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Bound to Ares of Olympus - FULL | Reelshort
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00:01I was born with heavy breasts and lush curves
00:04My sister Helena was afraid her husband Damon would lose his mind over me
00:08So she arranged for me to be wed to an impotent man
00:11She patted my shoulder
00:14A man who can't perform there is probably exceptional everywhere else
00:18Three months later I was begging for mercy every single night
00:22I desperately wanted to ask Helena what she meant by can't get hard
00:27Funny, he seemed good at everything
00:29Alexander, Arathon's undefeated commander and the king's most trusted warlord
00:34Was carried back from the northern border on a littered coast through the flood
00:38The spear had gone down
00:40By the time the army reached the city gates, he had lost consciousness twice
00:44If a dying man was bound to a living, healthy woman
00:47Her vitality could tether him back to life
00:50His mother, Lady Corina, had already buried her husband
00:53Now she stood at the edge of burying her son
00:56Helena presented me to Lady Corina before I could find words to object
01:00I had no real choice
01:02Or I would starve
01:03If I refused, she would have me sent to work in the outer estates
01:07The salt flats, the ones that broke people in a season
01:10I knew she had never forgiven me for my history with Damon
01:13Please, I swear Damon and I are just friends
01:18What good is a vow?
01:20Do you have any idea how distracting your big boobs are?
01:24I wanted to tell her to bind my chest
01:26I'd wrapped myself layer after layer in the sweltering heat
01:30Until I broke out in a rash
01:33Walking through this house with that body
01:35Which man here wouldn't lose himself the moment he looked at you?
01:39It's not that I don't trust you
01:41It's that I don't trust men
01:43Do you know who he is?
01:45The Aries
01:47If my mother and Corina weren't old friends
01:49You wouldn't even be considered for this
01:51Helena, I don't want to be anyone's deathbed offering
01:55Please, don't make me
01:59Iris
02:00Are you loose your mind?
02:03You should be grateful
02:04The door opened
02:05A household servant stepped in, breathless
02:08My lady Helena
02:09Word from the Vos Estate
02:11Alexander has woken up
02:12Helena dragged me to the Vos Estate
02:14I followed her through the entrance hall
02:16To a heavy door
02:17Through the gap
02:18I caught the shape of a man on a low bed
02:20Thin, still
02:21His chest moves with the shallow, effortful rhythm
02:25Lady Corina stood near the window
02:27Eyes red
02:28She took Helena's hands
02:29Helena
02:30Thank you for everything you've done for my son
02:32He's pulled through
02:34There's no need to bind a girl to a dying man
02:36I won't destroy someone's future over it
02:38Helena's eyes moved
02:39Calculated
02:40Quick
02:41Lady Corinda, the marriage should still go forward
02:43Iris arrived the same morning Alexander woke
02:46That's the God's doing, not coincidence
02:48Complete the rite properly
02:50Her vitality will keep drawing him back towards health
02:53Corina hesitated
02:54She looked at me
02:55The household physician stepped out from the room
02:58His face tight
02:59Lord Alexander has regained consciousness
03:02But the spear struck deep into his inner thigh
03:04And the damage to the surrounding tissue
03:06I'm afraid he will no longer be able to perform as a husband
03:09He can't
03:10Helena looked more stricken than Corina
03:12He will not be able to get hard
03:14Possibly ever
03:15Corina's knees gave
03:16I caught her before she hit the floor
03:18She looked up at me with hollowed eyes
03:20Knowing this
03:21Do you still want this?
