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00:01I was born with heavy breasts and lush curves. My sister Helena was afraid her
00:06husband Damon would lose his mind over me. So she arranged for me to be wed to an
00:10impotent man. She patted my shoulder. A man who can't perform there is probably
00:17exceptional everywhere else. Three months later I was begging for mercy every
00:21single night. I desperately wanted to ask Helena what she meant by can't get hard.
00:27Funny, he seemed good at everything. Alexander, Arathon's undefeated commander
00:32and the king's most trusted werewolf, was carried back from the northern border on a littered
00:37coast through the flood. The spear had gone down. By the time the army reached the city
00:42gates, he had lost consciousness twice. If a dying man was bound to a living, healthy
00:47woman, her vitality could tether him back to life. His mother, Lady Corinna, had already
00:53buried her husband. Now she stood at the edge of burying her son. Helena presented
00:57me to Lady Corinna before I could find words to object. I had no real choice, or I would
01:02starve. If I refused, she would have me sent to work in the outer estates, the salt flats,
01:08the ones that broke people in a season. I knew she had never forgiven me for my history with
01:12Damon. Please, I swear Damon and I are just friends. What good is a vow? Do you have any
01:21idea how distracting your big boobs are? I wanted to tell her to bind my chest. I'd wrapped myself
01:28layer after layer in the sweltering heat until I broke out in a rash. Walking through this house
01:34with that body, which man here wouldn't lose himself the moment he looked at you? It's not
01:40that I don't trust you. It's that I don't trust men. Do you know who he is? The Aries. If
01:47my
01:48mother and Corinna weren't old friends, you wouldn't even be considered for this. Helena,
01:52I don't want to be anyone's deathbed offering. Please don't make me-
02:00Iris, are you loose your mind? You should be grateful. The door opened. A household servant
02:07stepped in, breathless. My Lady Helena, word from the Vos Estate. Alexander has woken up.
02:13Helena dragged me to the Vos Estate. I followed her through the entrance hall to a heavy door.
02:17Through the gap, I caught the shape of a man on a low bed, thin, still. His chest moves with
02:23the
02:23shallow, effortful rhythm. Lady Corinna stood near the window, eyes red. She took Helena's hands.
02:30Helena, thank you for everything you've done for my son. He's pulled through. There's no need to
02:35bind a girl to a dying man. I won't destroy someone's future over it. Helena's eyes moved,
02:40calculated, quick. Lady Corinna, the marriage should still go forward. Iris arrived the same
02:45morning Alexander woke. That's the God's doing, not coincidence. Complete the rite properly. Her
02:51vitality will keep drawing him back towards health. Corinna hesitated. She looked at me. The
02:56household physician stepped out from the room, his face tight. Lord Alexander has regained
03:01consciousness. But the spear struck deep into his inner thigh, and the damage to the surrounding
03:06tissue. I'm afraid he will no longer be able to perform as a husband. He can't. Helena looked more
03:11stricken than Corinna. He will not be able to get hard, possibly ever. Corinna's knees gave. I caught
03:17her before she hit the floor. She looked up at me with hollowed eyes. Knowing this, do you still want
03:22this? Of course she does. She's no one. She should be grateful for the name. I didn't speak right away.
03:28My mother had been a physician's assistant. A skilled one. My father had courted her without
03:33mentioning he already had a wife. She found out when she was already carrying me. She died the
03:38night I was born. He brought me into the household anyway. Gave me a roof, a name, a place that
03:44was
03:44never quite mine. When he died, that ended. Helena's mother had never wanted me there. Without my father,
03:50I had no ground. I learned healing technique from my mother's old notes, the only thing left of her.
03:55The one skill that kept me from being put out. There had been a young scholar in the narrow
04:00streets behind our estate. Damon. Poor, hungry, grinding toward the city examinations on nothing.
