They rode away from the Great Goddess's garden. Asiah watched it fall away, disappearing behind the large temple that guarded the sacred space.
"Ariadne, you haven't spoken a word since I've awakened."
Asiah turned her gaze over to the man from the statue. Kavaris. It was dark inside the carriage and only slivers of moonlight peeking through the curtains covering the window provided light. Such light shone on his face now as the curtains were parted by the wind. The light from the moons on his face made him seem even more unreal. Like she'd thought when she'd seen him in marble, there was no way one could look at him and not know at once that he was the son of a goddess.
Even weakened from centuries as marble, he was the most stunning man she'd ever encountered. Hair as dark as fresh ink and fine as Faerie silk. His jawline seemed as hard and sharp as the marble he came out of just minutes ago, though his lips were pillowy soft. His eyes--as gold and radiant as the sun itself--were earnest as he looked at her.
Ah, to him she must have been his Ariadne, the love he had waited for. Perhaps he believed in the legends, too. Perhaps the gods had told him such a thing. But, at the expense of being sacrilegious, they were wrong. She was not the Priestess of Order and Chaos, the keeper of balance.
"I'm not Ariadne," she said, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. She couldn't bring herself to look into his earnest eyes and watch his heart break. "I know how long you must have waited for her. For centuries the stories say. I pray to the gods that one day you will reunite, but the woman you're looking for isn't me. I..." She blew out a sigh. "The Elven woman was right. The whole reason I came to the garden tonight was to steal from you."
She reached into the satchel they had allowed her to keep and pulled out the ring, placing it back in Kavaris's hand. The demi-god looked at it in surprise."The ring woke you up. As soon as I took it off of you, the magic started coming undone."
Kavaris stared at the ring a few moments longer and then he turned his gaze to her. "You do not strike me as one who would steal without cause. The guilt of what you have done is written all over your face. Why have you done something that haunts you so?"
In her bewilderment, she looked straight up and into his eyes. They were doing the oddest thing where they seemed to...breathe, shifting and glowing like the lava rocks she'd seen in Fel Adra as a child. She had not only admitted she was not Ariadne, but she had confessed she'd stolen the ring his goddess mother had entrusted to him. By all rights, a normal person would have thrown her from the carriage. Though, considering he was a knight known in the legends for his chivalry, she expected him to grow silent and no longer give her the time of day.
And yet here he was, wondering over her suffering as if it should matter to him. Her eyes stung with tears that she forced not to fall. She looked down at her hands, gripping the folds of her dress.
"To save my sisters and myself," she admitted, her voice breaking. "I wanted to save us. I wanted for us to be happy. I wished for my sisters to live the lives of their dreams and I wished to live my days in peace, watching over them as they achieved all they desired. Making the kind of money we needed would take too long if I worked a regular job. Not only that, I'm a nobleman's daughter and such actions would bring shame, not only upon my household but upon my siblings. They could never show their faces in high society again, and so..."
"Stealing my ring was the only choice you had."
Asiah nodded. "There are men who would pay large sums for something crafted by the gods. You've been a statue for...a long time, and so you may not know, but the gods are gone. Nothing remains of them in this day and age save the relics the Head guards in the Citadel. Your ring is the only relic not guarded in the Citadel and thus, I thought I might take it and sell it." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I-I understand that I must seem an awful woman to you. To you, I'm sure I must seem a woman who tried to pawn off the only keepsake you have left of your mother." Her hands strayed to the necklace she wore, her heart dipping as she thought of her mother and how this keepsake her hands clasped around were all she had left. "I truly apologize, Ser Kavaris. If you hate me, I cannot offer up a single complaint."
The carriage was silent. All that could be heard was the thundering of hooves and the wheels of the carriage as it moved against the carefully paved dirt roads.
"You have no need to worry. I don't blame you. I don't exactly know your circumstances, but for the sake of those we love, we will do anything, no matter the cost. I would know."
Asiah looked up at him only to find him staring down at her. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her cheeks grow warm. It held her attention, and she couldn't look away from him and those odd eyes.
The door to the carriage opened suddenly, and the Elven woman--who was riding alongside the carriage on a white mare--hopped deftly from her horse to the carriage. Had it not been for all the etiquette courses she'd taken that drilled into her what was and was not proper as a highborn lady, Asiah's jaw would have dropped.
According to soldiers, Mages were supposed to be physically incompetent. Mercenaries, sword slingers, and foot soldiers alike all marveled that, though the Mage may have unimaginable power, that power was worth nothing, for once their energy had exhausted itself, they were useless. And yet, this woman's movements were so agile, she was able to jump from horse to carriage while moving. She certainly wasn't physically weak the way soldiers proclaimed magic casters were supposed to be.
The carriage was so large that the Elven woman could stand and she did. She could have sat beside Asiah or Kavaris, but the look on her face said she'd sooner face a horde of basilisks than sit next to either of them. The carriage door remained open, her horse galloping alongside it faithfully. They were moving quicker than Asiah realized. She'd heard of how smooth magic carriages transported you as opposed to horse-drawn carriages, but she'd never had a chance to ride one before. Her family was not quite so wealthy.
"We approach Magdellanis," said the Elven woman, her eyes sweeping over the ring in Kavaris's hand. "The Head will see you as soon as we arrive. Prepare yourselves." And then she jumped from the carriage and back onto her horse. Once she was in the saddle, she raised a hand, and the carriage door shut, blocking out all the wind.
Asiah could not force her heart to settle, no matter how she tried. Palm against her chest, she felt the erratic thrum of each beat. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. She had no right to beg the gods for mercy after all she had done, but even still, she begged.
May the Head be lenient and not decide to make an example of me.
"You have no need to worry."
Her eyes snapped open."I beg your pardon."
Kavaris smiled. "I don't plan on letting any trouble befall you."
She watched his face for any sign of deceit. "You would do such a thing for me? Even though I'm not Ariadne?"
He stared at her, but she couldn't read his expression. At last, he said, "Even then."
Those words calmed her a little. "Will they listen to you?"
Kavaris leaned back in his seat. He was looking better than he was before, still weak, but better."As you've said, I've been asleep for some time. But even so, I know this much: the Head is always loyal to the gods. I doubt his daughter will be any different."
She hoped he was right.
"Ah. I never asked you your name."
Feeling calmer than she had moments before, she smiled and said, "My name is Asiah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ser Kavaris."
He smiled back and held out his hand. This she was familiar with. She placed her hand in his and he pressed his lips to the back of it. His skin was incredibly warm, near scorching, it seemed. And when he looked up at her, with his lips still against her hand, and said, "A pleasure, Lady Asiah," she forgot how to breathe.