03:23Of course she does
03:24She's no one
03:25She should be grateful for the name
03:27I didn't speak right away
03:28My mother had been a physician's assistant
03:30A skilled one
03:31My father had courted her without mentioning he already had a wife
03:35She found out when she was already carrying me
03:37She died the night I was born
03:39He brought me into the household anyway
03:41Gave me a roof, a name, a place that was never quite mine
03:45When he died, that ended
03:47Helena's mother had never wanted me there
03:49Without my father, I had no ground
03:51I learned healing technique from my mother's old notes
03:54The only thing left of her
03:55The one skill that kept me from being put out
03:58There had been a young scholar in the narrow streets behind our estate
04:01Damon
04:02Poor, hungry
04:03Grinding toward the city examinations on nothing
04:06I had passed food through the fence for two years
04:09I thought he would remember
04:10I went to him the night before everything fell apart
04:13He didn't open the gate
04:15Iris, I'm betrothed now
04:17It wouldn't be proper
04:18A small coin purse dropped over the wall into the dirt
04:21Consider the debt repaid
04:22I picked it up and walked away
04:24That scholar became Helena's husband
04:27I acted as though I had never known him
04:29Helena found out anyway
04:30My lady
04:32I'm willing
04:33I'll complete the right
04:35Care for Alexander and serve your household as long as you need me
04:38Corinna kept her word
04:39She had a proper wedding garment prepared
04:41She treated the ceremony with full dignity
04:44Helena chose a day when Damon was away on city business to walk me out
04:48She pressed my papers into my hands
04:50Guilt on her face
04:51Even though Alexander can't perform
04:54At least you're spared the pain of bearing children
04:57Don't worry
04:58A man who can't perform there is probably exceptional everywhere else
05:02None of it had crossed my mind honestly
05:04I told myself I was simply moving to a new household
05:07Alexander was too weak to stand through the full wedding rite
05:10I completed the ceremony beside his sword
05:13The one hanging on the wall of the great room
05:15Iron and plain
05:17The kind of weapon that had actually been used
05:19Lady Corinna watched from the front
05:22Eyes wet the whole time
05:23When it was done
05:24I was Alexander's wife
05:26His chamber was quiet when I pushed the door open
05:29He was already inside
05:30Half sitting against the headboard
05:32A plain linen robe open at the throat
05:34He turned when he heard me
05:36Up close he was strikingly handsome
05:38Strong jaw
05:39Dark eyes that looked at things directly without apology
05:43A face that had been outdoors for years and carried it well
05:46I never intended to have a wife
05:48He said
05:49Low and even
05:50If it doesn't trouble you
05:52We can keep this arrangement simple
05:53In name only
05:55Tonight the bed is yours
05:56He pointed to the couch against the far wall
05:59Tomorrow you move to the guest quarters
06:01He had thought through all of it
06:03It wasn't what I'd expected
06:04Alright
06:05Before the ceremony
06:06One of Corinna's older servants
06:08Had pressed something into my hands
06:10A small scroll
06:11There are other ways between a husband and wife
06:13You might find this useful someday
06:17I hadn't understood her until I unrolled it
06:20Heat moved through me
06:22Just from the first illustration
06:23Alexander was watching me from bed
06:25Is it too warm here?
06:26Eyes steady
06:27Direct
06:27The wedding garments are heavy
06:29I'm a little warm
06:30Wash up and rest then
06:32He pulled the blanket over himself
06:34And within minutes his breathing had evened out
06:37I set the scroll on the side table
06:39I unpinned my hair
06:41Then I changed
06:42Layered robes off piece by piece
06:44Until I was standing in nothing but my sleeping shift
06:47I turned to the polished bronze mirror on the wall
06:50The shift was not thick enough
06:52Heavy breasts straining against the linen
06:54Waist narrow
06:55Hips full
06:56Years of trying to make myself smaller
06:59In a thin shift at midnight
07:00There was nothing left to hide behind
07:02I stepped toward the lamp to turn it down
07:04And walked straight into his gaze
07:06He wasn't asleep
07:08His chest rose hard
07:10The tips of his ears had gone red
07:12His throat worked as he swallowed
07:14I grabbed my outer robe
07:15Alexander, I thought you were asleep
07:17A long pause
07:19I could sleep later
07:20Low, controlled
07:21Like he was holding something back by force
07:24My breath caught
07:25He rose to his feet slowly
07:27Tall
07:27His shadow fell over me
07:42Every image from that scroll flooded back
07:44My breathing shifted without me meaning it to
07:46Somehow falling into the same rhythm as his
07:49Then Alexander turned and walked to the door
07:51The moment night air rushed in from the courtyard
07:54I came back to myself
07:55He was already gone
07:57I stood there in the lamplight
07:58When he looked at me just now
08:00The shock in his eyes
08:02Had I actually rattled the most feared warlord in Arathon?
