Mother?!

Noah's statement was like a strike of lightning. It was public knowledge that the illegitimate prince’s mother had died more than twenty years ago. If so, what was going on here? Lorelei stood frozen in place and blinking like a newborn lamb at Neli, who rewarded her with a benign smile.

Little by little, the initial shock ebbed off, leaving chaos and muddle behind. As the seconds trickled by, Lorelei began taking better notice of her surroundings. This, unfortunately, brought only new turmoil to her already strained mind.

There was a strong arm wrapping her body in a tight embrace. Its warmth reached her skin through the thin protection of the nightgown and, for some reason, made her shudder. That traitorous heart of hers was jumping in its cage, wanting to fly out due to both fear and unexpected pleasure. Noah’s familiar scent filled her nose – leather, metal, and musk, now mixed with the saltiness of sweat and the faint aroma of bath-oils lingering in the clouds of steam surrounding the two of them. It was intoxicating! Yet, there was something missing. Something familiar, frightening, but at the same time an inseparable part of who he was. Blood. Somehow almost every time she had been near him, there had been the ever so subtle whiff of blood and death on his body. It was truly inconceivable. When did his scent became ingrained in her memory to the extent that the minuscule difference now was so strikingly evident?

Lorelei gulped and moved a bit in an attempt to get away from him, but this resulted in even more stimulus to her heightened senses. Fire! From where her back leaned against his chest, waves of fire engulfed her and slithered down her spine, transforming into a warm, tickling sensation upon reaching her lower body. Lorelei gasped, realizing that they were touching with almost no barrier between them except for the damp thin cloth of her nightgown. She was feeling him for the first time without the many layers of clothing and armor separating them. Her knees felt weak as if she was a baby deer making its first steps. But that strong hand around her waist kept her from falling. Goosebumps crawled over her skin and she could almost feel the blood rushing through her veins - restless, yearning, seeking his own. Firm and soft, rough, yet gentle. So many contradictions coexisted in that one body pressing against her own. So many new and unknown sensations overwhelmed her with each touch. Lorelei felt the burning in her lower body intensify, as did the tingling of her skin. Her breasts rose and fell with each painfully deep breath she took.

The intensity of all these new experiences scared her into action.

“U-unhand me!” she whimpered and tried to push his hand away. In their rush, her jittery fingers scratched him, leaving a trail of red on the dark-olive skin.

For a brief moment, Noah’s arm tightened around her waist, as if intending to keep them bound forever, but then he reluctantly released her. Lorelei stumbled as fast as she could away from him, throwing a glance over her shoulder.

He stood at the doorframe bathed in the lantern-light and surrounded by the fragrant mist coming out of the dim room behind his back. His broad shoulders were covered by a light robe that was sticking in patches to his wet body, contouring it and making it even more appealing in its mysterious, half-hidden state. Through the gap at the front, part of his chest was clearly visible, and so were the scars crisscrossing the skin, each one bearing witness of yet another triumph over Death.

Lorelei's eyes traveled up as her heart pounded faster and faster, her mind miserably failing to quell the call of her blood. Why was she reacting like this? She had seen him half-naked before. She had tended to his wounds for days. And yet, now each glance at him revealed something new, something forgotten, something denied. So, she looked on, despite her better judgment.

Strands of damp black hair hung around Noah's face that looked calm and unfazed as the light from the lamp and her gaze contoured his straight nose, tight lips, and resolute jaw. The crooked tendrils of burnt skin crawled along the powerful neck and spread over the man's cheek. The scar should have been ugly and repulsive, yet, its stark contrast with the rest of the surrounding features made its bearer seem all the more heroic in Lorelei's mind. He was indeed the son of kings. Cold and calculative, with a will of steel. Gentle but deceptive like a ray of sunshine on a winter day. Oh, Gods, she wanted to hate him! She wanted to curse him! She wanted to feel his warmth on her body again! This was madness!

Then he opened his mouth and the magic was broken.

“Forgive me, my duchess. My actions were inappropriate.” Noah’s grey eyes met hers and Lorelei forgot to breathe. The hand holding the dagger disappeared in the folds of his robe. “I have caused you quite the startle. Please accept my apologies.”

