Chapter 21 - Consequences of Hallway Sneak-aways
Haron moved closer, with a deep frown etched into his face, and Ismena's heart skipped a beat.
Had he heard everything?
By the Sun, she holed he has heard. She hoped that her troubles with Stavan would finally come to and end tonight.
"Brother." Stavan turned to Haron with a smile. "There you are. I ran into Ismena here in the hallway. She was sleepwalking."
Ismena gritted her teeth. That wasn't what she had been doing… or was it? Maybe it was. She had been heading to the dungeon after all and there was no way in her right mind that she would have done that.
The thoughts of that prisoner flashed in her mind again and she tried to push it away.
"I think she must have been looking for you," Stavan ended, the lie coming so easily to him.
Ismena watched Haron's haze shift to her and she hoped with all her heart that he had heard Stavan. That he wouldn't easily get out of this as he used to.
She was tired of this!
"Ismena does not sleepwalk," he said, his voice cold. His grip around the torch in his hand seemed to tighten. The blue shirt was unbuttoned, and his hair looked ruffled – like he had dragged his hands through it many times.
He must have been looking for her.
"Why else would she be in the hallway then?" Stavan asked, turning to her. "Where were you going, sister-in-law?"
Her throat burned with the implied accusation.
He was doing it again.
She had to speak.
Now.
"I– I don't know," the words fell out of her mouth. "You were not in bed and I just found myself here." She frowned. "I was thirsty… I needed something to drink."
It was the truth, anyway. The truth without any mention of the prisoner or his dungeon.
"Classic signs of sleep walking."
"Maybe it is because of the blood… a side effect perhaps. They did say that we didn't know much about it yet…" she allowed her voice to trail off as she looked at Haron.
She hated the fact that she had to back Stavan but right now, the odds were stacked against her.
It was obvious Haron had not heard anything Stavan had said. Things would not end well for her at all if she were to tell Haron what Stavan had done, right in front of him.
So, for now she would bid her time.
"You seemed very much yourself now," Haron finally said.
"Yes, Stavan," the name tasted bitter, "helped to wake me up."
"She still hasn't thanked me for that," he mused and she forced a smile on her lips.
"Thank you."
"Too late for words now, sister-in-law. You will just have to pay me your gratitude by having a conversation with my Ladymynor Dali about these exquisite handkerchiefs. She loves embroidery just like you and I think you would be wonderful company to her, Ismena."
Repulsion bristled in her bones. "Of course."
"I would also like to meet this Ladymynor Dali," Haron said, shoving the torch into Stavan's hand. "For a Lamb with a decade of celibacy by oath, you do seem to talk about her a lot."
The edge in his voice was gone, but Ismena could still see the slight stiffness if his shoulders.
He took the candle lantern from her and his hand went around her waist, the grip tight.
Stavan fought not to look at that point of contact, instead he kept his eyes trained on Haron, and smiled shyly. "Must you turtore me with that remembrance."
Haron laughed. "I live to turtore you, brother." He pressed a kiss to Ismena's head. "I did not find you in bed. I was absolutely worried."
"I am sorry," she choked out the words. Very aware of Stavan's presence and hoping that this would wake him up to the reality that she was not his, or anyone else's to have.
She already had a husband.
One she loved. One that was enough.
"We will call on the royal physicians to look into this." His grip around her became gentle and he looked at Stavan. "Thank you. You have been of such great help lately. You may ask the Castle's Master of the Coins for a bonus."
Stavan laughed. "Careful now, I might just ask for everything in the Treasury."
Haron laughed as he started walking away from Stavan with his hand still around Ismena. "Now don't be so greedy to put Ragma into debt. We have a war at our hands."
"Of course," Stavan called after them. "Goodnight brother."
Haron stopped, and turned to him. "About Ladymynor Dali," his grip tightened around Ismena. "When will I be meeting her?"
A moment passed.
A pause too long that Ismena had to look back at Stavan. He wasn't looking at her but she knew his next words were meant for her.
"Soon. Very soon."
Bastard.
____
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The moment they stepped into Haron's room, his eyes turned cold and his face wore rage.
"What were you doing with him?"
"Haron?" She froze in fear.
Pretend.
She didn't think she would have to do this so soon. She didn't think she would have to do this at all. But he was angry, she must understand that. Once he could stop being angry, then he could be her Haron again and they would walk through this together.
"Tell me."
"I was— I was sleep walking–" the words vanished from her lips as he brought the candles between them, dangerously close to her face.
Panic.
The flames were so close and even if she were to try to blow them out, Haron would be too fast.
The damage would have already been done.
"Don't lie to me."
Something in the pit of her belly trembled greatly.
This was a type of rage she had never seen from Haron before.
"The truth… the truth is that," she held his gaze, noe determined to say the truth and maybe this time, it would actually work.
Stavan was not here.
If Haron was still suspicious, and had pretended in front of Stavan, then maybe there was hope for her.
"Stavan," she began. Haron frowned and he seemed to have caught an insight of what she was about to say. "He has been—"
The force with which she was thrown against the wall, numbed her.
"Witch!" She heard Haron's voice thundered through the space.
She wanted to say something to exonerate herself from the implied accusations but she couldn't move.
Her head felt heavier than it had before. There was a sharp ringing in her ears that drowned his voice out and her legs were too weak to hold her weight. Her sight was foggy and her slow blinks did nothing to clear it up.
The room tilted.
She felt herself slipping to the ground, her head scraping against the wall with pain as she moved.
She felt something running down her neck.
Then she smelt it.
Blood.
Her blood.