04:07I had passed food through the fence for two years. I thought he would remember. I went to him the
04:12night
04:12before everything fell apart. He didn't open the gate. Iris, I'm betrothed now. It wouldn't be proper.
04:18A small coin purse dropped over the wall into the dirt. Consider the debt repaid. I picked it up and
04:24walked away. That scholar became Helena's husband. I acted as though I had never known him. Helena
04:29found out anyway. My lady, I'm willing. I'll complete the right, care for Alexander, and serve
04:36your household as long as you need me. Corinna kept her word. She had a proper wedding garment
04:41prepared. She treated the ceremony with full dignity. Helena chose a day when Damon was away on city
04:46business to walk me out. She pressed my papers into my hands, guilt on her face. Even though
04:52Alexander can't perform, at least you're spared the pain of bearing children. Don't worry. A man
04:59who can't perform there is probably exceptional everywhere else. None of it had crossed my mind,
05:04honestly. I told myself I was simply moving to a new household. Alexander was too weak to stand
05:09through the full wedding rite. I completed the ceremony beside his sword. The one hanging on the
05:14wall of the great room. Iron and plain. The kind of weapon that had actually been used. Lady Corinna
05:21watched from the front. Eyes wet the whole time. When it was done, I was Alexander's wife. His
05:26chamber was quiet when I pushed the door open. He was already inside, half sitting against the
05:31headboard. A plain linen robe open at the throat. He turned when he heard me. Up close, he was
05:37strikingly handsome. Strong jaw. Dark eyes that looked at things directly without apology. A face that had
05:44been outdoors for years and carried it well. I never intended to have a wife, he said, low and even.
05:50If it doesn't trouble you, we can keep this arrangement simple. In name only. Tonight the bed is
05:56yours. He pointed to the couch against the far wall. Tomorrow you move to the guest quarters. He had
06:02thought through all of it. It wasn't what I'd expected. All right. Before the ceremony, one of
06:07Corinna's older servants had pressed something into my hands. A small scroll. There are other ways
06:12between a husband and wife. You might find this useful someday. I hadn't understood her until I
06:19unrolled it. Heat moved through me just from the first illustration. Alexander was watching me from
06:25bed. Is it too warm here? Eyes steady, direct. The wedding garments are heavy. I'm a little warm.
06:31Wash up and rest then. He pulled the blanket over himself and within minutes, his breathing had
06:36evened out. I set the scroll on the side table. I unpinned my hair. Then I changed, layered robes
06:43off piece by piece, until I was standing in nothing but my sleeping shift. I turned to the polished
06:49bronze mirror on the wall. The shift was not thick enough. Heavy breasts straining against the linen,
06:54waist narrow, hips full. Years of trying to make myself smaller. In a thin shift at midnight, there was
07:01nothing left to hide behind. I stepped toward the lamp to turn it down and walked straight into his gaze.
07:06He wasn't asleep. His chest rose hard. The tips of his ears had gone red. His throat worked as he
07:13swallowed. I grabbed my outer robe. Alexander, I thought you were asleep. A long pause. I could sleep
07:20later. Low, controlled. Like he was holding something back by force. My breath caught. He rose to his feet
07:26slowly. Tall. His shadow fell over me.
07:42Every image from that scroll flooded back. My breathing shifted without me meaning it to, somehow falling into the
07:48same rhythm as his. Then Alexander turned and walked to the door. The moment night air rushed in from the
07:53courtyard, I came back to myself. He was already gone. I stood there in the lamp light. When he looked
07:59at
07:59me just now, the shock in his eyes. Had I actually rattled the most feared warlord in Arathon? I decided
08:06that tomorrow morning, I was going to wear three layers of linen and a belt. He came back sometime in
08:12the night. His hair was damp at the ends. When I woke in the morning, he was already gone. The
08:17room was
08:17empty and orderly. His attendant, Theo, came in to check on me.
08:26Alexander, the night is cold. Why didn't you call for someone to heat water? I'll have Nikos make you
08:31something for that. A cold bath in your condition? I don't know what you were thinking.
