(Azriel Pov)
We walked in companionable silence. The air was cool, and it was a bright day, with a few candyfloss clouds in the sky. The gardens bloomed with flowers, aromatic shrubs and trees. We walked under a bower flowering with wild roses, lush and aromatic.
I watched my companion from under my lashes sideways so as not to let him know I was looking at him. He was stoic, unmoved by the beauty around him and I wondered if his Northern sensibility could appreciate the well laid out grounds that my mother so meticulously maintained.
"Tell me of the whisperers, Azriel."
I shivered. The way he said my name sounded like a caress. He was looking at me intently and I swallowed.
"My Lord?"
"Call me Ashmeer," he murmured.
"I...."
He smiled, "Very well, My Lord it is, Little one! So tell me of the whisperers of Andora."
I hesitated. The whisperers of Andora were special to the state. We didn't often speak of them to outsiders. To be honest, the Duke and his brother were the first two outsiders I had ever met. I did not know where to begin. Yet to not answer would be rude and I framed my words carefully.
"The whisperers of Andora are a clan, Ash...My Lord! They are one with the land. They whisper to the land for the crops to grow, for the mines to yield their precious ore. It is not a demand, but a song that they whisper and the lands and the crops and the mountains they sing back to them."
"So, you would not be able to whisper to the land?"
"No, but mother and Malvin can. I have my test in the beginning of the spring as well, before my court debut. If I am a whisperer, then my future will be very different from that of my sisters."
"How so?" He asked softly, almost in a whisper.
"I would then choose to stay on Andora and not marry. I would join the trade for farming or mines and help the state."
"That would be a waste of a beautiful woman," he murmured and I looked at him in shock.
"My Lord...."
He smiled at me and looked deep into my eyes. For a moment, I forgot his scar and fell into the inky black pupils. I could see the gold flecks in them and time stood still. The music from the garden faded away and I could hear my own heart beating very fast. We stood there facing each other for a long moment, till he looked away breaking the spell.
"Azriel," he said, "I do hope you always get what you want from your future. The world is becoming a dark place and I do hope that you have the strength to navigate it well."
I nodded, unable to speak. I had not expected this moment. My heart was churning with strange emotions and in my mind I was back at the ruined castle, in the claws of the giant bird, flying over the world at breakneck speed.
Suddenly Ashmeer stopped and said, "I have made you sad Little One! Let us dance, awhile. I am but a rough Northern man with morbid thoughts. I am not used to small talk and flirtations of the court. Pardon my behaviour and let me make it upto you."
"Of course, My Lord, whatever would be your fancy."
He gave a sardonic smile and said, "I have many fancies Little One, many indeed, but for now, perhaps a chaste dance with you will have to be enough."