At the sound of his sire’s ireful bellow, a strange sense of calm descended upon Yuer’s once weary soul. Like a blanket of frost, it enveloped him in icy composure, revitalizing his determination.

The youth ignored his red-eyed sire and turned a blind eye to the glare the Rezas sent his way. He walked on bloodied soles, swords still in hand, to the Reznals’ daises. He ascended the short stairs one firm step at a time, back unwaveringly and hands steady. The audience remained awfully quiet, almost as they were enraptured by the exclusive drama performance unfolding directly before them.

With bated breaths, they collectively followed Yuer as he bypassed Mayir, the latter whose face couldn’t hide its obvious disappointment. The Dasrari youth continued in his path, walking by Jarak who looked up at him with that disgustingly familiar smile of his. Yuer didn’t even spare him a single glance as he left him behind.

Someone gasped. The Rezas coughed and Jarak’s hand which held his wine cup tightened to the point of pain.

At this point, everyone’s eyes were fixed upon the clearly inebriated Sinrad, thinking that this was it: The Alikana-marked of the Seventh Age was going to choose the Fourth Reznal: the good-for-nothing philanderer of the Reznali clan. Much to their surprise and bewilderment however, Yuer didn’t stop at Sinrad’s dais and instead continued on steadily to the last dais on the far left of the platform. Only when he reached the Second Reznal did he stop. He turned around, facing the older youth.

The wine cup clasped tightly in Jarak’s hand tumbled to the ground, spilling its content all over his meticulously made robes.

Ivak rested a cheek upon an upturned palm as he gazed at Yuer. Something bright and warm flickered across his silver eyes. He then spoke in his standard husky and slightly hoarse voice, “I must confess you dance rather beautifully.”

Yuer kept his blue eyes locked into Ivak’s silver ones as he began to untie his black sash, “I do? Well, I’m pleased you enjoyed the show.”

Ivak smirked, “Beautiful song, too.”

Yuer chuckled, “You are probably the only person in this entire hall who would think so.”

Ivak spoke, “Lovely tattoo as well. Albeit it seems a bit extreme. It looks like the kind of needlework you would expect on a Shakoura member not on a soft Dasrari youth. You are full of surprises. Aren’t you, Yuer Ayaseen?”

Yuer raised a fine brow, “Am I? Nobody is what they seem, Your Highness. Not even you and everybody in this hall for that matter.”

Ivak mused, “Quite the interesting way of thinking. I admit I do quite like it.”

“It’s the way of thinking that makes sure one doesn’t die young.”

Ivak laughed, “I can see the truth in that.”

As the two youths conversed casually among themselves, Naer struggled to unclench his painfully tense jaws. Akra, who stood next to him, looked as if she had swallowed a mouthful of poison. Eventually, Naer lost his battle against the anger brewing in the pit of his stomach and dashed to the short stairs. However before he could even reach the first step, his path was blocked by none other than the Tewekaga.

The elderly man pinned Naer with a warning glare, “He has the right to choose. Both the Law of the First and the holy Mahatir dictate it so. No one, not even His Majesty has the right to interfere. Whatever happens today, he will be no longer of your clan. So go back to your seat, Naer Ayaseen.”

Naer’s hands balled themselves into tightly clenched fists, the veins on them visible even from a distance; a testimony to how enraged he was.

The Rezas, who had yet to say a word, watched them from afar. He then shifted his gaze to his eldest son. The blond youth’s face didn’t look as serene as it did moments ago. Something dark, sharp and ugly took over his refined features, twisting them into something slightly less human. Someone had actually dared to humiliate his favorite son. Rage shimmered and boiled within the Rezas. He looked at the culprit from above his throne. His face turned a hint vicious before it reverted back to an expression of impassiveness.

Mayir kept glancing at Jarak; the Third Reznal’s blond brows furrowed making him look visibly uncomfortable. He probably worried about the humiliation his eldest brother, the gloried Malhada, had to suffer today at the hands of the Alikana-marked. Jarak, after all, had never known such a public humiliation before. Unlike Mayir and everyone else in the hall, Sinrad appeared infinitely unbothered by what was going on. He was already on his fifth wine cup and he could barely keep his eyes open. All he probably wanted to do was go home.

Back at the dais, Yuer had already finished untying his sash. He took a step closer to Ivak’s seat and kneeled right before it. The Dasrari youth cared not for the gasps and whispers that exploded across the hall. He cared not for his fuming sire and he definitely cared not for his disapproving monarch.