08:37I looked at Theo. Does he usually take cold baths? Theo shrugged with the expression of someone who had seen
08:44many things and commented on none of them. I was fine. And closed the door. Then I added a third
08:50layer of
08:51linen. Every woman in the upper city was fine-boned and carefully composed. That was what was considered
08:56beautiful in Arathon's court circles. My body was different. Full, warm, soft in ways that drew the wrong
09:04kind of attention. Alexander not wanting to look at me was entirely predictable. I went to greet
09:10Corinna that morning. Alexander was already seated beside her. She smiled like the sun had come out
09:15the moment she saw me. Her face only changed when Alexander coughed. Alexander, give us a moment. I need
09:22to speak with Iris alone. He left without argument. Corinna waved to me to sit beside her. She took my
09:28hand
09:28and looked at me with eyes that were still a little wet. Iris, my sweet girl. My son waking up
09:35is more
09:36than I dared ask for. But I can't let that gift become your cage. Her smile faded at the edges.
09:42Nico says the damage may be permanent. No one knows how much time he has. Some in the household have
09:47suggested I name a cousin's son as heir. But that would trap here for nothing. You came to give him
09:54strength and I am already grateful for it. I can't ask you to give him the rest of your life
09:58too. I've
09:59already thought it through. If the worst comes, I'll have him release you from the marriage.
10:04You'll be free. I'll give you property and enough silver to live on your own terms.
10:10I reached over and dried the corner of her eye. Something ached in my chest, quiet and unannounced.
10:15I had come here telling myself this was just a new household. I hadn't expected her to be thinking
10:20of my future before her own. It made me think of my mother. If she had lived. If someone had
10:25done
10:25this for her. Corinna laughed through her tears. Look at me making you cry. Iris, call me mother if
10:32you like. You might as well. Her voice softened. Helena mentioned, you know, healing technique.
10:38Alexander's daily care. The food, the remedies. Could you take that on? I just want him here a
10:46little longer. That's my one small selfishness. Her voice roughened at the end. I nodded. I went to
10:52find Nikos and asked what he needed. The last time I had done serious healing work was years ago,
10:59back when Damon was still just a hungry student living in two rented rooms behind our estate wall.
11:05He had collapsed at our back gate one afternoon from not eating for two days. I was the one who
11:10found
11:11him. I made him soup. I went through my mother's notes and put together a proper recovery regimen.
11:17Herbs, timing, what to avoid. He got strong. He passed his examinations. He told Helena. She used it
11:25to push me out. He helped her do it. I carried the tray down the long corridor to Alexander's room.
11:31He was at his desk giving instructions to a young aide about supply routes along the northern road.
11:39I'll eat later, he said without looking up. You should eat now. The compounds in the broth lose
11:45their effect if the stomach is empty. He looked at the tray, then at me. Going forward, have Theo
11:51bring these. He knows the schedule. I can bring them. It isn't necessary. It makes no difference. It
11:57does. Have Theo's do it. He finished the broth and a few efficient swallows, said something to the
12:03aid and walked past me without pausing. That settled it. Alexander of House Vos did not want me in his
12:09space. I followed his instruction. After that, Theo delivered every meal to the study. A week later,
12:16at morning check with Corinna, she was glowing. Nikos came for his routine visit. He says Alexander's
12:22color is better than he's seen since the injury. Iris, that's your doing. Back in my room, I added it
12:29to
12:29the small chest I kept by the window. Bracelets, an amber pin, a pair of earrings. Everything
12:34Corinna had given me since I arrived.
12:39You never wear any of it.
12:42I will eventually. If I ever leave, it all converts to something useful.
12:46Leave? You'd sell what Lady Corita gave you?
12:50Not while I'm here. But if the marriage is dissolved one day, yes.
12:54That's just practical.
13:02Lord Alexander.
13:03I turned.
