The hushed splashing of waves and the crunching of gravel accompanied Lorelei’s steps as she leisurely strolled over the small beach beneath Ildemar’s southern walls. Beside her, kush-turgan Bayan’s gait was slow and cat-like, only the clinking of the silver ornaments around his belt assuring the onlookers that he was not gliding over the ground akin to an apparition. Rish and Lucas, together with the female attendant of the kush-turgan, were respectfully following them a few paces behind, giving their conversation enough privacy, but close enough to act if anything should happen.

“Our meeting must really be fated by the stars, Lady Norden.” Bayan’s melodious timbre carried a sliver of child-like excitement as he turned to Lorelei. “I have been looking for a chance to speak with you for days!”

“Indeed, my lord, it is a fortuitous encounter. But I thought the council session was to continue until supper time.”

“Thank the Mother, we finished earlier today! The tension between the Duke and kush-turgan Nekor was getting palpable.” The Binshi laughed nervously. “The matters of the Star-gazer’s marriage have never been an easy or unifying topic but choosing Lady Shana’s partners is crucial for the continuation of the bloodline…”

“Partners?” Lorelei scrunched her forehead.

“Indeed. It is an old tradition that the Star-gazer takes one partner from each of the Great Clans.” Bayan let his gaze glide over the calm surface of the fjord before continuing in a hushed tone. “One of the many traditions kush-turgan Yanosh broke.”

For a moment, there were coldness and sadness in his voice. His eyes moved to Lorelei and an apologetic smile bloomed on the man’s face.

“I am sorry, I hope you don’t see us as barbaric, Lady Norden. It is hardly different from the Limerian Emperor or nobility having several concubines…”

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Lord Bayan.” Now it was Lorelei’s turn to marvel at the green slopes of the surrounding heels. No matter how little she liked Shana, she still felt a stab in her chest, thinking about the little girl’s future. Even the powerful Star-gazer was shackled by norms, traditions, and politics. “Every folk has its own customs and peculiarities and one must learn if not to accept them, then at least to respect them. Besides, it is not my place to intervene in the Duke and kush-turgans’ matters. Alas, love is not something the ones with power can afford.”

“Forgive my brashness, but you and the Duke seem to be a contradiction to the norm.”

The spring wind bit at Lorelei’s burning cheeks. She coughed and set her jaw.

“Kush-turgan, were you this eager to meet me in order to pry into my marriage?”

“Forgive me, Lady Norden.” Two faint red spots appeared on the Binshi’s pale face. “I was rude. Truthfully, I wanted to exchange some pointers with you on the topic of medicine. After all, I do believe we can be called fellow disciples to an extent.”

The unexpected statement made Lorelei halt and glare at the man next to her.

“What do you mean?”

“I have heard rumors about the Duchess’ medical prowess. This made me curious so I inquired a bit and my amazement had no boundaries when I learned that the lady is a disciple of the famous Ser Levi. The same Ser Levi who saved my life and imparted to me some of his knowledge many years ago.”

“Master never told me of having another disciple.” Lorelei made an effort to sound polite while pacifying her inner turmoil. ‘Yet again, he didn’t tell me a lot of things… like that he is a Shareeban royalty…’

“To be honest, calling myself his student might be a bit too farfetched.” Bayan chucked and put his right hand over his heart. “Master Levi saved my life and nurtured me back to health, and in that time, I had the privilege of observing his arts. If I wasn’t so young and hot-headed back then and stayed with him instead of stealing his money and running away, I might have met the lady sooner.”

“You robbed teacher?!” Lorelei didn’t know if it was appropriate to laugh at such an open and frankly dubious crime confession.

“Indeed, an act I am ashamed of to this day.” The Binshi’s face twitched. “But his money helped me to return to Norden and his teachings, together with what I learned at the Grand Temple, helped a nobody like me to become a kush-turgan, despite being a mixed-blood unable to hex.”

“You worked for the Church?!” Lorelei’s eyebrows were about to fly out of her forehead. Every statement coming from Bayan’s mouth sounded more absurd than the other. The Grand Temple of the Two Gods was at the heart of the imperial capital Limris. The clergy on the mainland, unlike the one in Norden, had a very clear policy about un-converted “heretics” and, by the look of it, kush-turgan Bayan was not a follower of the Two Fathers.