He commenced to kowtow as per ceremony.

He kowtowed once.

He kowtowed twice.

He kowtowed thrice.

He then looked up, his blue eyes boring right into Ivak’s. He spoke in a clear and especially loud voice, “Today I, Yuer Ayaseen the Alikana-marked of the Seventh Age, make my heart known to all that is under her holy glory’s gaze. I seek this man before me, second-born Reznal of Sema and heir to Kersa, to be my bonded by blood and by law, for this lifetime and the one beyond.”

Yuer then lifted his arms, raising his sash in the air. With a lowered head, he besought, “Will you accept my oath, you to whom I wish to promise myself?”

Ivak rose from his seat and walked toward the kneeling Yuer. He bent his tall and broad frame and gently cupped Yuer’s slim chin. He lifted it, letting his eyes roamed across the youth youth’s face for a moment. He softly whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

Yuer whispered back, fixing Ivak with an unflattering and firm look, “Yes, I am.”

Ivak held Yuer’s gaze for a while, almost as if he was seeking to ascertain something. He must have confirmed whatever he was seeking in those blue depths because he eventually released Yuer’s chin and moved to take the black sash from his hands.

The black-haired Reznal then rose to his full height and stated in a strong, grave voice bereft of any humorous or sarcastic inflections. “I, Ivak of Kersa and second-born Reznal to Sema, shall take Yuer Ayaseen as my bonded by law and by blood, for this lifetime and the one beyond.”

He leaned over the still kneeling Yuer and offered him a hand, “You should get up. The floor must be killing your knees.”

Yuer rolled his eyes and took the offered hand. The much taller and broader youth hauled him up with little to no effort. Ivak took off his own dark gray sash and tied it around Yuer’s slender waist au lieu of his own. The action brought his firm body closer to the younger youth’s. Ivak’s crisp and oddly fresh scent teased Yuer’s nose, strangely reminding him of lighting storms and open winter plains.

Ivak let his fingers gently slip through the ends of the sash one last time before he eventually retreated. He held Yuer’s black sash in his hands and in a totally unnecessarily manner, laid a kiss on its fabric before wearing it around his waist.

Yuer kept his mouth shut, his lips tightly pursed to keep himself from smiling.

Ivak quirked a thick black brow, “What?”

Yuer replied, letting a bit of his smile come through his voice, “Looks like I truly did it.”

Ivak chuckled, voice low and sounding weirdly comforting to Yuer. He leaned closer and whispered, “Did what exactly? Giving the vain Malhada his first taste of public humiliation? Causing your sire to nearly drop dead from anger? Or making the Rezas swallow the bitter taste of defeat? You might have to specify, Exalted One.”

Yuer didn’t give in to the older youth’s teasing tone and instead smirked ruefully at him, “I made you bond me. Didn’t I say I will back at the bookstore? And here we are.”

Ivak laughed. Although his laugh was nowhere near loud, it still seemed to fill the air between them with something warm and pleasant. “Yes, that you. That you did.”

The Chief Eunuch standing by the Rezas belatedly stepped forward and announced to the whole of the Reception Hall in a booming voice, “The Exalted One has chosen. From this day forward, he is to be the bonded of Ivak Reznali, Second Reznal of Sema and acting heir of the Kersasi province. As per the Law of the First, the official bonding ceremony of the Alikana-marked and His Second Highness will be held tonight at the Zaradate Temple. His Holiness will preside over the joining. After the bonding is completed, the bonded pair will be relocated to His Second Highness’s temporary residence in the capital. Four days from now, they both shall leave for Kersa as per rites.”

The audience’s previously heated whispers exploded into full-blown clamor. However Ivak appeared to pay them no mind as he instead, gestured to Yuer with an open arm, “After you, my dear bonded-to-be.”

Yuer threw the older youth a glance before he took his invitation to walk ahead of him. In no time, the newly bonded-to-be pair reached the throne. They kneeled before the old blond Rezas as per tradition. The Rezas offered them something that was somewhat of a smile but not entirely so. His deep green eyes swept across Yuer, there was something barbed and guarded about his gaze. Yuer ignored it and chose to focus his mind on the fact that the man paid no attention to his own second son few paces away from him.