13:05Alexander stood in the doorway.
13:09Corinna had said his color was better. He was still pale, his expression closed and unreadable.
13:15He looked at me with flat, measuring eyes. My pulse jumped.
13:21Alexander, did you need something?
13:24I left a field map in this room, looking for it.
13:28I'll help you find it. What does it look like?
13:32Theo had disappeared. Quietly and completely, as though he had never been there.
13:37Rolled leather, brown cord.
13:41I started checking the shelves. He moved to the other side.
13:46Any idea where you left it?
13:49No.
13:50We searched in silence.
13:52I reached up toward the top shelf, and his hand arrived at exactly the same moment.
13:58His fingers covered mine for half a second.
14:01The skin under his touch went instantly warm.
14:04I tilted my head up to look at him from this close.
14:08He was genuinely handsome.
14:11Fair against dark brows, sharp cut features, eyes that held something underneath the surface that I couldn't name, like still
14:19deep water.
14:21My throat tightened.
14:23I turned back to the shelf.
14:25I went up on my toes to reach further, and lost my balance.
14:29He caught me instinctively.
14:32My chest was pressed tightly against him.
14:34I pulled back fast.
14:36Alexander's chest was rising and falling too hard.
14:39His face was red.
14:41Your map.
14:43I held it out.
14:44Keep it.
14:45He took it without looking at me and left.
14:47Right.
14:47Now he thought even less of me.
14:49After that, I avoided him deliberately.
14:51He was healing.
14:52He needed stillness.
14:53I was apparently not conducive to stillness.
14:56But a new problem arrived by messenger.
14:58Damon had been sending letters.
14:59Three in the past week.
15:01Brief, angled, the kind that said, meet me without saying it.
15:05I burned them in the lamp without responding.
15:08Today, Theo appeared at my door, voice low.
15:12Lady Iris, someone is waiting at the side gate.
15:16He says he won't leave until you come out.
15:18I already knew.
15:20I walked out fast.
15:21Through the garden, I noticed another shape following at a distance.
15:26Someone keeping pace along the far colonnade.
15:29But I didn't stop.
15:31I pushed open the side gate.
15:35Damon stood outside.
15:36He smiled the easy smile I used to believe in.
15:41Iris.
15:41You finally came.
15:44You can call me Lady Voss.
15:46Or nothing at all.
15:50I'm being considered for a senior position at the council.
15:55When that comes through.
15:58I won't need Helena's family connections anymore.
16:02Iris, come with me.
16:04Alexander is finished.
16:05Everyone in the city knows it.
16:07It's foot in the grave.
16:08One foot in the grave.
16:10What kind of future is that?
16:11He reached toward me.
16:12I stepped back.
16:15You want me as your kept woman?
16:17He nodded like it was a reasonable offer.
16:19I laughed.
16:21Actually laughed.
16:22Why would I leave a Voss marriage to be your secret?
16:26I have standing.
16:27I have a name.
16:30I have a household that has served this kingdom for three generations.
16:34Everyone in the upper city knows Alexander is done.
16:38Seems like a waste.
16:41Something cold moved through me.
16:43Damon.
16:44You had one thing from me.
16:46Loyalty.
16:47And you returned it with a coin purse over a wall.
16:49You want to push this?
16:51I have every letter you've sent me.
16:52I can have them in Helena's hands before sundown.
16:55How does your council appointment look after that?
16:58His face went white.
17:00I turned and walked back through the gate.
17:02I spun around inside and nearly walked into Alexander.
17:05He was standing two feet away in a plain dark cloak, still as a wall.
17:13Alexander, I...
17:15You just called yourself a Voss.
17:16His eyes were level.
17:18My face went warm.
17:20I was making a point.
17:21I didn't mean to presume.
17:23You told him I was a warlord who had served this kingdom for three generations.
17:27That's just true.
17:30Something moved behind his eyes.
17:33A moment ago you called me your husband.
