggled in Noah’s embrace, her head comfortably placed on his shoulder. Although both were fully clothed, she felt every minuscule twitch of his body. His strong but gentle arms wrapped around her, their grip tightening from time to time as if to make sure she was still there. Their warmth lulled her, telling her she was at home, safe from all dangers as long as she was cradled in them. She didn’t want to ever let go. Maybe they could just stay here and let all the storms rage past them. Or they could run away from the Empire and travel the world with no other worry than their next destination. Alas, she knew that neither of them could do that.
Stirring slightly, she could hear the pace of his heart quickening. This made her chuckle. His blood was responding to her own.
“Is something wrong?” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear and lighting it aflame.
“Nothing. I was just considering kidnapping you to a far, overseas land.”
His chest shook with laughter, its quacking sending sweet shivers down her spine.
“If that’s your wish, my fair physician, I won’t resist.”
“As tempting as it is, I don’t want to have William chasing after me. Or Neli. Or, Gods forbid, both.”
“You are right… as usual.” Noah’s fingers brushed through her hair, letting the glossy strands fall between them like a silken waterfall. “But I do believe…, no, I will make sure that we are able to lose our nannies for a while in the future. There are so many gorgeous places in Norden I want to show you.”
“Like what?” Lorelei lifted her head and immediately got lost in the endless silver of his eyes.
“I know of a waterfall that looks like it's on fire.” A boyish excitement illuminated his face. “And a cave full of huge salt crystals, some as thick as the columns in Ildemar! And there is a meadow of golden flowers not far away from the castle. Then, when winter comes, I’ll teach you how to use ice shoes and take you on a ride with a dog sled. And… Why are you grinning like that!?”
“Oh, no reason.” Lorelei traced his jaw with a finger and was happy to sense his breath and heartbeat hasten. “But I have the peculiar feeling that you are trying to seduce me, my lord, to the point of telling lies.”
“I’m as truthful and innocent as a lamb! Besides, it’s called courting.” He leaned closer so that his cheek pressed against hers and whispered. “If I wanted to seduce you, Lady Swallow, I wouldn’t be talking about such demure and mundane pleasures.”
Now was the turn for Lorelei’s heart to race. Oh, they had kissed more than once today - soft and sweetly; passionately and deep; desperately as if their lives depended on it. The experiences were threatening to overwhelm her. Her skin felt like an over-sensitive thin veil that barely shrouded the heat and desire churning beneath. Every playful touch of his fingers, even through the protection of her clothes, had pushed her closer and closer to an inevitable surrender. She had accepted her feelings for him and knew what they would sooner or later lead to. She wanted it. She wanted him. And yet… the cold hand of fear slowly crept around her heart and twisted her stomach. It was irrational and she knew it. Her mind realized that, but her body’s reaction obeyed no rime or reason. She knew he could feel her trembling and this made her feel even worse.
“Noah, I…”
“Norden’s nights sure are chilling.” He moved back just far enough to plant his lips on her forehead. “As part of my courting, in the coming days, we should have an outing in Yalda and get you an ermine cloak to keep you warm. And we should definitely come for the Mid-Summer festival. You definitely haven’t seen anything like this on the mainland. The Binshi have some quite peculiar customs.”
Lorelei separated from him and gave him a deep look. Even in the dusk, she could see his face and its expression - an impossible combination of happiness, sadness, and understanding. He took her hand and rubbed its back side with his thumb.
“A proper knight first courts a lady before he tries to seduce her, my love. Allow me to be your knight. I’ll make you indulge every second of every moment, for as long as it takes, until all bad memories are washed away.”
“Then what about me?” She tilted her head, giving him a guilty half-smile. “Would you allow me to court you too so that I can drive away your demons?”
“Well, to be honest, your mere presence will suffice. But I wouldn’t deny being called a pampered man.”
They crossed gazes and started giggling like two children planning a mischief.
Lorelei wished that this moment could last forever, but the graying light in the cell forced her to act.
“It's almost morning. I should be going. If someone finds me here, I don’t think they would believe that we’ve been all prim and proper.”
“Indeed.” Noah stood up and helped her to her feet. “But I won’t allow you to perform your monkey tricks again. Indulge me this time, or I’ll be dying in fear that you've slipped and broken your neck.”
“Then what do you suggest instead?”
“Oh, to prevent falling from grace with our hosts, all we need to do is be one with the shadows.”
Giving Lorelei a wink, Noah hobbled to the door and opened it before she could protest.
“Dederi. Feste. Come inside for a moment,” he whispered into the darkness and stepped aside to let in the two Binshi.
Lorelei remained sitting on the bed, head hanging between her shoulders, and tried to ignore the incredulous, scrutinizing gazes piercing her. However, this task became impossible after Dederi’s gasp and the accompanying whistle of her brother.
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“How in the Mother’s name…? How is the Duchess here?!” The Binshi frowned and her hand slipped in her sleeve. “It is her, right?”
“Of course it is,” snorted Noah and gave Lorelei a hand, helping her to her feet. “Would I be leisurely inviting you in if I had a meeting with an assassin? However, we sure do need to discuss future changes in security when we are back at Ildemar.”
Both Shadows lowered their heads and red spots spread on their cheeks.
“We… have been negligent, Your Highness,” said Feste in a low voice. “We did put wards on your room, but… there didn’t seem to be malicious intent, so-”
“We’ll discuss it in detail back in Ildemar. But we should definitely expand the definition of malicious intent.” Noah sighed heavily. Seeing a shadow fall on his face again, Lorelei squeezed his hand and inched close enough for their shoulders to touch. This earned her a doting smile. “However, right now, I need you two to help me bring my wife back to her room. Without our hosts noticing her presence here.”