After a brief and obligatory lecture about what it meant to be bonded, the Rezas gruffly congratulated them, “Congratulations. You are to be bonded now.” He then addressed Yuer pointedly, “I hope you are happy about your choice. In youth, we often take decisions that we might lament later on in life but since you seem quite set on my second son, I hope there won’t come a day when you will regret making such a choice. ”

The thinly-veiled threat in the Rezas’s words was all too clear to Yuer. The old man was angry he ‘humiliated’ his golden child and the underlying message was that he would eventually make him pay for it. Yuer wanted to openly cackle just so he could irk the old man some more. He thought to himself, I wonder if you would still feel the same if you knew your golden child poisoned you to an early grave. But then if I tell you, this show wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining.

In the end, Yuer neither said nor showed a thing, realizing it was far too early to antagonize this dying man. He lowered his eyes and glanced at Ivak only to find the older youth’s silver eyes already on him, staring.

Yuer lifted a brown brow in askance but Ivak didn’t elaborate. Instead, he cocked his head to the side slightly as he continued to stare at Yuer with that strong silver gaze of his. Again.

The old Rezas noticed it too and appeared to have had quite enough of them. He dismissed them with few clipped words veiled in magnanimity. “I must have grown too old, keeping a couple of newly bonded-to-be from each other. Go now and receive your congratulations.” As if suddenly remembering he had a second son and this son was right in front of him, he added, “Ivak, Naer Ayaseen is a good man and he has served me faithfully for many years. He likely disapproves of your union but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show him respect. Be mindful of how you speak to him.”

Ivak finally wretched his gaze away from Yuer, seeming totally unbothered by his sire’s dry and rather dismissive treatment of him. He curtly and impassively answered, “Yes, I shall do as you say Your Majesty.”

Reznals typically called the Rezas, ‘imperial sire’ but at that moment, Ivak addressed his sire in a manner befitting of a subject rather than a son. Yuer wasn’t surprised in the least. It was an open secret in the Semani Empire that this particular pair of son and sire barely tolerated each other. Ivak’s resentment toward his sire run deep, of that Yuer had always been aware.

Eventually he and Ivak were blissfully able to escape the old Rezas’s clutches. As they walked along the second platform, a highly intoxicated Sinrad intercepted their path. The Fourth Reznal was barely able to keep himself upright, his body swaying from side to side. He held a wine cup in his hand and pushed in Ivak’s direction, nearly splashing its content all over his older brother. In a slurred and barely intelligible voice, he said, “T—to the Second Rezn—al and his new—wly bonded-to-be!”

Ivak took the cup from his fourth brother and gulped it down his throat in one move. He then patted Sinrad on the shoulder and said, “Many thanks, youngest brother.” He turned to one of the servant girls kneeling by Sinrad’s seat and commanded, “Your master had enough wine for today. Go get a Reznali guard to take him to a side courtyard. He needs to rest and freshen up.”

The servant nodded and rushed to comply.

The barely sober Sinrad leaned his head against Ivak’s shoulder and said to him in a voice that was loud enough for Yuer to hear, “Some men fast for ages on—only to break their fa—fast on a raw onion. Yo—you however managed to break yo—our fast on the most expensive fe—east there ever is! Good for you dear brother, good for you! Hahahaha!”

Ivak pretended he heard nothing and helped his giggling and barely conscious brother back to his seat. He then joined Yuer once again as they continued to walk toward the stairs. From the corner of his eyes, Yuer could see that Ivak wanted to say something to him. The Second Reznal likely wanted to apologize to him on behalf of his youngest brother for his tasteless words but before he could voice anything, they were untimely met by a smiling and gracious-looking Jarak. He spoke to them in a tone so sickly warm and sweet it reminded Yuer of stale honey, “Congratulations second brother. Congratulations Exalted One. You do indeed look well suited. I wish the two of you many happy summers and a long healthy union.”

Jarak’s light blue eyes fell on Yuer and for the briefest of moments, something wicked and sinister flickered in their icy depths. Yuer was all too familiar with that look; a chilling look which would promise the past him a world of hurt and punishment whenever he dared to ‘overstep’ or ‘misbehave’. Although Yuer rationally knew that his past life didn’t exist in this currently reality, he still couldn’t stop the instinctive shiver that coursed through his body. For many summers, he was conditioned to dread that very look, to shrink from it and now that he was finally able to look Jarak in the eye for the very time in forever, a vestige of primal fear still lingered behind, somewhere in the recesses of his consciousness.

Ivak appeared to notice the slight trembling of Yuer’s body. Without a second thought, he stepped forward blocking the younger youth from Jarak’s unkind eyes. His cold gaze fell upon his eldest brother and stayed there for a period. He then addressed Jarak in a neutral tone, “Many thanks, esteemed Malhada.”