08:06I decided that tomorrow morning
08:07I was going to wear three layers of linen and a belt
08:10He came back sometime in the night
08:12His hair was damp at the ends
08:14When I woke in the morning he was already gone
08:16The room was empty and orderly
08:18His attendant Theo came in to check on me
08:25Alexander
08:26The night is cold
08:27Why didn't you call for someone to heat water?
08:30I'll have Nikos make you something for that
08:33A cold bath in your condition?
08:35I don't know what you were thinking
08:37I looked at Theo
08:38Does he usually take cold baths?
08:41Theo shrugged with the expression of someone
08:43Who had seen many things
08:45And commented on none of them
08:46I was fine
08:48And closed the door
08:49Then I added a third layer of linen
08:51Every woman in the upper city
08:53Was fine boned and carefully composed
08:55That was what was considered beautiful
08:57In Arathon's court circles
08:59My body was different
09:00Full
09:01Warm
09:02Soft
09:03In ways that drew the wrong kind of attention
09:05Alexander not wanting to look at me
09:07Was entirely predictable
09:08I went to greet Corinna that morning
09:10Alexander was already seated beside her
09:13She smiled like the sun had come out
09:15The moment she saw me
09:16Her face only changed when Alexander coughed
09:20Alexander
09:21Give us a moment
09:22I need to speak with Iris alone
09:23He left without argument
09:25Corinna waved to me to sit beside her
09:27She took my hand
09:28And looked at me with eyes
09:29That were still a little wet
09:31Iris
09:32My sweet girl
09:34My son waking up
09:35Is more than I dared ask for
09:37But I can't let that gift
09:39Become your cage
09:40Her smile faded at the edges
09:41Nico says the damage
09:43May be permanent
09:44No one knows
09:45How much time he has
09:46Some in the household
09:47Have suggested
09:48I name a cousin's son
09:50As heir
09:51But that would trap here for nothing
09:53You came to give him strength
09:54And I am already grateful for it
09:56I can't ask you to give him
09:57The rest of your life too
09:59I've already thought it through
10:00If the worst comes
10:01I'll have him release you
10:03From the marriage
10:04You'll be free
10:05I'll give you property
10:07And enough silver
10:08To live on your own terms
10:09I reached over
10:10And dried the corner of her eye
10:12Something ached in my chest
10:13Quiet and unannounced
10:15I had come here telling myself
10:17This was just a new household
10:18I hadn't expected her
10:19To be thinking of my future
10:21Before her own
10:22It made me think of my mother
10:23If she had lived
10:24If someone had done this for her
10:26Corinna laughed through her tears
10:28Look at me making you cry
10:30Iris
10:31Call me mother if you like
10:33You might as well
10:34Her voice softened
10:35Helena mentioned
10:36You know
10:36Healing technique
10:38Alexander's daily care
10:40The food
10:41The remedies
10:42Could you take that on?
10:44I just want him here
10:45A little longer
10:46That's my one
10:47Small selfishness
10:49Her voice roughened at the end
10:50I nodded
10:51I went to find Nikos
10:53And asked what he needed
10:55The last time I had done
10:56Serious healing work
10:58Was years ago
10:58Back when Damon
11:00Was still just a hungry student
11:01Living in two rented rooms
11:03Behind our estate wall
11:04He had collapsed
11:06At our back gate
11:07One afternoon
11:07From not eating
11:08For two days
11:09I was the one
11:10Who found him
11:11I made him soup
11:12I went through my mother's notes
11:14And put together
11:15A proper recovery regimen
11:17Herbs
11:17Timing
11:18What to avoid
11:19He got strong
11:21He passed his examinations
11:23He told Helena
11:24She used it to push me out
11:26He helped her do it
11:27I carried the tray
11:28Down the long corridor
11:30To Alexander's room
11:31He was at his desk
11:32Giving instructions
11:33To a young aide
11:34About supply routes
11:35Along the northern road
11:39I'll eat later
11:40He said
11:41Without looking up
11:42You should eat now
11:42The compounds in the broth
11:44Lose their effect
11:45If the stomach is empty
11:47He looked at the tray
11:48Then at me
11:49Going forward
11:50Have Theo bring these
11:51He knows the schedule
11:52I can bring them
11:54It isn't necessary
11:55It makes no difference
11:57It does
11:58Have Theo's do it
11:59He finished the broth
12:00And a few efficient swallows
12:01I'll be in the map room
12:02If you need me
12:02Said something to the aide
12:03And walked past me
12:04Without pausing
12:05That settled it
12:06Alexander of House Vos
12:08Did not want me
12:09In his space
12:09I followed his instruction
12:11After that
12:12Theo delivered
12:13Every meal to the study
12:14A week later
12:16At morning check
12:17With Corinna
12:17She was glowing
12:18Nikos came
12:19For his routine visit
12:21He says Alexander's color
12:23Is better than he's seen
12:24Since the injury
12:25Iris
12:26That's your doing
12:27Back in my room
12:28I added it
12:29To the small chest
12:30I kept by the window
12:31Bracelets
12:32An amber pin
12:33A pair of earrings
12:34Everything Corinna
12:35Had given me
12:35Since I arrived
12:39You never wear
12:40Any of it
12:41I will eventually
12:43If I ever leave
12:44It all converts
12:45To something useful
12:46Leave?