“Y-yes.” Lorelei nodded and wrapped her arms around the body. Her mind was desperately trying to regain control. 'Don't trust his sweet words. Snap out of it. Stay vigilant.'

“You seem quite flustered and cold, my wife. If there are no urgent matters that you wish to discuss with me, I suggest you retreat to your room and have some rest. I will order the servants to bring you something warm and nourishing later; perhaps a cup of sweet milk would do. We can discuss everything else at another time.”

“Y-yes,” stuttered Lorelei again while screaming internally all the while. Why was she acting like a shaking lamb!? Why was she sheepishly going along with what he said? He could take his false kindness together with his honey-milk and shove them up…

‘Oh, merhek!’ Lorelei cursed in her head as her face burned like a red sunset. She just had to envision this, didn’t she now!? Against her best judgment, her eyes trailed south from Noah's face to the neat folds of the robe draping around his slender waist. She gulped. Master Levi and his anatomy books be damned! And Saya too with her vivid storytelling! Together with the disturbing pictures, her mind recalled the warm and slightly damp sensation of his hug from a moment ago.

Lorelei sucked a loud breath and shivered. It was too much!

“You really don’t look well.” Noah furrowed his brows and raised his voice. “Shadow!”

“Yes, my lord.” A voice came from the darkness beyond the lantern light and with it, a figure emerged in the illuminated circle. It was a sturdy woman with snow-white hair and dark clothes.

“Escort the duchess to her chambers and call the physician. And later we will have a talk of what ‘no disturbance’ means.”

“Yes, my lord,” replied the woman, a sliver of guilt and uneasiness creeping on her face. She then turned to Lorelei, courteously extending her hand. “Lean on me, my lady.”

Without further hesitation, Lorelei accepted the invitation. She needed to get as far away from here as possible. And fast. Otherwise, who knew how she would react and shame herself. Dear saints, she urgently needed to go somewhere that didn’t have him nearby! Or his voice. Or his scent. She needed a bucket of cold water for her burning face and something stronger to remove the images lingering in her mind.

As the two women prepared to leave, Lorelei desperately kept her gaze away from her husband as much as possible. Instead, she threw a glance at the tall figure holding the lantern. Her thoughts cleared up a bit. She had completely forgotten about Neli, who just stood there, silent and unmoving after her last exchange with Noah. The old woman was slightly squinting, studying Lorelei with a false smile, while her friendly facade masked the schemes she was plotting. Lorelei swore to be cautious, were their paths to ever cross again. That marzbanati was dangerous, whoever she was.

***

The Shadow and the duchess of Norden withdrew in the dim network of corridors. Having her gaze linger after them for a bit, Neli turned around and gave the imposing man at the door an apologetic chuckle.

“Don’t be too harsh with that poor guard. Between your wife and myself, I imagine it was difficult to intervene.” She stepped closer, lifting her lantern to shine some light on the man’s face. “Now, can I have another greeting?”

“You never change, do you, mother?” Noah’s stoic mask cracked a bit as he gave the woman a peck on the forehead, but almost immediately stepped back and resumed in a leveled tone: “When did you return? Why didn’t you tell me you are back?”

“Well, I just arrived and wanted to surprise you.”

“And you did.” Noah gave her a fond yet slightly accusatory look. “But I believe you have surprised my wife even more. Care to tell me what happened?”

“Sure, although I don’t have much of an idea either,” shrugged Neli. “But do you mind doing it somewhere else and not in the middle of the hallway? Have you finished bathing?”

“I was actually just starting before you two decided to pay me such a sudden visit.”

“Well, in that case, let’s go in. I’ll wash your back.”

Noah froze, his lips pressed to a line; then nodded and stepped aside, making way for her to enter the bath. His gray eyes peered into the gloom of the corridor.

“I hope that this time no one will disturb me. Be it the Emperor, the Mother Above, or the Two Gods. No one!”

The darkness remained silent but there was suddenly a tremor in the air as if emptiness itself shook in fear.

Not waiting for a reply, Noah turned around and slammed the door behind. A few seconds later, a shaky voice sounded from within the shadows.

“In the name of the Mother, we are screwed!”