He then laid a hand atop his eldest brother’s shoulder, patting it. Ivak leaned closer to the blonde’s ear and fiercely hissed, “That is my bonded you are trying to scare, esteemed Malhada. I advise you to keep your threatening stares and ugly looks to yourself. If you ever look at him that way again, I will gouge your eyes out.” Ivak’s hand, which was supposed to ‘amicably’ pat Jarak, dag viciously into the blonde’s flesh nearly drawing blood, “I hope I was clear enough for you, Your Highness.”

Stormy silver eyes bore into icy blue ones. The tension in the thin air between the two brothers was so palpable that Yuer could feel it physically pressing down his chest, making the act of breathing a little harder. Thankfully, the standoff didn’t last long and Ivak dropped his hand, bypassing Jarak not so gently. Before following his bonded-to-be, Yuer threw one last glance at the grim-looking Jarak. The latter glowered at him, a sign of his infamous temper getting the better of him. The Malhada snarled through tightly clenched jaws, “Yuer Ayaseen, today you have made the worst choice of your life and you will regret it for a lifetime to come.”

Hearing those particular words from this particular man made that trace of fear lodged in the back of Yuer’s mind dissolved entirely in a mere instance, just like insubstantial fog. The Dasrari youth cackled uproariously, the sound so free and unrestrained unlike anything that had ever escaped his mouth before. His dimples generously crinkled up the skin near his lips. Jarak appeared both irritated and confounded while Ivak turned back, thick black brows raised in surprise at the sound of Yuer’s laughter.

Barely managing to contain his mirth, Yuer retorted, “Perhaps I would regret it, perhaps I would not. Regardless of the outcome, it wouldn’t change the fact that you will never be half the man your second brother is.”

Yuer’s words must have touched a sore spot because Jarak's back tensed instantly. A muscle worked in his jaw. His ice blue eyes caught the light, glinting with cold anger and something else far uglier and bitterer. This was the Jarak Reznali Yuer knew. He, in fact, couldn’t have looked more like the Jarak in Yuer’s memories even if he tried. Unlike his past self, Yuer didn’t feel the instinctive urge to cower at the mere sight of that look. In truth, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself neither scared nor intimated by the blonde’s true and tried tactics. Yuer rationalized his newfound courage in the face of this man-beast as due to the latter’s being younger and smaller, no longer as towering and terrifying as Yuer’s memories made him out to be.

In front of this Jarak, he was no longer that naive and powerless youth of gone days. He no longer needed to fear this monster. In fact, it should be him who needed to fear Yuer. The reincarnated youth could easily tear him apart with his third Echo in less an instance but no, that wouldn’t bring Yuer any satisfaction. He needed to make this man-child repay his debts first, not only for what he had done to him but for what he had done to Sakina, to Ran’e, to Kanja and for what he might do to more people in the future. No one should go through what Yuer did. No one deserved that kind of torture. At this very moment, Yuer swore yet another oath to himself to never let this psychopathic, sorry excuse of human being remain unscathed.

Equipped by his newfound fearlessness, Yuer cautioned, “What you do unto others, you eventually do unto yourself, esteemed Malhada. You ought to watch your step. You never know when you might slip and fall.” Yuer then breezed by the seething Malhada, not caring enough to spare him another glance.

Yuer rejoined Ivak, who remained some paces away waiting for him. As soon as they began to descend down the short stairs to the floor of the hall, Yuer spoke, “You didn’t need to antagonize him just yet but you did it anyway for my sake. I thank you.”

Ivak didn't say anything else, a muscle tickling in his jaw.

Yuer halted and turned to him, “You are angry.”

Ivak confessed through clenched jaws, “I don’t like the way he looked at you. I wanted to pummel his face but I know I am in no position to do so.”

Yuer stare at Ivak for a moment before asking, “Why?”

Ivak looked back at him, black brows furrowed.“Why what? Why I wanted to do that?”

Yuer nodded.

“You are my people now. Neither he nor anyone has the right to threaten you under my watch.”

Yuer blinked few times before bursting into laughter.

Ivak frowned, “What? What’s so funny?”

Yuer pressed a hand to his cheek, “Nothing.”

Ivak looked unconvinced. He opened his mouth to ask further when Yuer laid a hand on his chest, halting his words. The younger youth fixed an askew button on Ivak’s black tonic then looked up at him, “Come with me, I have something to say to His Holiness.”