12:47You'd sell
12:48What Lady Caritta
12:49Gave you?
12:50Not while I'm here
12:52But if the marriage
12:53Is dissolved
12:53One day
12:54Yes
12:54That's just practical
13:02Lord Alexander
13:03I turned
13:05Alexander stood in the doorway
13:09Corinna had said
13:10His color was better
13:11He was still pale
13:13His expression closed
13:14And unreadable
13:15He looked at me
13:17With flat
13:17Measuring eyes
13:18My pulse jumped
13:20Alexander
13:21Did you need something?
13:24I left a field map
13:25In this room
13:26Looking for it
13:28I'll help you find it
13:29What does it look like?
13:32Theo had disappeared
13:34Quietly and completely
13:35As though he had never been there
13:37Rolled leather
13:37Brown cord
13:41I started checking the shelves
13:43He 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
13:54And his hand arrived at exactly the same moment
13:58His fingers covered mine for half a second
14:00The skin under his touch went instantly warm
14:05I tilted my head up to look at him from this close
14:07He was genuinely handsome
14:11Fair against dark brows
14:13Sharp cut features
14:15Eyes that held something underneath the surface that I couldn't name
14:18Like still deep water
14:21My throat tightened
14:23I turned back to the shelf
14:25I went up on my toes to reach further
14:28And lost my balance
14:29He caught me instinctively
14:31My 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
14:42I 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
14:55But a new problem arrived by messenger
14:57Damon had been sending letters
14:59Three in the past week
15:01Brief, angled
15:02The kind that said
15:04Meet me without saying it
15:05I burned them in the lamp without responding
15:08Today
15:09Theo appeared at my door
15:10Voice low
15:11Lady Iris
15:13Someone is waiting at the side gate
15:16He says he won't leave until you come out
15:18I already knew
15:19I walked out fast
15:21Through the garden
15:22And 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
15:40Iris
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
16:01Iris, come with me
16:03Alexander is finished
16:05Everyone in the city knows it
16:06It's foot in the grave
16:08One foot in the grave
16:09What 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
16:40Something cold moved through me
16:42Damon
16:44You had one thing for me
16:45Loyalty
16:46And 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
17:08Still as a wall
17:13Alexander
17:14I
17:14You just called yourself a Voss
17:16His eyes were level
17:17My face went warm
17:20I was making a point
17:21I didn't mean to presume
17:22You told him I was a warlord
17:24Who 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
17:39I 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
18:13His breath steady and warm
18:15His hand still around my arm
18:18Iris
18:19The remedy timing I said
18:21I should go check
18:22He let go
18:24I walked away without looking back
18:28Around the corner I stopped
18:29Pressed my back against the stone wall
18:31My heart was going completely haywire
18:33That was the first time I had seen anything other
18:37Than controlled distance in Alexander's face
18:41That night I dreamed about him
18:43His voice saying my name
18:45Made the whole dream feels like standing close to a fire
18:48I woke with my pulse pounding
18:50And the sheets twisted around me
18:52I called for a basin of cold water
18:54Theo brought it without comment
18:56And 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
19:04Getting up in the middle of the night
19:05To 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
19:22She'd like you both there
19:24I had been finding excuses to avoid shared meals all week
19:27Corinna had noticed
19:28I couldn't keep saying no
19:30I walked out to the inner courtyard
19:32As 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
19:42The spread on the table was everything I liked
19:45I stood there looking at it
19:46Alexander remembered
19:48He asked the kitchen this morning
19:52I looked across the table
19:55Alexander looked at his cup
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
20:21From the hillside estate
20:23The old press
20:25Don't let either of you drink too much
20:27Actually
20:28The 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
20:40And the sound of wind through the laurel
20:42To cover the silence
20:43I poured a cup
20:44And 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