“A doppelganger hex?” Feste nodded quickly. “It’s doable with what we have, as long as you don’t want it to be immaculate.”
“The darkness is our friend today,” added Dederi. “What exactly do you have in mind, my lord?”
“I want you and Lorelei to switch appearances. With your gray hood on, you don’t need to watch for every detail.”
“Besides, most Limerians only see the white hair anyway,” mumbled Dederi but went silent when her lord threw her an admonishing glance.
“After that,” continued Noah, “Feste will take the Duchess to her chambers in Dederi’s guise. In the meantime, Dedery would have entered the cell the same way the Duchess had exited - through the window. You two knock on the door with a message from me for my wife, Lorelei enters, Dederi exits in her place.”
“Sounds simple,” said Feste but his lips twitched as he turned to Lorelei. “Anything we need to know about the window, my lady?”
Seeing the subdued smiles of the Binshi, Lorelei felt ashamed and slightly guilty. Yet again, she had caused a big stir due to impatience and poor planning on her side. And her image as the Duchess of Norden… well, she had to do a lot in the future to redeem it in their eyes.
“There is some distance between the sil and the climbing ivy to the window, so be careful when trying to climb in,” replied Lorelei in a low voice, avoiding all eye contact. “And the far right section is beginning to slightly detach from the walls, so better climb more to the left. I believe that’s all…”
She let her words trail off, feeling Noah’s penetrating eyes fixated on her. She could almost hear his scolding thoughts: How could she do something so dangerous? What if the ivy had fallen while she was climbing it? How could she even come up with something so reckless instead of waiting a couple of hours until they could meet properly?
“Then let’s start,” announced Noah. She finally dared to look up at him and was awarded a pinch on the nose. “And you, Duchess, for my poor heart’s sake, will promise me a year… no, at least six months without window climbing. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to order Ildemar and all buildings inYalda to be leveled to the ground and rebuilt with a single storey.”
“Airmonger,” she chuckled and turned to the Binshi. “I’m ready.”
Under Feste’s instructions, Lorelei and Dederi stood facing each other, holding hands. From a pouch on his belt, the Shadow took out a vial with a brownish liquid, some glittering powder, and a piece of red string. Lorelei’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes peeled at the items. Master Argente's dim bed chamber flashed before her eyes. A gaunt, sweaty shaman pierced her skin with a silver blade, soaking a thread in her blood. His chanting still rang in her ears, the meaning of his hex now finally revealed: ‘String of blood - the body bind. Moon-stone ash - deflect the mind. Steal the face, I order thee. Hidden face shal no one see.’
The air stuck in Lorelei’s throat. It took her immense effort to force herself to keep holding Dederi’s hand. The other woman’s voice reached her ears like from the far end of a cave.
“My lady! You know the chant for the hex!?”
“S-seems so,” squeezed Lorelei through her teeth. She had spoken aloud without realizing it. “I’ve been the subject of such magic before. How much of my blood do you need?”
“Oh, don’t worry, my lady.” Feste’s calm, angular face entered her field of vision. “Since we are not going to engage with anyone, we don’t need the disguise to be perfect. A lock of your hair will be enough.”
“And we are doing it quick and dirty with a breshek-lek, so using your blood would be a waste,” added Dederi, while looking slightly worried at Lorelei.
“Bresheck-lek?” Lorelei licked her lips.
“A universal concoction of the most common herbs and ingredients with a drop of our blood inside. Every Shadow has it. In a pinch, one can conjure simple hexes without the need to slit your wrists,” replied the other woman.
“It's quicker and more hygienic,” added Feste while drawing a familiar sigil on Lorelei and Dederi’s hands. “It’s enough to save your neck or win you some time if things suddenly get ugly, but not good enough for big-scale or more intricate hexing.”
While he was explaining, the shaman’s fingers nimbly tied a piece of red string with a white curl from Dederi around Lorelei’s wrist. A strand of chestnut hair soon adorned the other woman’s hand. For a brief moment, Lorelei felt ants crawling up her skin and the world seemed to blur. She blinked and everything returned to normal. Only, the person standing before her and holding her hands now had her face.
“Good job, Feste!” whistled Lorelei’s look-alike with Dederi’s voice. “Well, unless we open our mouths. But it should be more than enough. Then, my lady, I’ll see you in a moment.”
Saying that, Dederi took off her gray cloak and put it on Lorelei’s shoulders. The next second, she nimbly jumped on the sil and out into the garden without even looking for a foothold. A strange hiss next to Lorelei made her turn around. With a rigid face, Noah was eyeing the window.
“I know that wasn’t you but still…” He shook his head and put his hands on Lorelei’s shoulder. “And even worse, I want to kiss you goodbye, but… well… I… you…”
“Then you’ll kiss me good morning in a few hours.” Lorelei chuckled, noticing Feste’s ill-masked bemusement in the corner of her eye.
She blew Noah a parting kiss and quickly exited the room, followed by the choking Feste. The short journey to her room was uneventful and when they knocked on the door, Dederi was there to let them in. After breaking the hex and sending the two Binshi back, Lorelei crumbled in her bed, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll.
A persistent knocking on the door pulled her out of the sweet, fluffy embrace of her dreams. Yawning and squinting at the blinding sunlight, Lorelei pursed her lips, both vexed and excited by Noah’s impatience. However, when she opened the door, all drowsiness disappeared from her mind.
“Good morning, Duchess.” Diakon Valente nodded sharply in greeting. “Bishop Petronius summons you to his chambers.”