From the depths of her memories, a few words, mentioned by Gregor not too long ago, found their way to the surface. With a dreadful premonition, Lorelei opened her mouth.

“I was a potion-slave for the Brothers of Light and the royal alchemists.” The Binshi was faster, his tone – leveled, without a hint of emotion, and only the hand that suddenly clawed at the front of his garment revealed his true feelings.

Although she was expecting it, the answer still hit Lorelei hard. She remembered Master Levi often cursing his Limerian colleagues. ‘Only a charlatan doubting his craft or a poisoner would need to buy someone and force them to take their medicine,’ he would say and spit on the ground with a sour expression.

Both in Shareeba and Limeria physicians and alchemists were allowed to test new medications on death-row convicts and the law even allowed for a reduction of the sentence if one participated in the creation of new medicine. However, forcing someone to test potions against their will was considered a crime. Unfortunately, some physicians didn’t shy away from using slaves, even children, to test their new creations. The Church officially condemned the practice but there were rumors that some priests also performed such forbidden experiments under the guise of ‘showing the right path' to infidels.

Lorelei felt a knot forming in her throat and her eyes stung as she looked at the man before her.

“I am sorry, kush-turgan!” she whispered with some effort. “What my people did…”

“Let us leave the past in the past, Duchess.” The Binshi smiled lightly despite the pain still visible in the corners of his eyes. “I might not be able to forgive or forget, but this does not mean I can’t differentiate friend from foe. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have accepted kush-turgan Yanosh’s decision and supported the Duke. If only my brethren could reach the same wisdom as I did, Norden would be a much different place. A much peaceful one.”

Saying this, Bayan suddenly took Lorelei’s palm in his hand.

“But I didn’t mean for us to dive into such dark memories, Lady Norden! Let us fellow disciples have a chat about-”

The man’s words were cut abruptly mid-sentence and his face became paler than fresh snow. He bent over, his free hand clawing again at his heart, and the breath escaping his now purple lips becoming jagged.

“Lord Bayan!” Lorelei shouted, barely managing to support the man, protecting him from crashing headfirst on the slippery stones.

Her shout alerted their escorts. In the blink of an eye, someone pushed Lorelei hard to the side, separating her from the panting man.

“Kush-turgan! Dobro li teshte?!” Bayan’s female companion sat him on a nearby boulder and frantically started loosening the many collars of his ceremonial garments.

“Lorelei! My Lady! Are you alright?” Saya and Lucas’ worried voices reached Lorelei but her attention was preoccupied with the suffering Binshi before her.

The pale skin of his chest was revealed beneath the layers of fabric and, right above his heart, the ugly red brand of a roaring lion came into sight. Lorelei’s eyes wandered up and met Bayan’s. For a brief moment, she could read fear and anger in them before they regained their blue tranquility.

“Calm… down, Zeze!” he heaved and leaned heavily on the woman’s shoulder. “It’s just… a small attack. I forgot to take my medicine.”

Turning back to Lorelei, he gave her a pained apologetic smile.

“I am sorry, Lady Norden... I scared you. This is... an old chronic ailment of mine.” He coughed a bit. “I fear that our conversation must end here for today.”

“Of course! You must rest now. If you tell me what the symptoms are, I can send you some medi-”

“We appreciate it, Duchess, but it won’t be necessary,” the woman called Zeze cut Lorelei off. “We are more than capable of taking care of our kush-turgan. Farewell, Duchess!”

Without saying a word more, the warrior positioned Bayan’s weakened body on her back and, grabbing his thighs, lifted him up like a big human backpack.

“Again, I apologize for the unsightly scene.” Pressing a cheek on Zeze’s shoulder, the kush-turgan waved weakly at Lorelei and her retainers. “I hope to continue our chat in the future. See you soon, Duchess.”

After this, the two quickly disappeared in the direction of the castle. Lorelei looked after them for some time, her fingers still remembering how cold and lifeless the kush-turgan's hand felt.

“Poor man,” she muttered to herself before turning to Rish and Lucas. “Let’s go too. We need to inform the lord about what happened.”