20:54And up behind my eyes
20:56And everything softened slightly at the edges
20:58I reached toward the last small honey cake
21:00On the plate between us
21:02And 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
21:35His 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
21:43And was not going to waste it
21:45Footsteps on the stone path
21:48We broke apart
21:49It was Theo
21:51Carrying cloaks
21:52Lord Alexander
21:55Lady Karina
21:56Said the night is getting cold
21:58She wanted me to
22:00I'll just
22:00Leave these here
22:04My legs went unreliable
22:06Everything went dark
22:08I woke to morning light
22:10Coming through the window
22:11At the wrong angle
22:12When I woke up
22:13The morning light
22:14Shone through the window
22:15I sat up fast
22:17Corinna
22:18The temple visit
22:19I 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
22:44And calling him my husband
22:46Over and over
22:47He went so red
22:48I thought he was going to need Nikos
22:49Theo
22:50If you tell anyone
22:52If you tell anyone
22:53He was already gone
22:59I found Corinna at the front gate
23:05We took the carriage to the temple of the healing god
23:08She went every week
23:09She said
23:10To give thanks
23:12Corinna glanced over
23:13You'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
23:56We were moving
23:57We cannot stop
24:00The carriage swerved hard to the left
24:02And the road tilted under us
24:04And kept going
24:05I looked ahead through the carriage window
24:08Through the door
24:09Now
24:12Hold on to me
24:14We go on three
24:16Iris, that wall is faster than we are
24:18If we stay in the carriage, we die
24:24And the moment I pulled us both out
24:26We hit the slope hard
24:31The carriage struck the wall ahead of us with a sound like the world was getting
24:36Karina
24:38Tell me where it hurts
24:39Tell me everything
24:41I'm...Iris, you're bleeding
24:42The gravel had opened my shoulder and one side of my face
24:45I didn't feel it yet
24:50I didn't feel it yet
25:15Where are you hurt?
25:15While my whole body was screaming
25:16Footsteps 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, jaw locked
25:29Eyes already scanning me for damage
25:31He took my arm in both hands and turned it over
25:34How much of this blood is yours?
25:38Surface wounds
25:39I'm fine
25:40Stop 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
25:49She raised her hand
25:51I'm...all right
25:52And pointed back at me
25:53He turned back
25:55He tied the cloak around my shoulder and then
25:57Without asking
25:58Lifted me off the ground
26:00I was in his arms
26:01Off the slope
26:03Against his chest
26:04I could feel how fast his heart was going, he said
26:07You could have been killed
26:08Quiet
26:09Like he was saying it to himself and couldn't stop
26:13He carried me to the road
26:15I can walk by myself
26:16He did not respond to this
26:18By the time Nikos arrived
26:19Alexander's face was still wrong
26:22Too tight
26:22Something in his eyes that had not been released
26:26Iris 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
26:35Arms crossed
26:36Looking 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
26:54I 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
27:07Deep bruising across your back
27:09Two fingers he wrapped tightly and told me not to use
27:12I lay there after he left and looked at the ceiling
27:15Theo came in with broth
27:17The carriage had been tampered with
27:20Something in the wheel mechanism
27:21The 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
27:31Alexander
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
27:42Do 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
27:56Something in it had shifted entirely
27:58Iris
27:59I need to tell you something
28:00I've known for weeks that I was going to have to dissolve this marriage
28:02I asked Nikos to begin preparing the docutation
28:05My chest went completely still
28:07I knew you were waiting for it
28:08The 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
28:28I 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
29:21The CEO found me in the corridor
29:22He would never
29:24You know that
29:24I sat down
29:25I made myself think
29:27My mother had treated a council official years ago
29:29He 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
29:38He was still on the war council board
29:38He was still on the war council board
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