17:37Now you're back to Alexander.
17:39I...
17:41I should go check on your afternoon remedy timing.
17:45I tried to step past him.
17:46His hand caught my arm.
17:48Steady, not rough.
17:50I stumbled sideways and fell against his chest.
17:53Again.
17:54I looked up at him from very close.
17:56His eyes were dark and direct.
17:59The things you said to him...
18:01Low.
18:03Were they true?
18:04I couldn't tell him it had all been a bluff for Damon's benefit.
18:07So I looked up at him.
18:09Alexander's eyes stayed on my face.
18:11The distance between us was wrong.
18:13Too close.
18:14His breath steady and warm.
18:16His hand still around my arm.
18:18Iris.
18:19The remedy timing, I...
18:21I should go check.
18:22He let go.
18:24I walked away without looking back.
18:28Around the corner I stopped.
18:30Pressed my back against the stone wall.
18:31My heart was going completely haywire.
18:33That was the first time I had seen anything other than controlled distance in Alexander's face.
18:41That night I dreamed about him.
18:43His voice saying my name made the whole dream feels like standing close to a fire.
18:48I woke with my pulse pounding and the sheets twisted around me.
18:52I called for a basin of cold water.
18:55Theo brought it without comment and looked at my damp hair on the way out.
18:59I pressed a handful of cold water against my face.
19:02Then I thought about Alexander getting up in the middle of the night to take a cold bath.
19:08I pushed the thought out immediately.
19:12His thigh was still healing.
19:14This was completely absurd.
19:16At midday, Corinna's attendant found me in the herb garden.
19:20Lady Corinna is taking supper in the courtyard this evening.
19:23She'd like you both there.
19:24I had been finding excuses to avoid shared meals all week.
19:27Corinna had noticed.
19:29I couldn't keep saying no.
19:30I walked out to the inner courtyard as the evening light came through the carved stone screens.
19:35The long table had been set simply.
19:37The old laurel tree in the corner was in flower.
19:39White blooms catching the last of the sun.
19:43The spread on the table was everything I liked.
19:45I stood there looking at it.
19:47Alexander remembered.
19:48He asked the kitchen this morning.
20:00How did you know today was my birthday?
20:03I forgot it myself.
20:04My mother had died the night I was born.
20:06No one had ever made a point of the date.
20:09The marriage documents.
20:12Your birth date was listed.
20:14Something moved in my chest.
20:16Small and uninvited.
20:19Iris, I've been saving this.
20:21Good wine.
20:22From the hillside estate, the old press.
20:25Don't let either of you drink too much.
20:27Actually, the evening air troubles my joints.
20:32I'll leave you two to enjoy it.
20:35She was gone before I could say anything.
20:37The courtyard went quiet.
20:39Just the two of us and the sound of wind through the laurel.
20:42To cover the silence, I poured a cup and drank it faster than I should have.
20:46It was sweet.
20:47It was also considerably stronger than it tasted.
20:50I poured another.
20:51Then another.
20:52The warmth spread through my chest and up behind my eyes.
20:56And everything softened slightly at the edges.
20:58I reached toward the last small honey cake on the plate between us and found it empty.
21:06Where did the last one go?
21:09I ate it.
21:10I don't know where the nerve came from.
21:12I leaned toward him across the table.
21:14Who let you take the last one?
21:16Give it back.
21:17Alexander looked at me for a long moment.
21:21Then he opened his mouth.
21:23Come and find it yourself.
21:24I stared at him.
21:25Then at his mouth.
21:27Then back at his eyes.
21:29I leaned forward and kissed him.
21:31He went completely still.
21:33His breath stopped.
21:34Then something gave way.
21:36His hand came up to the back of my head.
21:38And the kiss deepened.
21:39Slower.
21:40More certain.
21:41Like he had been waiting for exactly this and was not going to waste it.
21:45Footsteps on the stone path.
21:48We broke apart.
21:50It was Theo carrying cloaks.
21:52Lord Alexander.
21:55Lady Karina said the night is getting cold.
21:58She wanted me to...
21:59I'll just leave these here.
22:04My legs went unreliable.
22:06Everything went dark.
22:08I woke to morning light coming through the window at the wrong angle.
22:12When I woke up, the morning light shone through the window.
22:16I sat up fast.
22:18Karina.
22:18The temple visit.
22:20I had promised to go with her this morning.
22:22Don't rush.
22:23Theo appeared in the doorway.
22:24The carriage isn't ready yet.
22:30How did I get back here?
22:32Alexander carried you in.
22:34I looked at him.
22:37He nodded seriously.
22:39Did I...
22:40Did I say anything strange?
22:43You kept grabbing his sleeve and calling him my husband.
22:47Over and over.
22:47He went so red I thought he was going to need Nikos.
22:50Theo.
22:50If you tell anyone.
22:52If you tell anyone.
22:53He was already gone.
22:59I found Karina at the front gate.
23:05We took the carriage to the temple of the healing god.
23:08She went every week, she said, to give thanks.
23:12Karina glanced over.
23:14You're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about.
23:18I'm not thinking about anything.
23:20Iris.
23:23She was smiling at the window.
23:25I set that dinner up deliberately.
23:30I'm not even slightly sorry.
23:37Alexander and I aren't...
23:38I know, I know.
23:39I just want you two to actually speak to each other.
23:43Even if it stays simple.
23:45I'd rather you were at ease together than strangers under the same roof.
23:49I was about to answer her.
23:50The carriage lurched.
23:52The horses screamed.
23:53The brake!
23:54A sharp shout from the driver.
23:56You were moving and not stopping.
24:00The carriage swerved hard to the left and the road tilted under us and kept going.
24:05I looked ahead through the carriage window.
24:08Three, four, now!
24:12Hold on to me.
24:14We go on three.
24:16Iris, that wall is faster than we are.
24:19If we stay in the carriage, we die.
24:24And the moment I pulled us both out, we hit the slope hard.
24:31The carriage struck the wall ahead of us with a sound like the world was getting.
24:37Karina, tell me where it hurts.
24:39Tell me everything.
24:40I'm...
24:41Iris, you're bleeding.
24:42The gravel had opened my shoulder and one side of my face.
24:45I didn't feel it yet.
24:47Where are you hurt?
24:49Specifically?
24:50Nothing serious.
24:52Iris.
24:53Iris.
24:54You held me the entire way down.
24:56You took all of it yourself.
24:58I helped her sit upright against the slope and looked back up the road.
25:02The driver had been thrown clear earlier.
25:04I could see him moving, alive.
25:06Theo's horse was already coming down the hill at speed.
25:08They'll be here in moments.
25:10Stay still.
25:11I heard my own voice from a distance.
25:13Calm.
25:14Even.
25:15While my whole body was screaming.
25:17Footsteps running, coming fast down the embankment.
25:19Then a voice I was not expecting.
25:21Iris, don't move.
25:22I have you.
25:24Alexander came down the slope in three long strides.
25:27Pale.
25:28Jaw locked.
25:29Eyes already scanning me for damage.
25:32He took my arm in both hands and turned it over.
25:34How much of this blood is yours?
25:38Surface wounds.
25:40I'm fine.
25:41Stop saying that.
25:43He pulled off his cloak and pressed it hard against my shoulder.
25:47You are not fine.
25:48He looked at his mother.
25:50She raised her hand.
25:51I'm alright.
25:52And pointed back at me.
25:54He turned back.
25:55He tied the cloak around my shoulder and then, without asking, lifted me off the ground.
26:00I was in his arms.
26:02Off the slope.
26:03Against his chest.
26:04I could feel how fast his heart was going.
26:06He said.
26:07You could have been killed.
26:08Quiet.
26:09Quiet.
26:10Like he was saying it to himself and couldn't stop.
26:13He carried me to the road.
26:15I can walk by myself.
26:17He did not respond to this.
26:18By the time Nikos arrived, Alexander's face was still wrong.
26:22Too tight.
26:22Something in his eyes that had not been released.
26:26Iris pulled me out.
26:28Iris pulled me out.
26:28She covered me completely.
26:30I came away without a mark because of her.
26:33Alexander stood at the edge of the group, arms crossed, looking at me.
26:37I looked back.
26:38You need to stay still.
26:39I know.
26:40We're going straight back and Nikos is doing a full examination.
26:43I know.
26:45He helped me into the carriage.
26:46We rode back in silence.
26:48His hand stayed on the seat behind me the whole way.
26:50Not touching.
26:51Just there.
26:52At some point, I felt something hit my face.
26:55I looked up at the clear afternoon sky.
26:57Then I understood it wasn't rain.
26:58I reached over and covered his hand with mine.
27:01He turned it palm up immediately and held on.
27:03I didn't let go.
27:04Stay off it for a week.
27:06No broken bones.
27:08Deep bruising across your back.
27:09Two fingers he wrapped tightly and told me not to use.
27:13I lay there after he left and looked at the ceiling.
27:16Theo came in with broth.
27:17The carriage had been tampered with.
27:20Something in the wheel mechanism.
27:22The household guard was already investigating.
27:24Who would go after Karita's carriage?
27:27And why now?
27:29I was still turning it over when the door opened.
27:32Alexander.
27:33He came in and sat in the chair beside the bed without speaking.
27:37He set a small wooden box on the nightstand.
27:40The wheel pin was pulled.
27:41It wasn't an accident.
27:43Do you know who?
27:44Working on it.
27:45He looked at my wrapped hand.
27:46The muscle in his jaw moved.
27:48You kept my mother from going over that wall.
27:50She would have done the same for me.
27:52That isn't the point.
27:53Quiet again.
27:54When he looked at me this time, something in it had shifted entirely.
27:58Iris, I need to tell you something.
28:00I've known for weeks that I was going to have to dissolve this marriage.
28:03I asked Nikos to begin preparing the docutation.
28:05My chest went completely still.
28:07I knew you were waiting for it.
28:09The way you kept your distance.
28:11The chest you were filling.
28:12You were always going to leave.
28:14I told myself I was simply doing it for you before you had to ask.
28:17The papers are ready.
28:18You can go whenever you choose.
28:20I've had an account prepared.
28:22Property and silver.
28:23Enough to live on your own terms for as long as you need.
28:26You don't have to wait for the worst.
28:27You don't have to keep pretending.
28:29I know you've been counting the days.
28:31You don't have to do that anymore.
28:32Just go.
28:33He stood up and walked out.
28:34I sat there in the silence after the door closed.
28:37In your mind.
28:38That is who I am.
28:39My throat was burning.
28:40I could not find words for what was sitting in my chest.
28:43I just looked at the door for a long time.
28:45The next morning, Alexander was gone before I woke.
28:48By midday, word had reached the household from the city council offices.
28:52Corinna found me before I heard it from anyone else.
28:54Iris.
28:56Alexander.
28:57There's been a formal accusation submitted to the War Council.
29:01Someone has filed a report claiming he deliberately surrendered the Northern Pass two years ago.
29:06That he passed defensive positions to the enemy.
29:09That the army's losses that season were his doing.
29:11I read the council notice twice.
29:13Alexander had held that pass for three weeks against a force three times his size.
29:18And he had rushed to dissolve our marriage before this broke.
29:21Theo found me in the corridor.
29:23He would never.
29:24You know that.
29:25I sat down.
29:26I made myself think.
29:27My mother had treated a council official years ago.
29:30He had come to thank my father afterward.
29:31I remembered his name.
29:33I remembered his face.
29:34He was still on the War Council board.
29:36I spent the next hour finding.
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